Hope Matters: a 4-session program

A Program in 4 Sessions:

In person* & on Zoom / These Fridays 9:30-11:30 am:

October 11
November 1
November 22
& December 13

A collaboration between Century House and Beacon Unitarians - we welcome people of all faith traditions and philosophies to join us for these sessions, taking place at Century House Seniors Centre (620 8th Street, New Westminster, BC) and by Zoom.

Are you overwhelmed in the face of the climate crisis? Are you seeking a safer place to think about this existential threat and support in deciding how you feel about it? We offer a series of 4 sessions where we will collectively grapple with how to engage with these challenges, build resilience and explore how hope is nurtured and incorporated into our daily lives. We will be drawing from Elin Kelsey’s book Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis.

These 4 sessions will include:

  • Understanding and feeling our ecological grief 

  • Processing our responses so we can gain access to our ecological joy 

  • Learning strategies to shift perspectives and cultivate hope

  • Providing resources and support 

Each session incorporates sharing, learning and experiencing through creativity and simple ritual. Sessions will give an opportunity to apply what we are learning and bring back insights to share at the next session.

Facilitated by Teresa Morton and Rev. Meg Roberts

If more info is required, please contact: Teresa at president@beaconunitarian.org

TO REGISTER:

  • In person; call the Front Desk at Century House; (604) 519-1066.  The desk is open Monday - Friday 9-9 and Saturday 9-4 (They will be closed on Sept 30 for Truth & Reconciliation Day.)  There are 20 in-person spots.

  • On Zoom; please register HERE ahead of time.

RECOMMENDED READING ahead of time: Elin Kelsey’s book Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis

REQUIRED READING:
Why Evidence-Based Hope is Crucial to Salish Sea Recovery and Bey.pdf  

September's Outreach Recipient: The Edible Garden Project

Each month, 100% of our offering plate collection is donated to a different non-profit organization whose mission is in line with our values. We call this “Outreach”.

During September of 2024, we raised $1,610.50 for the Edible Garden Project, which operates Loutet Farms, and a schoolyard market garden at Sutherland. As well, they operate five volunteer driven sharing garden sites across the North Shore. They grow and harvest fresh vegetables, partnering with local food security organizations to distribute them to those most in need in our community. They also offer a number of school-based education programs and all age workshops, encouraging people to grow their own food.

The Edible Garden Project encourages people on the North Shore to learn how to grow their own food, by delivering programming in childcare centre gardens, elementary schools and high schools. They also offer workshops, lectures and presentations to people of all ages.

Reconnecting to Life: A Weekend Retreat for Facing the Climate Emergency

Our Environmental Action Team invites you to participate in this event, taking place at Vancouver Unitarians (formerly called the Unitarian Church of Vancouver). 

The topic for day one of a two-day retreat with Heather Talbot and Olive Dempsey: How to live with the enormity and urgency of today’s intertwined crises? 

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.

Register HERE. (To request a bursary application, contact Olive Dempsey).

For questions or more info, contact Catherine.

Town Hall October 6th

In our Fall Newsletter, Barrie Forbes (our Board President) announced this:

“Another major project – a complete organizational review and marketing strategy – requires more hard work and input from the whole congregation before anything gets cast in stone.  As you’ve likely read, sociologists suggest that many people ‘out there’ are looking for a real-life community such as ours – full of well-intentioned people who think deeply about both spiritual and personal/societal issues.  But those same people don’t know we’re here.  Indeed, we may just be the “best-kept secret” on the North Shore! 

 At the Town Hall you’ll hear terms like ‘spiritual but not religious’, ‘target’ programming and marketing, ‘social’ media and other communication strategies.  They all relate to ways and means for us to connect with people who might want our liberal approach to community and spirituality.  I believe this will be a seminal moment in the life of NSUC and will set us on a path to the future.  So, mark your calendar – we want everyone to engage in this discussion so we can continue to thrive.”

Please join us for this Town Hall discussion following the Sunday Service on October 6th.

 

Annual Corn Roast: September 8th

Annual Corn Roast
Sun. September 8th
after the Sunday Service

Each September, we host a BBQ and Corn Roast following the Sunday Service of the new church year. You’re invited to join us! First-time visitors eat for free. Suggested donation for all others is $5 per person to help offset the cost of food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers and corn will be included. Questions? Contact Dianne Hicks or the Church Office.

Our B&G Team has been busy this summer!

Our Building & Grounds Team has been hard at work this summer!  Here's a list of their recent accomplishments:

  1. Brian Welwood and family members Kay and Clayton dismantled the Kuddles shed (which was crushed by falling cottonwood branches) and took it to the dump.

  2. Brian McConnell, Brian Welwood and David Pratt dismantled and reinstalled the skylights on the preschool building.

  3. Brian McConnell and David Pratt are getting quotes on repairing two roof patches on the preschool roof.

  4. Mark Rosario completed the upstairs washroom re-installation this week. 

  5. Timberline Tree Services will remove the cottonwood this week (as its falling branches destroyed a shed and pose a safety hazard).

  6. Removal of the cedar hedge will follow soon.

  7. Brian Welwood completed a walk-around with a rep from our insurer (this hadn't been done since 2016). 

  8. Work by Mark Rosario on the southwest corner will begin next week.

Special thanks to Brian Welwood for coordinating all of this work!

Summer Outreach: North Shore Women's Centre

This summer, we’re raising funds to support the work of the North Shore Women’s Centre.

During June, we raised money for their Empowerment Camps. During July & August, we’re continuing to collect funds to help support the other programs of the North Shore Women’s Centre.

Please mark your donations as “Outreach” so we apply them correctly.

Learn more about the Payment Methods we accept HERE.

Summer Hours for the Church Office

During July & August, Janni will work in the Church Office several days each week, and from home the rest of the week.  On all week days (except vacations and holidays, which are marked on the Church Calendar) she is available by church phone and email from 7am - 2pm (604-926-1621, info@northshoreunitarians.ca).  

If you’re planning to stop by the church unannounced, please phone ahead to make sure someone is there.