The Chalice – June 2024

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2024 UU Pride Celebrations

Jeff Dixon, Ann Klinck, Bill Ratcliffe (Chair), Michael Somerton and Lori Turner-Otte are members of the 2024 UU Pride Celebrations Committee. Unitarian Universalists have been participating as allies of the 2SLGBTQA+ community in Pride Celebrations, for many years. For more information, contact Bill Ratcliffe at wratcliffe@sympatico.ca or at 519-471-7500.

The 2024 Pride London Festival is July 12-21. The UU Pride Booth in Victoria Park is from July 19- 21. The Pride Parade is on Sunday, July 21. For the second year, there will be two Pride Worship Services. On Sunday, July 14, there will be a joint Pride Worship Service with Christa Duvall of PFLAG and Elliot Duvall of Trans-London. A PFLAG/Trans-London bbq on our Meeting House grounds will follow the Worship Service. A brief Pride Worship Service will be held at 10:00 am (note start time change), prior to walking in the Pride Parade on Sunday, July 21.

Please mark these important dates on your calendar. More details and opportunities to sign up for the Pride Parade or Booth will follow. In closing, be mindful that joy is in the details. Remember the words from Anonymous, “When you reduce life to black and white, you never see the rainbows.” Answer the call of love and join the 2024 Pride Celebrations.

Bill Ratcliffe,

Chair,
Pride Celebrations Committee

pride flag being waved

Remembering Our London Family

We remember #ourlondonfamily

Thursday, 6 June 2024, marks three years since the horrific act of terrorism that took the lives of four members of the Afzaal family here in London.

In their memory and to support our local Muslim community, several events are being held. 

These are open to the public and interested members of the UFL are encouraged to participate.

For details, please visit https://london.ca/our-london-family

Wisdom Quotes

“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.”
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.”
“The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.”
–Jesuit resource – Xavier University

“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”
–Charles Dickens

“When given the choice, be wise in actions over wise in words.”
–Anonymous

“Our universal calling as humans is to be the most loving people we can be.”
–David Richo

“The best way out is always through.”
–Robert Frost

“Our religious communities at their best are places where we grow our capacities to be with experience in all its complexity and paradox, to listen deeply to one another, to allow ourselves to be seen and held in love, and to respond creatively and collectively.”
–Anonymous

“Knowledge is not wisdom. But wisdom is knowledge in action. I have lived most of my years immersed in the culture of books. I command a lot of facts. I comprehend a lot of concepts. That does not make me wise or even intelligent. It just indicates what I have memorized. But when I activate those facts and concepts to find the greatest, grandest version of myself, and then use them to work towards that vision, I begin the process of wisdom.”
–Richard Wagamese

Sunday Services

Wisdom: Doing Right For What Matters

Service Leader: Bill Ratcliffe

Wisdom is doing right for what matters. Wisdom will prevail because a UU faith community matters. Metaphors are one of the ways to wisdom. As a human being strive to be a "mensch" or a person who does what is right or is good. Wisdom evolves and is not static. Note that this a Potluck Lunch Worship Service.

Questions:

  1. One definition of wisdom is doing right for what matters. What is your definition of wisdom?
  2. For you, as a Unitarian Universalist, how do you evolve your wisdom.?
  3. What are the actions of our Unitarian Universalist faith community that will ensure more wisdom in the world?
02 Jun
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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Joint UFL/UFSPH Worship Service with Special Guest Speaker on Palestine

Service Leader: Marlene Koehler

Join us to hear our special guest Dr. Munir El-Kassem of the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario speak on the topic, “Palestine Past, Present & Future: A Personal Account.” This worship service will be conducted jointly between the Unitarian Fellowship of London and the Unitarian Fellowship of Sarnia Port Huron in a hybrid format, in person and over Zoom.

