eNews: September 1, 2026 – Issue 185
This Issue:
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Spaces where Unitarian Universalists across Canada are learning together, mentoring one another, and nurturing leadership in our communities.
The Canadian UUism of the Future
by Sam, Ecosystem Project
eNews editors’ note: The Ecosystem Project is a collaborative effort supported by UU Ministers of Canada, Religious Educators, CUC Board, and CUC Staff.
It’s that time again! Here’s the opportunity you’ve been waiting for if you want to help shape the future of UUism in Canada.
Based on our winter webinars and conversations, the Ecosystem Project (aka “Activating the Canadian UU Ecosystem”) has identified four areas for deeper conversation.
Each event will bring together people with lived experience, congregational or community leadership experience, and academic or subject expertise for a lively conversation.
Beyond simply attending these sessions, if any of these topics ignites your passion, please join our planning team to share your ideas and help craft the event. (Contact info below.)
- A Theology for this Moment – Sept 26, 2026
10:00 am PT/ 11:00 am MT/ 12:00 pm CT/ 1:00 pm ET/ 2:00 pm AT/ 2:30 pm NT How is UU theology adapting to the needs of this moment? What aspects of our tradition will help us respond to uncertainty, ecological crisis, and rapid social change? What do we have that we can share with the wider world?
Contact: Karen Fraser Gitlitz, kfrasergitlitz@gmail.com - Shared Leadership through Sociocracy – Oct 24, 2026
10:00 am PT/ 11:00 am MT/ 12:00 pm CT/ 1:00 pm ET/ 2:00 pm AT/ 2:30 pm NT
Explore collaborative governance models that distribute leadership, foster participation, and strengthen decision-making within congregations and organizations. Learn how Sociocratic practices can help communities become more resilient, inclusive, and responsive to change.
Contact: Robyn Newton, robyn.newton.mail@gmail.com - Engaging Youth and Young Adults, Including Thriving Congregations that Welcome and Support Trans and Queer Youth and Young Adults – Nov 28. 2026
10:00 am PT/ 11:00 am MT/ 12:00 pm CT/ 1:00 pm ET/ 2:00 pm AT/ 2:30 pm NT Many of our UU communities are reporting an increase in youth and young adults, particularly those who identify as trans and queer. What are thriving UU congregations doing to garner this attraction? Together, we’ll consider how congregations can create cultures where trans and queer youth and young adults are not only welcomed but empowered to thrive.
Contact: Robyn Newton, robyn.newton.mail@gmail.com - Meeting the Spiritual Needs of Coming Generations – Dec 12, 2026
10:00 am PT/ 11:00 am MT/ 12:00 pm CT/ 1:00 pm ET/ 2:00 pm AT/ 2:30 pm NT Hear from experts on societal trends and learn about strategies other faith groups are taking. Investigate how changing cultural patterns are shaping the ways younger generations seek connection, purpose, community, and spiritual growth. Learn from current research, emerging trends, and innovative approaches to imagine the future of spiritual communities. Contact: Rev. Rosemary Morrison, rmorrison@uuma.org
We invite you to join us to ignite and build these conversations, and help lay the groundwork for a thriving and sustainable UU community. If you would like to join in the planning and co-ordination, please reach out to the contact above for more information.
Thank you, and we look forward to you joining us on our shared journey.
Upcoming Dismantling Barriers Events
Rising Together
Rising Together is a monthly virtual space for Black, Indigenous, and people of colour who are youth and young adult UU’s across Canada. Hosted by the Dismantling Barriers Lead in young adult worship style where ritual is mixed with community building, these are regular sessions for connection held on the second Wednesday of every month from 7:30-9:00pm ET.
This program has been running since 2020 and this session on September 9th, 2026 is our last session together as I leave my work at the CUC.
For our final session, we’ll focus our time on finding closure and sharing gratitude for all the shapes this container has taken. I look forward to our time together!
Dismantling Barriers: Closing Ritual – Moving Forward with the 8th Principle
Join our Dismantling Barriers Lead Camellia Jahanshahi for this last workshop session. In the final session you’re welcome to bring forward any questions from past sessions that you may have that you’d like me to engage with. Otherwise we’ll spend our final time together discussing what it’s like to continue 8th principle work and how we maintain energy and accountability for this beloved principle.
