unitarianfellowshipregina

Conflict between Human Rights & Canadian Mining in Guatemala

Presenters: Robbi Humble


Canadian mining companies are leading the field in international mining concessions, and unfortunately, also in human rights complaints in mineral-rich developing countries far away from Canadian eyes. The Indigenous Peoples of Guatemala, their way of life and livelihoods, are particularly threatened and are rising up against these violations of their rights and of their spiritual beliefs in the centrality of life and Mother Earth. How is this happening? What can we, as Canadians, do to take responsibility for our part in these global systems that perpetuate injustice in the name of profits on our behalf?

By their agreements you shall know them

Visiting Minister: Karen Fraser-Gitlitz


What are the principles that support healthy, inclusive communities? What guidelines or ground rules do you follow in your family and your friendships? The bonds of friendship and association provide us with some of the greatest joy and satisfaction in human life . . . and, every now and then, they provide us with some of our trickiest challenges. This morning we will explore some wisdom (aka painfully learned lessons!) from within our own tradition and beyond.

Imagist Poetry: Fragmentation and the Wish for Wholeness

Presenter: Alex MacDonald


This illustrated talk was read in February of this year as part of the University of Regina lecture series commemorating the centenary of the start of World War I in 1914. The talk begins with the observation made in many histories of the period, that the Great War was a cultural watershed, and that a characteristic feature of this watershed was the fragmentation of old ways of seeing the world. While fragmentation is certainly evident in Imagist poetry of the years from about 1910 to 1918, the other side of the binary is also present -- the wish for wholeness

What is Zen?

Presenter: Harriet Vu               Zen is a way of living that is focused on being awake, finding joy, happiness, and enlightenment in the present moment. It is a practice that measures its success by the degree of peace one expects in life. 

The God Argument -- For Humanism

Presenter: Helen Christiansen.

This second presentation looks at Grayling’s view of humanism, which he believes is an approach to life for those who wish to live with intellectual integrity, based on reason, evidence, and a desire to do and to be good.

The God Argument: Against Religion

Presenter: Allyne Knox

The first of two presentations examines Grayling’s arguments for and against religion and religious belief. It explores Grayling’s ideas regarding the reasons and motives people have for being religious, and how well these reasons and motives stand up to closer scrutiny.

Permaculture

Presenter: Denise MacDonald
Permaculture re-imagines our economy and food system so that it works for people, ecosystems and the planet by growing a life-sustaining culture that is ecologically and economically viable.

CUC & Peace Between Israel and Palestine

Presenter: Donna Cowley
A presentation of two controversial discussion papers by Rev. Frances Deverell, published with the support of Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice. Donna will talk about both of these papers, and their potential impact on CUC members.

Famous Unitarians: An overview and Michael Servetus

We are beginning a series talking about Unitarians whose names may already be familiar to you but not as a person who we identify as Unitarians.  Pam Bocking gives us a brief runthrough of Unitarians from the beginnings to more recent times.  Then Jane Knox talks about Michael Servetus, an early religious thinker whose views got him burned at the stake by the Calvanists in Switzerland.  More to come.

An Expression of Reconciliation

Presenters: Regina Unitarians
On March 29th, the Canadian Unitarian Council and the UU Ministers of Canada presented an Expression of Reconciliation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Edmonton. The Expression conveys CUC and UUMOC support for the path of reconciliation between Canadian Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people