Join us this Sunday, May 17th, at 10:30am in Panabaker for our weekly Worship at Calgary Unitarians. This week will be the CUC National Service and the topic will be Unitarians Face A New Age. 

We hope to see you there! 

In the 1930s, our spiritual forebears bravely asked “whether the organised religious movement known as Unitarianism has any real function to perform in the modern world”. Come and hear their bold response, and Reverend Shawn Gauthier’s equally powerful invitations to us all. This sermon was offered in October 2025 at the installation of Rev. Danie Webber in Hamilton, ON. This version was recorded in November 2025 at VanU.

Speaker Bio: Rev. Shawn Gauthier is the Settled Minister at Vancouver Unitarians. Previously, he served for 16 years as the Minister at the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto. Rev. Shawn loves to travel, to take in theatre and classical music, and to explore alongside his husband Bob.

As we move through the transition to a new Office Administrator, we will be working with a temporary staffing agency, Executive Solutions, to support us in the hiring process. This will help ensure continuity in office coverage while we search for the right person for the role.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time of transition as we work to find someone who is a strong fit for our community and operations.

Join us for Songs of Solidarity, a special gathering of music, story, and reflection rooted in welcome, compassion, and justice.

The joint service will be at Scarboro United Church and will include learning solidarity songs, listening to stories, and reflections from community members and guests, including voices connected with Migrante Alberta, as we explore themes of migration, belonging, and solidarity in Alberta and Canada.

Grounded in the enduring call to “welcome the stranger,” this gathering will offer space for connection, reflection, and hope.

Learn more about the broader referendum conversations at Alberta Referendum 2026.

All are welcome.

You remember reading about this really interetsing event in the ENews and now you're looking for more info but you can't find it in your email inbox? Or you didn't recieve this weeks ENews or Order or Serivce?

Not to worry; you can find the most recent ENews, Order of Services, and the whole Newsletter Archive on the Calgary Unitarians' website. Under the "News, Events, Blogs" tab at the top, dropdown to the "Newsletter" section and find all the most recent ENews and Order of Services.  

As we get closer to the Hymn Sing Service on June 28th, we would love to know what you want to hear! Fill in the form below to make your request or speak to Matthew, the Music Director.

Unfortunately, the projector in Wickenden Hall isn’t currently working. It’s quite old, but we believe we can repair it at a decent price and expect several more years of service from it. New projectors that we might replace it with are very expensive. We expect to have the repaired projector back around the end of June. While the projector is gone, we will be playing the audio from the service in Wickenden Hall. 
Questions? Chat with your favourite AV technician.

The Harold and Marion Panabaker Award, the William Irvine Justice Award, the Gorham Hussey Award are now open for nominations until May 15.

• The Harold and Marion Panabaker Award honours a person or persons for extraordinary services provided to benefit the Church community.
• The William Irvine Justice Award honours a person(s) or organization for extraordinary services provided to benefit social and/or environmental justice in the Calgary community.
• The Gorum Hussey Award is for extraordinary service to our congregation by a team or group whose collective efforts have gone above and beyond in service to the congregation.

If you feel there is someone or a group deserving of these honours, please submit your nomination(s) to socialjustice@calgaryunitarians.ca.

The higher fuel prices and summer road trips can benefit Calgary Unitarian fundraising. When 15 Coop Gift Card purchasers add $100 or $200 to their Gift Card orders, we would have $75 to $150 more for our church. Over several orders, we can easily add $1000 more to the cashflow for important programs like supporting Indigenous programs. 

Purchasing gasoline with Calgary Coop cards only takes a few extra minutes. 

1. Before buying gas, take your Coop Gift Card and Calgary Coop Member Card into the Gas Station. 

2. Ask the clerk to preauthorize a specific value from the gift card and purchase a car wash, if desired. 

3. Pump your gas. 

4. Print your receipt at the pump. 

The gift card value changes based on the value of the gas purchase, NOT the preauthorization amount. There is no need to go back into the Gas Station to confirm the Gift Card value.

Buying Coop Gift Cards from Calgary Unitarians is an easy and important way to support our church. Calgary Co-op donates 5% or 6% back to our community based on the gift card value all of us purchase. You can buy groceries, fuel, prescriptions, a special treat or alcohol with the gift cards. 

