Sunday, December 18 - Christmas in the Interlake

Sunday morning, December 18, at ARBORG UNITARIAN CHURCH, 11:00 a.m. – GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST – In the spirit of Charles Dickens, we will explore how the gathering of family and friends, communing across the generations, offers one of the enduring meanings of Christmas.

Sunday evening, December 18, at GIMLI UNITARIAN CHURCH, 7:00 p.m. – HOLY NIGHTS – A celebration of candelight and carols as we enter the Yuletide. All our welcome.

Sunday, November 20 - Willpower

Sunday, November 20, at 11:00 a.m. – WILLPOWER – Shakespeare wrote, "Our bodies are gardens, to which our wills are gardeners."  In their new book, Willpower, Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney explore the human capacity for self-control, which they argue is our greatest strength as a species, even though it’s often in short supply.  Along the way, they look at "decision fatigue" and explain why self-esteem does not lead to self-control.  In the end, it's less clear which is the garden and which is the gardener.  Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.


Arborg Unitarian Church is located at the corner of Inglolf Street and River Road.  Dress is informal and all are welcome.  Light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, October 16 - Gathering Where We Did Not Sow

Sunday, October 16, at 11:00 a.m. – GATHERING WHERE WE DID NOT SOW – In his song "I Walk the Unfrequented Road," the great Unitarian poet and hymnist, Frederick Lucian Hosmer, wrote, "I gather where I did not sow, / And bind the mystic sheaf, / The amber air, the river’s flow, / The rustle of the leaf."  In this season of bounty, we will reflect upon the blessings that come to us through no effort on our part.  Hosmer was born on this day in 1840; he was the author of many of our most beloved hymns, including "Forward Through the Ages" and "O Day of Light and Gladness."  Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.


Arborg Unitarian Church is located at the corner of Inglolf Street and River Road.  Dress is informal and all are welcome.  Light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, September 18 - Deep Democracy

Sunday, September 18, at 11:00 a.m. – DEEP DEMOCRACY – The looming provincial election reminds us that voting is the signature act of a democracy.  However, a truly democratic society demands a depth of awareness, participation and equity that goes far beyond voting.  Unitarian Universalism affirms "the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large."  For us, democracy is an article of faith. Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.


Services resume at Arborg Unitarian Church this Sunday and will continue on the third Sunday of each month until May.  Dress is informal and all are welcome.


Summer services at Gimli Unitarian Church concluded on Labour Day Weekend and the church is now closed for the season. There will be a Christmas Service in Gimli on Sunday, December 18, at 7:00 p.m. Watch this page for details.

Sunday, September 4 – Does Liberal Religion Have a Future?

Sunday, September 4 at 11:00 a.m. – DOES LIBERAL RELIGION HAVE A FUTURE? – In 'The Future of Faith', Harvard theologian Harvey Cox paints a picture of a dramatically changing religious landscape. How does the liberal church fit into that future? Or does it? Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season!— and light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, September 4 – Does Liberal Religion Have a Future?

Sunday, September 4 at 11:00 a.m. – DOES LIBERAL RELIGION HAVE A FUTURE? – In 'The Future of Faith', Harvard theologian Harvey Cox paints a picture of a dramatically changing religious landscape. How does the liberal church fit into that future? Or does it? Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season!— and light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, September 4 – Does Liberal Religion Have a Future?

Sunday, September 4 at 11:00 a.m. – DOES LIBERAL RELIGION HAVE A FUTURE? – In 'The Future of Faith', Harvard theologian Harvey Cox paints a picture of a dramatically changing religious landscape. How does the liberal church fit into that future? Or does it? Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season!— and light refreshments are served following the service.

"Funday" at Hnausa Unitarian Centre

Sunday, September 4, 2011 ...

FAMILY BARBECUE LUNCH at 12:30 p.m. with a ventriloquist, "The Dave and Louie Show," at 2:00. Tickets are just $8.

A TRIBUTE TO PATSY CLINE featuring Laurie Sutherland. Tickets are just $25 and include a barbecue dinner at 4:30 p.m. with the show at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets are available from Arborg Nic Nacs, Arborg Livestock Supplies, Riverton Friendship Centre, and Rona or Johnson's in Gimli. Or call Sandra (376-5176) or Deanne (376-5404).

www.unitariancentre.com

Sunday, August 21 - Fairy Trails

Sunday, August 21 at 11:00 a.m. — FAIRY TRAILS — Other people take vacations; I go on pilgrimages. This summer, I wandered through the lands of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, looking for traces of tales and harbingers of truth. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson will preach.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season!— and light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, July 31 - Music of the Heart

Sunday, July 31 at 11:00 a.m. - MUSIC OF THE HEART – According to an old joke, Unitarian Universalists have a hard time singing in unison because we are continually reading ahead to check that we agree with the lyrics. This service explores how, whether or not it includes words, music has the potential to uniquely give voice to the spirit. Rev. Millie Rochester is minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season!— and light refreshments are served following the service.

