|  | September 16 - 23, 2022 | |  | CUC National Worship ServiceThis Sunday, September 25 @ 10:00 am PT | | Join the CUC this Sunday, September 25 for “Unsettled and Unafraid,” a national service to honour Indigenous Peoples and ways of being. (There will be no SFUC service.) Elder-in-Residence Sharon Jinkerson Brass, Rev. Danielle Webber and Unitarian Universalists from across the country will explore what it means to uncolonize ourselves and our spirituality. We also will uplift the poetic, musical, and artistic expressions of contemporary Indigenous artists, including poet Michelle Poirier Brown and musician Tanya Tagaq. This will be unlike any Sunday service you have attended before. Prepare to be unsettled. Uncomfortable. Challenged. Instead of a coffee hour, a free 2.5-hour Indigenized art therapy workshop—(un)settling our spirituality—will follow the service. The workshop will be co-facilitated by Carey Jeanette Sinclair and Rev. Karen Fraser Gitlitz. (A PDF promoting (un)settling our spirituality is attached. Please feel free to share.) |
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| | |  | | | In addition to various spiritual practices and questions to wrestle with, our Soul Matters packets contain a variety of companion pieces to help deepen your experience of engaging with our themes. Here’s one of the gems for you to contemplate when you think about engaging with possibility: If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. ~ Søren Kierkegaard |
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| | | Soul Matters Group Sign-Ups | Our Soul Matters Reflection Groups are ways that we live out the change aspect of our mission statement. Once a month, typically near the end of the month, we will gather in small groups to create space for each person to share their experience with a spiritual practice they’ve engaged with as well as a question to wrestle with. Please note that we will be holding our Soul Matters services outside of our Sunday service time. If you have participated in a Soul Matters group in years prior, Ann B will be calling you to see what we can do to make it possible for you to participate. And if you would like to be a part of a Soul Matters group even if you did not regularly participate in a group in previous years, please let Ann B know. Soul Matters invites group members to practice three distinct disciplines of deep listening during their meeting time, captured simply in this three-part mantra: Hold still – the practice of offering space Hold at bay – the practice of offering presence Hold out and hold up – the practice of offering gratitude and noting meaningful connections.
| |  |  | Autumn Equinox Labyrinth Walk | Friday, September 23 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Kwomais Point Park | Join members and friends of South Fraser Unitarians as we mark the changing seasons at the Eagles' Nest Labyrinth at Kwomais Point Park in Ocean Park (1367 128th Street in Surrey). Plan to join us for some joyful singing.The labyrinth will be open for walking from 7:00 - 8:00 pm as we reflect on the transition to shorter days. Bring a friend! Your dogs are very welcome! | | Pastoral Care at SFUC | | There are many reasons why you might want to talk to our minister, Rev. Samaya, or a member of the Pastoral Care Team. Some reasons include major life transitions like the death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, financial strain, and chronic or terminal illness. Other reasons might be that you are seeking someone with whom to have conversations about spirituality, or that you are continuing to struggle with a longstanding circumstance, or maybe you just want a soul friend, a friend who can listen, ask meaningful questions, and care for your spirit in a unique and gentle way. The Pastoral Care Team Is here to provide a listening, caring space for reflection about your emotional and spiritual journey. As a friend and member of SFUC, if you hear of someone in the hospital or in need of pastoral care, please feel free to contact one of the members: Ainslie W, Carrie P, or Rev. Samaya. |
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| | Birthday Cards |  | There are those among us who serve in the background making our lives a little brighter without notice or acclaim. For the past number of years Maxine L has been doing this by sending out birthday cards from SFUC to those who have a birthday. We have so appreciated this silent ministry she has performed with care and attention. The time has come for Maxine to hand this ministry off to someone else. If you are interested in contributing to the life of the church, but don't want to attend meetings or anything like that, you may want to consider taking up this ministry beginning in November. Please contact Rev. Samaya if you have any questions about this. | | | Page tUUrners Book ClubThe next Page tUUrners meeting (via Zoom) will be on October 17 (10:30 - noon). The title for this month is Still Life by Sarah Winman. Check your local library for availability if you don’t want to purchase. New members and visitors are ALWAYS welcome. The club meets on Zoom on the third Monday of every month, from 10:30 to noon. Check the website for the full roster of 2022-2023 books: https://surreyunitarians.ca/faith-formation/book-club/ For more information, please contact gwenmackinnon@icloud.com |
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| |  |  | | | UU Men’s GatheringAre you male-identified and over 18? Would you enjoy a weekend-long retreat with other like-minded UU and UU-friendly men? A tradition since 1990, this annual gathering brings us together for fellowship, discussion groups, creative expression, food and drink, recreation, and lots of fun! Join us from September 30 - October 2 at Sasamat Lake near Port Moody. | |
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| |  |  | Herman Melville | The great American author Herman Melville died in New York on September 28, 1891. He was 72 years old. Although his family heritage was distinguished in cultural and military circles, poverty limited his education and forced him to ease the family’s financial woes as a clerk, common seaman, and country schoolteacher. However, Melville’s family inherited extensive libraries in which he read widely. He left home at age 17 and served on the whaler Acushnet, deserted in the Pacific, and lived briefly with a cannibal tribe. His works include Typee (1846), Omoo (1847), and Mardi (1849), but he is most famous for his 1851 novel Moby Dick. He also wrote a series of poems about the Civil War. In later life, Melville withdrew from society almost completely, working as a customs agent and writing Billy Budd (1891). He was a member of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City. |
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| Source: This Day in Unitarian Universalist History (2004), F. Shulman, p. 144 | | | Deadline for submissions for each edition of the Chalice Lighter is noon on Wednesdays. Photos are always welcome. CLICK on the button below to send a submission to our editor, Smitty (admin@surreyunitarians.ca) |
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