CUC eNews: December 13, 2022 – Issue 145

In This Issue:

• A December Message from the UU Ministers of Canada
• Save the Dates:
  • CUC Annual General Meeting
  • National Symposium on Living into the 8th Principle
• Meet a Religious Educator: Tim Versteeg
• Profile of the Indigenous Elders in Residence
• Join CUC Action Groups to Promote Inclusivity and Climate Justice
• New Resources
  • Reflections from the National Fall Gathering
  • Watch the National Worship Service Living into Covenant 
  • The 8th Principle: One Year Later
• Event Updates and Announcements:
  • An Invitation from the Widening the Circle Study Team
  • AGM Motions: Leaders’ Roundtable 
  • Sharing our Faith Service: Covenanting through Transitions
• Call for Nominations
• Call for Volunteer
• Call for Exhibitors
• Job Postings
• Job Opportunities with UU Faith Communities
• UUA and UUSC Hold Town Halls on New Partnership
• Holiday Office Hours
• What’s Making Us Smile
• Calendar of Events (December 13, 2022 – July 1, 2023)

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A December Message from the UU Ministers of Canada
By Reverend Anne Barker, President

Winter Solstice is upon us . . . the shortest day and longest night . . . the gateway to a season of contradictions.

Stormy weather, precarious mobility, and a whoosh of winter memories can urge us toward self preservation, protection, and sometimes even isolation. Much of the natural world lays dormant or takes shelter, save for the boldest of creatures who venture out into the cold. Why wouldn’t we also burrow in and rest?

This turn of the wheel is nature’s invitation to introspection and dreaming. The quiet and dark bring slower energy and an urge toward cozy hibernation.

And . . . it runs parallel to the bright busy season of holiday celebrations!

This contradiction is no surprise. Our human impulse is to challenge winter with sparkling lights and blazing fires, to replace any sense of loss or despair with tales of hope, possibility, and restoration. We respond to nature’s austerity with a desire for community, gatherings, and the sharing of gifts–both material and spiritual.

After years of being separated by the pandemic, muted celebrations, and layered disappointments, the anticipation of festive gatherings is more profound than ever. And the temptation is to try to do it ALL and do it BIG to make up for that deprivation. This may bring some relief and reassurance but can also create exhaustion and overwhelm.

Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, encourages us to begin with purpose before we extend or accept an invitation: Why are we gathering? What are we hoping to create? How will the plan and venue help to fulfill our intentions?

I think of it as ‘define before you design.’ If the purpose is to catch up with family members, and the venue is a concert, that intention won’t likely be met. But if the aim was to celebrate Christmas with tradition and music, then attending The Nutcracker is right on point.

Life Coach Karlyn Percil notes: “A lot of us met our best selves during COVID.” We don’t want to lose those precious insights in the push to restore what we have missed.

Whatever our desires and goals, aligning with the season’s rhythms can help us to succeed. There can be great joy in bringing sparkling lights, gifts, festive nature, and herds of loved ones into our celebrations. And . . . it’s important to leave spaces for rest and renewal, for balancing and restorative practices, for intimate and slow connections–with ourselves and with others.

Giving ourselves the gift of ‘connecting with purpose’ may be the essential element to help us balance the contradictions of the season.

May this be a season of joy and celebration. May this be a season of reflection and connection. May this be a season of love.

The UU Ministers of Canada (UUMOC) is our Canadian National UU Ministers’ Organization and is a chapter of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (UUMA)–our continental membership organization committed to: “Calling forth courageous and transformative ministries empowered by love, committed to collective liberation . . . because we need one another.”

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Save the Dates: National Events in May 2023

2023 CUC Annual General Meeting
May 19, 1:00 – 4:30 pm ET – Multi-platform (3.5 hours)

The Annual General Meeting will be held in-person at the Algonquin Campus in Ottawa, and virtually on Zoom. It’s not too early to start planning to select your delegates–since this is a multi-platform AGM, your congregation may select both virtual and in-person delegates. All delegates must be registered by May 1 in order to vote at the AGM–the delegate registration form will be available in January 2023. Information about delegate selection, as well as motions is here. (Join us at the Leaders’ Roundtable on January 28 to discuss three motions that have been proposed.)

National Symposium on Living into the 8th Principle
May 19 to 21, 2023 – Multiplatform (3 days)

Mark your calendar. Registration for the 2023 national symposium on Living into the 8th Principle opens on January 30, 2023. The symposium will take place online and on the campus of Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario from May 19 to 21, 2023.

Look for information about the keynote presentation, Confluence Lecture, workshop streams, worship, music, and more in the January issue of the eNews. Registration opens January 30, 2023.

