We all entered into this world from the great mystery and for our first years kept an alive and intact wonder about the magic of life. Yet, as we age (here in the post-modern culture) we begin to understand that value is placed on knowing the correct answer. I believe we have lost a lot of our humanity in this process and have been practicing unlearning the need to be an answer provider and have wandered the way more enjoyable path of being in curiosity and being a question asker. Let's explore curiosity and where that meandering path might take us.

Arlene Slocombe and her partner Chris Green run the Guelph Outdoor School whose mission is to foster attributes of resilience through nature connection. Arlene and Chris raised their two daughters in a simple off-grid lifestyle in close connection with the natural world that surrounds them along the banks of the Eramosa river. Arlene is also the Executive Director of Wellington Water Watchers, an organization dedicated to the protection of source water in the Grand River Watershed. Living in connection with the land and the waters that support her has driven a deep desire to protect the sacred and to encourage others to deepen their connection.

Join us for our final reflective service of the season. We will give ourselves the gift of our own company in this amazing moment to explore the wonder and awe that is present in our lives already. We will take time to slow down and be curious, so that we may see the wonder of being human and how this ordinary feat is worthy of our attention.

By applying the scientific method to our innate senses of awe, wonder and curiosity, humankind has transformed our ways of perceiving and interacting with the world.  Who were some of the scientists who changed the ways we look at the world? And what were the emotional responses to our changing human powers?

Michael Gilbertson has a deep interest in discovering diseases and conditions in fish, wildlife and human populations that have been caused by exposures to toxic chemicals, and in the regulatory control of these chemicals. He was a researcher and Research Manager at the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Project from 1988-2004. Michael also holds a PhD in Occupational and Environmental Health from the University of Sterling and he is currently a Scientific Advisor at Getting to know Cancer.