Faith and Nature and the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship

2016 Totem Pole Journey Commencement Event

Join the Totem Pole Journey crew as they begin the 2016 Totem Pole Journey. Master Carver Jewell James and Dr. Kurt Russo will be talking about this year's Journey with a Totem Pole to be installed at Where the Two Rivers Meet, in Winnipeg, Manitoba Province, Canada.

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 7:00 pm
1207 Ellsworth St., Bellingham

Guest presenters will include:

BUF Welcome by Rev. Paul Beckel
Traditional Welcome by Richard Solomon and the Solomon Family
Dr. Kurt Russo, Lummi Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office
Master Carver Jewell James, House of Tears Carvers
Fred Lane, Lummi Nation and Totem Pole Journey Crew member
Matt Petryni of RE Sources for Sustainable Communities
Roxanne Murphy, Bellingham City Council

Other guest speakers to be announced.

Oil and the Salish Sea: Fantasy to Fiction

Represent UUs as an Observer to the United Nations COP22!

Would you Like to Represent Unitarian Universalism as an Observer to the United Nations COP22? APPLICATION DEADLINE: MONDAY, AUGUST 1st When: November 7-18, 2016 Where: Marrakech, Morocco Apply: HERE The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is an official “Observer” interest group to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change --- the body of 197 Nation States that created the Paris Agreement on Climate Change last winter. There were six UU official Observers to the COP21 (Conference of the Parties) in Paris. We do not know yet how many Observer seats we will be granted for the COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco, but anyone who is seriously interested in attending as a representative of Unitarian Universalism is invited to apply -- which requires submitting THIS FORM by Monday, August 1st, so that the UU-United Nations Office (UU-UNO) can begin your application process. Applying does not guarantee that you will be an Observer. The application and selection process is expected to take approximately two months.  Do not apply unless you can commit to being there for at least 7 days. US citizens do not need a visa to visit Morocco for a period of less than 90 days. There is no existing scholarship fund to assist in travel expenses, & selected Observers will manage their own travel arrangements. If you are a part of a UU congregation, consider getting in touch with your minister and congregation Board president to see if there is a way that the congregation can financially support the journey. Commit2Respond campaign organizations (particularly UU Ministry for Earth, UU-UNO, UU Young Adults for Climate Justice) will assist by sharing online fundraiser links of Observers who seek to crowd-fund for the journey to Unitarian Universalists across the country. We will also connect selected Observers with one another as soon as possible, to assist in making acquaintances and travel arrangements. The COP22 will likely be live-streamed, for those interested in United Nations climate policy who cannot or do not want to travel to Morocco.  -=-=- Commit2Respond Keep up with Commit2Respond on Facebook and Twitter.

2016 Totem Pole Journey on Faithify!

2016 Totem Pole Journey on Faithify!

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.

For general information:  http://cuc.ca/conference-2016/
Saturday and Sunday Workshops:  http://cuc.ca/conference-2016/workshops/
Registration:  http://cuc.ca/conference-2016/adult-registration/adult-registration-form/