Build skills for facilitating small groups, including listening well, creating inclusive agreements, supporting balanced participation, and navigating group dynamics with care.

Strong, well-facilitated meetings and small groups don’t happen by accident—they are the result of intentional practice, shared tools, and a commitment to creating spaces where every voice can be heard. In Unitarian Universalist community life, both effective meeting leadership and thoughtful small group facilitation help us live into our values of collaboration, inclusion, interdependence, and democratic participation.

In this workshop, we will explore practical skills for strengthening how we gather, make decisions, and engage in meaningful conversation and offers a deeper toolkit for anyone who helps lead, host, or participate in UU community spaces.

Participants will have opportunities to learn through hands-on practice, reflection, and shared experimentation with real facilitation and meeting scenarios. Whether your focus is committees, teams, or covenant groups, these sessions are designed to support more grounded, inclusive, and effective collective work.

Please contact Rev. Samaya if you’d like to attend.

Join us for a deeply calming and restorative evening of sound and stillness with Marsha Reed and her crystal bowls.

Through the luminous tones of crystal singing bowls, we are invited to slow down, soften, and listen inwardly — attuning our hearts to the subtle rhythms of presence and the wider resonance of life around us. This is a space to rest, reflect, and reconnect, held in gentle sound.

Come and experience an evening of spaciousness, peace, and deep listening.

There will be a basket for free will cash donations. 

Come for a fun night of music and fun, as Matthew Barnett, Music Director for the Calgary Unitarian Church is joined by some friends to welcome the summer season. Grab a drink and enjoy the sultry French Cabaret music of Poulenc! Get some popcorn, kick back, and watch an original film scored by the Cowtown Brassband! Or just let your jaw drop in awe of the juggling talents of Joseph McManus! Surely something from this smorgasbord of performers excites you, if so, come down to the Calgary Unitarians Church on 16th ave and see for yourself. Purchase your Tickets online at the link below or at the door at 6:30pm on June 6th

Ticket Options are $10, $15, and $20.

Two upcoming opportunities for public witness and democratic engagement are taking place in Calgary and across Alberta.

On Thursday, May 29, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), together with many partner organizations, is organizing a provincewide Day of Protest in response to policies of the Smith government that organizers believe are not serving the common good.

Then on Wednesday, June 3 at noon, the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) will launch its referendum campaign, “Vote No to Nine / Vote for the Common Good,” at Central Memorial Park (1221 2 St SW).

CACG’s draft statement for the launch and media event can be read here: CACG Draft Statement

Please join us to honour and celebrate the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the irreplaceable source of life-giving water for many creatures and communities, including Calgary. The remaining intact forests along the Eastern Slopes are home to innumerable non-human kin, from grizzly bears to bluebirds, from lodgepole pines to salmonberries, golden balsamroot, and tiger beetles.

Place: Rosemont Community Centre

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026 10:30 AM

Cost: By donation, to cover cost of hall

We will learn about 

• the stunning beauty of the Eastern Slopes and the watersheds that flow from them 

• our interconnectedness with these lands

• the serious threats to the integrity of the land that cradles these headwaters 

• the ongoing loss of forests and clear water and how those losses affect all life in southern Alberta and beyond

• interbeing, a term now widely adopted to refer to a felt sense of our interdependence with all elements of existence

• walking meditation, a practice to connect us more deeply to the Earth 

We will walk in silence in honour of the creatures, forests, and pristine waters of these precious lands.

Schedule:

• Talk and Q&A about the Eastern Slopes - Colin Smith, Land Lovers Network
• Introduction to Interbeing and Walking Meditation
• Silent meditative walk through Confederation Park

If you attend our services online, we’d love for you to stick around and connect with others after the service—or arrive a little early for a pre-service hello. Join the conversation here (the link is the same each week—no need to memorize it, just bookmark it!): https://meet.google.com/qvo-beqy-rqx

• ~50-150 words
• Please provide any images or links 
• Please give the contact info for people for seeking more information 
• Sent in by Tuesday at noon