CUC eNews: January 17, 2023 – Issue 146

In This Issue:

• New Year’s Greetings and Announcements from the Board of Trustees
• In Memoriam
• CUC Call for Nominations to the Board of Trustees
• Save the Dates: National Events in 2023
  • CUC Annual General Meeting
  • National Symposium on Living into the 8th Principle
• Meet a Music Director
• Small Group Ministry
• Event Announcements:
  • AGM Motions: Leaders’ Roundtable 
  • Uncolonizing Democracy Workshop
  • National Worship Service
  • Designing & Leading Rites of Passage
• Call for Nominations
• Call for Volunteers
• Call for Exhibitors
• CUC Job Posting
• Job Opportunities with UU Faith Communities
• What’s Making Us Smile
• Calendar of Events (January 17 – July 16, 2023)

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New Year’s Greetings and Announcements from the Board of Trustees
By Chuck Shields, President

Welcome to 2023! A new year, and a time for new beginnings. I have enjoyed serving the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) as President this past year, and as a Trustee since 2018. I am proud of the work we’ve done to govern the CUC in the best interests of our members, especially our work to support staff with the beginning implementation of the 8th principle: “individual and communal action that accountably dismantles racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion in ourselves and our institutions.”

I will not be running for re-election at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) this May, although I will continue to support the CUC’s efforts to build thriving, resilient UU congregations and communities throughout the country. 

The Board will also say good-bye to Joanne Greene at the AGM. Joanne has done a tremendous job as Treasurer of the organization; her care and attention to detail will be greatly missed. She has worked tirelessly to solidify the CUC’s financial processes.  Not flashy work, but crucial.  We also will miss Michael Dailly, who has decided not to seek re-election following the end of his two-year term on the Nominating Committee. 

If you are interested in running for one of the vacant positions from the Eastern and Western Regions on the Board of Trustees or the Nominating Committee–or would like to nominate someone–please let the Nominating Committee know by February 1, 2023. You can read more about the opportunities available here. 

The Annual General Meeting will be held online and in-person on Friday, May 19, at 1:00 pm ET. I hope you will join us to attend to the business of the CUC and make decisions that affect our national faith community. 

Speaking of our national community, I am excited about the upcoming National Symposium on Living into the 8th Principle (May 19 to 21, 2023).  This will be co-hosted by the Canadian Unitarian Council and my home congregation, FirstU Ottawa, in partnership with the UU Fellowship of Ottawa. You can register to attend the multiplatform symposium online or–for the first time since 2018–in person. We in Ottawa are looking forward to welcoming fellow UUs from across the country.  Watch for the launch of the symposium website later this month. Registration will be open from January 30 to May 1, 2023. I hope to see you there.

Again, happy new year from the CUC Board,

Chuck Shields

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In Memoriam

Rev. Dr. John Baros-Johnson (1948 – 2022)

With sadness, we share news of the death of the Rev. Dr. John W. Baros-Johnson. John was the minister of Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax from 1997 to 2006.

He was born in Alabama and served churches throughout the United States before coming to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1997. He leaves behind his wife Irene and son Nicholas. 

John dedicated his life to the ongoing process of discovering and living truth in community, and so we leave you with this wisdom from one of his sermons: 

I’ve not come to give you truth,
Nor have you come to give it to me;
Rather have we come together to recreate the truth.
For only a created truth can be a living truth,
And only a living truth can grow
And thus come to embrace the wholeness of our lives. 

A service in celebration of his life was held Saturday, December 10 in Universalist Unitarian Church.  Donations in John’s memory may be made to the Endowment Fund of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax, 5500 Inglis St., Halifax NS B3H 1J8. To read the full obituary and to leave online condolences, please visit the Arbor Memorial website. 

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CUC Call for Nominations to the Board of Trustees
By the CUC Board of Trustees & Nominating Committee

Would you like to make a difference to the Unitarian Universalist (UU) movement in Canada? Do you have an enthusiasm for the UU faith? Our Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) is an intentional community of UU congregations that jointly work to create connections, to be inspired, and to have a national voice. 

One of the ways to make a difference to the Canadian Unitarian Council is by serving on the CUC Board of Trustees or the CUC Nominating Committee. The CUC’s Nominating Committee is inviting expressions of interest from or on behalf of individuals in congregations who are interested in serving on the CUC Board or Nominating Committee beginning in May 2023 (as of the Annual General Meeting scheduled for May 19, 2023). 

CUC Board Members (Trustees) are elected at the Annual General Meeting in May for a three-year term. For May 2023, there are three positions to fill: 

• • One new Trustee from the Eastern Region to serve a full three-year term. The Eastern Region opening results from Chuck Shields’ decision to not seek re-election at the end of his current term. Chuck has served as a Trustee since 2018. 
  • One new Trustee from the Western Region to serve a two-year term. The Western Region opening results from Joanne Green’s decision to resign at the end of the first year of her second three-year term as a Trustee. 
  • Joanne’s departure means that we are also seeking a new CUC Treasurer. 

