Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

We warmly invite you to explore the beautiful traditions of Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). We will journey through its origins, delving into the rich pre-Hispanic and cultural roots that shaped this unique Mexican celebration. We’ll then discover how this tradition is vibrantly lived today not as a time of mourning, but as a joyful and heartfelt reunion to honour our departed loved ones. Finally, we will share the key elements and profound symbolism behind building an ofrenda (altar), providing you with a guide to build your own one at home, as a personal and meaningful way to celebrate the everlasting bonds of life, memory and love.

Bio: I’m Maria del Mar Diego, a cultural manager and communicator from La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. My professional work is dedicated to creating communication campaigns for NGOs and nonprofits with environmental causes. I’m part of two campaigns to protect the sharks of the Gulf of California and another to promote clean air. Alongside this work I am a cultural tour guide, passionate about showing visitors that La Paz has a rich cultural heritage that goes far beyond its beautiful sun and beaches. I’m very happy to share my culture with you.

Many of our ancestors lived through times of great upheaval. What can the practice of learning from our ancestor’s experiences offer us right now? Lynn speaks to us by video in this year’s Meaning Making series, “Meeting this moment with love and justice.”

Bio: Lynn Harrison was ordained at Neighbourhood UU Congregation in 2015 after receiving her Master of Divinity degree from Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto. She served on the ministry team of First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto from 2016 to 2023, and currently provides guest ministry for Unitarian congregations in the Toronto area. Lynn is also a performing songwriter with deep roots in the Canadian folk music tradition and has composed numerous songs for UU communities.

Attila Fias has travelled all around the world, both literally and musically, and has been influenced by various cultures, languages and people. He will share some of his experiences and how these cultures have made an impact on his composing and playing.

Join Donnie Jennings and Joy Huebert as they describe their experiences with the spiritual communities of Twelve Step Programs. Formed in 1935 by Bill Wilson as a community based solution to intractable alcoholism, there are now 34 programs addressing dependencies and behaviours such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, along with family support programs, worldwide with millions of members.

The 12 steps ask individuals to admit they are powerless, turn their lives over to a higher power, make amends and foster a spiritual awakening. What is it like to surrender to a higher power? IHow did this work in two real lives? Note that no graphic or disturbing personal content will be shared.

What will hold us together today? As an antidote to a world built around us/them, we’ll lean into this counter-story: that difference makes strength, and that our distinctive model as UUs – based not on sameness but on cultivating relationship and shared commitments across differences of belief – carries seeds of the transformative solidarity our world needs now. Come meet this moment with us.

Reverend Nicolin Guerrier is the CUC’s Congregational Life Lead for the Central and Eastern Regions. Recently returned to Canada after seven years serving Unitarian Universalism in the US, they persist in finding small glimmers of hope everywhere.

Camellia Janhanshani is the CUC’s Dismantling Barriers Lead, a new position brought in in October 2024 dedicated to uplifting and integrating our 8th principle of accountably dismantling barriers to inclusion in ourselves and our institutions.

In her book, The Serviceberry, Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer teaches us about the gift economy, which is intrinsic to many Indigenous cultures. What can we learn from this model – how might it help us better care for one another and this earth we share? Is it possible to do in today’s North American capitalist society?

As a mini-exercise, an embodied way of practising the principle, you are invited to bring ONE item you already have to give away in a gift exchange.  Please bring ONE thing from your home which you have appreciated and are now happy to pass on to someone else. 

• This is not a way to get rid of unwanted stuff; it’s not a garage sale. Look for something you really like, something still in good condition. Something you think someone else might be excited to receive.
• Please bring only ONE thing.
• We will collect your gifts before the service, and you can choose a gift to take home with you after the service.
• Rev. Melora will give anything not chosen by a Capital member to WIN (Women in Need).

Speaker: Laurie MacDuff

Nobody expects the sudden loss of a loved one. Early during Covid lockdown, Laurie’s husband of 47 years died suddenly. In this inspirational homily, she will share lessons learned.

Speaker: Paula Stone Williams, TED Talk

Paula speaks with humor and compassion about the differences in her life from the time she was a man and those when she transitioned to a woman. She worked in religious organizations as a man, and was let go by those organizations once she became a woman. She also relates that, “she thinks a lot about her brown skinned daughter and daughter in law and what do they know that I am clueless about?” Paula says  “what do any of us really know about the shoes in which we have never walked”.

Speakers: Joy Huebert and Congregants

Enjoy a quiet service on the presence of darkness and light in our lives. Dale Hitchcox, Jeffery Freed, Lee Tuley and Sarah Weaver will present songs, music, poetry and a reflective homily to welcome the turning season.

Speakers: Ilara Stefaniuk-Gaudet, Westwood Unitarian Congregation

The practice of community care: how do we ensure that care is integrated into our ways of being together? “It’s through an orientation toward healing and repair for ourselves and others that we recover our capacity for feeling, for relationships, and, with that, the ability to strengthen our bonds and work together.” Prentis Hemphill.

Diana Clift will share some of her experiences as a hypnotherapist which have convinced her that focussed imagination can be life changing.

Forum: There will be a forum after the service and coffee. Di will be in attendance.

Naturalism is the belief that only natural laws and forces (as opposed to supernatural ones) operate in the Universe. The modern story of our origins – the Big Bang theory – offers ways of understanding ourselves and our worlds.

Bio: Terry Findlay is the webmaster and an officer of the Religious Naturalist Association (RNA), an international group formed about ten years ago.  He was born in Victoria, taught Grade 7 for 33 years in Keremeos, and moved back to Victoria in 2014.  The RNA likes to say, “We take nature to heart.”

Forum: There will be a forum after the service and coffee. Terry will be in attendance.