Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Pursuing diversity, compassion, and equity in our congregations requires our willingness to be dead wrong about the world. This is a good thing, and I’ll talk about why.
Sam is a member of First Unitarian Church of Victoria and has two delightful children, Lucas and Mary Stefanie, and is pursuing a Master’s Degree at UVic.

Looking at some of the issues from a Unitarian point of view. The Social Justice Committee of First Unitarian Church of Victoria is involved in exploring some of the current concerns in preparation for the CUC study we hope we will all be doing next year. (There is a study resolution coming up this May at the CUC annual meeting in Montreal.) The presenters are Christine Johnston, Virginia Daniel, Dr. Ed Daniel and Dr. Adrian Fine.

WHY did you become a Unitarian Universalist? What was the delight, emotion, rational thought that drew you to our denomination? How would you express that to someone who has no idea what UUism is? WHY should they join us and how it would change their life for the better?

D L Seaborn will share a sermon (by Rev Rod Richards) that she enjoyed while visiting  the Unitarian Universalist Church of San Luis Obispo.

Unitarian and UU congregations around the world use the image of a lit chalice as a symbol of the religion. UU services and many UU meetings feature a chalice. Why do we do that?

Also, once a year Unitarian congregations in Canada are asked to contribute to the national Sharing Our Faith fund, which gives grants for special UU projects. Please bring a cheque.

Following on from our first Principle the second Principle states: “Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations”. Let’s get to the bottom of what justice and equity really mean. Being a part of a religious community provides a platform and an opportunity for us to deepen compassion. Do we take this opportunity? How do we live this
second principle every day?

To create the systems we envision, beyond the reaches of oppression and inequity, we must look to ourselves, those around us, and the earth which sustains us to find meaning, inspiration and power.

Looking into ourselves, looking into our communities, and truly breaking down the structures of violence and appropriation, we find the role and power of connection. I’ll share my experience on how building community focused on food security has helped me discover this role, and taught me the power of connection.”

Existentialism brings our reflection back to the singular and personal nature of our existence, with inspiring consequences for the absolute worth, freedom and responsibility of each and every person.

Dr. Nina Belmonte is a Professor with the Department of Philosophy at the University of Victoria Faculty of Humanities. In this video, Nina discusses studying the history of philosophy and literature where she examines how we create meaning through narrative.

Combining insights from Positive Psychology, stress and coping, and recent thought about exercise, diet, mindfulness, and mental activity, Dr. Pullyblank will look at how we build resiliency, particularly by our participation in diverse spiritual communities such as Capital.

Let’s have a look through our two UU hymn books to see the remarkable variety of music and lyrics they hold for us.

Do you think you might be an atheist?  If you have ever wondered about humanism, paganism, agnosticism and atheism, then don’t miss this homily!

Amanda spent the weekend immersed in Unitarianism in Montreal at the Canadian Unitarian Council’s Annual Conference and Meeting.  She is very enthusiastic about all of the messages she is bringing home to Capital.