Calendar of events

Here you will find all of our congregation’s Sunday Services, Board and Committee meetings and other events. Use the calendar controls to see events for past or future dates. For a quick look at recent Sunday Services, click here!

Sep
11
Sun
Sunday Sept 11th on Zoom – Hanna Leavitt – Justice for people with disabilities.
Sep 11 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday Sept 11th on Zoom - Hanna Leavitt - Justice for people with disabilities.

Hanna Leavitt lives in Victoria, is blind, has service dog ‘Ogden’, and has recently written a book.  Hanna recently won a $14,000 Arts Council grant and went to Montreal to research the history of residential blind schools in Canada.

Sep
18
Sun
Sunday Sept 18th on Zoom – Peter Scales – UU as Prophetic Church
Sep 18 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday Sept 18th on Zoom - Peter Scales - UU as Prophetic Church
Unitarian-Universalists believe in certain fundamental rights — abortion, same sex marriage, etc. — and we take them up as causes. We see the issues as important enough that we can move a social agenda.  By writing letters, marching in parades, standing on the Legislature steps, and having deep discussions together, we create and spread our prophetic messages.  Come and share!

* This Sunday’s service will include a financial update from our Treasurer Sarah Weaver

Sep
25
Sun
Sunday Sept 25th on Zoom – National Worship Sunday Service: Unsettled and Unafraid
Sep 25 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday Sept 25th on Zoom - National Worship Sunday Service: Unsettled and Unafraid

The CUC is hosting “Unsettled and Unafraid,” a national service to honour The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Join Elder-in-Residence Sharon Jinkerson Brass, Rev. Danielle Webber and folks from across the country as they reflect on what the process of un-colonizing looks and feels like to them. 

This will be followed by a FREE 2.5-hour art therapy workshop facilitated by Rev. Karen Fraser Gitlitz and Ceremony Keeper Carey Jeanette Sinclair. It will be based on their popular, multi-day workshop, “Unsettling Our Spirituality.” (Details to follow.)

A pre-recorded service will be available to congregations on September 21. Please contact amber.bellemare@cuc.ca to receive the link.

Join us on Zoom. For those calling in on landlines, the toll-free number is 1-855-703-8985.
Meeting ID: 873 6525 5786
Password:  742984

You can also watch live on the CUC’s YouTube channel.

Oct
2
Sun
Sunday October 2nd on Zoom – Kerreen Reiger – Enjoying the Interval – Murray Enkin: A Life.
Oct 2 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday October 2nd on Zoom - Kerreen Reiger - Enjoying the Interval - Murray Enkin: A Life.

The biographer of CUUC member Dr. Murray Enkin (1924-2021) will talk about the challenges of writing what became a much larger book than intended in order to draw together the threads of a ‘large life’.

Oct
9
Sun
Sunday October 9th on Zoom – Ollie Belisle, “Ask? Ask whom, and for what?”
Oct 9 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday October 9th on Zoom - Ollie Belisle, "Ask? Ask whom, and for what?"

-And just what can we expect to receive, anyway? And by the way, what does this have to do with Thanksgiving??? Join us as we explore the mysterious power of Asking.

Oct
16
Sun
Sunday October 16th in person at James Bay New Horizons and on Zoom – Leigh Waters – Early Abstract Art and Spirituality; when art and science made huge shifts in history.
Oct 16 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday October 16th in person at James Bay New Horizons and on Zoom - Leigh Waters -  Early Abstract Art and Spirituality; when art and science made huge shifts in history.

As an art student of visual art and art history, I spent 2-4 art history classes a week in a darkened room with projections of art on the wall.  One of the strongest and most persistent questions from this very potent period of my life has left me with, is; what is spirituality in art? The first art, in western art history, that was defined as abstract was spiritual. These early 20th Century artists endeavored to paint spirit, beauty, the soul as personal spiritual beliefs rather than religious beliefs, while also being very engaged in the advancements in science.

