Welcome, bienvenue!!
Greetings from UUEstrie, a liberal spiritual community that first gathered in the village of North Hatley back in 1886, as the First Universalist Church of North Hatley.
Salutations de l'UUEstrie, une communauté spirituelle libérale qui s'est rassemblée pour la première fois dans le village de North Hatley en 1886, sous le nom de Première Église Universaliste de North Hatley.
Join us Sundays at 10:30am for our weekly service.
Rejoignez-nous le dimanche à 10h30 pour notre service.
Henry David Thoreau was part of the Transcendentalist movement in the mid 19th century in Concord, Massachusetts, United States. He spent some time alone in a cabin on Walden Pond reflecting on life, nature, and humankind. Rachel Garber has been a lifelong reader of Thoreau, and has visited Walden Pond twice.
Rev. Mead Baldwin was born and raised in Baldwin’s Mills,” one of God’s most Beautiful places”. With post secondary studies in pure and Applied Science, Religious Studies, and Ministry, he was ordained into the United Church ministry in 1979 and served in New Brunswick, and in the Ottawa area before returning to the Townships ten years ago. He is now based in Waterville. Today he will reflect on the wisdom of children.
This will be a participatory gathering in our Stoddard Hall–a Drum and Song Circle led by Amy Panetta. Amy is a UU from New Jersey, now living in the Townships. She is a music teacher by profession, and looking forward to leading us in this activity, one of our ‘alternate’ winter services. We will build community while drumming together and joining our voice together in a few songs. If you have hand drums, please bring them. If not, we will have a number to choose from.
Musician: Amy Panetta
Our annual Storytelling service, previously scheduled for Jan 20, will now take place on Sunday February 3, and be followed by a potluck lunch after the storytelling. All Welcome to come listen to stories, or tell a story, as well as to stay for potluck lunch.
This is an annual tradition at UUEstrie, already. A participatory service of gentle but extraordinary movement exercises for all. No better way to get yourself centered.
Once a year we choose to feed our souls on a Sunday morning through the time-honored medium of Story, nothing but stories. All are welcome to tell if they like, in English or in French, or just listen. Should you wish to tell, please let Keith know. A potluck lunch will follow the storytelling. All are welcome to stay, and to bring a little something to add to the lunch if they can.
Come celebrate the holiday season with carol singing and Wassail!
Donations of mittens, scarves or tuques are invited to trim the tree, and will be given to refugees entering Canada.
“One word, four voices” is a weekly newspaper column by four interfaith clergy. Every Friday we feature one word in the local Sherbrooke Record from a list of over three hundred, with a brief reflection by four different writers. The idea originated a few years back with funding from CUC Sharing Our Faith and Northern Lights grants for community outreach and interfaith collaboration. When a weekly religion column ended in our local paper, Reverend Carole seized the moment and formed a writing team with three clergy colleagues to fill the space. The “word of the week has become a popular topic of conversation at interfaith and social gatherings.
NOW it’s become a book! Published this October 2018 as both softcover and e-book, it is available through Amazon and all major booksellers. Open to the Spirit: The Soul’s Alphabet, Awakening ~ Zeal, is the first edition in what we hope to be a series, drawn from excerpts of over four years of weekly columns in the Sherbrooke Record. Quoting from the introduction, Rev. Martignacco writes: “Our aim: to give voice to the depths and richness of our experience and to promote awareness of the spiritual dimension amidst the news of the day….We hope this book will further widen the circle of sharing.”
Purchase Open to the Spirit on Amazon.ca
As a member of an interfaith coalition of about a dozen area churches who take turns serving free Friday night suppers to area college and university students. Each semester we take our turn and appear at one of the churches in Lennoxville with kettles and slow cookers filled to the brim. UU Estrie has been dubbed “the chili church” for our familiar menu of veggie and meat chili with toppings, corn bread – gluten free and otherwise, crudités and dessert. Each time our team of 10 to 12 volunteers may serve from 40 to 80 very hungry and grateful students. What a gift to sit and share a meal, exchange stories and learn about their studies. We feel so blessed and energized by the connections we make.
At the heart of our faith is a dedication to encourage each other in our spiritual growth and development. With other Canadian congregations, UU Estrie follows a modified version of theme-based ministry, with at least one monthly service on the designated theme. Spirit of Life is a small group that meets for an evening ritual of readings and personal reflection on each month’s worship theme. We meet for two hours, attendance ranges between 6 and 10, and have over several years continue to hone our skills in active listening and mutual support. Our themes this past year have included some profound explorations on Interdependence, Risk, Connection, Sanctuary, Transformation, Listening, Memory and Mystery.