Claire Rudyk will preach on Sunday, August 7, and Rev. Stefan Jonasson will return to the pulpit for the remaining Sundays this summer: August 21 and September 4.

Sunday, July 17 - A Magical Mystery Tour!

Sunday, July 17 at 11:00 a.m. — TÖFRANDI RÁÐGÁTA FERЗMAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR — Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz have just returned from a week on a tour bus, driving around Iceland with fifty-nine relatives! Their magical mystery tour resulted in some life lessons about lineage, heritage, family, and patience -- all of which they will share this Sunday morning.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season! — and light refreshments are served following the service.

Rev. Millie Rochester will preach on Sunday, July 31, during the Icelandic Festival long weekend. The summer season will continue with services on August 7, August 21 and September 4.

Summer Services at Gimli Commence July 3rd

Summer services will resume at the Gimli Unitarian Church on Sunday, July 3 at 11:00 a.m., and continue on the "odd Sundays" of the month until Labour Day.

Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach at the opening service: Are You Sure About That? -- In his book On Being Certain, neurologist and novelist Robert A. Burton explores the murky world of how and why we believe we are right—even when we’re wrong! Does our sense of certainty flow from our abilities to reason and understand? Or are we simply hardwired to believe?

On July 17, Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz will take people on a Töfrandi ráðgáta ferð—Magical Mystery Tour – They will have just returned from a week on a tour bus, driving around Iceland with fifty-nine relatives! Their magical mystery tour is sure to result some life lessons about lineage, heritage, family, and patience?

Rev. Millie Rochester will preach of Sunday, July 31, during the Icelandic Festival long weekend. The summer season will continue with services on August 7, August 21 and September 4.

Check the Intelake Unitarians' website for service details at http://www.interlakeunitarians.blogspot.com/.

The historic Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Sunday, May 15, at 11:00 a.m. – OUR KINDRED FELLOWSHIPS – Fifty years ago on this day, the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America consolidated to establish the Unitarian Universalist Association. We will examine the events that brought together these two distinctive liberal religious traditions and reflect of upon the fruits of their merger. Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sunday, April 17, at 11:00 a.m. – DOES THE HISTORICAL JESUS REALLY MATTER? – On the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Jesus Seminar last fall, Peter Laarman suggested it was a “good time to ask what difference it makes when the Jesus of history turns out to be considerably more interesting than the myth-encrusted Christ created by the church over the centuries. Or does it make any difference at all?” As long as truth matters, and as long as Jesus is claimed as an authority in both politics and religion, then the search to uncover the Jesus of history does indeed matter. Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sunday, March 20, at 11:00 a.m. - THE ART OF LOVING - Don Ayre recalls the extremes of idealism and realism of the 60s and 70s and the rhetoric of the "Make Love, Not War" era. Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving was one of the books that sparked the movement but it was lost in the violence of the antiwar protests and demonstrations against the "system." Today there is a renewed call for the development of a more caring global community which will reactivate the need for the art of loving. Unitarian Universalism could play a key role. Our pulpit guest this morning will be Don Ayre of Winnipeg.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sunday, February 20, at 11:00 a.m. - IT SOUNDS LIKE SCRIPTURE TO ME: THE KING JAMES BIBLE AFTER FOUR CENTURIES - The most familiar version of the Bible in English—the King James, or Authorized Version—was published in 1611 after a rigorous process of translation and editing under the guidance of a group of scholars who came to be called "God's secretaries." Although its language is increasingly difficult to understand, it is still the translation that "sounds like scripture" to our ears and it remains favoured as the "authentic" Bible in most people's estimation. We will celebrate the poetry of the King James Version while learning about its origins and its limitations. Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. – TOLERATING THE INTOLERABLE – In proper doses, rat poison helps to prevent heart attacks but, taken in excess, it can kill more than a rat. We often here it said that "too much of a good thing" is harmful to us. Have we taken the doctrine of tolerance too far? Should we be less tolerant of some things than we have been? Are there limits to tolerance? Rev. Stefan Jonasson will preach.