The Unitarian Church of Edmonton
is a Welcoming
Congregation, which
means our community is open to all, without regard to sexual orientation,
race,
gender,
age,
ability, or income. It's nice to have you with us.
The Edmonton Unitarian
Vol 45. No. 4
Published Monthly by the
Unitarian Church Of Edmonton
12530 - 110 Avenue
Edmonton AB T5M 2L5
Tel (780) 454-8073
Fax (780) 452-1641
Email chadmin@uce.ca
Web Site www.uce.ca
Deadline for the October newsletter is September 17, 2004
Sunday Services at the Unitarian Church of Edmonton — Services
begin at 10:30 a.m.
Sept 5: Bonnie Kyle, Beth Jenkins
“
Rock Service”
A service about what we have learned from rocks.
People are invited to bring a rock with a story that is memorable
to them and share the story of that rock with everyone. People
are also invited to bring a rock to be
included in the landscaping at the new church.
Sept 12: Rev. Brian J. Kiely
"A Language of Reverence"
Whenever Unitarian ministers start using 'church' words in church, some other
Unitarians get uncomfortably nervous. But if we are to be a meaningful and
growing religion, we need to grow comfortable with some kind of reverential
language.
Sept 19: George Buchanan
“All Right, Right Now”
In today’s fast-paced and anxious world, it is easy to lose sight of
the ways we are “all right, right now.” In our worship today, we
will celebrate this “all right” part of our lives. And we will
reflect on how this wonderful part of our lives might be more important than
we think.
Sept 26: Rev. Brian J. Kiely
"The Interfaith Challenge"
Our Principles call us to respect the teachings of all religions, but what
do we do when other faiths are reluctant to return that respect? Today there
will be an interfaith service at City Hall at 3 p.m. This discussion seems
a good preparation.
Come to Services at The Church of the Renovation
Come to our new building (10804 119th Street) during the summer
- once a month on Saturdays (for 20 minutes before work begins).
Saturday Services, 9:30 a.m.
Sept. 11: Rev. Brian J. Kiely
“A Day of Meaning”
Sept. 25: Rev. Audrey Brooks
"Wild Men and Prophets"
SPECIAL
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING, September 19 at 11:45 a.m.
A Special
Congregational Meeting of the Unitarian Church of Edmonton will be held in
the church auditorium on Sunday September 19th at 11:45 pm.
Business of the meeting will include:
Approval of a Casino in 2004
A Motion that the congregation approve the placing
of a mortgage on our new building to allow for members and friends to
invest RSP monies at
terms similar
to the debentures that were approved at the AGM. Legal work to
be done by John Worton.
All members are urged to attend. You must be a member for two months
before you are able to vote. Non-members are most welcome although
they may not
vote.
How was your summer? I spent mine in the basement. Yep, we got
flooded by the Great Deluge of '04. The last six weeks have been
mostly subterranean.
Still it was a good summer. Oh there were a few soggy and smelly
days of slinging out the gurgling carpets and cutting out the melting
wallboard, but we actually
lost very little of value. And then deciding to make lemonade out of Nature's
watery gift, we set to doing a complete renovation.
Sure we want these spaces
to look nice, and we also have to move things around a bit in preparation
of our second child, but that wasn't the key. Rather we
were given a chance to upgrade our 50 year old home, to clean out any challenging
molds and other dust makers and make a healthy home for our family. Whenever
things got discouraging it was that larger goal that kept us on track.
My
thanks here go to our new church Project Manager Andrew Mills.
During phase one of renovations he taught me a lot about framing,
the mysteries
of drywall
and most importantly about how to approach a project thoughtfully and with
good planning.
We had help and advice from family, friends and the good
people at Home Depot. Oddly they aired two kinds of commercials
during the Olympics -
I got to
see a lot of them while working away. One spoke of the moment an athlete
becomes
certain that "I can do it" and how Home Depot can help along
the way. The other.which always seemed to air exactly when I was in the
middle of cursing
some job that wasn't going as it should. spoke of how they can happily
provide experts to handle your home installations. We were not amused.
Still
the job is nearly done and things look a lot better. I had a summer
of good, cleansing physical work and thought of church hardly at
all.
And isn't that what a vacation is really about? An old adage says
that "a
change is as good as a rest". It has been. The work of summer is done. The
work of the church beckons. No doubt there will be surprises and set-backs this
year as we get ready to move, but after my underground summer I have confidence
that we will get there. The trick is remembering that this move is not about
a building or a fancy home. It's about this community. It's about giving it a
place to grow and thrive in a healthy way.
September, to me, is one of the most exciting times of the year. It feels
like a new year, in which anything is possible. After the rest and fun of the
summer, comes the cool crisp days of fall. New beginnings at school, work,
and of course, here at the Unitarian Church of Edmonton’s Religious Education
Program.
