Rev. Samaya Oakley has been the Minister of the South Fraser Unitarians since August 2016. She received her Masters of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology and has worked with Unitarian Universalist communities at the local, national and continental levels for the past twenty years.
We gather together with so many emotions. Among us we have the courageous and those who are trying to be brave. With each in breath and each out breath, each word, each song, we are nourished and gain comfort in our ability to be together.
Coming Through the Pandemic If there is one thing we have learned about living with COVID, it is that we can’t go it alone. While we may be required to physically distance, we know that we know that we need each other like we never have before. It’s the power of community that helps us recover the ability to stand before nature with awe and not arrogance. Just as we need each other, South Fraser Unitarians need each one of us to be sustained and nourished. Join us for the kick-off to our annual canvas.
Wiccan priestess, Starhawk says that “we are all longing to go home to some place we have never been – a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats.” We give thanks on this day for the power and blessing of the community of South Fraser Unitarians.
Pet Blessing – Join us as we engage in our annual practice of blessing the creatures of this world that have the ability to draw us more deeply into the circle of life, into the wonder of our common relationship to our Creator. The bond between person and their pet is unlike any other relationship, because the communication between fellow creatures is at its most basic. Eye-to-eye, a man and his dog, or a woman and her cat, are two creatures of love. For this service you are invited to either send in a picture of your pet or have it at the ready in your home to lift up and have visible at the time of blessing.
We’ve all seen the posters listing out the major religions of the world. This service explores the similarities and differences in the religions of the world. This service invites each one of us to lean into the religions of the world in an attitude of cultural humility. Join us as we begin to delve deeply into the wisdom of the world’s religions that inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life.
As the weather begins to turn to fall, we gather. We gather to remember that we belong to something greater than ourselves. While we can’t gather together to mingle our waters together as is our tradition, this year you are invited to send along a picture of you pouring water into one of the many bodies of water that we live among. Send your picture to Rev. Samaya at minister@surreyunitarians.ca by Saturday, September 12th. For the service, you’ll want to have a small bowl of water with you.
South Fraser Unitarians take a break from our weekly Sunday services over the summer months. We’re sorry we’ve missed you! Take time to peruse our website, our soul matters packets, and sign up to receive our Chalice Lighter to keep updated on our events throughout the summer! We look forward to having you with us on September 6th when we resume our regular weekly services.
Join us for what has become an annual service – a blessing of the community as we take a break from Sunday services for the summer months. For this service, make sure you have a paper heart and pens or art supplies nearby.
Join us in an experimental alternative service where we look forward to the months of September to November. We’ll gather in community and sacred space to dream about the types of services we want.
Join us for the blessing of our unique Unitarian ritual of flower communion on Mother’s Day. You are invited to send Rev. Samaya a picture of you with flowers, and to have a picture of your mother with you for the service.
