Covid Protocols

Given the lifting of provincial restrictions, the COVID Task Force has updated our safety protocols. 

• no pre-registration
• masks required in service
• congregational singing allowed (with masks) 
• chairs still remain distanced
• coffee and food after service at tables 

Summer Services at UCM

This summer we will once again join our sibling Southern Ontario congregations in offering on-line only summer services. UCM will be at rest on June 26th (no service) and Grand River Unitarian will host the first service on July 3rd.

UCM will offer the services on August 14th and 28th.

Check the calendar.

Summer Hours at UCM

 Rev. Fiona's last day in the office will be Thursday June 30th. After holidays and study leave she will return on Tuesday August 23rd. Family Life Coordinator Caitlyn Seale will also be off during that same time. 

Office Administrator Tisa Zabarylo will also begin summer hours in July. She will be in the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12 noon to 4 PM beginning the week of July 4th.

Summer book club reading

2022-23  Education Focus:  Healing and Growing Monthly Wellness Series

Fun Exciting Opportunities with Communications

The Communications Committee is looking for people with ideas, enthusiasm and specific skills!  We’ll be involved in promoting a wide variety of internal and external events, projects and programs for our members and the wider community under the direction of the UCM Board and with most committees.
 
Do you have solid writing skills (business or media writing strongly preferred), e-media ideas and abilities, and/or community outreach/promotion experience?  
 
We’d also like to build a roster of photographers/videographers would we could call on to help with special events or project-specific work.
 
There could also be an opportunity for a mature, responsible senior high school/college/university student who would like to learn and develop professional media, communications and/or marketing skills.
 
For more information, please contact Ted Haugen (tedhaugen@hotmail.com)

Social Justice

Read about Amnesty International Letter and Other Petitions

Check out  https://uucm.ca/social-justice/ to learn more about how you can help.

Donations to UCM

If you would like to make a financial contribution electronically to UCM, please do so at: https://uucm.ca/donation/
or via bank transfer to payment@uucm.ca

Please indicate whether these funds are for the current year or next year’s Operating Budget or for some other purpose. Thank you for your generosity.

Has Your Contact Info Changed?
Have you moved recently? Changed your email address or phone number? Please remember to let Tisa in the UCM office know so that we can keep such information current: admin@uucm.ca

Upcoming CUC Events      

Gathered Here 
Monday, June 13, 2022, 8:00 pm ET (1.25 hours)
Gathered Here is a monthly online check-in for Canadian Unitarian Universalist (UU) young adults. Join other 18- to 35-year-old UUs on Zoom for sharing of joys and sorrows, deeper check-ins, prayerful reflections, and an opportunity to process the events of our lives with a spiritually grounded community. Each month we are joined by a member of the Young Adult Pastoral Care Team.
More information and registration is available here.
 

Célébrons ensemble
Le mercredi 15 juin 2022, 20h00 HE (1.25 hrs)
Ce mois-ci, Célébrons ensemble se prendra place pendant un jour et à une heure différents. Au lieu de mercredi, nous allons nous rassembler samedi le 21 mai à 10h30 ET / 13h30 HE. La célébration dure 75 minutes, mais tu es aussi toujours bienvenu-e-s de venir n’importe quand pour le temps qui te convient. Ce sera un événement multiplateforme, avec des gens qui se connectent à la fois en ligne et de Chorus (à Vancouver), la conférence nationale pour les jeunes adultes.  
Pour plus d'information: 
https://cuc.ca/events/celebrons-ensemble-mai-2022/1653139800/1653144300/

UU IBPOC Space

Saturday, June 18, 2022, 12:00 pm ET (1.5 hours)
This is a space for Unitarian Universalists (UUs) who are Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour, ages 18 and up, to gather safely to share experiences, stories, and be change-makers. Meets on the third Saturday of each month.
Join on Zoom. 

Covenant of Right Relations

We, the members of the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga, affirm a Covenant of Right Relations. As Unitarian Universalists, we come freely into community, guided by our seven principles and nourished by the six sources.

In good faith, we covenant to:

• Assume good intentions, recognize impact
• Listen deeply and seek understanding.
• Appreciate each person’s contributions.
• Communicate directly with people when differences exist.
• Speak to and about people with empathy and respect.
• Seek peaceful and constructive resolutions to conflict.
• Ask for help when we need help in dealing with situations.
• Forgive each other and ourselves when mistakes are made.

Affirmed at the Annual Meeting, June 2016.

How Do Unitarians View Christianity?

Douglas Hill, a member of our Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga, has some of the answers on his web site: www.TopicsInChristianity.com . This site provides a scholarly, respectful and critical review of selected topics in Christianity.