We will be starting programs in September, with lots of great ideas and themes.
We will be having new people join us. And, most exciting of all, sometime this
year, we will be moving into the NEW CHURCH!
You are all invited to a WELCOME BACK TEA on September 12. We will be playing
getting to know you games. There will be activities. We will have a chance
to brainstorm about what we really want to see going on for us this year. We
will have some fun! Do some singing, and maybe even dancing! All members of
the congregation are welcome. THIS MEANS YOU!
In the meantime, those of you who have already indicated an interest in volunteering
in the Children’s Programs, will be getting calls from me (or you can
call me, if you didn’t get on my list. You can leave a message for me
at the church office.)
The first few weeks we will just be having informal children’s programs
for those who are bringing the children to church, so please come even if you
think nothing is going on—there is always something going on.
Looking forward to seeing you all and having an exciting NEW YEAR.
This summer, we had two barbecues. Once again, special thanks to Dorothy
and Bernie Keeler for hosting our July event and Lise and Clem Cloutier for
the August gathering. We appreciate them welcoming us to their homes and gardens.
What wonderful settings to see our church friends over the summer!
We invite anyone who likes to sing to come to our opening rehearsal on Monday,
September 13th at 7:30 pm at the church. No experience necessary. Our leaders,
Karen Mills and Gordon Ritchie have been busy planning for the fall. Both attended
reading workshops in August to try out new music, and then spent several hours
at the Alberta Choral Federation where they borrowed several pieces. They are
excited about their discoveries and are eagerly anticipating a great year of
song!
Another pat on the back - a group of
church members rose to the occasion to raise some money for the new church.
It all goes back to the Grounds and Landscaping Committee learning that
it was also assigned to plan for a number of signs for the new church, some
of which were required by the City of Edmonton - with the bad news that
there
was no budget! (signs could cost more than $600 and the landscaping could/would
be much more). The good news side is that, undaunted, committee members
simply went ahead raising funds in small ways like plant sales and cashing
in bottles
from the Saturday work crews. Then, in June an opportunity came along that
could make a big dint in the potential expenses. With no hesitation, the
Grounds Committee jumped in.
On August 7 Derwyn and Stan Whitbread held their 50th Wedding Anniversary
at U.C.E.. The Grounds and Signage Committee, with a volunteer from the
Aesthetics
Committee and the Friday Walking Group, catered to the event. The volunteers
shopped, cooked, prepared, set-up, cleaned up and donated food or professional
services - lots of work but, in true Unitarian fashion, we made it fun at the
same time. Volunteers gave up some or most of their Friday &/or their Saturday
and a few temporarily sacrificed their back, legs or feet (and not a complaint).
Final figures are not in yet but we probably earned about $ 550 and so our goal
is so much closer now. So, to start the acknowledgments: thanks to the salad
preparation team - Walking Group members Shirley Edgar, Dorothy Keeler, Audrey
Brooks, Marlo Miles, Joan Davison and Sheila Parr; and to Jan McMillan (who was
away on vacation), for the use of her big kitchen. Jan and Donna’s mother,
Dorothy Hamar, made two large casseroles of cabbage rolls; Mary Ayres, Joan Davison,
and Marlo Miles (with hubby Brian’s help) and Dorothy Keeler made additional
dishes at home. Then the day of the celebration Mary Ayres, Barb Appleton, Susan
Ruttan, Audrey Brooks, Dorothy Keeler and Joan Davison prepared and set out the
hot foods, cleared and cleaned up. And all the while Bryce Missall spent 9 hours
doing EVERYTHING from setting up tables to laying tablecloths, preparing the
bar, odd kitchen jobs, errands to Safeway, clearing up, and as the last one out,
loading up the car. A true right hand for whatever task needed doing. John Pryor
gave helpful hints on catering and some recipes, Lyn Evans set up tables and
chairs, Blaise Szekely ordered and delivered Montreal Smoked Beef (in the usual
over-abundant amount that was easily sold the next day at Sunday service), and
Jim Appleton spent the better part of the day providing taping and sound services – his
fee – a donation to the church. Speaking of donations, a very hearty ‘Thank
You’ to Dan Sorochan who donated, and had his staff cook, 2 turkeys.
All your efforts are so appreciated - they were invaluable in contributing
to a fruitful and rewarding experience. The Whitbreads and their guests praised
the delicious meal, the setting and the excellent and good-natured service.
(their
kudos are a real feather in your caps as 4 were involved in the restaurant
business and about 15 belonged to a Gourmet Club for 30 some years).
AND……
in September look forward to the next money-raising venture by the Aesthetics
and Grounds/Signage Committees. EVERY church member and their family, friends,
and work colleagues can participate in that one!!
