Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Two uncommon events are occurring this weekend: the coronation of King Charles III … and the ordination of our first ever Canadian Armed Forces UU chaplain – Nicole McKay. Both of these roles – plus the shifting cultures of the more common structures in our lives – raise questions around the concept of duty. Join us for a reflection on the evolving understanding of duty.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries, Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent. Celebrated since the Middle Ages, it was traditionally a time Christians visited their Mother church, the one in which they had received the sacrament of baptism. The modern American version of the holiday began in 1907, when Anna Jarvis organized the first service of worship and celebration at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in West Virginia. In 1912, she trademarked the phrase “Second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day,” noting that “Mother’s” should “be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.” Not everyone has been a mother, but all of us have had a mother.  Sometimes the experience can be less than positive.  Several in our congregation will share their reflections on having or being a mother, or undertaking the role of a Mother figure. The forum after the service will be an opportunity for others to share their stories and experiences, good or bad.

We will gather from across the nation to celebrate what has brought us to this moment in making manifest our new principle: promoting “individual and communal action that accountably dismantles racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion in ourselves and our institutions.“ This is a promise worthy of this time and the fullness of our creative energies.  The Sunday morning worship service will be led by Rev. Eric Meter of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa alongside Rev. Diane Rollert of the Unitarian Church of Montreal, Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana, youth and young adults, and others.  Raised Unitarian Universalist, Rev. Eric has served our congregations in Northern California, upstate New York, and in the U.S. Great Lakes region.  Proud to now be in Canada, he and his wife have family in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as in Germany and the United States.  The Sunday Multigenerational Worship Service will be livestreamed on the CUC’s YouTube Channel

What is the spirit?  What are gifts?  And what do they mean for a Unitarian community? Touching on our place in the universe, the power and craziness of love, and the letters of Saint Paul to the Corinthians,  Joy will examine how we can find our superpowers to benefit ourselves and others.

In this time of massive global shift, what is the role of LOVE? Catalyst for transformation? Invitation to gather? Challenge to speak truth to power? Reminder of our fragility and potential? Healer? Helper? Comfort? Tease? This Sunday, we’re going to talk about (…and maybe to…) LOVE.

Last fall I began reading Sara Sagen’s book “For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World.” I am a nonreligious and spiritually inept person; I never have been able to define spirituality for myself. Yet I lament the lack of ritual in my life. Until I read Sagen’s book, which talks of a science-based philosophy of life, religious and cultural rituals, and how she develops meaningful rituals. Then, I noticed ritualistic habits and practices I already have and when/how I form new ones. I came to better understand how these help me navigate my world. Join me as I look at rituals that once impressed me, why I/we reject them and how new meaningful ones can take their place.

I have spent the second third of my life as a Unitarian humanist.  This week I entered the “third third” of my life.  How closely have I clung to the principles & sources of UUism?  What should I change for the next 30 years?  How can we help each other to live principled lives?

We all have times where interacting with people becomes challenging. Sometimes it’s us … sometimes it’s them … sometimes we have NO IDEA what’s going on. This service will focus on the challenges, opportunities, gifts that arise when our interdependent web gets sticky. Rev Anne will be joining us in person this week! Hope to see you there.

In mid October it will be 1 year of in person services after the pandemic. Can you believe it’s been only a year? It seems longer. To celebrate our resilience and commemorate our gathering again in person, I have designed a group art project specifically for Unitarians and Capital. The art will transform the space at New Horizons by your contribution of visual art, poetry, and music. And, we can create this together in the 20 minutes of a Sunday Service Homily. The visual art part is inspired by the stained glass windows of old churches and mandalas of Eastern religions.

The art making is inclusive of all ages, and for people of varying art inclination, abilities and skills. Out of town people can participate as well. You don’t need to do anything before the October 1st service, HOWEVER there is an option to mail in a small art works to me by September 29^th if you attend by zoom, so it can be added to the whole. Or you can bring your art contribution if you attend in person if wish to make some beforehand. You may also choose a poem to post in the zoom chat during the service, or read aloud. Please email me with your choice and the words of the poem to, Leigh’s email.

This next paragraph is for people who make art to send by the mail or be printed out by Leigh.  Address: 6-555 St Charles street, Victoria BC V8S 3N7, leiwtrs@gmail.com. You may write or call Leigh if you need further instructions or have questions, 250 418-8898. Also for those who want to bring a work the day of. Instructions:

Take a white sheet of paper such as printer paper and make it into a square. All the squares need to be 8.5 by 8.5 inches, or 6 by 6 inches, used in a diamond shape though. You may also use a circle 6 inches across.  We will be making designs based on mandalas/circles, the art representing the cosmos (macro) and our world (the micro). And in diamond shapes, often seen in the stained glass windows of old European churches. The design can be abstract or it can be representational such as a photograph you have taken, or a drawing. A square of knitting or crocheting is very good too but it must be mounted/taped to white paper. You may repurpose paper that has been printed on as long as it is white. There are a number of approaches to the art you can make with this paper but the size is standard. The other standard is that there must be a circle shape in the design somewhere or the design based on a circle or mandala (radiating from the center).  All small works will be joined together to form one larger work.