Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

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.

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.

(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.

Toko●thanat●ology is the theoretical study of the parallels between birth and death, especially in medical care.  What do birth and death have in common? They both represent times of profound change, when patients and their families need emotional support and empathy from their caregivers—things they don’t teach in medical school.  The practical skills and knowledge required to provide care in obstetrics and palliative care are essential.  But dealing with the deeper meaning, the human connection, is equally important. The very nature of these events encourages the caregiver to walk alongside the patient, to assist rather than control.  In her recent book, “Bookends: A Family Doctor explores Birth, Death and tokothanatology,” Dr. Susan Boron explores the powerfully human aspects of caring for people at both ends of their lives. She shows how expertise in one area of care easily transfers to the other, increasing confidence and improving care and satisfaction for practitioner and patient alike.  Susan also talks about her parents, Murray & Elinor Enkin.

Rev. Dr Holly Ratcliffe moved to Montreal about one year after the massacre of the fourteen women engineering students at la Polytechnique and have lived there ever since.  As a woman of faith and more recently a ceramic artist who makes funeral urns, I will be reflecting on the kinds of monuments created to remember these women and on the film and plays that have been created in the wake of the massacre, which address some of the social issues that the event raises.  How do they speak to us now?

Joy attended services at a mosque, synagogue, Ukrainian Catholic church and Quaker meeting house.  Touching on the different rituals, spaces, messages and communities, Joy will present what it meant to learn more about what members of our human family are doing in their spiritual practices and religious organizations.  Joy Huebert is an attender at the Vancouver Island Quaker Meeting and former member of the Unitarian Church in Edmonton.  Raised in a strict Mennonite community in Winnipeg, Joy continues to explore cultural and personal aspects of the human experience of religion and spirituality. ** in-person; no Zoom; the homily will be recorded and posted online later.

The word “solstice” derives from the phrase “sun stands still.” During this busy season join Amanda for a ritual of slowing down and embracing the dark.  We will have lots of carol singing and celebration too.

Does our conscious identity continue beyond death?  This is probably the most important question of our lives and religions have given many conflicting opinions about it.  What evidence do we have and is it possible to draw any conclusions about something which is necessarily beyond our comprehension? 

Since the so-called Age of Reason, pundits have been predicting that science would inevitably drive religion and religious thinking to extinction. But as our presence here today demonstrates, religion stubbornly persists and spirituality is alive and well. Is there any cause to think that one will ever conquer the other? Are faith and reason truly in opposition, or could it be that they are in fact “the two faces of one and the same complete act of knowledge”?  If this were so, the implications would be quite revolutionary. No longer in opposition, we might find that the essential spiritual truths of ancient wisdom and faith traditions align with the findings of modern scientists! Join us this Sunday for another adventure through time and space and find out if all roads do indeed lead to Rome.

With a focus on social history, it could cover topics such as cultural and spiritual diversity, as well as social activism. I would also include some of the challenges of researching women’s history, in particular in the fur trade.

Born in London, UK, Vanessa Winn lives in Victoria, BC, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. Her latest novel, Trappings, depicts real people and events in 19th century British Columbia, during the aftermath of the gold rushes. It was a course textbook for a Public History seminar at UVic. Her debut novel, The Chief Factor’s Daughter, was a finalist for Monday Magazine’s “Favourite Fiction” award and was also studied in history courses at BC universities. Currently she is completing a chapter contribution for a Métis Matriarchs textbook. She also writes book reviews, and her poetry has appeared in several journals. Beyond her love of the written word and historical research, she finds inspiration in dance and teaches Argentine tango. Please visit her website at vanessawinn.com.