In addition, one other position is up for re-election. Margaret Kohr will have completed her first three-year term as a Trustee from the Central Region and is willing to serve another three years. The Nominating Committee is not actively seeking other candidates for the position. 

If you are interested in any of these positions, or want more information, please send an email to nominations@cuc.ca no later than February 1, 2023 and a member of the Nominating Committee will respond to you. Note that two or three of the eight Board of Trustee positions will normally be open for election or reelection on an annual basis.

CUC Nominating Committee Members are elected at the Annual General Meeting in May for a three-year term. The committee meets six to eight times per year, especially in the October to March time frame, using electronic meeting platforms and in person (if possible) at the Annual General Meeting or National Conference. For May 2023, we are seeking one new Nominating Committee member from the BC Region or Western Region to serve a full three-year term as the BC/Western representative.

The BC/Western opening results from Michael Dailly’s decision to not seek re-election at the end of his current term, after serving on the committee for two full years. 

In addition, one other position is up for re-election. Carey McDonald to serve a full three-year term as the Central Region representative. Carey was originally elected in 2022 for a one-year term to complete a 3-year term that had been vacant for parts of the previous two years. And he is willing to serve for three more years. The Nominating Committee is not actively seeking other candidates for this position. 

If you are interested in any of these positions, or want more information, please send an email to nominations@cuc.ca no later than February 1, 2023 and a member of the Nominating Committee will respond to you.

More information is available in this document. 

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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.

Highlights include:

• • Opening Ceremony and Banner Parade
  • Confluence Lecture–Open Minds/Closed Doors–with Rev. Julie Stoneberg
  • National Worship Service led by Rev. Eric Meter
  • Social and networking events, including multigenerational activities
  • Programs and events for children (0-13), youth, and young adults
  • Our Whole Lives (OWL) Facilitator Training Program

On Saturday, streams will be offered in place of workshops. What are streams? They are longer versions of workshops that allow a deeper exploration of a  topic. Participants will sign up for one of the following four streams, and stay with that stream throughout the day.

• • Stream A1: Widening the Circle 2.0
  • Stream B1: Uncolonizing Environmental Justice
  • Stream C1: Conflict and Covenant
  • Stream D1: Worship and Music

Each of the streams will focus on dismantling racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion. How do we, as a faith community, become the people we aspire to be? The streams aim to equip you with tools to make the internal shifts necessary to change, and to act within our broader society. 

Registration opens January 30, 2023.

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Meet a Music Director
By Kenzie Love, Writer

Susanne Maziarz has served as Music Director for Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Toronto since 2007. She was a student at York University at that time. And she had wanted to find a position as a music director with a UU congregation from the moment she first enrolled. The opening at Neighbourhood provided an ideal opportunity for this.

During her time at Neighbourhood, Susanne has come to value the opportunities for individual growth the music director position offers. And the relationships it’s allowed her to create and strengthen. The position involves a wide variety of tasks, including overseeing the congregation’s choir and band,  and playing the piano and other instruments at services where the choir isn’t performing. It also involves leading the Comfort Choir, which sings to patients in palliative care at a nearby hospital. All these and her other activities as music director, she believes, have helped the congregation fulfill its mission.

“You have to end up building trust amongst the community because you’re taking risks,” she says. “Singing can be very vulnerable for people. It comes from inside. So to create an environment where people are safe and willing to do that together. I would also say in the music I choose, lifting up UU values through the songs and pieces that I bring to the choir, to the band, or to the congregation.”

A member of Neighbourhood’s eighth principle working group, Susanne is committed to actions such as decolonizing the choir’s music library. She wants its repertoire to reflect a range of perspectives. 

“A part of my job that I love is the challenge my community gives me to deepen and understand, and bring that leadership to the group,” she says.

But while Susanne is engaged in bringing the eighth principle to Neighbourhood’s music, she’s working to ensure it applies more broadly as well.

“I’m working on it in the music program, but I also want to make sure it comes to life and is animated in all areas of the congregation,” she says.

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Small Group Ministry
By Kenzie Love, Writer

Although it may fall under a variety of names (chalice circles, covenant groups, etc), small group ministry is recognized as an important part of Unitarian Universalism (UUism). Participants usually meet in groups of no more than 10 people. They explore topics in a way that is not intellectually based but based in heart and personal experience and curiosity. As James Luther Adams observed, people come to church for intimacy and ultimacy—both of which small group ministry offers.

Small group ministry is present in many Canadian UU congregations. The Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) also offers it virtually nationwide through two ongoing programs, Connect and Deepen and Gathered Here. Connect and Deepen began as a pilot project in the winter of 2018 around the theme of “Hope in Hard Times”.  Participants now meet twice monthly for meaningful discussion, connection and reflection.

The group is geared in part towards UUs who aren’t connected to a specific congregation, but anyone is welcome to take part in it. The  CUC’s Congregational Life Leads, Joan Carolyn and Rev. Linda Thomson, facilitate the group. They welcome participants to engage within the group, contribute ideas for content and share in its leadership.

