Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
July 25, 2025

THIS COMING SUNDAY!!

Join us for a Summer 
Potluck on Bowen!

Jilly and Michael Watson invite their UUSS friends to a Pot-Luck Lunch at their house on Bowen Island on Sunday July 27.

Bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. Watch the ferries go by from their deck (and maybe even see some whales).

Bowen Island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay.Either drive your car on to the ferry, or walk-on as a foot-passenger. You'll be picked up when you walk off on Bowen Island, and driven to their house.

A good ferry to catch would be the 10:35am from Horseshoe Bay.Ferry tickets have to be purchased at least 10-minutes before sailing time. If you come by car, you’ll need to arrive much earlier, to be sure of getting on. Parking at Horseshoe Bay is challenging.  BC Ferries have pay parking lots, but they can fill-up on week-ends.  And on-street parking is limited to 2-hours, and is monitored by by-law officers.

If you are planning on walking on to the ferry, one option is to catch the No.257 Express Bus to the ferry terminal (from Georgia St. at Granville in Vancouver at 9:36am; or from Park Royal in West Vancouver at 9:53am).

Ferries from Bowen Island return after lunch at 1:55pm, 3:15pm, & 4:40pm. 

RSVP to Jilly at 604-813-7954 jilly.watson@shaw.ca for directions and confirmation.

Sign up for Circle Meals!

Joy Silver is once again organizing small potluck meal gatherings over the summer and throughout the fall as long as there is interest.  If you would like to host, and/or be a guest, please indicate on the response sheet on the link below.  Joy will match up hosts and guests.  Hosts will receive a call from Joy, providing guest names.  Hosts will call their guests. Multigenerational meals are encouraged.

Let’s have a lot of fun getting to know each other better while we break bread over a meal of your choice.  Consider even a picnic during the summer months.

Sign Up Link

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Mark your calendars 
September 20  

Plans are underway for a Global Day of Action on Climate Justice and Democracy on Saturday September 20th .  The theme of the day is "Draw the Line".  Seniors for the Climate are starting to make plans for that day, but other environmental and justice groups will probably also be organizing events. 

 I hope local events will happen in the morning, as this is the same day as our water service, and I would like to see as many UUSSs show up on September 20 as possible.  The added bonus is that we do not have to do the organizing; we just need to show up!  So please put that date in your calendar now.  I will keep you posted as the details emerge.  Contact Robyn at 
robyn.newton.mail@gmail.com 
if you want to carpool. 

DEMAND AN END TO

MASS STARVATION

Canada has the power to impose sanctions — including an arms embargo — that can help bring an end to the genocide in Palestine. History is watching and Canada must act. Send a message nowdemanding that Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand sanction Israel.

France has just declared they will recognize the state of Palestine.

Heather McPherson has a motion before the House to declare Canada’s recognition of the state of Palestine . See that motion here and the names of the MPs who support her motion:

Please write a short note to your MP and link them to the motion and ask them to support it along with other colleagues. 

CALL ON PRESIDENT LULA TO PROTECT BRAZIL'S 
AMAZON FOREST

Join the call to urge Lula to veto the 'devastation bill' – this may be our last chance. Add your name here.

HAVE YOUR SAY ON BILL 15

Public engagement is now open to support implementation of the Infrastructure Projects Act (ie. Bill 15). Click here to have your say on how this Act will be implemented.

The United Nations’ top court in a landmark advisory opinion Wednesday said countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change, and nations harmed by its effects could be entitled to reparations. Read the story.

Check out our social media!

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

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If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca      2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
July 18, 2025

Join us for a Summer 
Potluck on Bowen!

Jilly and Michael Watson invite their UUSS friends to a Pot-Luck Lunch at their house on Bowen Island on Sunday July 27.

Bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. Watch the ferries go by from their deck (and maybe even see some whales).

Bowen Island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay.Either drive your car on to the ferry, or walk-on as a foot-passenger. You'll be picked up when you walk off on Bowen Island, and driven to their house.

A good ferry to catch would be the 10:35am from Horseshoe Bay.Ferry tickets have to be purchased at least 10-minutes before sailing time. If you come by car, you’ll need to arrive much earlier, to be sure of getting on. Parking at Horseshoe Bay is challenging.  BC Ferries have pay parking lots, but they can fill-up on week-ends.  And on-street parking is limited to 2-hours, and is monitored by by-law officers.