No prior reading is required for this session, a follow up will be sent out to all who register with any resources shared or discussed during the session and a final 8th principle tool kit for congregations and communities.
The DB position officially ends on September 30th, and Camellia is holding regular office hours all of September for those who might want to meet more 1:1, please feel free to e-mail and connect.
Young Adults: Come Spend a Fall Weekend at Unicamp
There are some weekends where you arrive with an agenda.
This isn’t really one of them.
September 11–13, UU young adults ages 18–40 are gathering at Unicamp for a weekend of connection, conversation, outdoor adventures — and whatever we decide to create together.
The Young Adult Retreat has always been intentionally simple and community-led. We’ll get everyone together, make sure we’re fed and cared for, and then shape the weekend together.
You might:
- hike the trails or swim in the spring-fed pond
- join a conversation, workshop or worship
- make crafts or play games
- spend an evening stargazing
- reconnect with old friends and meet new ones
- talk together about what young adult ministry could look like
- or simply enjoy having time and space with other UU young adults
September 11–13, 2026
Unicamp of Ontario, Honeywood, ON
Sliding scale: $100 / $150 / $200
Financial support is available if cost is a barrier.Children ages 12 and under are also welcome, and free childcare will be available Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Registration closes September 7 — but if you’re thinking of coming, please register early.
We’d love to spend the weekend with you.
And if there’s a UU young adult in your life who might need a weekend like this, please share this invitation with them.
New CUC Staff
- A Theology for this Moment – Sept 26, 2026
- The CUC is pleased to welcome the following new members to its staff team:
Sidney Ray Shacter (she/her) – Executive Assistant
Sidney Ray Shacter (she/her) is a lifelong Unitarian. From childhood through adulthood, Sidney has been involved in services, music, youth programming, and community initiatives with her home congregation, the Saskatoon Unitarians. Unitarianism has shaped Sidney’s values, her understanding of community, and her commitment to justice, equity, and compassion.
Sidney has always been drawn to roles that strengthen connection, whether through
communication, relationship‑building, or supporting the behind‑the‑scenes work that
helps a community thrive. Professionally, Sidney brings a blend of executive support,
coordination, communications, and digital organization experience across government,
nonprofit, academic, and consulting settings. Prior to joining the CUC, Sidney worked as a
Digital Communications Officer with the Government of British Columbia’s
Communications & Public Engagement division.
In her role as Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Sidney enjoys blending
communications, project management, and administration, striving to balance the
practical needs of an organization with the relational needs of a community. Sidney works
to support the CUC by striving to serve the wider Canadian Unitarian community in a way
that is both practical and purpose‑driven, drawing upon her lived experience as a lifelong
Unitarian who cares deeply about the health, sustainability, and vibrancy of UU
community.
Sidney is Métis and lives in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of
the Métis, where she shares a home with her partner. Together, they love swing dancing,
playing music, and hosting board game and movie nights with friends and family. Sidney is
grateful for the chance to support the wider UU community in work that aligns deeply with
her values, nurtures connection, supports justice, and helps sustain the vibrant,
interdependent life of Unitarian communities across Canada
- Summer Christiansen (she/her) – Youth and Young Adult Engagement Coordinator
Summer Christiansen is a queer, neurodivergent educator, writer, and mother living on the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching (Secondary Education) and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Her writing has appeared in Bell Anthologies, Silver Rose Magazine, Tidal Echoes, and Minerva Rising.
With more than a decade of experience in education, Summer has taught in diverse settings across Alaska and South Korea, specializing in English language education. Her commitment to community building extends beyond the classroom through leadership roles in nonprofit organizations, including serving as President of the Southeast Alaska LGBTQIA+ Alliance (SEAGLA) and as a board member of 49 Writers. She also served as Education Director for a Juneau-based arts nonprofit, supporting creative learning opportunities for youth and community members.
After relocating from Tlingit Aaní (Juneau, Alaska) to British Columbia in 2024, Summer joined the First Universalist Fellowship of Nanaimo as Spiritual Educator, where she works with children and families to foster curiosity, connection, and spiritual exploration within a Unitarian Universalist community.
Summer was drawn to Unitarian Universalism by its commitment to inclusivity, justice, and lifelong learning. She is passionate about creating spaces where young people feel valued, empowered, and connected to one another and to the broader UU movement.
