Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:58:17 -0700WeeblyFri, 05 Dec 2025 00:16:01 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/a-remembrance-day-prayer
Maurice Turmel PhD

For lovers lost at sea and in pastures over there
From friends and family here, left at home to bear

World’s troubles all surrounded
Those sent over there
They had to travel far
Before they could even dare
Standing up to tyranny
So many hearts laid bare
Standing up for good reason
For those who would be scared
Families that were left behind
Broken hearted and afraid
Now facing the inevitable
By those who went away
Feeling lost perhaps before
But still willing to go and dare
Taking on every challenge
Regardless of being scared
In the meantime back at home
The women, they lay bare
Their feelings of hurt before and after
For those who chose to dare
Their sons, their daughters
Their husbands and their wives
Putting themselves forward
Risking all their lives

To help those under attack
By so many unholy ties
Having left home forever it seemed
With sad tears filling their eyes
Such sorrow that oft runs so deep
And fills us all with grief
For those who chose that purpose
Putting their lives into such heat
We remember them truly
On this day, wherever they lie
We remember their soul sacrifice
We remember their sacred lives
They are never to be forgotten
They are always to be realized
Friends and Family who had fallen


]]>Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:25:28 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/why-i-come - by Penny

We discuss issues that are relevant to the world around us and how our principles can help guide us. I'm attracted to a place where we can explore the whole variety and meaning of life.

]]>Mon, 27 Oct 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/questions-are-welcome- Doreen
I come to the UCN because questions are not only welcomed but are expected.

]]>Mon, 05 May 2025 17:46:49 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/as-a-unitarian-universalist-why-do-i-go-to-church-by Jacob Santos
I had to pause and reflect on that question. One reason, I must admit, is rooted in my upbringing. From my earliest years, I attended church weekly and experienced the deep value of belonging to a religious community—sharing our values with others through life’s joys, sorrows, and concerns.
While I appreciate that foundation, I’ve also struggled with religious communities where belonging is based on affirming a specific set of beliefs or creeds. Over the course of my spiritual journey, I’ve come to recognize that while my beliefs and views may shift and evolve, my core values remain constant. What I longed for was a religious community that focused less on what we believe and more on how we live.
Over the years, I’ve visited many religious denominations, but I’ve always found myself returning to Unitarian Universalism— where people with different beliefs and shared values gather together in religious community. I also kept returning because of my interests in history and theology, I particularly found our Universalist heritage intriguing. Today, I look to our eight U.U. principles for spiritual insight, as well as some of the previous declarations of the Universalists such as the Winchester Profession of Faith.
So why do I go to church? I go to church to be in fellowship with others, to uphold my values, to relish in tradition and to continue the flame of this liberal religious faith, Unitarian Universalism.

]]>Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:18:21 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/moving-from-winter-to-spring-my-transformation- By Nancy Miller
Before leaving the U.S. and coming to Canada I was in a very broken, dark place. Writing has helped me to sift through all the darkness and speak my truth. Here is my story:
 
                                                                                     MY PAST
I was in a bad place by January of this year. It was both literally and metaphorically my winter season. I was stuck in a life that had lost all meaning and purpose, and I couldn’t find my path forward. But, as fate would have it, Nick and I were offered a cottage to stay in from Jan-March, in NotL, Canada. This cottage became my sanctuary, a place I could be removed from the stress, anxiety and pain I was feeling every day of my life in Rochester, NY. I discovered that I was not running away from my past or the horrible things happening in my country, but instead I was running towards discovering my true identity and purpose. With meditation and a lot of soul searching, I began rewriting my story and charting a path to healing. One of the first decisions I made was to join the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara and this is where my transformation began.
 
Nick and I started to attend services at the UCN, and in the first week the topic we were asked to think about was Transformation. Reverend Pat put forth a list of questions and asked that you simply pick one question that speaks to you the most and let it lead you where you need to go. It was as if she handed me a guide to help me make the changes that would direct me to a new, happier, healthier and purposeful life. So here are the questions that I thought about and meditated on, that led me to my writing.
          Are you really longing to be transformed or could it be that your heart just wants to be understood?
          Are you sure your transformation lies in following the light? Or might Life instead be calling you to befriend the dark? Is your challenge imagining what is possible or being honest about the past?
 
