Nov. 25 - KIINA BIMADZIWIN / Seeking a Good Life

Speaker: Jan Sherman

Service Leader: Maria Chovaz

Human beings carry a gift of great power and responsibility....the gift of choice.  Jan will share Teachings about the Power of Opposites on our Earth Walks in relation to seeking a good life.

Jan Sherman is an Anishnaabe Métis woman, mother, culture keeper, and educator who has been an active member of the Guelph Aboriginal Community for approximately 20 years. Jan offers cultural experiences throughout the city including the Aboriginal Resource Centre at the University of Guelph, and the public and catholic school boards.

Unitarian Congregation of Guelph invites you to participate in a

Blanket Exercise Workshop

November 25, 2018 – 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a workshop that explores the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.  It is an interactive learning experience that teaches Indigenous rights history. Developed in response to the 1996 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples which recommended education on Canadian-Indigenous history as one of the key steps to reconciliation, the Blanket Exercise covers over 500 years of history in a two hour participatory workshop.

Blanket Exercise participants take on the roles of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Standing on blankets that represent the land, you will walk through pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Bruce Weaver, a trained Blanket Exercise facilitator, will act as guide. By engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the Blanket Exercise effectively educates and increases empathy. The exercise is followed by a talking circle debriefing session.

Date: November 25, 2018

Time: 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Location: Unitarian Congregation of Guelph, 122 Harris Street, Guelph, ON

Registration required: Please email mchovaz1@athabasca.edu

“Bold and Cheerful” Heretics

When Katherine Weigel was convicted for heresy in Krakow in 1539 (for not believing in the Trinity), it is said that the white-haired, 80-year old woman went to her death “boldly and cheerfully.” One way to understand the sources of Unitarianism is to consider the early heretics – men and women whose unconventional beliefs put them in direct opposition to the forces of orthodoxy. Who were they and what was so controversial about their ideas?

Insisting on the importance of conscience, Unitarians have eschewed creeds and vigorously defended individual freedom of belief. This commitment, articulated in Unitarian-Universalists’ 5^th principle, is born out of the broader struggles for religious toleration in the modern era. The stories about the early heretics remind us why this commitment is important, but they also challenge us to reflect upon what it means to be a community that makes space for a wide variety of beliefs.

Hannah Schell was a professor at Monmouth College in Illinois for sixteen years before moving to Guelph in 2017. She is the co-author (with her colleague Dan Ott) of Christian Thought in America: A Brief History (Fortress, 2015). She is currently working as the online community coordinator for the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) and is the editor of the “Vocation Matters” blog (www.vocationmatters.org).

Dec. 9 - Singing Our Conscience

Service Leaders: Unitunz

Through words and music, we will explore the 5th Principle with the UCG house band, the Unitunz. Drawing inspiration from sections in the Rise Up Singing Songbooks that speak to our 5th principle, you are likely to know at least a few tunes so come prepared to sing along with the band!