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Meet a Religious Educator: Tim Versteeg
By Kenzie Love, Writer

Tim Versteeg has served as the religious educator for the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton since 2018. He took the position to cover for his predecessor’s medical leave and has remained in it ever since. A member of the Hamilton congregation since 2004, he had been an active volunteer before taking up the position, serving as board president and canvas chair and as a lay chaplain.

As a religious educator, Tim oversees congregational programming for children, youth, and families. He draws upon his prior experience as a stay-at-home parent and a Scout leader. He finds the joy of being with children and youth, and all he has learned from them, the most rewarding aspects of his job.

“I’m always amazed at the capacity of any child to add a richness to my own life,” he says. “And their ongoing discovery and exploration of ideas that we can expose them to at the church here just allows for a sort of joy that I don’t find a lot of times with adults.”

Tim has also enjoyed the opportunities he’s had over the past couple years to work with his peers in North America. Particularly through the Canadian Unitarian Universalist Religious Educators (CUURE). He will be serving as the co-lead for this group over the coming year.

There have also been challenges in Tim’s work, among them trying to integrate young families into church life amidst its aging demographics.

“To raise that up in a way that the congregation as a whole understands that part of their legacy is to welcome families and help families, and it’s not just the religious educator’s job to do that, it’s the whole church’s job,” he says.

As the Hamilton congregation moves towards settled ministry in the coming years, Tim would like to see his position grow to include lifespan learning. As it did before he assumed the role. He believes that such positions are critical to Unitarian Universalism’s survival.

“I’d like to see more of these positions,” he says. “As congregations recognize that if there’s going to be a future for not only our individual churches, but the denomination, we have to make sure that we’re not just speaking to folks who are 65 and older. We have to start fully integrating all the different age groups.”

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Meet the Indigenous Elders in Residence
By Kenzie Love, Writer

The Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) is committed to uncolonizing our thinking and practices, and decolonizing land and relations with Indigenous peoples. Since 2020 we have invited Indigenous teachers to engage with us for our learning and growth. This year, Sharon Jinkerson-Brass  and Dave Skene will be sharing their guidance: Sharon during the Inclusivity Action Groups; and Dave during the Uncolonizing Climate Action Groups. 

Sharon Jinkerson-Brass, a member of Key First Nation in Saskatchewan, is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was part of the “sixties scoop” but reunited with her family in the 1980s. She received her cultural teachings from her beloved Anishinabek grandmother Rebecca, a midwife and traditional healer. Sharon’s cultural heritage has inspired her art and her way of living. For 30 years, she has been a community leader working for social change for the Indigenous community in the areas of arts, culture, health, and community development. Sharon is currently working on many projects in the Indigenous community. She believes that a relevant, sustainable cultural foundation is the key for wellness for her people and all people. And that the youth within Canadian Unitarian Universalist (UU) communities will be critical to ensuring this.

“I think the youth in your organization are the future,” she says. “So if I can [I want to] inspire a young person to become their authentic self by connecting to their truth, to their spirits. And owning it and not being confined to expectations or being outside of themselves.”

Dave Skene is a Métis person of Scottish, French, Menominee, and Cree descent based in Kitchener, Ontario. He is the founding director of Global Youth Volunteer Network (GYVN), an international organization working to educate and then mobilize young people towards making a positive impact in their world. Dave has led many teams of Canadian youth on international volunteer and educational projects. He has taught people about justice and community development across Canada and abroad. Dave’s current focus in GYVN is on issues of urban Indigenous food security. He also is focused on Indigenous agricultural practices and land-based education. Dave believes in sharing the personhood of the land and Indigenous people’s relationship to it.

“For myself, as a Metis person, and for First Nations and Inuit people, it is the land that informs us first of who we are,” he says. “And it’s the land that teaches us how we’re supposed to live. And so let’s say the significance of that into who we are as a people is really important.”

We are engaging with the Elders so UUs can learn more about Indigenous worldviews. We also want to draw attention to the areas where we need to challenge our own colonial thinking and wounds. These teachers feel called to work with settlers to help us with our healing and unlearning. With the long term intention of decolonizing land and Indigenous-settler relations.

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Join CUC Action Groups to Promote Inclusivity and Climate Justice
By Erin Horvath, CUC Social Justice Lead

The Inclusivity and Uncolonizing Climate Justice action groups get underway early in the new year. Are you interested in learning? Connecting with similarly minded people across the country? Connecting with those who have lived experience? Taking action for change? We welcome you to get involved regardless of your previous knowledge or experience. 

