Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

We uphold a living tradition that has had a footing in Victoria since at least 1911.  We have been served by interesting ministers and lay leaders, and been housed in four buildings.  Since our founding in 1996, Capital UU Congregation has been home to ministerial prospects (Ian, David, Rosemary, Arran, Amanda).  Come and learn more!

There will not be a Forum today – instead the AGM will start following a comfort break after the service. In person and on Zoom.

Imagine Halloween, Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving, all at once!  The gift-giving, egg-decorating, Santa Claus, candies, and family time… that describes the holiday that Persians refer to as Nowruz.  Nowruz falls on the vernal equinox; Nowruz means ‘new day’.  Come to learn about Nowruz, the Persian new year.

Is it possible to gain freedom too quickly? In Jewish mysticism, seekers are warned against unbinding the chains of their inner exiles too hastily, lest they fall prey to overwhelm or collapse. In this talk, Rabbi Matthew Ponak will explore the Passover themes of enslavement and redemption and ask us to consider if we need a “suggested speed limit” on the highways to the liberation of the oppressed.

Rabbi Matthew Ponak is a teacher of Jewish mysticism, a spiritual counsellor, and the author of Embodied Kabbalah: Jewish Mysticism for All People. Learn more about his story and his offerings at MatthewPonak.com.

What do you do when the life you’d imagined for yourself is stuck in committee?  Join us for the story of the UU Hysterical Society—a 190,000 person group on Facebook.  It’s a story of feeling lost, finding yourself, and a practical joke gone right.

Liz James comes from a family with a proud tradition of expressing love through practical jokes. She lives in Saskatoon where she writes, preaches, is a member of her congregation, and runs the UU not for profit Mirth and Dignity.

Each year we embrace the returning of the light, the season of renewal. Join us for a service that weaves together two sacred tales of hope and resurrection.

Plant-based diets are often perceived as being antithetical to Indigenous interests in what is today colonially known as Canada. This perceived antithesis hinges on veganism’s rejection of the consumption of animals. This apparent antithesis, however, is a misperception that a reframing of ethical veganism can help correct. Dr. Deckha argues that veganism’s objection to dairy should be underscored as a central concern of ethical veganism. Such emphasis not only brings into view the substantial alignment between plant-based diets and Indigenous worldviews, but also highlights the related goals of decolonization and reconciliation in Canada.

Professor Deckha (BA McGill; LLB Toronto; LLM Columbia) joined the UVic Faculty of Law in 2002 after practising at the Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto. She is currently Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at UVic where she also directs the Animals & Society Research Initiative.  Prof. Deckha’s research interests include animal legal studies and critical animal studies, feminist animal care theory and feminist analysis of law, socio-legal studies in general, and reproductive and end-of-life ethics. Her current project examines the lack of government regulation in favour of farmed animals as a rule of law violation and thus a matter of constitutional import.

May 1st is May Day, Beltane and the mid-point of this season of renewal. It’s also the 100th anniversary of the Flower Ceremony a UU tradition going back a century. Come join us to celebrate the joy of spring. 

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.