unitarianfellowshipregina

Poet's Journey

Guest speaker: Anne Campbell

When Ms. Campbell’s sixth book, The Fabric of Day, was published in 2017, she thought of it as a kind of summing up, a relief even - not to “have to write.” But life had other plans: a cancer diagnosis at the end of that year, followed by surgery and on-going treatment. But surprisingly, also a surge of energy, somewhat like a coda. Without intention poems asked for voice, and practically wrote themselves. It was as though life was saying, “You might have thought you were finished, but I’m not finished with you.” She hopes the poems she will read from the suite, called Poet’s Body, will evoke your own riches, thoughts and feelings, and remind that an unexpected turn in the path can provide unexpected depth to life.

Amnesty International in Canada: An Update

Guest Speaker: Gord Barnes

Amnesty is well known around the world and in Canada for conducting research and generating action to protect human rights. Gord Barnes of the Regina Amnesty group will give us an update on some changes at Amnesty in Canada, as well as some of the current Amnesty campaigns. We’ll learn about the new Secretary General at Amnesty Canada, Ketty Nivyabandi and how the Write for Rights campaigns are being conducted during Covid. Two of the important campaigns at present are climate change (Amnesty is an intervener in the carbon tax challenge) and the mining of lithium which is used in batteries.

Making the Manifesto: The Birth of Religious Humanism

A Book Review by Jamie Struthers

Rev. William Schulz is a well-known UU minister, human rights advocate and author of many books, including Making the Manifesto: The Birth of Religious Humanism.  In a 2002 quote from the New York Review of Books: “William Schulz… has done more than anyone in the American human rights movement to make human rights issues known in the United States.”  In a February, 2017 article in the UU World about Humanism the author writes: “.. as the third Humanist Manifesto asserts, Humanism encourages us to distinguish things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be.”   Jamie Struthers gives us an overview of Humanism based on the book by Rev. William Schulz.

Fools, Coyotes and Sacred Clowns

Presented by:  Mooky Cornish

(Clown: witty, wise, warm)

Humour has been part of humanity’s fold for millennia. Even the animal kingdom has its forest jesters, tricksters, and instigators of play. Sometimes, as individuals, or all together, we are faced with such challenge we don’t know what to do next. That’s when the clowns step in, offering us a break, a laugh, a breathe. Reminding us we are all fallible, and in doing so inspiring hope.

Mooky has ‘clowned around’ the world and understands us well. As principal clown with prestigious circuses and on world-famous stages, Mooky works to keep up the spirits of both audiences and circus staff.

The Doctrine of Discovery: What does it mean today

Presenter: Jamie Struthers

Jamie Struthers talks about his research and personal discoveries when doing research for a paper at Vancouver School of Theology.

 

As a side note, this is from our fellowship's first service presented on the internet using "on-line meeting" technology necessitated by constraints re: COVID-19 social distancing requirements.

How to Change the World: A Field Guide

Guest Speaker: Liz James

When it comes to putting our energy into working for a better world, strategy matters. Liz gives an overview on the thinking and research on how to be effective in pushing for social change (and how do not burn yourself out), using stories both from Unitarian Universalism and from other types of activism. Liz draws on her work with political and media media campaigns, legal work, writing, and direct activism.

PS: Liz prefaced this recording (which she did at home 10 days later) by saying "things got crazy and we forgot to press record" on the 15th. Just to be clear, it was the operator (hand raised here) who was the guilty party. Thanks to Liz for taking the time to record this for us.  JH

 

We March For Bread … and We March For Roses Too!

Guest Speaker Barb Byers

Why do we need to keep our attention on feminist approaches to problems, to raise awareness about women’s history, rituals, and perspectives? Barb Byers, well known in Regina as one of the most influential women in the Saskatchewan and Canadian labour movement, shares her views on women’s issues in the context of International Women’s Day.

Trust

Presenter:  Andrew Quackenbush

In who or what do you trust?  When the trustworthy becomes untrustable, where do you turn?  Today’s presentation will explore our responses to the loss of trust.

Today we are exploring the theme of trust again with Andrew Quackenbush.  Andrew is a writer, teacher, musician, Unitarian, just to name a few of the roles he lives.  We always trust Andrew to give us a very thoughtful and thought provoking presentation.

Universalism

Guest Speaker Liz James

Unitarian Universalist – what is that about?  We’ve learned about Unitarians but not so much about Universalists.  Today Liz James tells us about Universalists.

Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be “saved” and restored to a right relationship with God.  From its beginnings, Universalism challenged its members to reach out and embrace people whom society often marginalized. The Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church included a freed slave among its charter members, and the Universalists became the first denomination to ordain women to the ministry, beginning in 1863 with Olympia Brown.

Learning, Sharing, Understanding

With Guest Speaker Jamie Lerat

 Jamie Lerat is a First Nations – Métis woman from the Cowessess First Nation. Lifelong learning is woven into the fabric of her life and she often reminds herself to pause and reach out to the Elders to listen to their wisdom.  Jamie believes that sharing creates respect and understanding – when asked about pieces of her culture she is honoured and humbled.   

A daughter whose mother is a residential school survivor, and whose father was incarcerated throughout his adult life, Jamie searches for the answer to the question, “how did my siblings and I manage to break the cycle of abuse and create a positive life that is not dependant on society?”