In the case of the Uncolonizing Climate Justice action groups, CUC Elder in residence Dave Skene will join Erin Horvath, CUC’s Social Justice Lead, to support groups interested in transforming their climate justice work. You will register once for all three sessions, and be matched with a small group for lots of engaging conversation.

For the Inclusivity action groups, you will register once for all three sessions, and choose an area of focus. We’ll match you with a small group facilitator and other Unitarian Universalists who are passionate about the same type(s) of inclusivity.  Erin Horvath and Amber Bellmare, from the Canadian Unitarian Council’s (CUC’s) Social Justice team, and CUC Elder in residence Sharon Jinkerson-Brass will provide food for thought and support groups as they move into their specific areas of focus.

We are excited to engage you in conversations and build relationships within our national UU community. 

Register for the Climate Justice and Inclusivity action groups today. You will not be able to register after the first sessions have taken place. 

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New Resources:

Reflections from the Fall Gathering on Living into Covenant

“What is the glue that holds us together?” This is the question Rev. Linda Thomson posed at the start of the national fall gathering on Saturday, November 19. 

“In the years I’ve been a Unitarian Universalist (UU),” she continued, “I’ve come to understand that being here is about being much more than being a theological free agent. It isn’t about what we believe, it is about how we are, in these communities we are crafting.

Here we ask one another to live into our promises. And here we commit to supporting one another as companions and witnesses on that journey . . . Here we give one another permission to promise, to try, to fail, and to try again.”

Over the course of one weekend, the national Canadian UU community explored these questions and more. We considered how we support one another as companions and witnesses–and how covenants can help us try, fail, and try again. 

The Canadian Unitarian Council compiled several resources on covenant as we prepared for the fall gathering, including music, reflections by Rev. Linda Thomson and Andrea James, and a list of resources on covenant creation.

We have saved these resources and others in a public folder. We hope you will find them valuable as you explore the use of covenants within your community.

Watch the National Worship Service Living into Covenant on YouTube

On Sunday, November 20, hundreds of Unitarian Universalists gathered online for a national worship service produced by the Canadian Unitarian Council. Revs. Anne Barker and Shana Lynngood led us through a meditative exploration and reflection on the power and possibility of covenant. 

It was a powerful service that tapped into an issue of deep concern to the UU community in Canada. In the words of one participant: 

“The service was timely, on-point, needed and healing.”

If you missed the service, or would like to see it again, visit the CUC’s YouTube channel, where you can watch a recording of Living into Covenant.

The 8th Principle: One Year Later

In November 2021, the 8th Principle was voted in with the intent to transform our communities into beacons of diversity.  A year later, Unitarian Universalist (UU) groups from across Canada gathered to share their challenges and successes removing barriers to full inclusion for all peoples.

The roundtable was not recorded, however, you can read the congregational responses to the survey we conducted. 

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Event Updates and Announcements:

An Invitation from the Widening the Circle Study Team
Saturday, January 14, 2023: 9:00 am PT | 10:00 am MT | 11:00 am CT| 12:00 pm ET | 1:00 pm AT | 1:30 pm NT (1.5 hours)

The Widening the Circle Team invites you and members in your congregation to a listening circle. We’ll take this time early in the New Year to listen closely to one another’s stories–both personal and congregational.

How have you been doing in this time of change and transition? What spiritual and self-care practices have held you through it all? What has your congregational community been experiencing? How has the 8th principle process, or leadership changes, impacted the well-being of the whole community?

This time of centring and sharing is intended to nourish our spirits and help us connect to our larger Canadian Unitarian Universalist community.

Register today. 

AGM Motions: Leaders’ Roundtable
Saturday, January 28, 2023 – 9:00 a.m. PT | 10:00 a.m. MT | 11 :00 a.m. CT | 12:00 p.m. ET | 1:00 p.m. AT | 1:30pm NT (1.5 hours)

A motion to revoke the Doctrine of Discovery. A motion to update the CUC’s bylaws. A motion to reimagine goals and strategic priorities for our national faith community. These are three of the motions that have been proposed for the CUC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be held virtually and in-person in Ottawa, Ontario on May 19, 2023.

Join Vyda Ng, the Executive Director of the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), and members of the CUC Board of Trustees to discuss these three motions and other matters related to the AGM.

Register to join the roundtable. 

Worship Sunday Service: Covenanting through Transitions
Sunday, February 5 – 10 am PT | 11 am MT | 12 pm CT | 1 pm ET | 2 pm AT

Congregations are experiencing a lot of change these days: from ministerial transitions to implementing the 8th Principle, all during a pandemic. Upheaval, loss, uncertainty, pain, aspirations, conflict: cultural shifts within and without are calling us to hold one another gently, despite our differences and difficulties.

