Friday Notes – April 25, 2008

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Sunday Service, April 27: "Terminator Seeds: Issues of Justice and Sustainability" – Kate Green, Omar Gallardo & Nilda Martinez

Speakers from USC Canada, Kate Green (Ottawa), Omar Gallardo and Nilda Martinez (Honduras), will reflect on issues related to the ownership and use of seeds. They will examine challenges to the global moratorium on Terminator Seeds and share stories of how farmers' movements have opposed this technology to preserve their rights to save and plant seeds from their harvests.

This is Hunger Sunday. Bring gifts for the Food Bank.

USC Sunday, April 27th

Guests from USC Canada and two of their Honduran partners will be joining us on April 27th. In support of USC's work with "programs, training and policies that strengthen biodiversity, food sovereignty, and the rights of those at the heart of resilient food systems," all undesignated contributions in the offering will go to USC. USC envelopes will be available for those who wish to write a cheque.

Your feedback to Sunday Services is always welcome: servicesfeedback@uufo.org.

Saturday, April 26, 3:30pm – INTERGENERATIONAL ACTIVITY – CAPITAL CLEANUP DAY (Rain of Shine) & FELLOWSHIP POTLUCK

Clean Up then POT LUCK

The plan is to clean the city allotment along Ogilvie Road north of Montreal Road and some of the side streets – if there are enough people. Meet at the Lassiter Terrace Rec Centre, 1595 Lassiter Terrace, at 3:30pm to receive your gloves and bags and to deposit your contribution to the potluck. Parking is available on each side of the Rec Centre.

Clean as much as you can. There will be carts available for transportation of the bags of litter. Return to the Rec Centre for hot or cold drinks. Supper will be at 6:00pm.

RSVP: Please email Claire at friday.notes@uufo.org to let her know if you are coming?

STAINLESS STEEL WATER BOTTLES

First Unitarian is selling stainless steel water bottles for $17.00 as a fundraiser. If you are tired of plastic bottles and want to purchase one, give your name to Frances Deverell by Sunday, April 25th. She will have an order of bottles delivered to the Fellowship in a few Sundays.

EMPTY BOWLS PROJECT

Each year, UU congregations across Canada collect money in an empty bowl for local charities in the city of the host of the Canadian Unitarian Council Annual Conference. Ottawa will be the host on May 16-18, and the Ottawa Food Bank and the Ottawa School Breakfast Program have been selected to receive any money collected.

Our empty bowl comes from the UU congregation in Edmonton, and can be found on a back table after the service. Please consider putting a donation into the bowl for these worthy causes.

EVENTS CALENDAR

Apr 25: Meet USC Canada's partners, 6:30pm
Apr 25: Arts Night at First Congregation, 7:30 pm
Apr 26: Intergenerational Activity: Capital Cleanup Day, 3:30pm
Apr 26: Fellowship Potluck, 1395 Lassiter Terrace, 6:00pm
Apr 27: Fellowship Breakfast at Gabriel's, 9:00am
Apr 27: Hunger Sunday
Apr 28: Book discussion: Conversations With God, 7:30pm
Apr 29: Café of the World, 7:00pm
Apr 30: Seniors' Lunch & Program, First U, 11:00am
Apr 30: Public Forum: Cars, Crops, & Climate Change, 7:00pm
May 3: LGX - LGBT community fair, 10:00am to 4:00pm
May 4: GLBTT Concerns in Canada Today, 12:30pm
May 4: Bells in Spring, 7:00pm
May 7: Film & Discussion: Hijacked Future, 7:30pm
May 9: UU Round Table Lunch
May 10: 2nd BAMF Annual Gala Fundraiser, 5:30pm
May 15-16: Women's History Conference
May 16-19: CUC Annual Conference & Meeting
May 21: GEFC's Annual General Meeting, 7:00pm
Jul 17-20: 2008 CUUL School - East

See above/below or consult The East End Newsletter for more details.

SUNDAY SERVICES

At École élémentaire publique Séraphin-Marion Public Elementary School, 2147 Loyola Avenue (off Shefford Road), Gloucester. Visit our website for a map to our facility.