If you are planning on walking on to the ferry, one option is to catch the No.257 Express Bus to the ferry terminal (from Georgia St. at Granville in Vancouver at 9:36am; or from Park Royal in West Vancouver at 9:53am).

Ferries from Bowen Island return after lunch at 1:55pm, 3:15pm, & 4:40pm. 

RSVP to Jilly at 604-813-7954 jilly.watson@shaw.ca for directions and confirmation.

Sign up for Circle Meals!

Joy Silver is once again organizing small potluck meal gatherings over the summer and throughout the fall as long as there is interest.  If you would like to host, and/or be a guest, please indicate on the response sheet on the link below.  Joy will match up hosts and guests.  Hosts will receive a call from Joy, providing guest names.  Hosts will call their guests. Multigenerational meals are encouraged.

Let’s have a lot of fun getting to know each other better while we break bread over a meal of your choice.  Consider even a picnic during the summer months.

Sign Up Link

Announcing FUTURE,
the zine for Canadian
Unitarian Youth

Exciting things are happening in the Canadian Unitarian Youth space! We’re thrilled to introduce FUTURE, a brand-new zine by youth, for youth—and the first edition is out now! More info.

Before we drop the second edition, we wanted to make sure you had the chance to explore this debut issue. Packed with creativity, insights, and voices from our youth community, FUTURE is a space for expression, ideas, and connection.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

BC Climate Plan Survey

Check out our social media!

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

This message was sent to you by UUs of the Salish Sea
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca      2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
July 11, 2025

Join us for a Summer 
Potluck on Bowen!

Jilly and Michael Watson invite their UUSS friends to a Pot-Luck Lunch at their house on Bowen Island on Sunday July 27.

Bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. Watch the ferries go by from their deck (and maybe even see some whales).

Bowen Island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay.Either drive your car on to the ferry, or walk-on as a foot-passenger. You'll be picked up when you walk off on Bowen Island, and driven to their house.

A good ferry to catch would be the 10:35am from Horseshoe Bay.Ferry tickets have to be purchased at least 10-minutes before sailing time. If you come by car, you’ll need to arrive much earlier, to be sure of getting on. Parking at Horseshoe Bay is challenging.  BC Ferries have pay parking lots, but they can fill-up on week-ends.  And on-street parking is limited to 2-hours, and is monitored by by-law officers.

If you are planning on walking on to the ferry, one option is to catch the No.257 Express Bus to the ferry terminal (from Georgia St. at Granville in Vancouver at 9:36am; or from Park Royal in West Vancouver at 9:53am).

Ferries from Bowen Island return after lunch at 1:55pm, 3:15pm, & 4:40pm. 

RSVP to Jilly at 604-813-7954 jilly.watson@shaw.ca for directions and confirmation.

Update on UUA General Assembly held June 18-22

More than 3,279 UUs from 592 congregations in 48 states and 4 countries gathered for 5 powerful days of worship, witness, learning, decision-making, and moments of joy and deep community. Read the UU World GA recap: "Meet The Moment".

One of the highlights was an introduction to the first-ever virtual hymnal, Sing Out Love, which has initially about 200 songs organized alphabetically by song title with 20 more added each successive month.

Did you know they
were a Unitarian??

Robert Fulgrum wrote the famous "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten", in which Fulghum lists lessons normally learned in American kindergarten classrooms and explains how the world would be improved if adults adhered to the same basic rules as children.  He later served as Unitarian minister at the Edmonds WA UU church from 1966-1985.

A subset of his credo:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don’t hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
• Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

The next Membership Team Zoom meeting is Wednesday, July 16, 2025.  We are currently developing a proposal on the criteria for membership in the UUSS,  the process for becoming a member, and the responsibilities and privileges of membership.  New Membership Team members welcome! Contact Robyn to join.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

This message was sent to you by UUs of the Salish Sea
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca      2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
June 27, 2025

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Year End Gathering last week! There was wonderful food provided by Tamantopped off with cake for all. 

We also formally adopted our Vision, Mission and Convenant as well as signed up for the upcoming Circles that we will be starting as part of our officially embracing Sociocracy  as our governance model. More information will be forthcoming in future eNews publications. 

