unitarianfellowshipregina

Visiting Minister: Rev. Karen Gitlitz, Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon What is prayer? Can atheists pray – or more importantly, why might they want to? What might non-believers (and others) learn from religion about creating meaningful rituals to help us get along together and respond to suffering and loss? In this service we looked at the ancient practice of prayer, once described as “the aroma of the heart,” to find out what it might have to offer to believer and non-believer alike.

Presenter: Terry Chadwick The preponderance of dying and rising saviour myths in the ancient near east begs the question - Why? Terry provides several examples of dying and rising saviours and explore aspects of the human condition that lead to the repetition of the motif throughout many religions.

Presenters: Sarah Guy & Laura Hillis In January, Sarah and Laura were part of a group of mostly grade 12 students, accompanied by 2 teachers and 2 parents, who spent a week in El Salvador. While there they had the opportunity to spend three days in a village whose people would be directly affected by the plans of mining companies to mine gold in El Salvador. Among other things, gold mining requires 900,000 litres of water a day – water that would not be available to the villagers.

On March 10, Helen Christiansen, presented a talk on Confuscianism as part of a series based on the book "God is not One" by Stephen Prothero.  Unfortunately Helen felt a bit unwell in the middle of her presentation (thankfully not serious as we later found out) so, Sandra Allan took on the task of completing the presentation followed by our usual discussion.

On March 3, Hirsch Greenberg talked to us about what he tells students in his Human Justice classes, how he sees our present justice system, the approach of Politicians to the Justice "system" and what the goals of this system should be.

In this presentation, Ethel Struthers tells us of her journey through Stephen Protheros reflections in his book "God Is Not One".  She gives us the basic overview of Christianity and how it has evolved to the present day.  Interesting conversation and discussion ensued.

There are many opportunities for civic engagement in Regina. Certainly there are many issues that are shared for settlers, First Nations & Metis, and new Canadians. But how do we start to work together? How can I be a worker for social change in relation to First Nations and Metis peoples? Becoming an ally requires reflection, and action. Where can I begin? Presented by Dr. Shauneen Pete

According to Stephen Prothero, about one-fifth of the world’s population self-identify as Muslims.   Prothero suggests that Islam is a key player in the Middle East and Asia, and a rapidly growing presence in Europe and North America. In this presentation, following Prothero’s four-part approach, we will explore Islam as the path of submission. Helen Christiansen presents.

On January 20, Denise MacDonald told us how multinational corporations dominate our food supply  and operate in ways that are unsustainable and harmful especially to the farmers in developing countries who have been forced to abandon traditional crops and farming methods.

On Sunday, January 13, Ken Mitchell spoke to us about Robbie Burns (his birthday is January 25) and why his birthday continues to be celebrated around the world.  Ken was appropriately attired in his kilt and recited a number of well known poems in the course of his interesting and timely presentation.