Thank you All,
Donna Hamar,
Chair
Grounds and Signage Committee
Care and connections has had a busy Summer. We have visited members at home
and in the hospital. If it is in your heart to join in this Lay ministry. Let
Audrey Brooks, Reinie Heydemann or our minister, Brian Kiely. We are planning
to have an information workshop for interested folk in the near future.
When you sign up to be a greeter, make coffee usher, be a music technician,
you are the people who set the tone of Sundays at this church. We encourage
you to sign up for a month of Sundays, if you can. Our church membership
grows because we are there and because we known how to make people welcome.
Look for the Sign-up sheet on the wall by the church door.
Since UCE members chose to use fair trade coffee, which is more expensive
than coffee made by corporate companies, our coffee fund is “in the red” by
about $600.00. Members who believe we are doing the right thing in supporting
the growers of the coffee rather than the corporations are encouraged to help
reduce the coffee fund deficit by giving generous donations to the coffee fund
container at coffee time on Sundays.
Its that time again – the coupon books are in and can be used immediately – thus
getting about 14 ½ months use. A big new feature this year is $60 savings
at M & M Meats. The coupons cover all aspects of daily life, be it dining
out, video rentals, hair styling, dry cleaning; or save on your vacation whether
you are traveling in Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C. or the Toronto area; and they
cover all forms of sports and entertainment, such as movie tickets, golfing,
skiing, museum entries, exercise and spa passes; and even specialty pursuits
such as scrapbooking and embroidery supplies! How can you pass saving $15 for
2 dinners at Sorrintino’s or 6 additional Mexican meals at Taco Time
and Taco Bell. Price is still $40. Call Donna at 425-0728 or Jennifer at 488-8350
for your copy and check with your friends, work colleagues and family and help
sell extra copies.
Last fall the church raised $767.60 and with renovations facing us, we will be
needing lots of dollars.
On the same subject, Donna Hamar has been co-ordinating this for 4 years,
the last 2 with lots of help from Jennifer Hinchcliffe. Both of us have
been away
a lot this last year and we would like to recruit other helpers who may be
able to take over next year. Please call Donna at 425-0728 if you have
any questions
or would like to try it out. It is not a great demand, and is time-limited
( it runs from late August to late November). And if there are 2, then
the task
is lightened even more so. Thanks for considering this – hope to hear from
many of you.
If you would like to learn to quilt on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:30 right
here at the church, call Linda at 454-8073. The cost is $93.00 for eight weeks
of instruction and you will have a small quilt at the end of the session.
UCE WALKING SCHEDULE September
through December
(Check your Entertainment Books for the Lunch component of these walks)
Friday Sept 3 - St Albert to Holes and a special treat
9:30 at UCE or 10 at the Old Cabin at Surgeon Road and St Albert Traiil
Friday Sept 10 - Hasse Lake
9:30 at UCE and we’ll car pool
Friday Sept 17 - Corn Maze walk and Devon for lunch
9:30 at UCE and we’ll car pool
Sept 22 - 23 - Cadomin - talk to Dorothy or Helen if you would like to go
Friday Sept 24 - St Albert to Big Lake - Dorothy and Helen not available
9:30 at UCE or 10 at the St Albert City Hall parking lot
Friday Oct 1- Blackfoot Reserve and then to Inge’s
for a bring your own picnic lunch
9:30 at UCE and we’ll car pool
Friday Oct 8 -Whitemud Creek from 41 Ave SW
9:30 at UCE and we’ll car pool
Friday Oct 15 - Stony Plain tour and Multicultural Centre for Lunch
9:30 at UCE and we’ll car pool
Friday Oct 22 - Terwillegar Park
9:30 at UCE or 10 at the parking lot
Friday Oct 29 - Chickakoo
9:30 at UCE and we’ll car pool
Friday Nov 5 - Riverbend walk around new community
9:30 at UCE or 10 at Sobey’s at 142 St and 23 Ave
Friday Nov 12 - Spruce Grove - Bee Maid honey tour
Friday Nov 19 - Whitemud from under Campbell Bridge
9:30 at UCE or at parking lot south and below the Campbell Bridge on Fox Drive
just east of Whitemud - turn into the Equine Centre and keep left
Friday Nov 26 - Mill Creek from Mill Creek pool south
9:30 at UCE or 10 at the parking lot
Friday Dec 3 - Queen Elizabeth Park with lunch at Kinsmen Field House
9:30 at UCE or from the End of the Rail park
Friday Dec 10 - Muttart Conservatory to Riverside - lunch and visit to Christmas
display
9:30 at UCE or Muttart Parking lot
Friday Dec 17 - Ada Boulevard Christmas Lights
9:30 at UCE
Friday Dec 24 - a holiday from walking (Merry Christmas)
Friday Dec 31 - a holiday from walking (Happy New Year
