Sunday, December 16 - Christmas in the Interlake

Sunday morning, December 16, at ARBORG UNITARIAN CHURCH, 11:00 a.m. – GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS YET TO COME – In many ways, Charles Dickens was one of the primary inventors of the modern celebration of Christmas, and the celebration he helped fashion is rich in sentiment and family traditions. But the Yuletide is an evolving celebration and, just as surely as it has changed over the century, it will continue to unfold in new and surprising ways. 

Sunday evening, December 16, at GIMLI UNITARIAN CHURCH, 7:00 p.m. – AROUND THE SACRED BOUGHS – As we gather 'round the sacred boughs this year, whether real or synthetic, large or small, inside of out, decorated with ornaments or glistening only with snow—wherever we may find ourselves and whatever form our trees take—let us remember that what makes these boughs sacred is what happens around them. Join us for a celebration of candelight and carols as we enter the Yuletide. All are welcome.

Sunday, November 18 - Clearer in Absence, Deeper in Spirit

Sunday, November 18 at 11:00 a.m. — CLEARER IN ABSENCE, DEEPER IN SPIRIT — In his classic book, The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran wrote, "For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit." The ebb and flow of friendship is one of life's great mysteries and, over time, our understanding of our most precious relationships changes even as the relationships themselves do. Rev Stefan Jonasson will preach.

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

Sunday, September 16 - Ancestral Surprises: What's In Your Closet?

Sunday, September 16 at 11:00 a.m. — ANCESTRAL SURPRISES: WHAT'S IN YOUR CLOSET? — I've sometimes quipped that ancestor reverence is my real religion and, like many others, I've spent considerable time and effort seeking to discover what I could about my ancestors, whether genetic, social or spiritual. Genealogy is one of society's favourite pastimes and, when pursued carefully and honestly, it can reveal as much about us as it does about our forebears. Sometimes we stumble upon surprises, which, when fully considered, might lead us to look at ourselves and the world in new ways.

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

Sunday, September 2 - Priceless: What Money Can't Buy

Sunday, September 2 at 11:00 a.m. – PRICELESS: WHAT MONEY CAN'T BUY – It was the apostle Paul who wrote that “the love of money is the root of all evil” and, over the course of two millennia, age after age has supplied evidence to support his assertion, although I personally think it’s actually second to the love of power. But money can’t buy you love, as The Beatles sang, and notwithstanding the present idolatries of the market economy, money can’t buy us most of what we treasure in life.  Rev. Stefan Jonasson


Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is "summer season casual" and light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, August 19 - Dwelling in Tents

Sunday, August 19 at 11:00 a.m. – DWELLING IN TENTS – Ever since God is alleged to have given the ancient Hebrews a Promised Land -- and likely long before that -- humans have been marking their territory, not unlike our four-legged friends, under the illusion that whole territories are somehow permanent and inviolate. Yet simple observation shows that we are nomads and no civilization or state has wholly stemmed to tides of migration.  Rev. Stefan Jonasson


Gimli Unitarian Church is located on Second Avenue, just north of Centre Street. Dress is "summer season casual" and light refreshments are served following the service.

Sunday, July 15 - To Whom It May Concern

Sunday, July 15 at 11:00 a.m. – TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN – It is said that prayer is at the heart of religion – some say, it is the oldest religious experience in the world. This service explores the premise that prayer is a natural, universal, even helpful impulse, whether or not we profess belief in a Deity.  Rev. Millie Rochester

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.

Summer Sundays at Gimli Unitarian Church

The Gimli Unitarian Church will open for the summer season on Sunday, July 1, 2010, continuing on the "odd" Sundays of the month (1st and 3rd) until the final service of the season on Sunday, September 2. Services are at 11:00 a.m. in the congregation’s landmark building at 76 Second Avenue.  Dress is casual -- after all, it's cottage season!