April 27: "Terminator Seeds: Issues of Justice and Sustainability" – Kate Green, Omar Gallardo & Nilda Martinez

Speakers from USC Canada, Kate Green (Ottawa), Omar Gallardo and Nilda Martinez (Honduras), will reflect on issues related to the ownership and use of seeds. They will examine challenges to the global moratorium on Terminator Seeds and share stories of how farmers' movements have opposed this technology to preserve their rights to save and plant seeds from their harvests.
This is Hunger Sunday. Bring gifts for the Food Bank.

USC Sunday, April 27th

Guests from USC Canada and two of their Honduran partners will be joining us on April 27th. In support of USC's work with "programs, training and policies that strengthen biodiversity, food sovereignty, and the rights of those at the heart of resilient food systems," all undesignated contributions in the offering will go to USC. USC envelopes will be available for those who wish to write a cheque.

May 4: "Our Cosmic Mother"

Using visual images and stories from as long as 40,000 years ago we will rediscover the meaning of Queen of Heaven, our cosmic mother. What makes a goddess a mother, and a mother a goddess? Why are so many people in the twenty-first century attracted to the ancient archetype of the divine feminine?

CHILDREN'S FELLOWSHIP

The RE programme is going strong at UUFO:

Saturday, April 26: "Intergenerational Activity: Capital Cleanup Day – Rain or Shine"

Clean Up then POT LUCK
The plan is to clean the city allotment along Ogilvie Road north of Montreal Road and some of the side streets – if there are enough people. Meet at the Lassiter Terrace Rec Centre, 1595 Lassiter Terrace, at 3:30pm to receive your gloves and bags and to deposit your contribution to the potluck. Parking is available on each side of the Rec Centre.
Clean as much as you can. There will be carts available for transportation of the bags of litter.
Return to the Rec Centre for hot or cold drinks. Supper will be at 6:00pm.
RSVP: Please contact Claire at friday.notes@uufo.org to let her know if you are coming?

April 27: "Visitors from Honduras"

The Fellowship will be receiving visitors from Honduras with a special guest in the RE group.

NEWS & EVENTS

COMMUNITY GARDEN PLOT PROJECT

The Community Garden Plot Project is seeking interested participants within the Fellowship and outside the Fellowship. The commitment would be for approximately two hours once every two weeks to do some weeding, watering, and picking of crops. Participants will work in pairs doing tasks they enjoy and can do. From May until the end of the gardening season. We understand people may have vacation plans to be away for more than two weeks but don't let that interfere with your participation if you are interested. Accommodation has been built into the program for this. In exchange participants may take some produce. As occurred last year, the remainder of the produce will go to shut-ins and the Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard. Please contact Ron W. at friday.notes@uufo.org if you are interested.

Sunday, April 27, 9:00 to 10:15am – FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST @ Gabriel's

Fellowship Breakfast @ Gabriel's, 2016 Ogilvie Rd. Let's celebrate Spring Like Weather??? See YOU at breakfast???

Wednesday, April 30, 11:00am – SENIORS' LUNCH & PROGRAM, First U

Plan to come to the Seniors' Lunch on Wednesday, April 30 when we will be joined by Clive Doucet, Ottawa City Councillor, who will speak to us on urban issues, at First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. We typically gather at about 11:00am. There is a Service at 11:30am. Lunch is at 12 noon, and entertainment starts at 1:00pm. If you are not already on our phone list and would like to come, please call Maureen Sly at 613-728-7610.

Saturday, May 3, 10:00am to 4:00pm – LGX (Lesbian and Gay eXpo)

Venue: Jack Purcell Community Centre, 320 Jack Purcell Lane (right off Elgin, close to Lewis St.)

The Fellowship will have an information table at the LGX, a community fair for the LGBT community. More info to come.

Sunday, May 4, 12:30pm following service and a light lunch – GLBTT CONCERNS in CANADA TODAY – Welcoming Congregation Workshop #4

Please sign-up so we can confirm numbers for lunch (which will include vegan options). Child care can be provided with prior notice.

Join us for this panel session that concludes the workshop series of the UUFO's "Welcoming Congregation" initiative. It's an opportunity for congregation members to inform themselves about the main preoccupations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people today. In this post-marriage environment, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia continue to exist but where does the LGBT community channel its efforts? Where can allies best support them?