VISION:
Our vision is to become a multigenerational spiritual community where love and trust guide us, where all who seek to connect with the mystery, joy, and wonder of life feel wholly welcome, and that contributes to a more just and interdependent world.

MISSION:
To serve our community, other congregations, and the wider world as a covenant-based faith community that embodies Unitarian Universalist principles and values, by:

• Creating the welcoming conditions for people of diverse beliefs, backgrounds and identities (e.g. BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+ , those with invisible disabilities) to feel fully welcome in our congregation and the broader Unitarian Universalism tradition by experimenting with systems, structures, practices and rituals that challenge the status quo.
•  Inspiring interconnection and reverence for all life through worship, ritual, small group ministry and other activities
• Working in solidarity with other communities and organizations committed to advancing justice in its many forms
  
  
  

Join us for a Summer 
Potluck on Bowen!

Jilly and Michael Watson invite their UUSS friends to a Pot-Luck Lunch at their house on Bowen Island on Sunday July 27.

Bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. Watch the ferries go by from their deck (and maybe even see some whales).

Bowen Island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay.Either drive your car on to the ferry, or walk-on as a foot-passenger. You'll be picked up when you walk off on Bowen Island, and driven to their house.

A good ferry to catch would be the 10:35am from Horseshoe Bay.Ferry tickets have to be purchased at least 10-minutes before sailing time. If you come by car, you’ll need to arrive much earlier, to be sure of getting on. Parking at Horseshoe Bay is challenging.  BC Ferries have pay parking lots, but they can fill-up on week-ends.  And on-street parking is limited to 2-hours, and is monitored by by-law officers.

If you are planning on walking on to the ferry, one option is to catch the No.257 Express Bus to the ferry terminal (from Georgia St. at Granville in Vancouver at 9:36am; or from Park Royal in West Vancouver at 9:53am).

Ferries from Bowen Island return after lunch at 1:55pm, 3:15pm, & 4:40pm. 

RSVP to Jilly at 604-813-7954 jilly.watson@shaw.ca for directions and confirmation.

Sign up for Circle Meals!

Joy Silver is once again organizing small potluck meal gatherings over the summer and throughout the fall as long as there is interest.  If you would like to host, and/or be a guest, please indicate on the response sheet on the link below.  Joy will match up hosts and guests.  Hosts will receive a call from Joy, providing guest names.  Hosts will call their guests. Multigenerational meals are encouraged.

Let’s have a lot of fun getting to know each other better while we break bread over a meal of your choice.  Consider even a picnic during the summer months.

Sign Up Link

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Check out our social media!

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

This message was sent to you by UUs of the Salish Sea
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca   2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
June 20, 2025

TOMORRO

Join us for our final spring service on Sat June 21 @ 5:00
"Flower Communion”

St Margaret’s Cedar Cottage
1530 E. 22nd, Vancouver
In-person/Zoom

Bring a flower this week to add to our collective bouquet, as part of our Flower Communion! 

The Flower Communion is a beloved Unitarian Universalist ritual, developed in Czechoslovakia in 1923 by Norbert Čapek. This ritual symbolizes the coming together of our wild and varied selves into a community, a bouquet, a collective, where each individual's unique beauty is also not diminished by this coming together, but rather enhanced. 

Come celebrate the unique beauty of our community! 

also TOMORRO

Register for our YEAR END GATHERING directly following our JUNE 21st Service

We hope you will join us for our 2025 Year End Gathering on Saturday, June 21 after our service until 9 pm. We will start with our Flower Communion followed by a dinner catered by Tamam. During and after dinner, we will share reports from the various UUSS teams and talk about our transition to Sociocracy. Then we will move into an opportunity to offer feedback on all aspects of UUSS’s activity including any barriers you are experiencing to participation. Finally, we will invite sharing of your ideas for the upcoming year.  We hope you will join us!

Please RSVP by filling out this short survey. It includes opportunities to share any dietary needs and also to ask for or offer rides to and from the event.

Come celebrate another wonderful year with us!

Join us for a Summer Potluck!
Sunday 27 on Bowen

Jilly and Michael Watson invite their UUSS friends to a Pot-Luck Lunch at their house on Bowen Island on Sunday July 27.

Bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. Watch the ferries go by from their deck (and maybe even see some whales).