Oct
23
Sun
Sunday October 23rd in person at James Bay New Horizons and on Zoom – Sepideh Heydari – “We follow the science”
Oct 23 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday October 23rd in person at James Bay New Horizons and on Zoom - Sepideh Heydari - "We follow the science"

The covid-19 pandemic had many people debating “the science” as each new shred of data hit the news and social media.  Politically, ‘science’ was often stated as the chief reason for important policy decisions.  What is science, though?  One of the sources of UUism is “Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against the idolatries of the mind and spirit.”  Dr. Sepideh Heydari has been a neuroscientist at UVic and is now an IT analyst at Island Health.

Oct
30
Sun
Sunday October 30th in person and on Zoom – Amanda Patt – Re-hallowing Halloween
Oct 30 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday October 30th in person and on Zoom - Amanda Patt - Re-hallowing Halloween
As the wheel of the year turns towards winter, come sit with me by the hearth as we honour our eco-gratitudes and our eco-griefs. We will journey together through the darkness and the heaviness of the season and let these teach us how to see the sparks of life and love within our despair. As part of the experience, we will listen to the guidance of people who have gone before us into this work.
Nov
6
Sun
Sunday November 6th in person and on zoom Peter Scales – Remembrance
Nov 6 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday November 6th in person and on zoom  Peter Scales - Remembrance

Remembrance Day is a time to remember those who died in wartime, to consider why humans go to war, and to discuss how to strive for peace. Today’s service speaks to all who never want to see war again.  Peter is a BC historian, a member of both Victoria UU congregations, and the Unitarian chaplain to the University of Victoria. Before moving to Lekwungen territory, he served 21 years in the RCAF.

Nov
11
Fri
Friday, November 11, 10:30 am on line and in person at First Unitarian Church of Victoria Peter Scales – Remembrance Day
Nov 11 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Friday, November 11, 10:30 am on line and in person at First Unitarian Church of Victoria Peter Scales - Remembrance Day

If you would like to join via zoom, please contact Niki at the church office churchoffice@victoriaunitarian.ca to receive access to the zoom link.

Nov
13
Sun
Sunday November 13th – in person and on Zoom – Jan Greenwood, Sarah Weaver Karen Christie and Amanda Tarling
Nov 13 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday November 13th - in person and on Zoom - Jan Greenwood, Sarah Weaver Karen Christie and Amanda Tarling

In the interests of promoting Truth, Healing and Reconciliation, we invite you to learn about the Doctrine of Discovery.  This papal bull was brought to the attention of Canadians following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and also during the visit of Pope Francis to Canada. In 2021/22 several Victoria UUs joined a study group on the excellent film Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen Lands, Strong Hearts, produced by the Anglican Church. They will share with you their increased understanding of the implications of the Doctrine of Discovery on ongoing efforts towards reconciliation.  You may be interested in viewing the 67-minute video on which the study group focussed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQwkB1hn5E8

Amanda Tarling, Jan Greenwood, Sarah Weaver and Karen Christie are active members of our congregation, and a couple participate in the Truth Healing and Reconciliation team of UUs in Victoria (THRUU), a small group from both UU congregations in Victoria. THRUU’s mandate is to facilitate educational opportunities in the interests of contributing to the reconciliation process. All speakers participated in the study group on the Doctrine of Discovery and most in the earlier groups for the CUC’s Indigenous Film Discussion Series.

Nov
20
Sun
Sunday November 20th – 10 am PT National Worship Sunday Service: Living into Covenant
Nov 20 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Sunday November 20th - 10 am PT National Worship Sunday Service: Living into Covenant

(No in person service at JBNH this week)

We Unitarian Universalists are a covenantal people. Our faith tradition believes in the power and possibility of covenant – a set of shared promises, agreements, and understandings to hold us together. How does a vision of covenant hold us together when we disagree? How does our faith community covenant overlap and diverge from the other covenants of our lives (being a partner or parent or friend or citizen of the world?)? How is all of this impacted by how well we are keeping a covenant with ourselves, our own well being? Join Revs Shana Lyngood and Anne Barker in exploration and reflection.

Where: Zoom, YouTube Live 

Use the bitly link to join the service on Zoom, or watch live on the CUC’s YouTube channel.