UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM
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MEET OUR TEAMS

OUR STAFF

FIONA
HEATH

Minister

The Reverend Fiona Heath  became the sixth settled Minister of UCM in 2014. An ardent environmentalist and advocate for simpler, local living, Fiona’s passion in ministry is to nurture connections among people, and between people and the planet. She finds great comfort in our chalice symbol. She believes Unitarian Universalism is a religion to help people deal with the challenges of the twenty first century, through offering new ways of thinking and being. Fiona currently serves as the Vice President of the UU Ministers of Canada and on the Inter-Faith Council of Peel. She is the mother of a son in university and lives in Brampton with Tikko the dog, and cats Tempest and Blaze. When she is not being a minister, she can be found binge watching Netflix or hiking in the woods.
minister@uucm.ca

CAITLYN
SEALE

Family Life Coordinator

This past Easter weekend marks 11 years since Caitlyn Seale attended UCM with her siblings and mother. Being involved with UCM and the Unitarian Universalist (UU) community has introduced Caitlyn to many opportunities and experiences such as participating in Our Whole Lives (OWL) with her youth group; to being a youth service leader; to travelling across Canada and to the United States for seminars with the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO), Youth Cons, and CanUUdles; and continuing to be involved as a young adult. She completed an Honours Bachelor of Science, majoring in Exceptionality in Human Learning and minoring in English and Biology, and a Master of Information Studies, specializing in Librarianship. Caitlyn appreciates being in the UU community since it adds spiritual balance, provides support networks, and aids her in maintaining a positive lifestyle. She looks forward to being part of the UCM team as Family Life Coordinator.
flc@uucm.ca

TISA
ZABARYLO

Our Administrator

I’ve been the Office Administrator here at UCM since February 2012. Before that – and prior to a brief stint as a stay-at-home-mom – I spent 12 years working in the reseach department of an International executive search firm in downtown Toronto.

Among my myriad of reception tasks here at UCM I’m also responsible for getting the Shining Chalice out to you each week and preparing and printing the order of service program and announcements page for Sunday mornings’ worship services. I also spend a large portion of each week handling the many requests we get for rentals of our Great Hall, which includes showing off our beautiful space to those wishing to host weddings, memorials, birthday and anniversary celebrations, music recitals and concerts, and baby and wedding shower events, just to name a few!

I sit on the Rental, Property, and Festive Fair Planning Committees and also assist all Committee heads with various administrative tasks as needed, including the compilation of our Annual Report each spring.

When I’m not at work I, along with my Chiropractor husband of 27 years, enjoy taking both our two active teenagers to their various extra-curricular activities and sports. When I do finally get a chance for some hobbies, I enjoy baking, knitting and crocheting, and trying to stay fit by walking and cycling. This summer I joined the Port Credit Lawn Bowling Club and have been enjoying many bowling games in the beautiful weather we’ve had.
admin@uucm.ca

BRIGITTE
TWOMEY

Website Specialist

Brigitte has been attending the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga since 1992. She has been active serving UCM on many committees, including the Board of directors, Finance, Religious exploration, OWL and Communications.

Brigitte has been self-employed for over 20 years as a Web Specialist and French Translator. She works part-time for the Canadian Unitarian Council as their Web Specialist. She is thrilled to be the UCM Web Specialist supporting their work by

  • Creating, maintaining, and updating the website ca with the help of the various committees that provide her with all the latest info ?
  • Optimizing the website content (SEO) to rank higher on search engines, bring in more traffic and more visitors to UCM
  • Creating, maintaining, and managing the SharePoint site, a place for the committees’ documents
  • Creating and updating UCM email addresses and email lists with info from the committees

It combines her two passions, website development and serving the Unitarian community.

She is married to Bert and they have two adult children (who grew up at UCM) and one grandchild. Brigitte is a seasonal camper at Unicamp, an avid hiker and forager. Watch for her on the Bruce Trail.

Contact Brigitte: info@actionebiz.com

ABIGAIL
FREEMAN

Music Director

Abigail Freeman has been the music director at UCM since 2014. She is also the Associate Conductor of the Mississauga Festival Youth Choir and a music teacher at the Toronto French School. She has been a music educator and freelance musician in the GTA since 2002. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music and from Binghamton University with a Master of Music degree.

