Reclaiming Deathcare Reclaiming deathcare is about returning death and dying to the hands of families, communities, and individuals. It honours ancient wisdom, cultural practices, and personal choice, offering care that is intimate, authentic, and rooted in love. Ngaio Davis, founder and principal owner of KORU Cremation is a deathcare practitioner…
Remembering Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and 80 Years of Nuclear Violence Hisako Masaki, Cecilia Gruber, Huguette Hayden, Yvonne Marcus and Chihiro Honma An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, and on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Nuclear violence continues to harm lives through nuclear weapons, their production, testing, and…
Casey Stainsby Can't go over it. Can't go under it. Can't go around it. Gotta go through it! It's good advice for those who are going on a bear hunt (or at least singing about doing so while sitting around a campfire). It's also good advice for those who feel things...…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier The poet Marge Piercy says in her marvelous poem, “To Be of Use,” that a person yearns for “work that is real.” She’s not talking so much about a job, a career, or profession, as much as she is talking about finding one’s purpose in life. In…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier In a world in so much flux, what does it mean to keep faith–and, in particular, to “keep the faith” as a Unitarian? Rev. Shawn’s sermon will explore what we can hold on to as we journey through our “living tradition.” Download the Order of Service Related…
Leslie Hill Join Leslie Hill for a personal reflection on the inner journey through love, loss, identity, and transformation. Leslie explores what it means to ask life’s hardest questions - Who am I? Where am I going? - and to live into the answers. This talk touches on the power…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier This Sunday, we celebrate our Water Communion ritual and the ingathering of the VanU community (be sure to bring a bit of water!), with the first of our Exploration Sundays. We’ll welcome back the Chalice Choir, Elliott, and David, as well as Janet Pivnick, our Intern Minister…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier With so much seemingly spinning out of control in our world, it’s understandable that, gripped by fear and anxiety, we might seek to control whatever we can. In this service, we’ll reflect on what is reasonably under our control—and how we might come to terms with so…
Welcoming - and Preparing for - New Beginnings Janet Pivnick, Intern Minister There are moments in every year such as the beginning of a church year or school year that turn our minds to fresh starts, new beginnings, dreams and aspirations. As we welcome the Jewish New Year, we will…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier, Laureen Stokes, and the Daughters of the Drum Each week, we acknowledge, with gratitude, that our congregation sits on the lands of the Musqueam, the Squamish, and the Tsleil-Waututh. But do you know the deeper history of the land at the corner of 49th and Oak? Are you…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier & Kiersten Moore In October, many of our small groups will be discussing this month’s theme of Change. We’ll launch this theme with an all-ages service exploring the challenges, growth, and joy that can come with change. There will be a light lunch after the service followed by…
Rev. Shawn Gauthier and Janet Pivnick In this changing season, we harvest what has been planted, that which has borne fruit, both literal and otherwise. And we pause to give thanks, “for all that is our life.” On this Thanksgiving Sunday, we will reflect on what it means to “say grace”…
