In our final episode of this series, we explore the Canadian Unitarian Council and how it serves Unitarian Universalism in Canada.

Our guests include:

• Robyn Newton and catharine strickland, UUs of the Salish Sea

• Anonymous leaders of QUUeer Connecting

• Liz James from Mirth and Dignity, and

• Reverend Wendy Luella Perkins, founder of Soulful Singing.

• Peter Scales at First Unitarian Church of Victoria

• Jim Sannes and Ellen Papenburg from Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ)

• Reverend Danie Webber, CUC Youth and Young Adult programming staff

• Camellia Jahanshahi, Rising Together host

• Z Brimacombe from Loving Justice group

• Brenagh Rappaport, host of Gathered Here

• Reverends Anne Barker and Linda Thompson, CUC's Congregational Life Team

  Questions for further discussion:

  1. Reflect on your UU Expression(s). What are you doing that is so engaging that it gives you goosebumps? In what ways, if any, do you have your ladder up the wrong metaphorical building?

  2. How could UU membership work locally, regionally, and nationally if congregational involvement was no longer the only measure of engagement?

  3. What possibilities come to mind when you consider Rev. Danie Webber's question, "What if we started shifting how we define a religious professional?"

  4. Ellen Papenburg said, "It [the state of UUism in Canada] is not without hope." What gives you hope to continue during this period of change and transition?

  5. Thanks to the internet, UUism in Canada is not limited to borders, oceans, and any other form of geography. Wendy Luella's Soulful Singing is an example of a Canadian UU expression reaching across the globe. What different types of goosebump ideas can you dream up for how we can use the internet to open new doors?

  6. What if we rebranded ourselves to make multi-expressions and co-creating a celebrated part of UUism? How would that feel?

  7. As Rev. Danie Webber said, "It is a practice to be Unitarian Universalist. You have to practice these principles. You have to engage and participate in discovering what your community will look like." Having learned more about the state of UUism in Canada through this docuseries, how will you engage and participate in co-creating what your UU community will be like?

  8. Consider the writing "The Church of Our Imagination". When you imagine different types of UU expressions, what images engage you so profoundly that they give you goosebumps?

     
     

     Notes and Research Links

     • ⁠About the Canadian Unitarian Council⁠ (Retrieved October 7, 2024)

     • ⁠CUC- Governance and Management⁠ (Retrieved October 7, 2024)

     ⁠The CUC Co-Lab Event⁠- November 1-3, 2024 (online event to engage all UUs)

In this episode, we get curious about new ways of being and what it means to remain the same.

Our guests include:

• Rev Anne Barker, Rev Linda Thompson, CUC staff, Congregational Life

• catherine strickland, Robyn Newton, UU's of the Salish Sea in British Columbia

• Claire Heistek, Le rassamblement unitarien universaliste d'Ottawa

• Anonymous leaders of QUUeer Connecting

• Liz James from Mirth and Dignity

• Reverend Wendy Luella Perkins, founder of Soulful Singing.

  
  

  Notes and Research Links

  • ⁠Unitarian Universalist of the Salish Sea⁠

  • ⁠Heartwood House⁠ - The organization the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa have a partnership with.

  • ⁠Soulful Singing⁠ - Rev. Wendy Luella Perkin's online singing ministry

  • ⁠Unitarian Universalist Hysterical Society⁠ (Retrieved Sept. 11/24).

  • ⁠Le rassamblement unitarien universaliste d'Ottawa⁠ (at The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa)

  Note 1: "Have the Spoons" is another way of saying, "have the energy" a phrase coined by ⁠Christine Miserandino⁠

  Note 2: "Hit the fan" is short form for "shit hit the fan" which is a slang way of saying that everything went chaotic.

  For questions for further discussion see our website: https://cuc.ca/unitarian-universalism/uu-expressions/

In this episode, we uncover the potential within community ministries that share UU values while creating sustainable revenue streams.

Our guests include:

• Reverends Anne Barker and Linda Thompson, CUC's Congregational Life Team

• Rev Wendy Luella Perkins, Founder of Soulful Singing

• Kayoki Whiteduck and Lynn Kofmel-Preston from Ajaski Project (Ottawa First Unitarian Fellowship)

• Yvette Salinas (Executive Director) and Joanna Barrington (Camp Director), Unicamp, Ontario

• Karen Dunk Green, Lay Chaplain, Toronto

  Questions for further discussion:

  1. Wendy Luella Perkins challenges us to consider the "deep whys" behind our actions as Unitarian Universalists. What are your UU group's "deep whys" for the various actions you initiate together?

  2. What feelings and thoughts arise in you in response to Anne Barker's observation, "...the reliance on volunteers and not paying fair wages to humans makes it hard to keep something vital"?

  3. What beliefs do you hold about volunteerism within spiritual communities? Where did those beliefs originate?

  4. What beliefs do you hold about paying people to work for a spiritual community? Where did those beliefs originate?

  5. What thoughts, feelings, and questions arise when you imagine UU's creating good-paying jobs to express social justice?

  6. Besides weddings and ceremonies, what other types of social enterprises might UU's be well positioned to co-create? Consider the needs in your area, your UU group's assets and talents, and the things that make your heart sing.

  7. What type of CUC membership and services could benefit UU groups engaged in community-based ministry?

  8. Karen Dunk-Green ended the episode by suggesting we need to be willing to invest upfront, believing that what we're offering up to the world is truly of value and will make its way back to us in a way that will matter. What are some courageous offerings your UU community could make that have value within the community at large?

     Notes and Research Links

     • ⁠Lay Chaplaincy⁠- Canadian Unitarian Council

     • ⁠Shawn Loney⁠- Social Entrepreneur that Anne Barker mentions.

     • ⁠Ajashki Project ⁠ at Ottawa First Unitarian Fellowship

     • ⁠Soulful Singing⁠ - Rev. Wendy Luella Perkin's online singing ministry

     • ⁠Uni-Camp of Ontario