Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Speaker: Heather Stefanek reading a talk by Melanie Davis

Sexuality Through a UU Lens.  OWL, or “Our Whole Lives” is a progressive, comprehensive lifespan sexuality education program which has been offered by many UU congregations since the year 2000. It addresses the Unitarian Universalist Association’s commitment to sexual justice and inclusivity, incorporating the values of Self-Worth, Responsibility and Sexual Health. Learn more about the program through this service which was created by Dr. Melanie Davis, PhD, and is provided free to UU congregations.  Her talk will be read by Heather Stefanek. 

Bio: Melanie Davis is a Certified Sexuality Educator and CSE Supervisor, a professional development provider, consultant, and human sexuality adjunct professor. She is the co-president of the Sexuality & Aging Consortium at Widener University. A lifelong UU, she is manager of the OWL program for the UUA, and author of “Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education for Older Adults”.

Speaker: Rev. Wayne Walder (part of the series MMiLT)

Truth is often a belief system we use to make sense of the world.  ‘Practicality’ means we are aware of what works. When we confuse these two, we lose the essence of both.  Wayne speaks to us by video, in this year’s Meaning Making series, “Meeting this moment with love and justice.”

Bio: Rev. Wayne Walder retired 3 years ago from the Neighbourhood UU Congregation in Toronto, a congregation he helped start with 5 people and $50.  Ministry was his second career. He has 3 children and has lived with his wife Joan for almost 40 years.  Each day he sits quietly for about an hour hoping to learn more about enlightenment.

Speaker: Sarah Weaver with Lee Tuley.

Music Team: jazz pianist: Attila Fias, song leader: Zorah Staar

Our first principle says we, as a congregation, ‘affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person’. This week our homily is a conversation in which Lee Tuley engages with Sarah Weaver to explore how we can embrace this principle through examining the nature of our judgements, and developing curiosity as a way of more deeply connecting with life and each other.

Bio: Lee is a Counselor specializing in Integrative Body Psychotherapy, Health and Spirituality – all of which are at the center of her personal life, along with creative writing. She also has had two interview talk shows, one in community radio, and one at KSFO in San Francisco. She comes to Capital for the special community of people here.

Forum: Sarah and Lee will be in attendance for the forum.

Speaker: Ana Smith

Music Team: jazz pianist- Attila Fias, song leaders- Cathy and Dick (Directors of Gettin HIgher Choir)

This presentation traces the journey from an impossible adoption decision to the quiet, daily work of surviving a fractured mind. Through writing, the speaker transforms fear and fragmentation into coherence, dignity, and hope. It is a reminder that saying “yes to life” is not a single moment but a lifelong practice of returning to oneself and reclaiming the narrative.

Bio: Ana Smith has been a peer mental health support worker for over 16 years, a Vancouver Film School graduate and accomplished screenwriter. Following a schizophrenia diagnosis in 1998, Ana uses her creative voice to help others find healing through story telling.

Forum: Ana will be in attendance for the forum.

Speaker: Janice Kalin, Director of Philanthropy at Our Place

Music Team: jazz pianist- Attila Fias, song leaders- Cathy and Dick (Directors of Gettin HIgher Choir)

Our Place walks alongside people through every season and every step- building trust, offering care and creating real pathways from crisis to stability. Janice will talk about how Pathway of Support, helps people move from survival to stability, recovery, and independence.  And introduce Our Place’s Reunification House. And why it’s such a critical next step for women in recovery who are working toward rebuilding life with their children. Together, these pieces show how housing, recovery, and family reconnection come together to create lasting change.

Bio: Janice Kalin has recently moved to Vancouver Island. She has years of fundraising experience, advocating for some of the most stigmatized populations- the unhoused and addicted. She wants to ensure that everyone has access to the resources and supports to rebuild their lives.

Forum: Janice will be in attendance at the forum. 

Note: Our speaker this Sunday is from Our Place and we are encouraging donations to Our Place if you are moved to do so. This will not be a donation to Capital Congregation, so Our Place will have to give a receipt.

Speaker: Michael Riess with Lee Tuley

Music Team: jazz pianist- Attila Fias, song leaders- Cathy and Dick (Directors of Gettin HIgher Choir)

Bio: Lee is a Counselor specializing in Integrative Body Psychotherapy, Health and Spirituality – all of which are at the center of her personal life, along with creative writing. She also has had two interview talk shows, one in community radio, and one at KSFO in San Francisco. She comes to Capital for the special community of people here.

Forum: Lee and Michael will be in attendance at the forum.

Speaker: Rev. Arran Morton (video homily – part of MMiLT series)

The practice of seeking wisdom: what can we learn from the multiple truths that come from varied identities, life experiences, religions and cultures? It takes wisdom to discern when to let a challenging truth take root in our hearts and imagination.

