Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Drawing on her experiences and those of other people who help LGBTQ refugees, Barbara Freeman reflects on the nature of compassion, mutual respect, patience and cooperation with newcomers, and among their sponsors and donors. The devil of being an angel is often in the details.

Barbara Freeman is a member of Capital Rainbow Refuge, an Ottawa organization that sponsors LGBTQ newcomers to Canada and mentors other LGBTQ sponsorship groups. She is also a member of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa and a winter visitor to Victoria.

Attention all Visitors, Members and Friends! Please come for ‘coffee’ and conversation in the alcove at James Bay Coffee and Books at 143 Menzies St. The coffee and topic are as you like it.

Janet Vickers will read from her second trade book of poems Infinite Power (Ekstasis 2016). Infinite power, in her eyes “is not a zero sum game but a journey / a stone thrown in a lake”. The danger of our age is that we have lost contact with that power, made it something to possess like a personal bank account. In writing these poems she hopes for a reconnection to that sacred universal relationship.

Janet is a member of the Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo, and lives on Gabriola Island with her husband of forty six years. Her poems have appeared in chapbooks published by the CUC, other anthologies in Canada, the UK, in literary journals and online magazines. She has been a Unitarian since 1985.

Attention all Visitors, Members and Friends! Please come for ‘coffee’ and conversation in the alcove at James Bay Coffee and Books at 143 Menzies St. The coffee and topic are as you like it.

Honoring the UU flower communion, from 1923 by the Reverends Norbert and Maja Capek to our present day exchange of love and synergy.

Kimberly Bramadat-Ramsey was born UU in Winnipeg and now volunteers with youth and OWL sexuality education at First Unitarian Church of Victoria. She is passionate about all types of healing and meditative ecstatic dance, and works as a school educational assistant and a community support worker in the summer. Kimberly is the proud mom of daughter Kisha Raven Bramadat, is married to Michael Ramsey, and is the daughter of Rev. Jane Bramadat.

Attention all Visitors, Members and Friends! Please come for ‘coffee’ and conversation in the alcove at James Bay Coffee and Books at 143 Menzies St. The coffee and topic are as you like it.

It is good to celebrate. We celebrate our contributions to the Earth and the Earth’s contributions to us. Let us explore the inherent worth and dignity of all things; Compassion in relationships; and the interconnectedness of all existence.

Lillie has been a member of the First Unitarian Church of Victoria since 2002. Before that she belonged to the Unitarian Universalist (UU) communities in Ottawa and in Vancouver. She has been a UU practioner for more than 24 years. Most recently she attended our Homily Creation Workshop and the Lay Chaplaincy program. She was a Worship Associate and continues to support the Youth in every way possible. In her other work as a communication coach, she is an active member of the Inclusive Leadership Cooperative, is a pagan, a permaculturalist and a Compassionate Communication (NVC) practioner.

Attention all Visitors, Members and Friends! Please come for ‘coffee’ and conversation in the alcove at James Bay Coffee and Books at 143 Menzies St. The coffee and topic are as you like it.

Myths make the glue that has held humankind together since the Agricultural Revolution. Do the myths of today really, really, differ from the myths of then?

Attention all Visitors, Members and Friends! Please come for ‘coffee’ and conversation in the alcove at James Bay Coffee and Books at 143 Menzies St. The coffee and topic are as you like it.

What is it about this community that makes it so important to you and me? Let us think about this together.

Attention all Visitors, Members and Friends! Please come for ‘coffee’ and conversation in the alcove at James Bay Coffee and Books at 143 Menzies St. The coffee and topic are as you like it.