Sunday, March 6, 2016

BUF and Lummi at the Canadian Unitarian Council General Conference in May 2016

Bolder Ways of Being

May 20-22, Vancouver, British Columbia will be hosting the Canadian Unitarian Council General Conference and registration is now open.  Early bird registration fees are available for those who register by March 31st.

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, Lummi and Tsleil-Waututh will be putting on a workshop entitled "No Borders:  Climate Justice and First Nations."  We're trying to encourage as many UUs from the U.S. to attend so we can start collaborating on erasing the border when it comes to justice issues.  The presence of U.S. UUs would greatly be appreciated.  This will be a great opportunity to meet up with UUs across the border to get to know each other and work together on projects like the upcoming Totem Pole Journey.

There are also workshops on the Truth and Reconciliation movement in Canada (First Nations issue and one that we will want to be exploring here in the U.S.), climate justice and action organization, criminal justice reform and restorative justice, Israel-Palestine situation, music and storytelling, and much more.

If we could get a few of our members to attend the "Building Bridges Through Understanding the Village: Truth, Healing and Reconciliation" workshop that would be really great.  It's one of those ideas that we've been discussing and talking about creating a similar movement here on the U.S. side.  It would be great to have someone take notes.  Two UU ministers are on the CUC task force and at some point I'd like to get them down here to make a presentation on the work they're doing up there.  The description is as follows:

During this experiential workshop Kathi Camilleri will take participants through an exploration of our personal role in supporting the revival of the values that worked so beautifully in Indigenous villages for thousands of years. We will also explore in‐depth the effects of Residential Schools and Canada’s Policy of Assimilation. This workshop is geared to solutions and is done from a non‐blame and non‐shame perspective, inviting all participants to become a part of the healing that IS already happening. Please be aware that Residential School effects and other issues may trigger unresolved grief and loss issues for some. Hosted by the CUC’s Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Task Force co‐chairs, Revs. Samaya Oakley and Meg Roberts.