At the CUC, Summer’s work includes:
- Coordinating national youth and young adult programs and events;
- Increasing awareness of and engagement with youth and young adults across Canada;
- Supporting leadership development opportunities for youth and young adults; and
- Strengthening networks and connections among young people, congregations, and UU communities.
Outside of her professional life, Summer enjoys hiking the forests of British Columbia with her dog, Bruno, teaching yoga, writing, and keeping up with the adventures of her spirited six-year-old.
Rev. Rosemary Morrison – Congregational Life Lead
Rev. Rosemary is very pleased to be joining the Canadian Unitarian Council in the role of Congregational Life Lead. For the foreseeable future, Rosemary will cover all of Canada until such time someone is able to join her.
Rosemary comes to the CUC with extensive Unitarian Universalist experience. She first discovered UUism in 1995 in Kamloops BC. She joined the now dissolved fellowship there and was their music director for ten years.
After moving to Victoria, BC in 2010 she attended Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation as an involved lay leader and lay chaplain. It was Capital that encouraged her to complete the call to ministry that came to her in 1995.
Rosemary completed a Masters of Divinity from Vancouver School of Theology in 2017 and interned with Kelowna Unitarians.
It was in West Lafayette, Indiana Rosemary was ordained while serving as interim minister there. COVID and visa struggles punctuated her ministry there; however, wonderful memories of her time there very much linger on. It was a great experience.
Rev. Rosemary has just completed five years serving the Unitarian Church of Edmonton. She will stay in Edmonton through the year until moving back to Victoria next summer.
Rosemary also holds a Bachelor of Social Work and has worked in adult mental, and with children and youth of all abilities in the school system and in her home.
Rosemary is very much looking forward to working with existing and new CUC staff as together we forge our way ahead into a vibrant and exciting future for the CUC.
- rosemary.morrison@cuc.ca
West Bequest Seeking Applications
The West Trust is offering an opportunity for Unitarian congregations to bring the eight principles of Unitarian Universalism to life—and receive a little extra financial support along the way.Founded in 1887 through a bequest to the UU Church of Halifax, the West Trust continues William West’s vision by supporting congregations as they grow, connect with their communities, and share UU values in new and creative ways.
What could your congregation do with a West Trust grant? Recent grants have supported projects such as:
- Books, pamphlets, periodicals, websites, podcasts, and other media
- Creative outreach and advertising to welcome new UU members
- Partial support for a minister, lay religious professional, or religious education director
- Assistance for small or financially challenged congregations
- Efforts to establish new UU congregations
- Other creative ideas that strengthen and extend Unitarian Universalism
Each congregation may submit one application, with the support of its board. Grants in recent years have ranged from $400 to $3,000, with awards averaging around $1,000.
Have an idea that could help your congregation grow, reach out, or share UU values? This could be the opportunity to make it happen.
The 2026 application deadline is Thursday, October 22.
Download the 2026 West Trust application form
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Congregational Life News…and Transitions
It’s already late August: a time filled with endings, with beginnings, and with all the emotions that arise when the season itself – not to mention the world – is in flux.
At your congregations, you may find yourselves looking ahead to your Water Communion service, the annual ritual which for so many of us welcomes in a new congregational year. You may also find yourselves hoping to stretch out just a bit more of summer’s more low key pace.
For those of you who are in planning mode, here are three excellent resources for the season ahead:
Meaning Making Project is an all Canadian, subscription-based resource, to support your congregation’s worship services and community-building activities. With a special focus this year on interdependence from the perspective of community, Meaning Making features contributions from Canadian UU religious leaders and contains original music, theme-based materials for adults, children, and families, and worship materials.
Woven Faith is a set of new lifespan curricula that easily adapts to how your community gathers. There are classroom lessons for children divided by age group, or designed for multi-age, “one-room schoolhouse” types of settings. There are small-group ministry activities for youth, young adults, parents, adults, and older adults. Woven Faith curriculum designers were drawn from UU communities across the globe, in hopes the new materials will no longer reflect the value set of a single country.
Woven Faith is in pilot mode for the 2026-27 year, which means your congregation can register to access the materials for free. After that, there will be a subscription fee. Click here to register.
Sing Out Love is the UUA’s brand new, virtual hymnal, available on a subscription basis. Fees are determined by congregational size, and to help offset the impact of the exchange rate, there is a special pricing offer for Canadians.
