Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Sunday November 5th  Joy Huebert – Perspectives on Suffering.

** Clocks go forward the night before this service!

Faced with intractable suffering both personal and global, we reach for solutions from sources such as Christianity, the supernatural, Buddhism, and psychology.  In this plethora of approaches, can the Unitarian Universalist community offer some relief? Can The UU principle “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations” be a source of comfort and guidance in a dark world?   This homily presents an overview of ideas and an opportunity to share feelings and experiences.

Sunday November 12th Rev. Brian Kiely, In this polarized world…can we just talk? 

Conversation has become a dangerous thing! Will I offend if I speak? Will I get attacked for voicing an opinion? Speaking is becoming scary. Unitarian Universalists have always prided themselves on freedom and rational discourse. I believe it’s the only way out of this polarized age.

  Bio: Brian Kiely has been a Unitarian minister in Canada for 35 years including 22 spent at the Unitarian Church of Edmonton. He is a past president of the CUC and the ICUU. He is sort of retired, but will be starting his second year working with Kelowna Unitarians in the Fall. Declan Kiely is a recently graduated dental technician living in Edmonton.

As our shared ministry comes to a close, with Rev Anne completing her Capital term on November 30th, we will share both ritual and practical elements to help us ‘complete the circle’.

We are not gathering at JBNH this morning – Zoom link for service coming soon.

The Fathers of Confederation, the men who created Canada more than 150 years ago, were at least partially defined by the women in their lives: The Mothers of Confederation.

The political leaders of the day were profoundly influenced by their family lives, and family is something we can all relate to – that’s why I found it so rewarding to investigate the Mothers of Confederation (and the sisters and the daughters and at least one mistress).

The lives of these women were mightily proscribed, yet even within the doctrine of separate spheres, they managed to influence the events that led to nation creation.

Eventually, women had power enough to hold elected office, were declared “persons” enough to sit in the Senate, and be appointed to the Supreme Court (thank you, Bertha Wilson), while still exerting influence.

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Bio: Moira Dann shares a birthplace with Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning author Saul Bellow (Lachine, Quebec) and a birthdate with the Dalai Lama (July 6). She worked as a journalist much of her career (CBC, The Globe and Mail) and is a late-life graduate of University of King’s College in Halifax. Currently board president of Craigdarroch Castle, Moira is the author of Craigdarroch Castle in 21 Treasures (Touchwood), winner of a 2021 Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for Historical Writing. She’s currently writing a memoir.

In the Gospels called Luke and Matthew, the angel Gabriel tells two Jewish ladies, post-menopausal Elizabeth and virgin Mary, that they will become pregnant despite obstacles.  Their sons, John and Jesus, were worshipped from birth onward: John as a baptizer and Jesus as a healer.  How did Christians get from this story to the elaborate shopping, decorating and feasting rituals of Christmas 2023?  Peter Scales, a member of our congregation since 2004, loves the humanistic, pagan and historic rituals surrounding the darkest nights of the year.

Winter is a time to nourish each other and our community. Let’s come together for songs and stories, to find a place of calm joy amidst the turmoil.

An Unconventional Christmas Eve morning Service

Join us for: a delightful story about Christmas Eve and a cosmic angelic devil, a cross Canada glimpse at the places where our out of town congregants live and the awe and magic of the small. Along with some music and singing. Celebrate the festive season through: Beauty, Peace, Giving, and Closeness of Friends and Family- in an alternative fashion.

New Year’s Eve is a wonderful time to gather and gently let go of the old while looking forward to all of the potential of 2024. Join Amanda in a nourishing gathering to help hold our tender hearts.

Get your pencils ready: What was the single best thing that happened this past year?  What was the single most challenging thing that happened? What was biggest thing you learned this past year? What are your hopes for 2024 in terms of community, wellness and spiritual health?  Come and share!

The advent of AI and chatbots has opened a whole new area of ethics. In what ways is artificial intelligence pushing us to strengthen our ethical and theological muscles? What do our answers to these questions say about our understanding of what it means to be human, especially the ways in which this understanding impacts our relations with other humans and with the other-than-human world. 

Speaker bio: Karen Fraser Gitlitz is Saskatoon Unitarians’ parish minister and a professional Art Therapist.  For the past three summers, she has been a participant and a core walker with the Water Walk for the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers, following Indigenous leadership by walking the river in Ceremony for the healing of the water. In all of these activities—ministry, art therapy, and water walking—she has witnessed the healing that arises when we are able to connect to ourselves, our communities, and the land.

Part of the Meaning Making in Liminal Times Series.

As a climate justice organizer, campaign strategist and consultant, Emily Lowan has worked with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Corporate Mapping Project, and led Divest UVic’s successful campaign through 2020 and 2021.

Emily is completing her degree in political science and environmental studies at UVic, having finished her term as the elected director of campaigns and community relations for the University of Victoria Students’ Society. Emily lives in Victoria, B.C., on unceded lək ̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territories, and is passionate about supply-side fossil fuel policy and organizing for a just future.