Meetings begin with a time for connection—sharing joys and concerns—before moving into a chosen theme for the day. The group examines a wide range of topics from the importance of play and finding joy to living UU values in our daily lives. Participants are welcomed to share creative expression such as music, poetry, and so on. As one participant observed, “I value our time very much. It grounds and centres me.”

Gathered Here, a monthly online check-in for Canadian Unitarian Universalist young adults, follows a similar format. Launched in 2018, the program connects young adults across the country who may not have a congregation of their own. Or who want a structured forum within which to share their transitions and challenges.

Casey Stainsby, the CUC’s Youth and Young Adult Program and Events Coordinator, notes that many participants found Gathered Here particularly meaningful during the early stages of the pandemic.

“Having the familiar rituals, the space to kind of process, all our feelings and and confusion. And seeing familiar faces too, like having that personal connection was important,” she says. “Because it was a time of not knowing how safe it was to be around people. Having a space where we could lean into those relationships in a virtual safe way was really helpful.”

Gathered Here has remained an important ritual for a committed group of participants who show up every month. But the program is also open to people who want to drop in whenever they feel like it.  And Stainsby believes this is also a significant role Gathered Here plays.

“If they have something in particular going on in their life, that they feel like they need to bring and share in spiritual space. Then they know Gathered Here is there for that,” she says. “And that’s happened a number of times with people who have something really significant going on. That they just would like to name it in that space and have it be held in the community in that way. And whenever that happens, that really makes me feel this is worth it.”

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Event Announcements:

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. Reimagined 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. 

Uncolonizing Democracy Workshop
Saturday, February 4 – 9:30 am PT | 10:30 am MT | 11:30 am CT | 12:30 pm ET | 1:30 AT | 2:00 pm NT (5.5 hours)

Congregations that choose to take up the challenge of actively welcoming greater diversity may need to reconsider some of their long-term practices. The ways we organize and make community decisions are no exception. Some of our congregations are exploring new approaches. In this workshop, we will explore a few ways they are working to uncolonize their democratic processes.  

Participants will be able to attend two of the following four streams. 

• • When “Fair Processes” Mask Colonial Thinking: Lifting the Veil on Robert’s Rules and Silencing with Jessica Asch, Co-Research Director, Indigenous Law Research Unit, University of Victoria
  • The Tragic Gap: Reimagining Governance with Rev. Samaya Oakley and Diana Smith
  • Discovering Sociocracy: The Meeting and Governance Model UUs Are Looking For with Aukje Byker and Ben Wolfe
  • Consensus Decision-making with Peter Scales 

To register for the workshop–or to read about the streams and facilitators–visit the event page on the CUC website. 

National Worship 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

Designing & Leading Rites of Passage: Basics Training for Lay Chaplains,  2023
Saturday, February 25 –  9:00 am PT,  10:00 am MT, 11:00 am CT,  12 noon ET,  1:00pm AT, 1:30pm NT (6 hours)
Sunday, February 26 –  11:30 am PT,  12:30 pm MT,  1:30 pm CT, 2:30 pm ET,  3:30 pm AT, 4:00 pm NT (3.5 hours)
Saturday, March 4 – 9:00 am PT,  10:00 am MT, 11:00 am CT,  12:00 pm ET,  1:00 pm AT, 1:30 pm NT (6 hours)

This workshop is for those considering Lay Chaplaincy, recently appointed Lay Chaplains and members of a congregation’s Lay Chaplaincy committee. It provides basic guidelines on the management of a congregation’s Lay Chaplaincy program and the training new Lay Chaplains need to begin their work.

Lay Chaplain terms are for six years, so training for new Lay Chaplains is required regularly.

 This “Basics” course is the keystone piece to that training, and incoming lay chaplains should participate in this training close to the time of their appointment by the congregation. Please note that the Basics training is only held once a year so planning ahead will help make sure your congregation is prepared.

Any Lay Chaplains appointed by your congregations in 2017 or earlier will be retiring soon and you’ll be looking to recruit new ones. Please check the status of your current Lay Chaplains and encourage any member who might be interested in attending the Basics Course to consider doing so.

While Basics is a required course for those who become Lay Chaplains, it is also recommended for congregation members who are interested in serving on your congregation’s Lay Chaplaincy support committee or who are just interested in designing and leading rites of passage.

We encourage all who are interested in this rewarding and spiritually enriching work to attend. 

Participants should complete the Lay Chaplaincy Quiz in advance of registration. It is found at: https://cuc.ca/lay-chaplaincy-quiz/

Cost:  $100, $125, $150, $175 (sliding fee scale)

Registration online by midnight ET on February 17, 2023. 

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Call for Nominations

Shining Lights Program

Last call! 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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CUC Job Posting

The Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) is hiring a Congregational Life Lead for the British Columbia and Western regions to fill the position left by Joan Carolyn’s resignation.

The closing date for applications is January 31, 2023, and the job begins on March 1, 2023. The successful candidate 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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Job 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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What’s Making Us Smile

Uni “the Unitarian” and Uni “the Universalist” are dancing into the new year with purpose and joy. Check out this video featuring two of the talented unicorns behind the 2023 CUC Symposium. 

 

Enews Prepared and Formatted by Brigitte Twomey, Website Specialist