Bio: Rev. Arran Morton (he/they) arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick via a family crosscountry road trip from the West Coast (Victoria, BC) in 2024. Arran is from Scotland originally and is delighting in living close to the Atlantic Ocean again, albeit from the other side!

Forum: There will NOT be a forum, instead the Annual General Meeting will take place, beginning at 11:15am, followed by a pot luck lunch.

Speaker: Jan Dawson

The idea of resurrection intersecting with UU ideals seems somewhat unlikely. Anastasis is the Greek word for resurrection which simply means “Rise again”… that is to kill the power of sin and reinstate a new beginning. It was a Unitarian that rescued a badly beaten little girl named Mary Ellen Wilson in 1873, thereby resurrecting her from her hellish life. It was this case that was the inspiration for this Unitarian to create the first child protection agency in the States in 1874. This Unitarian inspired us to create our charity to help both the human and animal victims of intimate partner violence. I will be talking about how our charity Warm Hearts Pet Safe Havens provides resources for transition houses throughout BC.

Bio: Jan Dawson has been a Unitarian since 1985 when she joined the Vancouver UUs. There she met Alan and Elizabeth and through them, their son Kim. Kim and Jan got married at Vancouver UU 1992. Within the first couple of years, they got their first rescued pup who they named Annie.They ended up fostering a variety of dogs..some had serious behaviour challenges. The one thing they all had in common is that they came from problematic abusive and neglectful environments.

Through their charity, WARM HEARTS PET SAFE HAVENS, Jan feels like she is doing what she was put on earth to do…that is nurturing and protecting the human animal bond. She considers this to be her personal mission statement.

Forum: Jan will attend the forum.

Speaker: Lee Tuley with Joy Huebert

Join Lee Tuley in dialogue with Joy Huebert as they explore Joy’s faith journey from the certainty of Christian salvation to the beautiful ideas of  Buddhist nirvana to a contemplation  of the mysteries beyond our understanding. What is joyful about each of these practices, and why land on Unitarianism?    

Bio: Lee is a Counselor specializing in Integrative Body Psychotherapy, Health and Spirituality – all of which are at the center of her personal life, along with creative writing. She also has had two interview talk shows, one in community radio, and one at KSFO in San Francisco. She comes to Capital for the special community of people here.

Forum: Joy and Lee will be in attendance for the forum.

Speaker: Dr. Ingrid Friesen, Ph.D.

Dr. Friesen will discuss the evolution of psychiatry over the last 150 years. Psychiatry initially begun with psychoanalysis, where the focus was on the dialogue between the patient and therapist to discover and sort out conflicts of the psyche. In the mid to late 20th century, a paradigm shift in psychiatry conceptualized chemical imbalances in the brain as the central explanation for psychological maladies, creating the proliferation of antidepressant medications. In response to the poor efficacy of these medications, current treatment models are pushing the boundaries of science and looking to neuromodulation to improve mental well-being and treat depression and other mental health conditions.

Bio: Dr. Ingrid Friesen holds a doctorate in Neuropsychology from the University of Victoria (1999). She worked as a clinical neuropsychologist for 26 years, diagnosing brain injuries and diseases. Her focus has since evolved to providing TMS to clients for enhanced well-being.

Forum: Dr. Friesen will be in attendance for the forum.

There will be a short Installation ceremony for the new board of directors.

Speaker: Rev Fiona Heath (video homily)

Nourishing Nature- the practice of nourishing nature while being nourished by the natural world: How do we align with the rhythms of earth?

Bio: With the light of the chalice guiding the way, we explore our aspiration to be theologically alive: seeking to be ever-evolving in our understanding, open to new knowledge. How does our theology respond to the present moment and where might it go in the future? Rev. Fiona Heath spent nine years as the settled minister at the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga, as well as two years as the part time minister of the UU Congregation of Durham. Now retired, she lives in the countryside north of Kingston, focusing on fiction and poetry writing, local climate crisis response, and how to be a UU at home.

Forum: There will be a forum, Rev Heath will not be in attendance.

Speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Vibert

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This illustrated talk explores the contested concept of ‘race,’ examples of its historical making across the British empire, and its ongoing power into the present day.

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Bio: Elizabeth Vibert is a historian at the University of Victoria. Her research, writing, and filmmaking focus on colonial understandings and misunderstandings of Indigenous and other colonized peoples. Most recently she is the director of Aisha’s Story, an award-winning documentary film about a Palestinian grain miller keeping her food culture alive in exile. aishasstory.com/

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Forum: After the service, there will be a coffee/tea break, and at 11:15 AM there will be a forum to discuss the topic. Elizabeth will be present.