Three guest speakers will share their thoughts on this panel. Wendy Ireland is the Project Coordinator of Around the Rainbow Project (www.around-therainbow.com), an initiative of Family Services Ottawa that aims to provide support to diverse Ottawa families. Prior to working with the Project, Wendy worked as an advocate, promoting healthy living for persons with disabilities. She is also a former board member of Capital Pride. The second panel member is D. Ryan Dyck, editor of The Caucus magazine published by Political, International and Development Studies students at the University of Ottawa. He's a former employee and current volunteer for Egale Canada, a national advocacy group for the LGBT community. Rounding out the panel is Ian McLeod, a member of the board of Pink Triangle Services, a social service agency serving GLBTTQ people in the National Capital Region. Ian has also served on the board of Capital Pride and worked as a freelance contributor for Capital XTRA.

Information: Gilles Marchildon, friday.notes@uufo.org

Wednesday, May 7, 7:30pm – FILM & DISCUSSION: HIJACKED FUTURE

Venue: the Kuhns', 2451 Ogilvie Road

"Hijacked Future" is a documentary film that looks at the increasingly fragile base of our North American industrial food system in order to help us understand just what's at stake with our daily bread. It asks us to question the wisdom of a system precariously based on oil and corporate seeds while we're at the same time witnessing the impact of climate change. (More information in April Newsletter)

USC Canada was involved in the making of this film and we are showing it, in part, as a prelude to our Service on April 27 when members of USC Canada will be speaking on "Terminator Seeds: Issues of Justice and Sustainability."

Please register with Marilynn K. (friday.notes@uufo.org). If you would like to contribute small snacks for the evening – nuts, fruit, cookies – please contact Marilynn.

Friday, May 9, 1:00pm – UU ROUND TABLE LUNCH

You are invited to the Amber Garden & Dalmacia Restaurant, 1702 Carling Avenue, Friday, May 9 at 1:00pm. Contact Tudy (613-745-8074) or Norma (613-828-7638) by Thursday, May 8 to reserve a seat. Everyone welcome, especially newcomers!

2008 CUUL School - East – July 17-20 at McMaster University in Hamilton

Are you ready for CUUL School? Leadership school changed my life and it could change yours too. Learn more about yourself, deepen your credo, find out how you work best in groups and why others don't work the same way. Learn to work in teams. Learn to design "worship services." If you would like to know more about it, talk with people who have been: Mark M., Evangeline D., Susan S., Martin D., …

If you would like to go, talk to Dale Falkenhagen or Marlene Hewitt or anyone on the board. Deadline for applications is June 8th. A subsidy is available from the Fellowship.

Blessings,
Rev. Frances Deverell

ADULT PROGRAMS / PROGRAMMES D'ÉDUCATION AUX ADULTES

For more information on all these programs, please consult the UUFO newsletter. Sign up sheets for all programs are available on Sunday mornings.

Monday, April 28, 7:30pm
OUR LAST BOOK DISCUSSION OF THE YEAR: Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch

Led by Dave K. and Karen C.
Hosted by Dave K. and Ann C.

This book addresses most, if not all, of the questions we have ever asked about life and love, purpose and function, people and relationships, good and evil, guilt and sin, forgiveness and redemption, the path to God and the road to hell… everything. The truth is God talks to everybody, all the time. The question is always: Who is listening? There is an axiom: When you are ready your teacher will appear. Are you ready? If yes, this book is your teacher.

Please register with the leaders and/or Elinor Mueller (AdultPrograms@uufo.org). There will be sign-up sheets on Sundays.

Groupes de croissance spirituelle

Rencontres mensuelles (2 heures) qui nous permettent de partager de façon plus intense au niveau spirituel et qui nous offre un défi envers soi-même et envers les autres.

Date et endroit à déterminer avec chaque groupe ainsi que les rencontres qui se font le lundi ou le mercredi.

Bienvenue à tous ceux et celles qui seraient intéressées, il nous fera grand plaisir de vous y accueillir.

