FUNfest Re-Imagined

Remember our annual FundFest event (formerly called "Bidnight"). . . what a great fundraiser and people-pleaser it was?  We are pleased to announce a modified version of FUNfest. Instead of an auction, the newly-imagined FUNfest is based on a simple sign-up and payment format with 100% of the proceeds going to NSUC. This is a great way of getting to know others in the NSUC community while having FUN and contributing to church funds. Starting this fall, we are offering a series of events starting with BUNKO on October 18th, T’was a Dark and Stormy Night on November 9th, and continuing with one event per month now throughout the new year!  Watch for more details coming soon.

October's Outreach: North Shore Women's Centre

Each month, 100% of our offering plate (unless otherwise noted) is donated to a non-profit organization whose mission is in line with our values. We call this “Outreach”.

During the month of October, we collected $1,548.50 for the North Shore Women’s Centre (NSWC) — a drop-in space offering access to resources, programs, support, information, and answers to questions women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals may have regarding a wide range of issued. All services offered by NSWC are free and confidential.

Thank you for all who contributed!

Scam Alert: We will NEVER ask you to buy gift cards!

Sadly, scam emails frequently happen!  Someone pretending to be a Staff person or our Board President, Treasurer or another church leader asks people to "help with something". Usually, they want you to buy gift cards . . . and make up a story about why this will be helpful.

North Shore Unitarian staff and leaders will NEVER ask you to buy gift cards..

DO NOT FALL FOR THESE HOAXES!  If you’re ever in doubt, phone the staff/leader to verify if the email was legitimate.  

Mythology Then & Now -- 5 Tuesdays Oct. 29 - Nov. 26

7-9pm on five Tuesdays:
October 29th through November 26th
in the Sanctuary

(sorry this event is not available by Zoom).

Enrich your life with the excitement of powerful ideas and masterful story telling!  Joseph Campbell, in a five-part series, explores “The Shaping of our Mythic Traditions”.   Explore our own mythic journey and the richness of First Nations rituals and religion.  Examine our primal and spiritual impulses.  Trace the ancient roots of Judeo-Christian traditions and their life renewing energies.   

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) focused his life on exploring and understanding mythology and comparative religions.  He believed in a common pattern beneath the narratives of the great myths, and that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.  His work examined the universal functions of myth in various human cultures.

Each session will begin with a 50-minute recorded presentation by Joseph Campbell followed by a discussion of the ideas presented in the video facilitated by Marga Hanna.

Sign up HERE.

Facilitated by Marga Hanna, a retired University Professor, Art Therapist and Trauma Therapist.  During her graduate work she studied at Pacifica University which maintains the Joseph Campbell’s archives.

Hope Matters: a 4-session program

A Program in 4 Sessions:

In person* & on Zoom / These Fridays 9:30-11:30 am:

October 11
November 1
November 22
& December 13

A collaboration between Century House and Beacon Unitarians - we welcome people of all faith traditions and philosophies to join us for these sessions, taking place at Century House Seniors Centre (620 8th Street, New Westminster, BC) and by Zoom.

Are you overwhelmed in the face of the climate crisis? Are you seeking a safer place to think about this existential threat and support in deciding how you feel about it? We offer a series of 4 sessions where we will collectively grapple with how to engage with these challenges, build resilience and explore how hope is nurtured and incorporated into our daily lives. We will be drawing from Elin Kelsey’s book Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis.

These 4 sessions will include:

  • Understanding and feeling our ecological grief 

  • Processing our responses so we can gain access to our ecological joy 

  • Learning strategies to shift perspectives and cultivate hope

  • Providing resources and support 

Each session incorporates sharing, learning and experiencing through creativity and simple ritual. Sessions will give an opportunity to apply what we are learning and bring back insights to share at the next session.

Facilitated by Teresa Morton and Rev. Meg Roberts

If more info is required, please contact: Teresa at president@beaconunitarian.org

TO REGISTER:

  • In person; call the Front Desk at Century House; (604) 519-1066.  The desk is open Monday - Friday 9-9 and Saturday 9-4 (They will be closed on Sept 30 for Truth & Reconciliation Day.)  There are 20 in-person spots.

  • On Zoom; please register HERE ahead of time.

RECOMMENDED READING ahead of time: Elin Kelsey’s book Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis

REQUIRED READING:
Why Evidence-Based Hope is Crucial to Salish Sea Recovery and Bey.pdf  

September's Outreach Recipient: The Edible Garden Project

Each month, 100% of our offering plate collection is donated to a different non-profit organization whose mission is in line with our values. We call this “Outreach”.

During September of 2024, we raised $1,610.50 for the Edible Garden Project, which operates Loutet Farms, and a schoolyard market garden at Sutherland. As well, they operate five volunteer driven sharing garden sites across the North Shore. They grow and harvest fresh vegetables, partnering with local food security organizations to distribute them to those most in need in our community. They also offer a number of school-based education programs and all age workshops, encouraging people to grow their own food.

The Edible Garden Project encourages people on the North Shore to learn how to grow their own food, by delivering programming in childcare centre gardens, elementary schools and high schools. They also offer workshops, lectures and presentations to people of all ages.

Reconnecting to Life: A Weekend Retreat for Facing the Climate Emergency

Our Environmental Action Team invites you to participate in this event, taking place at Vancouver Unitarians (formerly called the Unitarian Church of Vancouver). 

The topic for day one of a two-day retreat with Heather Talbot and Olive Dempsey: How to live with the enormity and urgency of today’s intertwined crises? 

Through experiential practices of reflection and ritual, we will open to the grief we carry for our planetary home, deepen our gratitude and respect for the gifts of life, explore ways of knowing, and renew our connections to ourselves, each other and all of life. Together, we will cultivate courage and resilience for facing this moment with clarity and purpose, and we will strengthen our commitments to bringing our unique gifts more fully into the service of life.

The Work that Reconnects (WTR) is an interactive and evolving group process, first developed by Joanna Macy, in cooperation with many colleagues, over several decades. The WTR draws on a range of foundational teachings, including systems thinking, deep ecology and deep time practices, along with wisdom traditions and a commitment to undoing oppression.

Lunches, tea and coffee provided.

About the facilitators:

Heather and Olive have been students and facilitators of the Work that Reconnects framework for more than 15 years. Together, they bring decades of experience in justice-oriented group process facilitation and therapeutic practice, which they integrate into the containers they create to support meaningful and connected participant experiences. As non-Indigenous practitioners living on the territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish peoples, they are each walking a path of grounding this work in practices of decolonization.

Register HERE. (To request a bursary application, contact Olive Dempsey).

For questions or more info, contact Catherine.