4th Annual Neighbourhood Easter Egg Hunt

Please join us on Sunday, March 31st, 2013 (rain or shine) at 9:30AM sharp at the Oak Street Community Garden (west end of Oak Street) for an egg hunt. Bring your own basket!

Parents/Grandparents/Guardians: We will collect $2 per child towards the cost of goodies. Please drop off ahead of time with your name and children's names on the envelope at Unitarian Place, 206 Concession Street. Please let us know of any allergies or special needs in your house.

If you have no small children in your house, please come along for a cup of coffee, watch the hunt, and socialize with your neighbours. Grandchildren and visiting children are welcome, but please be sure to call ahead with the numbers to be sure we have enough goodies for all.

Coffee, juice, and muffins will be served as well, so we can keep up with the kids!

R.S.V.P. to Dave Kay by March 28th at dawkay@yahoo.com or 613-484-5687.

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Brought to you by the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship and Urban Agriculture Kingston.

CUC Resolutions for 2013

At its annual conference and meeting in Calgary in May 2013 the Canadian Unitarian Council will consider resolutions for discussion and approval. These resolutions are important in affecting the internal operation of the organization as well as its national social action. To see the resolutions and how to make pre-conference input go to CUC Resolutions Process.

There are seven resolutions, on these issues:

1. CUC By-Law changes responding to new federal rules on non-profit organizations
2. Improving democracy within the CUC
3. A method for enabling an effective CUC response to emerging national issues
4. Actions mitigating harmful climate change
5. Making input to Bill C-31 on immigration and refugee protection
6. Considering proposed new contribution rates to the CUC from member organizations on behalf of youth and young adult members
7. Opposing the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway gas pipeline.

The Kingston Unitarian Fellowship may make input on the resolutions if there is sufficient interest by members and friends; however, such input must be made by Feb 28.

New Street Sign for 206 Concession Street

Kingstonians driving along Concession Street may well drive past 206 without realizing that the building is home to the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship. That should change soon once our new sign is in place later this month.

The building at 206 Concession is owned by the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship, but is also home to a number of businesses and organizations, such as the Yes We Can Kingston Co-op. Recently, the congregation chose the name "Unitarian Place" for the building.

With the new sign in place, we hope to increase awareness in the community of our building, and what it can offer to the community. For example, rooms are available for meetings and events. Visit our web site at www.kuf.ca for more information on room rentals.

December is a Great Month to Visit KUF

This December is a great month to attend a service at the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship. This month is "Bring a friend to KUF" month, and so there should be something for everyone. But you don't need a friend to invite you. If you've never been to KUF, you're always welcome.

On Sunday December 9, 10:30am, our guest speaker is Dr. Mark Chen, a physicist at Queen's University. Have you ever wanted to explore physics deep in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory? So did Stephen Hawking. Dr. Chen will share some observations from their recent conversation at SNO in a talk called "Science and the Human Spirit."

On Sunday December 16, 10:30am, we have our annual holiday season inter-generational service "The Coyote's Solstice." As we fill our winter mitten tree and the animals settle in for Winter Solstice, picture a child, shivering in the night. Will there be shelter and warmth? What do we really long for in this season?

Of course, there's a Christmas Eve service on December 24 at 6pm. Our children are reminding us that this will be our second Chistmas Eve in our "new" building. The theme this month is Blessing, and we'll count our blessings this year, and see in the hopes placed in a manger, our own longing in our lives and community.

Finally, although New Year's Day is past December, we want to invite you to our annual New Year's Interfaith service. Join with seven faith groups and our Vocal Volunteers in an exploration of "Wholeness." Our offering this year will go to the Kingston Community Chaplaincy, which offers resources to people transitioning from prison to the community, and is facing funding cuts.

Jim Scott Concert

Jim Scott

World Musician & Guitarist

A Concert at Unitarian Place

206 Concession Street

Friday 7:00 pm

November 23rd

$15 tickets at the door

Community Potluck 6pm all welcome

Composer, guitarist and singer Jim Scott brings a warmth and humor with his well-crafted jazz and world folk music influenced songs. Formerly a member of the Paul Winter Consort, Jim was co-composer of their celebrated “Missa Gaia/Earth Mass” and sang their anthem song “Common Ground.” He uses well a prodigious guitar mastery and clear voice, to encourage all to get involved with the messages and ideals of peace, justice and the earth that he raises.