As I reflected on these questions, I started to realize that I can’t run away from or pretend the past didn’t happen. After all, it is what made me the person I am now; I do not have to let it define me. By befriending the dark, my past became the basis for my present and future and what I can become, my transformations.
 
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” —Carl Jung. I needed to do the hard work.
 
I have met the struggles that winter held for me and have learned to let go of what no longer serves me.
 
                                                                MY PRESENT AND FUTURE
 
“The spring equinox refers to the moment when day and night are nearly equal in length, marking the beginning of spring.” I am a Libra, which means I am always looking to have things in balance. So for me, the spring equinox brings that much needed balance into my life. Now it’s time to move on to spring and to the beautiful growth and transformation it brings. I can now live in the present, and as nature awakens, so shall my need for renewal and fresh beginning. I am energized and inspired to set new intentions and trust that the natural world and the people I have surrounded myself with will give me guidance and comfort.
 
 
I am hoping that all of you here at the UCN will help me to do the work that is needed of me to discover and strengthen my spirituality, which has been sorely missing in my life, so that the transformations I am yearning for can help shape the next chapter of my life.


]]>Mon, 02 Nov 2020 15:30:01 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/the-covid-divideby Maurice Turmel PhD

We have entered into an arena where the rules are unknown. Infection rates are skyrocketing around the world. Here, in North America, we have seen record increases in infection rates over the past few weeks.
We seem to be at a loss as to how to educate and prepare ourselves for what this pandemic has yet to deliver. We are operating on a scarcity basis, not knowing what rules to follow other than the basics of hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing.
The world is facing an unprecedented challenge, one not seen for over 100 years. We are flying by the seat of our pants. Daily news fills us with “do’s” and “don’t’s,” and regularly these messages. We are called upon to fend for ourselves in the sense that we have to act on these unfamiliar and precautionary measures.
We are becoming aware. We have been cast into the fray where we must pay attention to the simplest of details lest we put ourselves in danger. We are aware of how interrelated we all are and where the simplest mistakes can lead to disaster. We are witness to others’ scrutiny of our person and their worries become a signal to us to pay attention. We are aware of our own limitations in this pandemic experience, forcing us to reevaluate every move we make. We are aware of how lonely it has become not being able to hug family and friends.
We have become more aware of those who serve us at the grocery stores and other essential services necessary for daily survival, people who were more or less invisible to us before, people to whom we now practice the simplest of gratitudes. We are acutely aware of our health care professionals and how they stand between us and this Covid virus they deal with every day.
We are more attuned to the preciousness of life and how vulnerable we all are if someone lets up their guard or proves to be reckless with the basics of mask wearing, social distancing and hand sanitizing. We are routinely advised that errors in these regards can lead to serious consequences. And we are seriously affronted when someone who needs to set an example is completely dismissive of these basic requirements.
The divide grows. There are those who take the pandemic seriously and those who eschew it as some kind of conspiracy designed to control us. The latter are the same people who totally disregard what the experts and medical specialists are telling us. This is a travesty, of course, and such individuals cannot be educated to the truth.
We are at a point of divide in terms of these two groups: those that practice the now necessary precautions and those that flout them. We have decisions to make. Who do we associate with? Who do we ignore? Who do we evade altogether? Never before in our current lifetime has such a rigid divide been put before us.
The answer to this dilemma is simple at best, but painful nonetheless. We cannot ignore our own hearts and what we have come to understand about this state of affairs. We have to choose our own path based on the principles that inform us.
Our hearts may be in agony over this, but our health requires it. We must choose what’s best for ourselves given the consequences that could be so severe. It’s time to put up or shut up. We must stand up for what we truly believe and make ourselves and our needs be the determiners of action. We must choose!
There are do’s and don’t’s of pandemic living . There are no excuses to be made. What has to be done is necessary given the current state of affairs. We can not ignore what has to be done for the safety of all.
So what can we do? We can open our hearts and see our way through this. Let’s appreciate our interconnectedness. Let’s celebrate our essential workers with a smile and by thanking them, using their name, usually posted on their uniform. Let’s show them they are visible and that we do care.
We are here on this Earth for a purpose, to savour the beauty that surrounds us, to appreciate each other in full measure, and to realize how important we all are to each other and to the whole of mankind. We are facing the realization that collectively we are One Body experiencing this pandemic together, learning through necessity new ways to maneuver through it, while appreciating much needed solace wherever we can find it.
There’s no doubt we can do this. Mankind has been here before. We are at the point where there can be no more waffling. There’s work to be done. We recognize the necessity that science must be adhered to. And we know it’s up to us to make that choice.
What’s the alternative? The American White House has been guilty of ignoring the truth about the seriousness and devastating nature of this pandemic. Look at where they are now. The pandemic has come home to roost, and the leadership that chose to downplay it and ignore it is paying the price. From the President on down the members of this leadership team have become an epicentre of their own making. Their most recent garden event, where attendees chose not to wear masks or practice social distancing, has resulted in two dozen infections and still counting. How are they going to spin that? It is absolutely essential for good sense to take the lead and science has that mandate. There’s no denying its importance.
Nations of the world are coming together, helping their own citizens and helping each other. This planet’s citizens are learning from each other and supporting each other, with the growing belief that we can find our way through this. The time has come to step up and be who we really are, one nation under the laws of the Universe dedicated to the purpose of helping each other survive this pandemic while healing the wounds of former divisions.
Let us consider this and make our choice together. The pandemic has shown us what is now blatantly obvious. We need each other. Let’s make that choice and start pulling together. We can do this!