09 Jun
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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Wisdom in Reading Alternative Viewpoints: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

Service Leader: Alison Konrad

The UFL book club often reads Canadian fiction, and Hillbilly Elegy was a stretch for us. We found that the author’s perspective was interesting and limited in some ways. We also discussed the book responding to Hillbilly Elegy, entitled Appalachian Reckoning, and bringing these two sources together generated a valuable discussion.

16 Jun
10:45 am - 10:45 am
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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Are you more like a Druid or a Wizard? Looking at the Differences between Wisdom and Intelligence

Service Leader: Lori Turner-Otte

Jen Sadler will talk about how a game of Dungeons and Dragons relates to real life and help you see whether you are usually a wise sage or more of a Smartypants. Drawing on her experiences as a Rotary International Exchange Student, tech person, and player of D&D, she will attempt to impart some wisdom of her own in order to help you tap into the hard-won lessons of your own deep experiences. 

23 Jun
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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Wisdom: Sunday Service

Our Sunday Service meets year-round at 10:45am and is central to our religious life and community. We draw on a variety of sources and traditions, and address themes ranging from social concerns to spiritual growth. Our services have many common elements including music and congregational singing, spoken and silent meditation, the sharing of joys and concerns, and a Time for All Ages for our children.

Services may include a sermon from a guest minister or a member of the congregation, or a presentation from a guest speaker from the larger community. Some services may include discussion and small group activities. There are also a number of intergenerational services each year when all ages can participate together.

Folks are invited to stay for refreshments following the service when they can mingle and get to know one another better.

30 Jun
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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Upcoming Events

UFL’s Rhubarb-Fest 2024

Are you looking to have some family fun, connect with the community and eat some delicious rhubarb treats? Come to our Rhubarb-Fest. There will be a plant sale, bake sale, children's activities and community activities!

Rhubarb-fest will be at the UFL Meeting House at 557 Clarke Road on June 1th from 10am – 1:30pm. There will be lots of parking available and the hall is accessible by bus.

If you are coming to Rhubarb Fest, we encourage you to RSVP on our Rhubarb Fest Facebook Event. While not required to attend, it helps us get a sense of numbers and encourages people to come. Don’t forget to share the event to your network as well!

We hope to see you there!

01 Jun
10:00 am - 1:30 pm
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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Hands in the center with the text Gathered Here, A monthly check in for Young adult Unitarian Universalists (18 - 35)

Gathered Here – UU Young Adult Check In

Join other UU 18 to 35 year-olds on Zoom for sharing of joys and sorrows, deeper check-ins, prayerful reflections, and an opportunity to process the events of our lives with a spiritually grounded community. Each month we are joined by a member of the Young Adult Pastoral Care Team. 

These monthly gatherings have become highly valued touchstones in the lives of many young adults. While so much in our lives is unknown and unknowable, we can find comfort in familiar rituals and faces. By sharing our joys, our concerns, our sorrows and our gratitudes, we know ourselves to be held in a loving community. Exploring themes and spiritual practices helps us each remember our own creativity and resilience. We are all in this together, a part of a larger story. 

These are drop-in gatherings, so you don’t need to sign up in advance and there is no fee. See event details for zoom link.

11 Jun
8:00 pm
Online
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UFL Book Club – June 2024

The book club has been around for 36 or 37 years, just slightly more than half of the UFL's existence. The book club meets on the third Tuesday of the month from 2-4 pm. We met in-person at the UFL on Tuesday, May 22. There were many of us there. At our May meeting we discussed the book'White Houses' by Amy Bloom, amongst many other topics. With discussion going in many directions, I couldn't help but think...."What a wonderful group of UFLers!" In June we will be reading and discussing the book 'The Death and Life of Strother Purcell' by Ian Weir. Our meeting will be on Tuesday, June 18th. Once again we will meet in-person at the UFL. For those unable to attend in-person, a Zoom link will be provided via email. If you are interested in joining our bookclub please contact me, Alice Wehlau, the coordinator of the book club. I hope to hear from you. Information available in the weekly email.

18 Jun
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Unitarian Fellowship of London
557 Clarke Road,London, ON N5V 2E1
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