In Person – 4 pm (Families) and 7 pm

Zoom Gathering –  8:30 pm

Winter Quiet Solstice Ritual – Jen Rashleigh, Youth Programs, with Rev. Melora Lynngood and Lynne Bonner, Worship Associate–

 Whether you choose the family service or the later service, join us for a simple candlelit spiral ritual, with music in the sanctuary, to honour the solstice and join in a peaceful pause.

4:00 pm – Family gathering (bring the kids!) – Gathering with snacks and Solstice activity, Lion Hall

4:30 pm – Processional to begin the Family Ritual.  We line up with the youngest first, so they get a front row seat to the magical glow of candlelight.

6:00 pm –Social gathering – Mac & cheese (with gluten-free and vegan options), warm and tasty drinks for everyone who attend the family service and those planning to attend the evening service.

 Evening Service

7:00 pm – Processional for Ritual begins

8:30 pm Online Solstice Gathering with Jen Rashleigh, Youth Programs, and Rev. Melora Lynngood.

Join in some simple contemplative time together on this longest night  as we reflect on the past year and prepare for the new year.  

A meditation with some sharing and candle lighting.

https://zoom.us/j/96698895948?pwd=xFpGqbtxjjbtb4Zg4siQBvrJApI1BK.1

Meeting ID: 966 9889 5948

Passcode: 011853

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Come celebrate the individual and collective transitions that have taken place in our community over the last year.

Arran Liddel is our Director of Spiritual Exploration and Learning for Children and Youth. He is also a seminary student and candidate for UU ministry.

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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.

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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=672525183472462

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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?

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=307039353799889

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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.”

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/641711266428280/

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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.

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/572117630027842/

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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.

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/282072106183579/ 

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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?

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/366209601008393/

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In these times of COVID-19, thresholds help us all be calm, kind and safe. 

Where are you feeling safe? 

How are you able to show others you care from a distance?

How are you being kind to your body? 

Let’s explore rituals that help us feel calm and connected.

This is an all-ages, multigenerational service.

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/1280445295629538/

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Christians are so often stereotyped as being socially conservative fundamentalists that we spend little time saying what progressive Christianity is. What would it look like if we begin to look at what it is?

Rev. Sayers tells us about his progressive Christianity.

Rev. Sayers is co-pastor of Lutheran Church of the Cross on Cedar Hill Road in Victoria, and also serves, along with Rev. Shana Lynngood, as a chaplain at University of Victoria Multi-faith Services.  

He is a social justice advocate who “trusts that by taking up space together with queer folks and people of colour, including Indigenous neighbours, we lift everyone’s boats and build stronger communities.”

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/3123699371029247/

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In this month in which we consider the ‘thresholds’ of our lives, we pay special attention to what it means to be at either end of the age spectrum.  

In particular, we look at ways in which the very old and the very young tend to be dismissed and diminished in mainstream culture.  

How can we become a counter-cultural force that calls out agism when we see it — a people who infuse back into our culture a respect for the inherent dignity of both the very young and the very old?

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/944146929382485/

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As we begin to explore thresholds we will think about the moments in our lives when we have moved from one space/time/chapter into another.

We will also reflect on whether and how we have returned to cross a threshold again.

What life passages have you traversed? Were you aware you were in the midst of an important life moment? Would you have done anything differently if you were aware? Have you honoured the threshold moments in your life with ritual?

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/883708532135710/

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How do we react when liberation is something completely different than what we were expecting?

Let’s practice what we preach and prepare to be surprised!

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/589822758382959/

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Download an Earth Day package with colouring sheets to colour as you listen.

https://www.facebook.com/victoriaunitarian/videos/1422522557939582

Note: The original service for this date –  “The Allure of Ecosystems” by Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance – has been re-scheduled for later this year.

This Sunday’s share-the-plate recipient is the non-profit, charitable organization BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation that works with educators to bring local agriculture to B.C.’s students. Together with farmers, teachers, and agriculture specialists, they teach students about the story of our food and farming in British Columbia. More information

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