Pour plus d’information: Lucie-Marie (AdultPrograms@uufo.org).

IN THE COMMUNITY

Friday, April 25, 6:30 to 8:00pm – COME and MEET USC CANADA's PARTNERS

Learn More About The Programs You Support!

Venue: Tupper Room - Capital Hills Hotel & Suites, 88 Albert Street, Ottawa

We would like to invite you for this wonderful opportunity to meet USC Canada's partners; representatives from around the world. With your ongoing help, we're continuing to work with local organizations to promote vibrant family farms and strong rural communities. Representatives from each of those organizations will be in Ottawa at the end of April, and we thought this would be a great opportunity for you to speak with them directly.

Come and ask any questions about the programs you have been so kind to support. Meet our friends from Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Mali, Nepal, Senegal, and Timor Leste, and get a first hand account of how your support is making a difference!

At the same time, you'll also meet the USC Canada Board of Directors – both members from Canada and our international members from Mali, Nepal, Peru, and the Philippines.

The evening will begin at 6:30, when you can join us for snacks and beverages. A cash bar will also be available. Admission is free and there is no need to RSVP, but if you would like more information or a list of our visiting partners, please email us.

We hope to see you there!

Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 to 9:30pm – PUBLIC FORUM: Cars, Crops, & Climate Change – The Global Impacts of Growing Biofuels on Food, Farmers, and Human Rights

Featuring special guests from Canada, Mexico, Paraguay, and the Philippines.

The corporate "agrofuels" gold-rush has ignited a major global conflict. Governments across the world are committing to agrofuels as a part of their energy strategies. But producing crops for fuel is already changing world agriculture, with major consequences for people, ecosystems, and the planet.

Location: Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Ave, Ottawa.
Free admission. Everyone welcome.
Wheelchair accessible. Translation service provided.
For Information: www.cban.ca/agrofuels or 613-241-2267.

Presented by: Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, ETC Group, Inter Pares, National Farmers Union, Partnership Africa Canada, The Ram’s Horn, and USC Canada. This event made is made possible with the financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency.

Sunday, May 4, 7:00pm – "Bells in Spring" massed handbell concert

The annual "Bells in Spring" massed handbell concert will be held on Sunday evening, May 4 at Rideau Park United Church. This concert features the handbell teams from Rideau Park United as well as the Emmanubells from Emmanuel United Church, the Rothwell Ringers and the Chancel Ringers from Gloucester Presbyterian Church. Each group will play individually and then all will play two pieces en masse.

The concert poster can be found at: www3.sympatico.ca/marcia.gosse/index_files/Page480.htm.

The concert begins at 7:00pm and will have a reception following it. Admission is free but there is a freewill offering, the proceeds of which goes to help support the handbell programs. (If you use an envelope, Rideau Park will also issue tax receipts for larger donations.)

Saturday, May 10, 5:30pm – MARY LOU FINLAY SPEAKS IN OTTAWA – 2nd Bhawani Anantaraman Memorial Foundation Annual Gala Fundraiser

Bhawani Anantaraman Memorial Foundation(BAMF) is very proud and touched to announce that Mary Lou Finlay, former co-host of "As It Happens" has agreed to speak at their second gala fundraising dinner. The event will take place on Saturday, May 10 at 5:30pm in Desmarais Hall, University of Ottawa.

Mary Lou, as it happens (pun intended), met Anantaraman, founder of BAMF, in 2002 while preparing a special programme for the 17th anniversary of the Air India bombing. Anantaraman lost his wife and two daughters in the bombing. It was at that time that she came to know and appreciate the work he has been doing. They have stayed in touch since then and usually get together during his annual visits to Canada.

Mary Lou recently retired from the CBC after 35 years of radio and television broadcasting and hosting such programmes as Take 30 and The Journal on TV and Sunday Morning and As It Happens on radio.

In 2006 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by Dalhousie University and received the Meritas Tabaret prize from her alma mater, the University if Ottawa.

She is currently a Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Queen's University.

A book about her years at As It Happens will be published in the fall of 2008.

Funds from this gala will benefit the University of Ottawa BAMF String Scholarship and Bhawani Memorial School, a charity school in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu founded and supported by BAMF.

