Past services

Rev. Mark Lemon with Worship Associate Doug McGinnis — 

Rev. Lemon, B.F.A. M.Div., has facilitated hundreds of people over the last 20-plus years in the transformational journey of self-realization and becoming.

Ordained in the Anglican Church in 1985, Mark has worked with congregations, young offenders and prison inmates and facilitated retreats and conferences. His passion is the awakening of wisdom and the liberation of consciousness in his private counselling practice.

Schooled in holotropic breath work as taught by Leonard Orr, this process integrates the conscious and unconscious and leads to expanded states of awareness.

Join Sherri Dev Dharam and Mitra Agni Atma with Worship Associate Madelaine Clarke — 

“Wherever we are, whatever we are, we must stay together as one.  Let us all be one with the One.  That can only be realized if we are one with everybody.” (Yogi Bhajan)  

In the realm of conscious compassion and wisdom, each of us is whole — recognizing the golden thread woven through everyone and everything — we are one. Yogic practices can bring the body, mind and spirit to a state of present-moment awareness where we can experience our true identities — beyond roles, life stories and judgements. 

Join Sherri Dev Dharam and Mitra Agni Atma for this experiential interfaith offering.

Reverend Amanda Aikman — “To feel as if you belong is one of the great triumphs of human existence — and especially to sustain a life of belonging and to invite others into that. But we are the one part of creation that knows what it’s like to live in exile. The ability to turn your face towards home is one of the great human endeavours and the great human stories.” – David Whyte

Rev. Amanda Aikman has served Unitarian Universalist churches in Washington State since 1994. She retired in June, 2016, after serving South Fraser Unitarian Congregation in Surrey, B.C. for more than four years, but continues speaking and serving a number of UU congregations in the Pacific Northwest.

She has won more than a dozen national sermon contests, including a Templeton competition for works on science and religion and the Borden sermon contest. 

Rev. Aikman is a playwright, author, a Spiritual Director and a Joyfulness Consultant, helping individuals and groups add joy to their everyday lives.

Her interests include sketching in nature, salsa music, and Euro-style board games. She adores airships and once took a ride in a zeppelin. She lives in Everett, WA with Nancy, a chemistry teacher, and Mousehole, a frighteningly intelligent tabby-cat.

Guest Speaker: Paloma, with Worship Associate Samantha Magnus — We have principles and sources, but what do we believe? 

UUs don’t just believe whatever they want. Our revolutionary roots have grounding in certain truths. They are what guide us, bind us, and define us. 

The Jagged Rocks are statements of faith, but remain rough around the edges, allowing for change and conversation. Explore these new statements of belief emerging from the UU community.

Oliver Belisle, Dan Klimke, and Guests — We Unitarian Universalists are radically welcoming, inviting people from all walks of life into our midst. For this reason, our members tend to come from many different faiths and creeds. 

In this collaborative service, we will share our past experiences with religion and explore the connection between our past and present beliefs to see what we can learn about ourselves through the journeys that brought us here.

Dale Rasmussen with Worship Associate Anna Isaacs — A celebration of Pride through song. 

Dale Rasmussen is a respected pianist, singer, guitarist and mandolin player. He founded and directed a number of pop and jazz choirs in Vancouver, Kamloops and Victoria, and he’s a popular seminar leader at music workshops throughout B.C. 

Over the years Dale has performed with jazz, pop, roots and children’s music groups, and he currently has an ongoing piano gig at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. He and his partner Mark Danley moved to Victoria in October, 2013, and are part of the Gordon Head Neighbourhood Group.

Rev. Melora Lynngood with worship associate Shelley Motz — 

This month’s theme is Joy.  

Some might respond: “Joy?!…  that’s way out of reach for me, way too high an aspiration. I’d settle for contentment. Or comfort. Or just a little respite from the anxiety (or pain or suffering) I’m currently experiencing.” 

What’s the difference between seeking joy and chasing happiness? What spiritual practices might help us lean in the direction of quiet moments of contentment — even when all-encompassing, exuberant JOY seems too high a bar?

Social Responsibility Coalition with worship associate Anna Isaacs –

The congregation will be invited to sing several of our hymns concerning social justice, prefaced by a brief personal or general story about each, with the Men’s Choir adding its own contribution to the social justice theme.