“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing,” quipped George Bernard Shaw. Well, few of us set out to make mistakes intentionally, and they may not feel quite as useful while we’re making them as they do in hindsight, but they are inescapable. If … Continue reading Mistake I Wish I’d Made
On the west side of the Manitoba Legislative Building, there stands a monument to the “Famous Five” – five Alberta women, including former Manitoban Nellie McClung, who petitioned the courts to recognize women as “persons” – something that seems obvious to us, but which was not recognized in Canadian law until 95 years ago – … Continue reading Decreed on Paper, Cast in Bronze
When the people who attend a church have conflicting fundamental beliefs, what is church for? How does belonging to a community of diversity shape us, and how do we shape the community with our presence? Can we give thanks for feeling weird and uncomfortable? Can that feeling encourage both agency and acceptance? The Choir will sing. … Continue reading Thankful for Complex, Compassionate Communities
Stories and knowledge of generations of Dakota women combine in this beautiful service. Join knowledge keeper Geraldine Yvonne McManus as she shares stories exploring her faith and spirituality as a Dakota woman. Service Leader: Geraldine Yvonne McManus Service Coordinator: Octavia MacIsaac A quilt by Darlene Payne, titled 215 – My mother’s hands, is on display … Continue reading Stories of a Dakota Knowledge Keeper
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by negative things that happen, to rebel against things we don’t like, to push back on others to compel them to act (or even believe) in certain ways. We criticize others – our family and neighbours, this group or that, sometimes society as a whole – and this can lead … Continue reading On the Plus Side
Ubuntu, a word from several Bantu languages including Zulu and Xhosa,can be translated as “I am because we are.” Ubuntu points to the bind (compassion) between interdependence and community. Steven Gilchrist lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and twin children. He is the pastor of Jubilee Fellowship Church, guest faculty for Reformed Theological Seminary, and … Continue reading Ubuntu
“When you can’t change the direction of the wind, adjust your sails,” advised H. Jackson Brown. Over the summer, Canada sailed into a full-blown tempest in its trade negotiations with the United States, and people are naturally anxious about what this storm will mean for the economies of both countries. Trade negotiations are not simply … Continue reading Trade Winds and Tempests
We each move through the world with our own stories, assumptions and habitual ways of seeing. Through an experiential exploration of the Enneagram’s Centres of Intelligence, we’ll notice how the body, heart and mind shape what we see and what we may be missing. Self-awareness invites us to become curious about our automatic patterns of … Continue reading Becoming Self-Aware: How the Journey Back to Ourselves Broadens Our Perspective
“Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. Ours is no caravan of despair. Come, yet again come.” These words from #188 in the Unitarian Universalist hymnal “Singing the Living Tradition”, are based on a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī. Born in 1207 in present day Tajikistan and influential in his own … Continue reading Ours Is No Caravan of Despair
At Winnipeg’s Evolution Martial Arts, Sifu Joel Ledlow teaches both Duo Ji Kung Fu and Jeet Kune Do (JKD). Duo Ji means Many Ways, and Duo Ji Kung Fu fosters personal growth and an active understanding of many ways of self-defense. Developed by Bruce Lee, the dynamic martial art of Jeet Kune Do emphasizes adaptability, … Continue reading Martial Arts as Life Practice
