Streams

Saturday, May 20: In person and virtual

At the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) National Symposium, streams will be offered in place of workshops. What are streams? They are longer versions of workshops, taking place on Saturday, to allow a deeper exploration of each topic. Participants, virtual and in-person, will sign up for the stream of their choice and stay with that stream through Saturday. We encourage your congregation, if multiple participants are attending, to coordinate who participates in which stream to maximize learning and sharing.

There are four streams with one session in the morning and one in the afternoon with breaks in between. Content is focused on dismantling racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion. How do we, as a faith community, become the people we aspire to be? Our streams aim to equip you with tools to make the internal shifts necessary to change, and to act within our broader society.

 Each stream will have two sessions:

Morning session (1.5 hours) - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm ET (find your local time)

Afternoon session (1.5 hours) - 2:15 - 3:45 pm ET (find your local time)

Stream 1: Widening the Circle 2.0
In person - Commons, Room E206A,  and Zoom

Facilitated by the Widening the Circle Canada Team*

In order to become the fully inclusive communities we long to be, we cannot cling to the status quo. The CUC Widening the Circle of Concern team is offering an interactive, experiential exploration into the systemic barriers that hold our communities back. What does it mean to be a Unitarian Universalist at this time of existential questioning? How do we balance listening, hearing, and understanding with guiding our congregations forward? 

You will come away with tangible tools, insights, and greater clarity about pathways to a relevant future in our congregational communities.

“This is how you change the world, the smallest circles first… That humble energy, the kind that says, ‘I will do what I can do right now in my own small way,’ creates a ripple effect on the world.” ― Richard Wagamese, One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet

*Widening the Circle Canada (WTCC) was an eight-session series from March 12 – April 23, 2022, which invited leaders and aspiring changemakers to engage with the work of finding new ways of being together that challenge our current ways of thinking. This Canadian version was based on the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Widening the Circle Study Guide.

The WTCC team is Rev. Samaya Oakley, Beverly Horton, Rev. Shana Lynngood, Kiersten Moore, Janet Pivnick, and Diana Smith.

Note: The morning sessions of Stream 1 & 4 will take place together.  

Stream 2: Uncolonizing Environmental Justice
In person - T Building, Room T303, and Zoom

Facilitated by Erin Horvath and CUC Elder-in-Residence Dave Skene 

Now more than ever, we are seeing calls to action regarding climate change and environmental degradation. There is also an increase in attention to Indigenous rights and the need to work toward right relations. Often considered two different areas of activism, they are actually connected so closely that they cannot be separated. 

Building on the momentum started in our Uncolonizing Climate Action workshops and action groups we will explore what it truly means to uncolonize settler approaches to environmental justice, decolonize the Land and Indigenous-settler relations, and amplify the work of Indigenous leaders to create the impactful environmental change that’s needed.

Stream 3: Conflict and Covenant

In person - T Building, Room T302,  and Zoom

Facilitated by Revs. Linda Thomson, Danielle Webber and others

The themes of conflict and covenant have become woven through many of our Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations and communities over the last two years. When the CUC embarked on a process to explore, and eventually vote on, an 8th Principle, the status quo was challenged. Change can be uncomfortable, and while change was desired by some, it was resisted by others. Compounded by the stresses and uncertainties of the pandemic, fractures and conflicts within our communities were almost bound to happen.

Following on from the 2022 Fall Gathering theme of “Living Into Covenant,” we will dig deeper into how conflict affects us individually and collectively, how we recover from it, build trust again, and move forward in covenant and in love.

Stream 4: Worship and Music
In person - Commons, Room 206B (in the morning), Room T123 (in the afternoon), and Zoom

Facilitated by Beverly Horton and Rev. Shana Lynngood 

How is music and worship relevant to the work of dismantling racism and systemic barriers to full inclusion? Our worship design and music choices send explicit and implicit messages about how welcoming, open, and inclusive we are, (or aren’t). What messages are you and your congregation/UU community sending? Join Rev. Shana Lynngood and Beverly Horton to dig deep into music and worship and how this can lead to full inclusion.

 Note: Stream 4 and Stream 1: Widening the Circle  2.0 will be held together in the morning session.