Topics include: Great Quotations, The Historical Jesus, Questions for Atheists and Christians, and Science and Religion Organizations. 

Shelter in This Place

"2020 was a year unlike any other. A year of masks and marches. A tale of two pandemics, COVID-19 and the deep rooted pandemic of white supremacy and structured racism." This year's inSpirit meditation book is an anthology of poems and reflections from Unitarian Universalists and includes a piece by Rev. Fiona, an adapted excerpt from her reflection Dandelion Kindness.  

Shelter in This Place can be ordered through inSpirit, the UU Bookstore.

Youtube livestreaming of the Sunday Service 

If you have trouble logging onto Zoom, you can watch the service on our youtube channel. To view a livestream you must subscribe to our UCM channel. The livestream begins around 10:25am and ends with the benediction. It is available for a short time on Sunday and then is removed. Clips from Rev. Fiona's reflections and prerecorded videos will be uploaded later in the week.

Don't forget to watch past services on the channel (every view helps our profile!) and send links to friends who might need this life sustaining community.

Nurturing Inclusivity: 

“Nurturing Inclusivity”, deepening our understanding of systemic racism and the inherent bias that has been internalized in Canadian society. 
 
We are seeking to deepen our understanding of the impact of racism on racialized people, so that we may develop as Unitarian Universalists.  As a community, we are working to enlarge our circle in ways that are welcoming of people of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds.  This work can be uncomfortable, but it is also rewarding; an opportunity to grow in spirit and develop meaningful connections with others. Please check our Nurturing Inclusivity webpage and our Event webpage.

The Reverend Mark Mosher DeWolfe Sermons

We have created a collection of webpages on our UCM website featuring The Reverend Mark Moshe DeWolfe sermons. This is such a wonderful opportunity to showcase his sermons as many Unitarians all through Canada and the States admire him. You will be able to listen, read and see some annotated or handwritten sermons in PDFs. We have approximately 50 sermons to upload so come back and check frequently. Enjoy!
Please visit www.uucm.ca/mark-dewolfe-sermons/
Brigitte Twomey

A Message from the Personnel Committee 

Our Safe Steps policy helps the congregation be attuned to right relations between members. The policy, which is currently being updated, ensures that we take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of adults and children alike.
 
During this pandemic time we are reminded that many people are facing stressful home situations. We hear reports in the media about increases in intimate partner assault and child abuse. Financial stressors and tight living situations mean that tempers can flare more easily. If you are in a situation where you feel you might need some help, here are some local agencies that can help:
 
The Children’s Aid Society for the Region of Peel, now assisting families with children up to the age of 18: (905) 363-6131
Assaulted Women’s Helpline: (416) 863-0511
24/7 Crisis Support Peel Line: (905) 278-9036
 

UU at Home

One way to stay connected with Unitarian Universalism is to create a UU space in your home that you can turn to for exploration or contemplation. This might be a shelf or corner table or a box.  It can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, just a chalice and tea light, or decorated with other images and objects that have meaning for you. You might have a book of poems or essays near by or use a favourite website or twitter handle.  Use the UUA Worship Web app or sign up for the weekly Braver/Wiser message.  Families can use these UU World activity pages. Take time every day or once a week to light the chalice, to sit and breathe and be, and care for your spirit. Or find a special "sit spot" outside and visit it often to build your connections to all that is.  Unitarian Universalism is about belonging to the earth and celebrating the mystery - we celebrate together on a Sunday morning but you can also experience this in your daily living through practicing intention and attention.

I look forward to hearing about your "at-home" explorations!

Rev. Fiona

Audio Reflections are now on the Website and YouTube

We have created another way you can stay connected with UCM while we are in virtual mode for the next little while: Rev Fiona's reflections for the past three months have all been posted to the UCM website as audio files!  
 
Our new digital sound system which we purchased last Fall creates excellent quality audio recordings of our Sunday services. UCM members Rya Khan and Marc Xuereb are creating edited recordings of Rev Fiona's reflections each Sunday.

Brigitte Twomey has redesigned a portion of our website that enables you to listen to a reflection while reading the full text. Go to the Reflections Archive on our website (https://uucm.ca/reflections-archive/) to see the latest recordings along with the text of the reflections. The reflections have also been added to our UCM YouTube channel. 
 
On a related note, we can also create edited recordings of portions of the services on demand for members. Just ask Rya or Marc if want a recording of the choir's performance, for example or a special section of the service that spoke to you.

Marc Xuereb

Sexual harassment excludes women from public life
Renu Mandhane, Chief Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission

Le harcèlement sexuel : un acte qui relègue les femmes à la marge de la vie publique

Par : Renu Mandhane, commissaire en chef, Commission ontarienne des droits de la personne