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

OUR BOARD

The Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga Board of Directors serves on behalf of the Congregation between the meetings of the Congregation.  It strives to set the direction and long-range planning of the congregation and to guide the regular operations of the Congregation. Board members are elected at the Congregational Meeting in May of each year and serve a three year term and the Board meets monthly. For more information or to volunteer email info@uucm.ca.

UCM Board 2022-23

  • Becky Bridel, Treasurer
  • Alex Ferworn, Co-President, supports the Leadership Committee
  • Devin Krueger, supports Personnel, Communications and Membership
  • Larry Jeffrey, Co-President, works with Property and Rentals
  • Janis Alton, works with Social Justice Action and the Mark de Wolfe Award
  • Brenda Poole, works with Finance and CUC Liaison
  • Kath Stobie, Secretary (missing)

 

COMMITTEES

The Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga has various committees that perform the work of the congregation.  Permanent committees are divided into four teams: The Administrative Team, The Education and Exploration Team, the Membership Team and the Communications Team.  Various ad-hoc committees formed by the Board to carry out specific functions from time to time. UCM also depends on volunteer members and friends to work on our committees and task groups throughout the year.
Our various Committees are listed below:

SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTION

The Social Justice Action Committee is involved in social justice initiatives both locally and globally.

  • Pathway Community Housing: Together with Solel Synagogue and Streetsville United Church, the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga founded Pathway Community Housing. Members of the SJAC continue to be involved on the Pathway board and with Pathway programs such as the Breakfast Club.
  • UCM Refugee Task Force: Another social justice initiative important to our congregation is the sponsorship and support of refugees through our UCM Refugee Task Force, which reports to the SJAC.
  • Amnesty International : The Social Justice Action Committee sponsors regular Amnesty International hard copy letter writing campaigns, as well as online petitions.
  • Fundraising:  The committee held a service in the spring highlighting The Compass, a local organization that supports low income people in our community with both a food bank and programs.  We also participated in The Walk for The Compass, a recent fundraising event.  Another fundraising walk was in support of the “Coldest Night of the Year”, to raise money for The DAM which provides programs for Mississauga youth at risk of becoming homeless.
  • Speaker Series: The SJAC has connections with Mississauga Climate Action and we are currently sponsoring a Speaker Series to address the 8th Principle. This principle promotes individual action that accountably dismantles racism and other oppressions in ourselves and in our institutions.

Read more about our projects:

We meet approximately every 2 months. The work is very satisfying – please join us! For more information or to volunteer email info@uucm.ca.

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PROPERTY

The goal of the Property Committee‘s work is to be environmentally responsible and uphold the principles of the Green Sanctuary designation of our facility.

The Property Committee oversees and participates in the maintenance of our buildings and initiates small and large new projects.

Past larger projects were the addition of exterior insulation and stucco to the Administration Building and the installation of more energy efficient furnaces. A past smaller project was the installation of smart thermostats and a recent project was the replacement of all of the light bulbs in the Great Hall with LED bulbs. A new sign to replace the one that had deteriorated will be installed soon.

The Property Committee works closely with the Landscape and Grounds Committee to support the continued integration of the building with the native landscape.

For more information or to volunteer email info@uucm.ca.

LANDSCAPE AND GROUNDS

The Landscape and Grounds Committee takes care of the grounds on 84 South Service Road. The volunteers trim, weed and water the trees, shrubs, grasses and flowering plants. They use environmentally sound native gardening practices.

The Chair, Carmen Rempel, plans and organizes weekly gardening “get togethers” for the volunteers. She oversees the arborist, and lawn maintenance contract. Consults with Arborists, Master Gardeners, and Credit Valley Conservation to find best gardening practices for our specific property. She keeps up with current area gardening information from environmental and gardening groups to be aware of impending problems. She can often be found on the property with a wheelbarrow full of tools, digging in the garden beds.

The wonderful volunteers are too many to name but we thank everyone who has helped with the grounds this year.

For more information or to volunteer email info@uucm.ca.

CARING CIRCLE

The Caring Circle is a committee of 9 – 11 people, and our main focus is to try to identify members of the congregation who may need a visit, phone call, or a card or letter, due to circumstances in their lives, which may involve illness, stress, life transition, or the care of a sick relative.

The Caring Circle also likes to acknowledge joys and includes these announcements in the “Among Us” column of UCM’s monthly newsletter.

For more information or to volunteer email info@uucm.ca.

 

CANVAS COMMITTEE

The Canvass Committee is responsible for the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga annual financial campaign that runs each fall.

For more information or to volunteer email info@uucm.ca.