Drop in to a "Butterfly Garden Party" hosted by the Environmental Action Team on 4 Monday afternoons this summer. We'll be weeding, trimming, and watching for pollinators fluttering by. Bring your own lawn chair -- we'll serve the tea. Donations of goodies to share are always welcome; participating in garden maintenance is optional. On rainy days, we'll meet inside the church. Each session will feature a different environmental conversation starter. Join us from 1 to 3 pm on July 8, July 22, August 12, or August 26.
Free Brunch July 28th
10:30am to Noon
Sunday, July 28th
at NSUC
You’re invited to a free BRUNCH on Sun. July 28th, 10am to noon. Includes free food, friends, fun, music and games!
This is a FREE event, but you must RSVP so we know how many people in your household are attending (so we can plan to provide enough food). RSVP here or using the link below.
2024 Volunteer Awards
In 2011, Mary Segal, a beloved founding member and long-time volunteer at North Shore Unitarian Church, passed away. In her honour, we established a prestigious award that is given annually to an outstanding volunteer or group whose service has had a significant impact on the church. The volunteer may have contributed a considerable length of time, or volunteered for a variety of tasks, or have demonstrated effective leadership in our Church community or in the community at large.
On June 23, 2024, we presented the Mary Segal Award to our Sunday Services Team, pictured below.
From left to right: Rebecca Lindley, Alison Nixon, Kerry Burke, Sue Forbes, Leslie Whyte, Bruce Grierson, and (not pictured) Dennis Cooper.
We also presented Service Certificates to Dianne Hicks, Malcolm Mallory, and Ruth Sherwood, (pictured below) for their many years of volunteer service to NSUC.
Reconnecting to Life: A Weekend Retreat - postponed to the fall
How do we live with the enormity and urgency of today’s intertwined crises? Vancouver Unitarians invite you to this weekend retreat with Heather Talbot and Olive Dempsey this fall at the Vancouver Unitarian Church (949 West 49th Avenue) in their Fireside Room. (Watch the eBulletin and our website for details as the time gets closer).
Through experiential practices of reflection and ritual, we will open to the grief we carry for our planetary home, deepen our gratitude and respect for the gifts of life, explore ways of knowing, and renew our connections to ourselves, each other and all of life. Together, we will cultivate courage and resilience for facing this moment with clarity and purpose, and we will strengthen our commitments to bringing our unique gifts more fully into the service of life.
The Work that Reconnects (WTR) is an interactive and evolving group process, first developed by Joanna Macy, in cooperation with many colleagues, over several decades. The WTR draws on a range of foundational teachings, including systems thinking, deep ecology and deep time practices, along with wisdom traditions and a commitment to undoing oppression.
Lunches, tea and coffee provided.
About the facilitators:
Heather and Olive have been students and facilitators of the Work that Reconnects framework for more than 15 years. Together, they bring decades of experience in justice-oriented group process facilitation and therapeutic practice, which they integrate into the containers they create to support meaningful and connected participant experiences. As non-Indigenous practitioners living on the territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish peoples, they are each walking a path of grounding this work in practices of decolonization.
Monday Meditation Sessions begin September 9th
11am to noon
in the Sanctuary
Mondays starting September 9th
You’re invited to these free drop-in sessions led by Dianne Hicks. These sessions will be in the Vipassana tradition starting with Meta (loving kindness) followed by a silent meditation and a reading with discussion. The only requirement is to be able to close your eyes and breathe.
Sign-up HERE or on the bulletin board in the stairwell — or simply drop in when you can.
Contact Dianne Hicks or the Church Office with questions.
New Boiler!
This week, we replaced the original boiler (from the 1960s when this building was built). Here are a few pictures of the new one, which will be much more energy-efficient than the old one (saving significantly on our utility bills and reducing emissions by 40%).
Special thanks to Brian McConnell and Brian Welwood, who were both instrumental in obtaining quotes and supervising the installation. We're looking to a bright, shiny and warm future.
Fire Drill Notification
In responding to a fire, preparation is everything.
Soon, we will conduct a “surprise” Fire Drill during a Sunday Service. The purpose of this drill will be to practice exiting the building in case a real emergency ever happened that required us to evacuate.
During the drill, you will be given clear instructions as to what you need to do, and where you should exit. Ushers will be available to help anyone needing assistance, and we will also have the use of two wheelchairs.
Outreach Recipient: North Shore Women's Centre's Empowerment Camps
During June, 100% of our offering plate (unless otherwise marked) will be donated to the North Shore Women’s Centre’s Fearless Girls Empowerment Camps. These week-long camps are for high-school-aged young women, and for pre-teen girls going into grades 6 and 7. A number of activities occur at the camp, designed to empower young women and help them deal with many of the challenges facing them in today’s world.
We will also continue with the collection of food and toiletry items in the foyer bins.
Plants in our Butterfly Garden
plants in our Butterfly Garden
as of may 2024:
There have been a few changes over the 3 years since we planted at NSUC. Some plants have been removed, some did not survive our warm fall followed by a quick freeze in fall 2023. Many of our native plants came from Coast Salish Nursery.
Here is a list of our current plantings:
Tallish:
Allium • tall white globes
Pacific Nine Bark (Physocarpus Capitatus) •a bush which should grow to 6 ‘
Yarrow • white and lilac
Medium Height:
Asters (Native only) • Symphyotrichum subspicatum • bloom in fall• lilac colour
Bee Balm • bright red flowers
Camas Quamash (CS Nursery)
Chives •Allium schoenoprasum
Daisies
Lobilia Straship • red flowers
Lupin (Lupinus perennis) wild type • lilac purple colours
Nodding Onions • Allium Cernuum (CS Nursery)
Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra Formosa)
Purple candy Tuft (Scabious Colubaria)
Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) wild BC type • attracts butterflies / hummingbirds
Lower Height or Ground Cover
Alyssum • fragrant...Rocky Racoon loves these...we have replanted!
Arbrieta • Rock Cress Native • purple flower
Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) • CSNursery • flowers and berries attract
Sedum
Thyme
Wild Ginger • (CS Nursery)
Wild Strawberries • Woodland (Fragaria Vesca)
Beach (Fragaria Chiloensis)
AGM on Sunday, May 26th at 12:15
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled for Sunday, May 26th at 12:15pm. Sandwiches will be available for purchase ($5) after the Sunday Service and before the AGM.
AGM Notice Packets were emailed or mailed to Members on May 14th (with an update distributed on May 15th). Contact Janni in the Church Office if you have signed the Membership Book but do not receive the Notice Packet.
Voting:
Although anyone may attend our AGM, only Members who meet our Bylaw requirements may vote.
All voting will be done in person or by Proxy. Zoom will be for watching only (not voting).
Contact Janni in the Church Office if you have questions about your voting status.
Questions?
Contact Janni in the Church Office, or the appropriate Board Member.