]]>Tue, 21 Jan 2020 00:09:03 GMThttps://www.unitarian-stcatharines.org/blog/monsey-on-my-mind 
By Penny Blake

I hate talking about anti-Semitism

The above link refers to an article that strikes a chord: I also hate talking about anti-Semitism. I’m well aware that, thank goodness, my friends and acquaintances don’t harbour the vice, and that I’m far away from the hot spots in Europe and the USA.
 
And yet, and yet … It seems that every Jewish holiday lately seems to be marred by some serious, violent incident somewhere. So, after celebrating the seventh candle of Chanukah with my son and his partner’s family in Toronto, a rare and precious moment of family togetherness, I learn of the machete assault at another get together in a New York community on the very same day.
 
Where does that leave me, here in small-town Canada?  Well, new security measures are in place, even here.  At the synagogue kitty-corner to us you have to clear it with the office first if you want to visit or someone wants to invite you.  There is some security out front as well. It’s a far cry from what’s in place in some places in Europe. Recently, I was reading a letter from a young student who had just moved from Belgium. To her, security meant armed police, even the army outside her Jewish school. The lack of that here felt positively liberating. Whereas, to me, the small but real increase in security measures we have here feels oppressive.
 
The cause of all this sometimes feels mysterious, but in some ways it’s not rocket science. The times are out of joint, and anti-Semitism is playing the role it always has. For those, such as white supremacists, who believe they are losing privileges to which they believe they are entitled, Jews become a threat.  For those that are marginalized, who feel powerless, anti-Semitism proves an easy conduit for their anger and resentment.
 
The real shame is that this increases fear and anger in all of us, and this can divide and polarize us even more. Too many of my Facebook friends are using these events to point fingers, left vs right and vice versa.  In truth, we’re all more powerful than we realize. We all have the power to break the sometimes all-too-fragile bonds of human solidarity.
 
Here are two other articles that I found helpful. The first goes more into the specific circumstances and communities that this affects. The other, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, is more spiritual and should give hope to us all:

Do not politicize anti-Semitism, says New York's new Jewish security czar 

The Keys to Understanding American anti-Semitism - and Fighting Back

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