Bowen Island is a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay.Either drive your car on to the ferry, or walk-on as a foot-passenger. You'll be picked up when you walk off on Bowen Island, and driven to their house.

A good ferry to catch would be the 10:35am from Horseshoe Bay.Ferry tickets have to be purchased at least 10-minutes before sailing time. If you come by car, you’ll need to arrive much earlier, to be sure of getting on. Parking at Horseshoe Bay is challenging.  BC Ferries have pay parking lots, but they can fill-up on week-ends.  And on-street parking is limited to 2-hours, and is monitored by by-law officers.

If you are planning on walking on to the ferry, one option is to catch the No.257 Express Bus to the ferry terminal (from Georgia St. at Granville in Vancouver at 9:36am; or from Park Royal in West Vancouver at 9:53am).

Ferries from Bowen Island return after lunch at 1:55pm, 3:15pm, & 4:40pm. 

RSVP to Jilly at 604-813-7954 jilly.watson@shaw.ca for directions and confirmation.

Sign up for Circle Meals!

Joy Silver is once again organizing small potluck meal gatherings over the summer and throughout the fall as long as there is interest.  If you would like to host, and/or be a guest, please indicate on the response sheet on the link below.  Joy will match up hosts and guests.  Hosts will receive a call from Joy, providing guest names.  Hosts will call their guests. Multigenerational meals are encouraged.

Let’s have a lot of fun getting to know each other better while we break bread over a meal of your choice.  Consider even a picnic during the summer months.

Sign Up Link

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Help Stop Bill C-5 

The government has introduced Bill C-5, Building Canada Act and is trying to push it through Parliament by Canada Day. This will circumvent proper Parliamentary procedure and eliminate the opportunity for public consultation on a Bill that grants sweeping power to the government to avoid environmental assessments and Indigenous consultation on projects that are deemed to be “in the national interest”. Who decides which projects qualify and what the parameters of qualification are is not specified. And, imagine this power in the hands of a government that you don’t agree with!

To learn more visit here. 

We need to make our voices heard ASAP! Please call, email or visit your Member of Parliament to tell them to ensure that Bill C-5 gets proper public consultation and that it must include both environmental assessments and Indigenous consultation and consent for all projects regardless of their importance to the country.

Stop PGRT pipeline

✍️ sign Dogwood's petition to @markjcarney urging him to review the PRGT pipeline  project under the Investment Canada Act, which is supposed to protect the country from hostile foreign actors (given Trump’s threats, this takeover of energy infrastructure by his Wall Street allies meets the criteria): www.dogwoodbc.ca/petitions/carney-stop-american-pipeline/ 

June is National Indigenous History Month, and also marks 10 years since the launch of the Truth and Reconciliation report. Read more here.

Call for action on Gaza

On the one-year anniversary of the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage (May 22), a broad coalition of Canadian church leaders representing more than four million people wrote to the Prime Minister. Their message was urgent and unified: Canada must act now to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.  Read more here.

Dismantling Barriers: 
Talking About Joy as Resistance

 Thursday June 26 – 4:00 pm PT 

Join us on June 26th, 2025 from 7-8:30pm ET on Zoom for a workshop and conversation around joy as resistance.

As people prepare to move into summer mode, lets talk about joy as resistance and a key factor for the work of dismantling barriers.

Queer joy, trans joy, Black joy, Indigenous joy, Immigrant joy, working class joy, young joy, elder joy, there are so many kinds of ways to celebrate and practice joy as resistance.

It is one of my most core beliefs that we must facilitate intentional joy to encourage our faith and counteract the burnout that often comes with the work of dismantling. Let’s talk about it!

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
June 13, 2025

NEXT SATURDAY!

Join us for our final spring service on Sat June 21 @ 5:00
"Flower Communion”

St Margaret’s Cedar Cottage
1530 E. 22nd, Vancouver
In-person/Zoom

Bring a flower this week to add to our collective bouquet, as part of our Flower Communion! 

The Flower Communion is a beloved Unitarian Universalist ritual, developed in Czechoslovakia in 1923 by Norbert Čapek. This ritual symbolizes the coming together of our wild and varied selves into a community, a bouquet, a collective, where each individual's unique beauty is also not diminished by this coming together, but rather enhanced. 