July 1 – Faith Under Fire: Religious Liberals and the War of 1812 – There were not yet any Unitarian or Universalist churches in Canada at the time of the War of 1812, but most American Unitarians distinguished themselves from their fellow citizens by opposing the war as ill-advised and unjust. On the other hand, our Universalist forebears were more likely to support the war.  Why were religious liberals at odds with one another in 1812?  And what difference does it make two centuries later? Rev. Stefan Jonasson


July 15 – To Whom It May Concern – It is said that prayer is at the heart of religion – some say, it is the oldest religious experience in the world. This service explores the premise that prayer is a natural, universal, even helpful impulse, whether or not we profess belief in a Deity.  Rev. Millie Rochester

August 5 – Is Compassion Out of Fashion? – In today's highly polarized political climate, compassion seems out of fashion. Is that because showing and practicing compassion is seen as a weakness? Or is it because being compassionate is a difficult spiritual practice for anyone, especially those in adversarial professions like politics? Rev. Wayne Arnason & Rev. Kathleen Rolenz

August 19 – Dwelling in Tents – Ever since God is alleged to have given the ancient Hebrews a Promised Land -- and likely long before that -- humans have been marking their territory, not unlike our four-legged friends, under the illusion that whole territories are somehow permanent and inviolate. Yet simple observation shows that we are nomads and no civilization or state has wholly stemmed to tides of migration.  Rev. Stefan Jonasson

September 2 – Priceless: What Money Can’t Buy – It was the apostle Paul who wrote that “the love of money is the root of all evil” and, over the course of two millennia, age after age has supplied evidence to support his assertion, although I personally think it’s actually second to the love of power.  But money can’t buy you love, as The Beetles sang, and notwithstanding the present idolatries of the market economy, money can’t buy us most of what we treasure in life.  Rev. Stefan Jonasson

Sunday, May 20 - On Myth and History

Sunday, May 20 at 11:00 a.m. — ON MYTH AND HISTORY — Mortimer J. Adler postulates that religions range from a minimal amount to a large amount of mythological content.  I would revise this somewhat to suggest that religions either emphasize the historical or else the mythological—its stories are either within time or beyond it.  Unlike most other religions, Unitarian Universalism is strongly historical in its emphasis, although we are not without our own mythology and legends.  Rev. Stefan M. 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, April 15 - Lessons From the Titanic

Sunday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m.  —  LESSONS FROM THE TITANIC  —  The sinking of the Titanic on this day in 1912 has been the subject of sermons since the first Sunday following the disaster. More often than not, the Titanic has been used homiletically as an illustration of hubris and human overreaching but I find such treatments tiresome and tinged with hubris themselves! There are lessons to be learned from the Titanic but they're not the ones advanced by sanctimonious preachers who loathe technological progress and innovation. The real lessons from the Titanic are distinctly human and fundamentally humane. Rev. Stefan M. 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, March 18 - Our Cosmic Consciousness

Sunday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m.  —  OUR COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS  —  Mortimer J. Adler postulates that religions are either theistic (whether monotheistic or polytheistic) or cosmological, although some apparently polytheistic religions might be better understood as personified cosmological ones. Like Buddhism and Taoism, Unitarian Universalism has become an essentially cosmological religion, although it hasn't always been this way. How did we get this way and what are the implications? This is the second in a series – “Truth In Religion: Where Unitarian Universalism Fits.” Rev. Stefan M. 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, February 19 - An Observer of Human Nature

Sunday, February 19, at 11:00 a.m. — AN OBSERVER OF HUMAN NATURE — "I am ruminating," said Mr. Pickwick, "on the strange mutability of human affairs." "Ah! I see—in at the palace door one day, out at the window the next. Philosopher, Sir?" "An observer of human nature, Sir," said Mr. Pickwick. "Ah, so am I. Most people are when they've little to do and less to get."  Like the character he created, Charles Dickens was an astute observer of human nature.  In this month in which we mark the bicentennial of his birth, we will consider Charles Dickens's significance as a commentator on the human condition and a representative religious liberal of his era, while considering the ways in which his voice continues to inform and challenge our own time.  Rev. Stefan M. 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, January 15 — In Search of Wisdom

Sunday, January 15, at 11:00 a.m. — IN SEARCH OF WISDOM — Mortimer J. Adler postulates that religions are either creedal or preceptorial in nature.  Like Confucianism and Shinto, not to mention the tradition of Ecclesiastes and Solomon, Unitarian Universalism is preceptorial. This is the first in a series — “Truth In Religion: Where Unitarian Universalism Fits.” Rev. Stefan M. 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.