Past services

Rev. Patricia Trudeau with Worship Associate David Vest – 

There is trouble in the world and we don’t know what to do to dismantle racism.

Many Canadians wonder if current disruptions in the U.S.A. are a Canadian problem given our different histories and demographics.

Rev. Trudeau speaks about recent events of anti-black racism here and in the U.S.A., and the intersectionality of racism, pandemic, poverty and policing.

Rev. Trudeau was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister last year in Toronto following a long career in social work, college counselling and social work education. She proudly serves as the minister at the Unitarian Fellowship of Northwest Toronto. Her passion for racial justice is expressed in her sermons and workshops on becoming allies in anti-oppression. 

Her work is inspired by her spouse and son, strong black activists in both Canada and the U.S.A.

Rev. Shana Lynngood with Worship Associate Lynne Bonner – 

This Pride Sunday we explore what pride looks like for all of us, both those in the GLBTQI+ community and those who are not. 

Pride was, after all, considered one of the seven deadly sins. How can it be a virtue?

When we are proud of who we are (all of who we are) how does that change how we move through the world? How much does shame get in the way of us living out our fullness?

Rev. Melora Lynngood and Arran Liddel, Director of Spiritual Exploration and Learning for Children and Youth, with Worship Associate Kressa Sisu –

What has this past year been like for you?  What changes have you been through?  What losses have you experienced?  

What new life, new creations, new ventures have come into being?  

This year’s annual transition service will honour the full range of life’s transitions, with extra care given to the drastic changes in these past few months. We will do so with an eye to this month’s theme of “Compassion.”

Gitanjali John Iyam with Worship Associate Victoria Barr – 

The symbol of the lotus is found all over India in art, fashion, architecture, religion and spirituality.

It is India’s national flower.  

My mother Padma, and daughter Mrnalini, are named after it.  

I ponder what it means to me and how it has helped me navigate life in two cultures.

Rev. Shana Lynngood with Worship Associate David Vest – 

As we begin our exploration of compassion, we look to the link between our compassion for ourselves and toward others. 

How much do I extend grace and care toward my shortcomings and weaknesses? If I am able to appreciate my own struggles, how much more am I able to empathize and hold others in compassion? 

This morning we explore how wide our embrace can be, and how the encouragement we have been offered during the pandemic to “be kind” includes our own being.

Rev. Shana Lynngood with Worship Associate Lynne Bonner – 

The notion of a liminal space, an area that is on both sides of a threshold, has often fascinated me. 

We often think of things in stark either/or terms – I was in this space and then this one.

Our lives, however, often feel like they meander more and are less clearly distinct and defined than that. 

When have you occupied more than one space at once? What have liminal times offered?