Come celebrate the unique beauty of our community! 

also NEXT SATURDAY

Register for our YEAR END GATHERING directly following our JUNE 21st Service

We hope you will join us for our 2025 Year End Gathering on Saturday, June 21 after our service until 9 pm. We will start with our Flower Communion followed by a dinner catered by Tamam. During and after dinner, we will share reports from the various UUSS teams and talk about our transition to Sociocracy. Then we will move into an opportunity to offer feedback on all aspects of UUSS’s activity including any barriers you are experiencing to participation. Finally, we will invite sharing of your ideas for the upcoming year.  We hope you will join us!

Please RSVP by filling out this short survey. It includes opportunities to share any dietary needs and also to ask for or offer rides to and from the event.

Come celebrate another wonderful year with us!

TOMORROW!

Come hear some of our UUSS folks in their spring concert on June 14!

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Help Stop Bill C-5 

The government has introduced Bill C-5, Building Canada Act and is trying to push it through Parliament by Canada Day. This will circumvent proper Parliamentary procedure and eliminate the opportunity for public consultation on a Bill that grants sweeping power to the government to avoid environmental assessments and Indigenous consultation on projects that are deemed to be “in the national interest”. Who decides which projects qualify and what the parameters of qualification are is not specified. And, imagine this power in the hands of a government that you don’t agree with! To learn more visit here. 

We need to make our voices heard ASAP! Please call, email or visit your Member of Parliament to tell them to ensure that Bill C-5 gets proper public consultation and that it must include both environmental assessments and Indigenous consultation and consent for all projects regardless of their importance to the country.

Dismantling Barriers: 
Talking About Joy as Resistance

 Thursday June 26 – 4:00 pm PT 

Join us on June 26th, 2025 from 7-8:30pm ET on Zoom for a workshop and conversation around joy as resistance.

As people prepare to move into summer mode, lets talk about joy as resistance and a key factor for the work of dismantling barriers.

Queer joy, trans joy, Black joy, Indigenous joy, Immigrant joy, working class joy, young joy, elder joy, there are so many kinds of ways to celebrate and practice joy as resistance.

It is one of my most core beliefs that we must facilitate intentional joy to encourage our faith and counteract the burnout that often comes with the work of dismantling. Let’s talk about it!

Kudos to Lynda Fownes for making this amazing stole for our chaplain, Barb Moore.  Barb debuted this beautiful art piece while officiating Janni's stepdaughters's wedding a few weekends back.

Check out our social media!

We have many NEW followers and growing and now are on Blue Skye! 

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

This message was sent to you by UUs of the Salish Sea
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca      2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
June 6, 2025

Join us for our final spring service on Sat June 21 @ 5:00
"Flower Communion”

St Margaret’s Cedar Cottage
1530 E. 22nd, Vancouver
In-person/Zoom

Bring a flower this week to add to our collective bouquet, as part of our Flower Communion! 

The Flower Communion is a beloved Unitarian Universalist ritual, developed in Czechoslovakia in 1923 by Norbert Čapek. This ritual symbolizes the coming together of our wild and varied selves into a community, a bouquet, a collective, where each individual's unique beauty is also not diminished by this coming together, but rather enhanced. 

Come celebrate the unique beauty of our community! 

Register for our YEAR END GATHERING directly following our JUNE 21st Service

We hope you will join us for our 2025 Year End Gathering on Saturday, June 21 after our service until 9 pm. We will start with our Flower Communion followed by a dinner catered by Tamam. During and after dinner, we will share reports from the various UUSS teams and talk about our transition to Sociocracy. Then we will move into an opportunity to offer feedback on all aspects of UUSS’s activity including any barriers you are experiencing to participation. Finally, we will invite sharing of your ideas for the upcoming year.  We hope you will join us!

Please RSVP by filling out this short survey. It includes opportunities to share any dietary needs and also to ask for or offer rides to and from the event.

Come celebrate another wonderful year with us!

Come hear some of our UUSS folks in their spring concert on June 14!

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ) is a national Unitarian organization, specifically focused on Social Justice.  https://cusj.org/about/ 

CUSJ Membership:  https://cusj.org/about-join-the-cusj-membership-form/  

CUSJ’s AGM is Saturday June 7 at 1 PM. Register 

The Crisis in Canadian Democracy: On-line presentation with special guests Andrew Coyne and Dennis Pilon
TOMROROW
Saturday June 7, 11 AM   REGISTER HERE

From SHIFT:

Write to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to ask our national pension manager to reverse course and recommit to achieving net-zero emissions across the portfolio by 2050. Net-zero commitments are essential for managing risk and protecting long-term returns. As climate impacts disrupt markets and economies, pension funds like CPPIB risk falling short on their future obligations without urgent action.

