Winter Solstice Service
Shawn Newton with Members of the Congregation/ A candlelight celebration of the Yule on this "turning night" of the year

Ilene Cummings/Taking inspiration from our Unitarian Seventh Principle: the interdependent web of all existence. We all have ourparts to play. Special Music

Religious traditions the world over mark this time of year by honouring  the delicate thread between life and death. Halloween, All Saints and All  Souls Day, the Pagan festival of Samhein, and the colourful celebrations  of the Dia de los Muertos in Central and South America all speak to the  relationship that the living have with the dead. As part of considering  what any of this means for us as Unitarians, all are invited to bring  photos of deceased loved ones to place upon the traditional altar that we  will create in this celebration of the Day of the Dead. Christina Kaya  will treat us to South American music for classical guitar and the choir  will sing.

Are you hungry for closeness with others? Here's a close look at the make-up of intimacy and how we can have more of it.

An intergenerational celebration of Thanksgiving with our annual Bread  Communion Service. Please bring bread to share!

In the Hebrew scriptures, the prophet Isaiah heard a voice challenging him to “cry out”—to look at the world and all the things in it, to discern what is of passing and what is of permanent value, and to speak up in the
face of injustice. On this Sunday of the Labour Day weekend, we celebrate the actions of courageous men and women who took up the challenge to cry out, and ask ourselves how the world speaks to us now, and what we might be called to say or do in response.

An Intergenerational Service. Priscilla Solomon is an Ojibway woman and a Roman Catholic Sister of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie. She is the coordinator of the Faith and Justice ministry in her congregation. A skilled worship leader, Sister Priscilla will help us to explore the sacredness of water and what that means for each of us, through rituals, stories, poetry and visuals.

Sister Priscilla Solomon

British writer Iris Murdoch once said "Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.” According to Murdoch, love, art and morals are all about the discovery of reality. I have two thoughts in response to Murdoch: (1) that sounds like a good basis for a spiritual practice, and (2) that sounds like a lot of hard work! Fortunately, perfection isn’t required—and a bit of playfulness might just help.

Alice Walker speaks of the “the pause” as the wisdom to stop and take stock in the face of our own or others desire to rush forward. Sometimes the pauses are chosen, and sometimes they are chosen for us, but whatever the origin, what seems like an empty nothingness can sometimes turn out to be a time of great growth and deepening.

      Karen  Fraser Gitlitz
Summer Minister

Process theology is often considered one of the more “UU friendly” of  ontemporary theologies. This exploration of process theology through the Discworld novels of fantasy author Terry Pratchett (Thief of Time, Small Gods) emphasizes the practical value of this theological perspective, especially its understanding of how we find (and claim) hope in our lives.

      Karen  Fraser Gitlitz
Summer Minister

'Being in the Body as Spirit' 

Many of us as Unitarians seek spirituality, or a sense of connection with our deepest selves and the universe, by means of our intellect or our emotions, but rarely by tuning into how our lived bodily experiences can be an incredible vehicle to connect with that spirituality.  We have epiphamys in our heads, but don't often shift our focus to our home - the body that shelters us.  In fact, for many world religions, it is nigh onto heretical to see the body as a source of inspiration and connection.  But being in our bodies has the potential of bringing us a sense of peace, relaxation, composure, centeredness, and balance, and just maybe, the possibility of experiencing a kind of transformative transcendence or bliss or ecstasy that shifts our internal alignment to a deeper current of aliveness.

Reflections on the ordeals of  John Matthews, retired British captain, member of the provincial parliament, and the first known Unitarian in Upper Canada (now Ontario). Rev. Chris Raible, a Canadian historian and retired Unitarian minister, was minister of Toronto First from 1982 to 1986.

How we tell a story depends on many factors, including our point of view.  There are so many ways to tell the story of Canada—there are so many  stories of Canada. Rather than tell just one story, I’m going to share a few stories that are important to me, and ask you about the stories that matter to you.

      Karen  Fraser Gitlitz
Summer Minister

 Every family and individual is invited to bring a flower and everyone takes a different flower home, In this way we continue a tradition begun in the Czech Unitarian congregations many years ago.

“The Life of Choice”   

In our Free Church tradition, members of Unitarian Universalist congregations choose the clergy who serve them.  The Ministerial Search Committee is hard at work considering candidates for your choice.  In this sermon, I will tell you of some of the hopes and dreams gleaned from your responses to last May’s Congregational Survey. 

The congregational meeting to discuss the budget will follow the service.   

“Promises for the New Year” 

What do we promise one another as we work together to achieve our mission as a congregation?  That is the main question of the day.  Task force members will join me in sharing their ideas toward a Covenant of Right Relations, and then we will ask you to contribute your ideas.  This service will take an additional half hour in order to have time for you to write your thoughts. 

“For the Time Being” 

My sermon title comes from a long poem by W. H. Auden.  On this first Sunday of 2007, I want to offer an opportunity to look back (retrospect), look to the future (prospect), and look around (circumspect).  My sources will be poetry of Robert Frost, W. H. Auden, and others.