Covenanting through Transition is a national worship service that asks us “How do we stay in covenant through all of this in our communities? How do we stay in it in a good way when it is hard and people aren’t always their best selves or are disappointed?”

We encourage you to bring materials to help you participate in a creative ritual to express yourself during the service; art supplies, an instrument, findings from outside, whatever moves you!

Where: Zoom, YouTube Live
Use the bitly link to join the service on Zoom, or watch live on the CUC’s YouTube channel.
If you’re phoning in, call 1-855-703-8985 and enter the Meeting ID and password when prompted:
Meeting ID:891 5257 2984
Password:  136347

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Call for Nominations

Shining Lights Program

The Canadian Unitarian Council’s Shining Lights Program celebrates innovative projects developed by Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations and groups. The Shining Lights Team is currently accepting nominations. Please send in submissions by January 31, 2023.

Knight Tribute Award

Nominate an outstanding Unitarian Universalist for their achievements! The Knight Tribute Award  honours the ideals exemplified by the lives and work of Nancy and Victor Knight in furthering the principles of Unitarian Universalism in Canada, and is presented to a living person who has, as a volunteer, contributed at the national level towards furthering these ideals. Nominations may be submitted by email to John Hopewell at hopewell@telus.net by February 28, 2023. 

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Volunteer for the National Symposium

If you would like to help us organize the 2023 National Symposium in Ottabwa this Spring, let us know. Volunteers are needed in several different areas, so fill in this form to tell us how and when you’d like to be involved. Questions? Email conference@cuc.ca.

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Call for Exhibitors at the National Symposium

Vendors and exhibitors are invited to reserve a table display or sell their merchandise during the National Symposium on Living into the 8th Principle in Ottawa, Ontario this spring. For more information about this opportunity, please refer to the Call for Exhibitors in the October 22 issue of the eNews. 

To reserve a table, please contact us by email at Exhibits@cuc.ca. 

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Job Postings

The Canadian Unitarian Council is hiring two full-time positions in early 2023. One is the Congregational Life Lead for the British Columbia and Western regions to fill the position left by Joan Carolyn’s resignation. The other is the Dismantling Barriers position to help us live into the 8th Principle and to carry out the recommendations of the Dismantling Racism Study Group. 

The closing date for applications for both positions is January 31, 2023, and both jobs begin on March 1, 2023. The successful candidates will join the rest of the CUC staff team in-person in Ottawa for the National Symposium in May.

Applicants who are selected for interviews will be contacted. Please check out the details on the CUC’s Jobs and Volunteering page.

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Congregational Opportunities with UU Faith Communities

The Kingston Unitarian Fellowship is searching for a Lifespan Religious Exploration Coordinator to join their team.

The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg is searching for a part-time innovative, creative Coordinator of Lifespan Faith Development to join their team.

Neighbourhood UU Congregation seeks a contract minister. Position details for UU and non-UU ministers are available online.

The First Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo is looking for a three-quarter time consulting minister. The position starts on March 1, 2023.

The Westwood Unitarian Congregation, Alberta is seeking a part-time program coordinator for Sunday morning services from now to June 2023, with the possibility of an extension into 2024.

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UUA and UUSC Hold Town Halls on New Partnership

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the UU Service Committee (UUSC) are exploring a new joint approach to engaging UUs who are committed to the United Nations (UN), centered on UUSC’s advocacy agenda. 

Before they proceed, they are reaching out to member congregations and global partners, such as the Canadian Unitarian Council. They would appreciate having your voices as a part of their process and as such, they invite you to journey alongside them.

Two virtual town hall meetings have been scheduled in December and January to hear what excites you about this direction, and what is essential for UUSC and the UUA Office at the United Nations (UU@UN) to focus on in this time of transition. 

• • Register for the UU@UN Town Hall on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 – 11:15 am ET / 8:15 am PT
  • Register for the UU@UN Town Hall on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 – 3:30 pm ET / 12:30 pm PT

Feedback from these meetings will inform how to create a more formal UUA/UUSC partnership as it concerns their ongoing relationship with the UN.

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CUC Office Closure

The Canadian Unitarian Council’s office will be closed from Thursday, December 22 (at noon ET) to Monday, January 2. It will reopen at 9:00 am ET on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. 

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What’s Making Us Smile

Ever wondered what shepherds do when they’re bored? As this video shows, some of them can be quite creative.

 

Enews Prepared and Formatted by Brigitte Twomey, Website Specialist