You can send a quick letter to CPPIB and learn more here:

Adventure Awaits:
A Farewell Celebration for Rev. Linda Thomson!
TOMORROW
Saturday June 7: 1:30 pm PT

It is with a mix of great joy and sadness that we share with you Rev. Linda Thomson’s plans to leave the Canadian Unitarian Council in June 2025. After 23 years of dedication and hard work, our wonderful colleague and friend, Linda, is setting off on her next great adventure - retirement! If you have any photos of Linda, over the years with her work with teh CUC, please upload them here

Register here.

Dismantling Barriers: 
Talking About Joy as Resistance

 Thursday June 26 – 4:00 pm PT 

Join us on June 26th, 2025 from 7-8:30pm ET on Zoom for a workshop and conversation around joy as resistance.

As people prepare to move into summer mode, lets talk about joy as resistance and a key factor for the work of dismantling barriers.

Queer joy, trans joy, Black joy, Indigenous joy, Immigrant joy, working class joy, young joy, elder joy, there are so many kinds of ways to celebrate and practice joy as resistance.

It is one of my most core beliefs that we must facilitate intentional joy to encourage our faith and counteract the burnout that often comes with the work of dismantling. Let’s talk about it!

Check out our social media!

We have many NEW followers and growing and now are on Blue Skye! 

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

This message was sent to you by UUs of the Salish Sea
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca      2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
May 30, 2025

THIS SUNDAY Gathering
"Decolonization as Progressive Understanding”

SUNDAY,  June 1 at 11:00am
Molly Nye House, 940 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver

In-person

We will enjoy food and fellowship at a potluck after the service.

Catarina will share how the design process for the parks in Northeast False Creek was a vessel for deepening the understanding of place, cultural translation and replenishment. While this process only lasted 5 years, the learnings on decolonization that emerged were powerful and long lasting.

Join us for our final spring service on Saturday June 21 
@ 5:00pm
"Flower Communion”

St Margaret’s Cedar Cottage
1530 E. 22nd, Vancouver
In-person/Zoom

Bring a flower to share - look for more details in next week's enews.

Register for our YEAR END GATHERING directly following our JUNE 21st Service

We hope you will join us for our 2025 Year End Gathering on Saturday, June 21 from 5 pm to 9 pm. We will start with our Flower Communion followed by a dinner catered by Tamam. During and after dinner, we will share reports from the various UUSS teams and talk about our transition to Sociocracy. Then we will move into an opportunity to offer feedback on all aspects of UUSS’s activity including any barriers you are experiencing to participation. Finally, we will invite sharing of your ideas for the upcoming year.  We hope you will join us!

Please RSVP by filling out this short survey. It includes opportunities to share any dietary needs and also to ask for or offer rides to and from the event.

Come celebrate another wonderful year with us!

Come hear some of our UUSS folks in their spring concert on June 14!

CUC AGM 2025 TOMORROW: 

May 31 - 10:00 am 

• The AGM is free and open to everyone
• Observers are welcome, although only delegates may vote (register delegates here asap if your congregation hasn’t done so yet!)
  
• Regular business motions are on the agenda; there are no additional social justice motions
• Access the AGM on ZOOM here – delegates, please check in 60 minutes ahead of time

Adventure Awaits:
A Farewell Celebration for Rev. Linda Thomson!
June 7: 1:30 pm PT

It is with a mix of great joy and sadness that we share with you Rev. Linda Thomson’s plans to leave the Canadian Unitarian Council in June 2025.  After 23 years of dedication and hard work, our wonderful colleague and friend, Linda, is setting off on her next great adventure—retirement! If you have any photos of Linda, over the years with her work with the CUC, please upload them here. 
Register here at the bottom of the page.

