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The talks/sermons are in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format.
April 15, 2007
A Unitarian Guide to Dealing with Conflict, Building Beloved Community  (Valerie
Cousins)
(The Invitation – Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Canadian Teacher and Author )
Rev. J.E. Abernathy Jr., minister of the UU church of Rockville, MD says that our covenant is to “come to understand that life is lived with others, that our future is created and determined by how we treat one another…”. Valerie Cousins, former Lay Chaplain from First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, will explore what it is to build a “Beloved Community” within our own congregations and also within the many communities that we experience as part of our day-to-day lives.
December 3, 2006
Swords and Ploughshares (Rev. Dr. Hanns F. Skoutajan)
Following WW 1, theologians and ethicists were appalled by the carnage of war. Given that wars could not be avoided, they questioned the concept of a “Just War.” Are these criteria applicable in our time, with weapons of mass destruction? Our guest speaker, Rev. Dr. Hanns F. Skoutajan, prompts our reflection.
[Hanns Skoutajan, who came to Canada as a Sudeten refugee, is a graduate and board member of Queens Theology School, and is associated with both Southminster United and St John’s Anglican Churches. He also writes for the website Straight Goods.]
November 19, 2006
'Tis a Gift to Be Simple (Marilynn Kuhn, Louise McDiarmid, Martha Nabatian & Keith Shackleton)
Living simply is about finding a path that leads to "abundance of the heart." Four of our members – Marilynn, Louise, Martha and Keith – use readings, stories and music to reflect on the joys and challenges of making choices for simplicity.
April 16, 2006
Cats of All Kinds Can Play in This Band (Robert (Bob) Hartman)
Unitarianism, like jazz music, invites us to search, to ask why, to express the answers that reside in our hearts, and to find truth on the off beaten path. Bob Hartman explores the path with us.
March 19, 2006
God's Fool Jesus (Rev. Charles Eddis)
February 26, 2006
Freedom to Read, Freedom to Think (rob mclennan)
Canada is viewed by the world as a free country but can we take for granted the freedom to read when printed material is banned at the border or removed from libraries? These stories rarely make headlines, but free speech – and therefore free thought – is continually under attack. Ottawa's rob mclennan, author-poet, editor and publisher, shares his thoughts.
February 12, 2006
The Holy Imperfect (Leela Sinha)
We who find the holy everywhere often struggle in the face of human failings. What is holy? What is imperfect? How do we fit them together in this flawed but sacred world?
February 5, 2006
Religious Tolerance – Some Reflections (Mark Mueller)
Unitarians pride themselves as being religiously tolerant and we celebrate religious pluralism. However, Unitarians do get exercised, dare we say intolerant, over some issues. Mark Mueller explores some issues and boundaries between religion and the secular state and the difficulties encountered in keeping this separation.
January 22, 2006
Arundhati Roy (Rev. Fred Cappuccino)
The great Arundhati Roy sees the world perhaps more clearly than most other people. She gives coherent reasons for passionate belief in what we already know.
January 8, 2006
Why Walk When You Can Fly (Leela Sinha)
Each New Year is a time of new chances, of fresh starts, of beginnings and rebirths – these are the days of preparing the ground for new planting, anticipating the fertile times ahead. What can we do with this time? What does it mean? How can we honour it, in our own lives and as a community?
December 11, 2005
Pray Me Up (Leela Sinha)
What are we doing when we celebrate at Midwinter? What are we seeking, what are we finding, what are we sharing? What pulls us together; what makes us burn candles in dark churches and sing door-to-door as our toes freeze? What is it that compels us to leave our homes on the longest nights of the year? We will seek the flash of light in this season of darkness.
October 30, 2005
Too Wonderful to Know (Leela Sinha)
Samhain (pronounced sah-win) is one of the two major points on the Celtic pagan calendar. How can we embrace the full cycle of the year? How do we gather ourselves as winter begins? Why do we need darkness and cold? What is this time of turning inward, and what can we do with it?
September 11, 2005
Share Everything, Hold Hands and Stick Together (Leela Sinha)
What does it mean to open our hearts and our doors? What are the challenges of being truly welcoming? What are the joys? How do we maintain a strong identity and still embrace the new? What does it mean to belong?
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