Scott has toured the world, recorded a number of CDs of original music and published a growing line of choral works. A co-creator of the “Green Sanctuary”, Jim also compiled the "Earth and Spirit Songbook," an anthology of over 100 songs of earth and peace. Find out more at jimscottmusic.com.

Start your weekend with a potluck at 6 pm or the concert at 7 pm .

KUF Starts a New Season

Tuesday was “back to school” in Kingston and the skies opened with a deluge of rain! We needed the rain, the ground soaked it up and I hope there wasn’t too much flooding. Sunday September 9 is “Back to KUF”, and I hope the weather will cooperate and extend a welcome to everyone who finds their way to KUF after our summer break. If you don’t know your way around our “new” home at 206 Concession, why don’t you ask someone for a tour! Ask me or anyone who has been a regular since we moved in six months ago on a Sunday morning and we’ll be happy to give you a tour of the building! Services resume September 9 at our usual 10:30 am time.

Here’s a preview – or an invitation if you are considering your first visit.

• We’re located at 206 Concession – between Macdonnell and Victoria Streets. You might recognize the building as the former Steelworkers Hall or Digigraphics. It is now Unitarian Place, the home of Kingston Unitarian Fellowship and we share the building with others.   
• What is the best way to enter for Sunday Service? We have a spacious parking lot. On the west side of the building toward the back is a door with a black awning and a small KUF sign. That door takes you into a half flight of stairs up to the main level. The children’s Religious Exploration program is on that level. There is an elevator up to the top floor where we hold our Sunday Service, beginning at 10:30 am.
• We reserve the parking spaces closer to the front door of the building for anyone who finds the accessible front door entrance more helpful. There is a ramp to the front door and one can walk or roll to the elevator to the second floor and the Sunday Service.
• New to everyone is the exciting addition of a baby grand piano! A member has kindly loaned up this wonderful enhancement to our Vocal Volunteers. Singing is enjoyed by many and the acoustics are even better than we imagined they would be before the remodeling.
• What is a Sunday Service like and what are the people like who attend KUF? We are quite diverse because we do not offer a creed – but rather a supportive environment where each person considers what they believe and how to consider what others say about life and what constitutes a good life, ethics that strengthen the common good, and then figure out for themselves what makes sense for them. So we sometimes disagree, we are often curious, most of us value intellectual exploration and the warm welcome of community. Every Sunday is different and we often have 2, 3, or more visitors a week.
• Are children welcome? Yes. We begin each service with all ages. We include a Story for All Ages most weeks and then the children go to their planned activities. Because we have no “creed”, our religious exploration is just that - an exploration and discovery about life, what many world religions consider important, just, or worthy of celebration. Learning is fun, participatory, and the same honest exploration for children and youth that is a great value for adult Unitarians.
• 
  On September 9 the service will share the experiences and reflections of a group of us that Paddled the Rideau from Kingston to Ottawa this summer! It was quite an adventure, and on Sunday you can hear how we worked together to complete the journey. September 16 is our Water Ingathering service which again is a celebration of community as we gather after our summer break. Each week is a different issue or topic and all are welcome.

I hope to see you some Sunday morning at KUF.    

Rev. Kathy Sage

KUF Hosting the "No More Fukushimas Peace Walk 2012"

On Saturday, July 21st, the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship and the Quakers will be hosting a group of 9-12 anti-nuclear peace walkers who will be walking around Lake Ontario from July 11th to August 11th. They will be visiting many cities on both sides of the border all around Lake Ontario. During their sojourn, they will have walked a distance of  620 kilometres. On Saturday, they will be travelling along Highway 2 from Gananoque, arriving at Confederation Basin across from City Hall about 5 PM. You are welcome to walk into town with them or to greet them at Confederation Basin.

They will then move to KUF where a pot-luck supper will be held. Following supper the walkers will discuss their walk, their anti-nuclear peace protest including all of the nuclear facilities around Lake Ontario as well as uranium mining at Sharbot Lake. This event is open to everyone. The walkers will resume their walk on Sunday morning.

For more information, contact Jim Willis at kufsocialjustice@hotmail.com.