From Rev Heidi Brear at St. Margaret's Cedar Cottage Anglican Church where we are privileged to call our temporary home every month:

As you know St. Margaret's is a special place and we are so grateful that it is able to provide a community space where so many people are able to gather whether that is to sing, play, learn, connect or worship! Over the last few months we have become aware of some significant needs of our aging building. We have had to replace the lower roof which was causing a leak and will need to replace our two furnaces as they are getting to the end of their useful life. The cost of these two projects is close to $60,000 which is well outside of what we budgeted for and what we can afford. We are grateful to be able to receive some funding through a grant from the wider church, but we will need to fundraise the rest of the costs to keep our building open and able to be used. 

How can you and your congregation help? Share these great fundraisers with your congregation members

1. Participate in our summer rummage sale either by donating items for the sale or coming by and buying some treasures! Date and more info TBA soon!

3. Help leave a legacy at St. Margaret's one chair at a time.For more info visit click here 

4. Create your own fundraiser! 

5. Make a tax deductible donation directly to St. Margaret's (https://www.stmargaretscedarcottage.ca/donate.html)

Check out our social media!

We have many NEW followers and growing and now are on Blue Skye! 

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

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www.uusalishsea.ca      2025

Unitarian Universalists
of the Salish Sea

Weekly Update
May 23, 2025

Join us TOMORROW!!

Please join us for our special Sharing Our Faith service: Reflections on Belonging, in which we will explore the nature of belonging, where one is recognized and appreciated as part of a community.  

We are delighted to have with us members from the Vancouver Unitarians who are part of that church’s IPA Team (Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, plus Allies).  Three speakers who are the offspring of immigrants, will share with us their stories of how belonging is possible when one is straddling two cultures.  As children, they were the bridge between their parents, who brought over their language, culture, hopes and dreams, and the new reality of life in Canada. What did these children experience growing up through the Canadian education system and being immersed in North American culture? How did this experience affect them as they became adults? How did they find their way to the Unitarian Church?  We will, hopefully, reflect on how we can widen our circle in our congregation to include those whose experience is different from ours.

Magic Carpet Fashions
Refugee Fund Fundraiser

 Saturday, May 24 2-4pm
Vancouver Unitarian

Tickets here.

LOOKING FOR YOUR INPUT! 

On June 21, there will an annual big bash held right afterwards.  There will be a catered dinner so please reach out to info@uusalishsea.ca with any dietary restrictions.

From our Care and 
Concerns Committee

Having trouble getting to UUSS services and events?

We have heard that some folks have trouble driving across the bridge to Saturday evening services in East Vancouver, and some others have difficulty getting to Mollie Nye House in North Vancouver on Sundays.  We want to try to make our get-togethers as accessible as possible, so please contact the Care & Concerns Team at info@uusalishsea.ca if transportation is a barrier for you.  We will try to organize carpooling as needed. 

Dismantling Barriers - Talking about Solidarity: 
May 29 - 4:00 pm

CUC AGM 2025: May 31 - 10:00 am 

• The AGM is free and open to everyone Observers are welcome, although only delegates may vote (register delegates here  asap if your congregation hasn’t done so yet!)
• Regular business motions are on the agenda; there are no additional social justice motions. Access the AGM on Zoom here – delegates, please check in 60 minutes ahead of time

Justice News

Sacred Trust Water Ceremony Sunday May 25, 8:30 to 2 p.m. 

Location: Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park, 4141 Dollarton Highway North Vancouver, BC

Join us for the second Interfaith Water Ceremony hosted by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust and supported by Sierra Club BC! Join TWN as many faiths worship together – one heart, one mind, one prayer.

The Tsleil Waututh Nation Sacred Trust is asking folks to register via the Eventbrite link so that they can ensure there is enough food.

They are looking for volunteers for 3 different shifts.  There is also an opportunity to be part of the water ceremony itself, out on the water in a canoe.  Let Robyn know (robyn.newton.mail@gmail.com) if you want to participate on the water (space limited), or if you can help out at any of these shifts:

• 8-9am > a) setting up tent, table, chairs b) canoe launch support (e.g., helping wrangle folks to sign waver and get in place and oriented)
• 11:30am–12:30pm > Helping with lunch distribution
• 2-3pm > take down tent, table, chairs; tidy up park

Check out our social media!

We have many NEW followers and growing and now are on Blue Skye! Check out our latest Instagram stats

Check the calendar on our website for more events!

This message was sent to you by UUs of the Salish Sea
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

www.uusalishsea.ca      2025