The dinner will be South Indian Vegetarian. Other activities will include a string quartet, silent auction and a meet and greet session with Mary Lou.

Tickets are $55 per person (tax receipt for a portion) and parking is free!

For further information please call Claire H. or visit the website at www.bamf.uottawa.ca.

May 15-16 – WOMEN'S HISTORY CONFERENCE – INVISIBLE INFLUENCE: Claiming Canadian Unitarian Universalist Women's History

You are encouraged to attend the Women's History Conference just prior to the CUC meeting in Ottawa. The conference, Invisible Influence: Claiming Canadian Unitarian & Universalist Women's History will be held Thursday evening, May 15, 2008, from 7:00 - 9:00pm and Friday May 16 from 9:00am - 4:00pm (ending in plenty of time to have dinner and be ready for the banner parade and opening session of the CUC meeting). The conference will be at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, close to the Algonquin College site of the CUC meeting. IF you're among those who have registered for this Women's History pre-session – please kindly forward this to someone else who might be interested! Information on each session and more can be found on the project web site: www.canuuwomenhistory.ca.

Wednesday, May 21, 7:00pm – GEFC's ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Dear Friends of the Food Cupboard,

The Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard (GEFC) would like to invite you to attend our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, May 21st, at 7:00pm. The meeting will take place at the GEFC, located at 2040 Arrowsmith Drive.

The meeting will include guest speaker, Marilyn Matheson, the introduction of Gwen Bouchard, our new Executive Director, the recognition of volunteers, the election of the board of directors, and light refreshments.

Marilyn Matheson is the executive director of the Christmas Exchange. She will be discussing the history and the future of the program.

For more information or to confirm your attendance, please contact the GEFC at 613-749-4728 or email us at gefc@gefc.ca.

I hope you will be able to attend,

Ann Frederking
Interim Executive Director

MINISTER'S OFFICE HOURS

Wondering when you should call me? Call me if you don't know me but would like to know me better. Call me if you are going into the hospital or know someone who is. Call me if you have problems you would like to discuss with someone confidentially. Call me if you have suggestions on how to make our Fellowship a better place. Call me if you have suggestions for my preaching, or ideas for a service of your own. Call me if you are thinking of having your child dedicated. You don't need to have a reason. If you wish to talk, call me.

I can be reached at 613-231-4405 ext 1 between the hours of 9:00am and 9:00pm. Monday is my day off. The best time to reach me at home is in the morning. I am scheduling my week off in 2-3 day chunks when the work permits. Please feel free to phone and make an appointment at a time convenient to both of us for a chat or a cup of tea. I have an office on the main floor of my home. And of course, if you have an emergency, call me any time. I am honoured to have the opportunity to support you.

Rev. Frances Deverell

WEB CALENDAR

Do you want a quick reminder of what's happening this week in our congregation? Go to our calendar. If your event is not listed, send the date, time and place to calendar@uufo.org and Marilynn Kuhn will make sure to add it.

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Please email information (date, time, place) on upcoming meetings to calendar@uufo.org and Marilynn Kuhn will make sure they are added to our UUFO calendar.

If you have a favourite quote or joke you would like to contribute to Friday Notes, email it to friday.notes@uufo.org.

EXERCISES FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.

Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks.

Then try 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.

In peace,

Martin D'Amours

UUFO Webmaster

friday.notes@uufo.org

webweaver@uufo.org

SUNDAY MORNING PARKING

1. Please leave the three parking spaces closest to the entry for cars bringing persons with disabilities or persons walking with a cane.
    
2. If you're not disabled or walking with a cane, and if you don't have a lot of stuff to carry from your car, and if you're not late, please use the parking lot at the back of the school (next driveway up the hill). THANK YOU

Need a ride to get to Sunday Service or other Fellowship activities?

Carpooling is friendly and green. Call Martha N. or email her at rides@uufo.org if you need, or can offer, a ride.

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NOTE: Please send submissions for Friday Notes (as well as requests to have your name removed from, or added to, the list) to friday.notes@uufo.org before 6:00 p.m. Thursday evenings. Please format your notices as follows: Day, Date, Time – TITLE (IN CAPS) – Short description.

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