Each Wednesday, new hymns are added to the collection – so if you’re ready to take your congregation’s worship services or choir repertoire to the next level, consider subscribing to Sing Out Love!
And finally, with this new season, the Congregational Life program will be undergoing yet another staffing transition. My time with the CUC wraps up on September 27. You can read more about the new Congregational Life Lead, Rev. Rosemary Morrison, in this month’s issue.
Please know I have deeply appreciated the trust and welcome you’ve extended me. Witnessing your deep commitment and love for our Canadian UU movement – the spirit that animates our congregations and communities, making them thrive – has been a gift that will stay with me long after I depart.
In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out between now and the end of September. You can find me at:
CongregationalLife@cuc.ca or nicoline.guerrier@cuc.ca
Greetings of the season to you and your community!
Rev. Nicoline
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Seniors’ Climate Witness
Timed for the opening of Parliament, seniors, people of faith, and allies from across Canada will gather in Ottawa for Seniors’ Climate Witness. Parliament resumes on the 21st and the aim is to encourage the federal government to reject new publicly funded fossil fuel pipelines and strengthen Canada’s climate commitments by investing in a clean, affordable and just low-carbon future. Seniors’ Climate Witness will engage in direct action intended to draw national media attention, and to heighten public awareness. A caravan of electric vehicles will be leaving Victoria Sept. 8 or 9. Learn more.
Introduction to Sociocracy for Unitarian Universalists
If you’ve been curious about Sociocracy, please come to this free Webinar on September 22. This Webinar is specifically for UU’s. Please see the links below to learn more and to register.
An introduction to sociocracy — consent-based, shared decision-making governance — and its connection to Unitarian Universalist values, with Rev. Renee Ruchotzke and Rev. Sarah Prickett. No prior experience needed. This event is free.
This introductory session is for UU leaders, staff, and congregants curious about consent-based, shared-power governance — no prior experience needed. We’ll explore the basics of sociocracy, hear real examples from UU settings, and leave with a few ideas for what this could look like in your own community.
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In Memoriam: Rev. Fred Cappuccino
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Rev. Fred Cappuccino passed away August 6, 2026 at age 100 after an extraordinary life of ministry, service, courage, and love. Fred’s Celebration of Life will take place at 4pm on Saturday, November 7 at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. Contributions in his memory can be sent to the Fred Fund for Education, a part of the Child Haven International Endowment Fund.
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What’s Making Us Smile:
He may have a deformed spine, but that hasn’t stopped Jimothy, an unusual-looking Seattle raccoon, from winning hearts in his hometown and around the world. As Laura Exley, owner of Electric Kitten Tattoo, tells KING-TV. “He’s dealing with life a little bit differently, and he seems to be fine,” she says. “And I think that resonates with a lot of us.”
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Upcoming Events
Rising Together: Unitarian Universalists of Colour
September 9, 2026 – 4:30 pm PT | 5:30 pm MT | 6:30 pm CT | 7:30 pm ET | 8:30 pm AT | 9:00 pm NT (90 minutes)2026 Unicamp Young Adult Retreat
Unicamp of Ontario, Honeywood, ON
September 11, 2026 – 7:00 pm ET – September 13, noon ETDismantling Barriers: Closing Ritual – Moving Forward with the 8th Principle
September 24, 2026 – 4:00 pm PT | 5:00 pm MT | 6:00 pm CT | 7:00 pm ET | 8:00 pm AT | 8:30 pm NT (90 minutes)Ecosystem Project: A Theology for this Moment
September 26, 2026 – 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm AT | 2:30 pm NTEcosystem Project: Shared Leadership through Sociocracy
October 24, 2026 – 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm AT | 2:30 pm NTEcosystem Project: Spark Tank: a UU Pitch Party
November 7, 2026 – 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm AT | 2:30 pm NTRev. Fred Cappuccino Celebration of Life
First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, 30 Cleary Avenue
November 7, 2026 – 4:00 pm ETEcosystem Project: Engaging Youth and Young Adults, Including Thriving Congregations that Welcome and Support Trans and Queer Youth and Young Adults
November 28, 2026 – 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm AT | 2:30 pm NTEcosystem Project: Meeting the Spiritual Needs of Coming Generations
December 12, 2026 – 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm AT | 2:30 pm NTView all events at: cuc.ca/eventsContact communications@cuc.ca