Unitarian Church of Montreal

Welcome to our multicultural community

 We are the first Unitarian church in all of Canada, founded in 1842.  We meet every Sunday at 10:30 in our beautiful, unique sanctuary at 5035 de Maisonneuve West. Our minister is the Rev. Diane Rollert.

What's happening this week: Jan. 29 - Feb. 5

Lighthouse or Clubhouse? Which Are We? is the title of this Sunday's sermon by  Rev. Carole Martignacco, Sabbatical Minister, with music by Sandra Hunt on the piano with the Parts in Peace Choir. The service begins at 10:30 - everyone is welcome and childcare is provided. During the month of January, all unidentified cash in the collection baskets will be donated to Head and Hands, an organization that works with youth to promote their physical and mental well-being.  This Friday at 6 pm is our first Friday of the month potluck - bring along a dish to share and see what our community is all about.  Read on to find out about more activities this week, such as play group, choir, and social and environmental concerns committee.

Suite Italienne: a Concert this Saturday

Gary Russell, cellist and Sandra Hunt, pianist, are playing an evening concert at the church this Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 pm.
They'll perform Suite Italienne by Igor Stravinsky, who was inspired by the antics of commedia dell'arte characters - Pulcinella and Pimpinella - and  the music of Pergolesi. They'll continue with Studies on English Folk Song by Vaughan Williams, and end with the Cello Sonata by Francis Poulenc which combines pungent wit and ebullience with a nostalgic, poignant lyricism.
Suggested donation: $25 for adults, with all funds going to the music program at the church.   Refreshments will be offered at intermission.
Hope to see you all there!

Finding Time for the Holy

A Sermon/Reflection by The Reverend Carole Martignacco
15 January 2012

And I have felt a presence that disturbs me
with the joy of elevated thoughts;
A sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.
– William Wordsworth

Finding time for the holy is related to three timely words I'd like to explore with you this morning
related to my ministry here: Sabbath … Shabbat … sabbatical.

What's up this week: January 22 - 29

Join us this Sunday, January 22, at 10:30 am for an intriguing service entitled Your Shenpa is Showing, delivered by Amber Dawn Bellemare and music by Danielle Smith. Afterwards, join us for lunch and discover pasta served many ways, including a gluten-free faux pasta (spaghetti squash) by January's showcase chef, Susan Gyetvay, followed by salad and sweets. Donations appreciated. All proceeds
go to fund future Hospitality Committee events and social justice initiatives.  
Après le « Moment pour tous les âges » tous les enfants de 5 à 12 ans sont invités à rejoindre Julie Richard à la Chapelle des enfants. The nursery will be staffed for younger children who prefer a lightly structured program.
During the month of January, all unidentified cash in the collection baskets will be donated to Head and Hands, an organization that works with youth to promote their physical and mental well-being.  Read on for more events coming up this week.

Coming Full Circle

Coming Full Circle
A Sermon/Reflection by Reverend Carole Martignacco
8 January 2012

Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.
The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth
is round like a ball, and so are the stars.
The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down in a circle.
Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing,
and always come back again to where they were.
The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood.
And so it is in everything where power moves.
- Black Elk, of the Oglala Sioux

Coming full circle, my friends, isn’t the same as dizzily “going around in circles.” Though it feels as if I’ve done a bit of that in the past week, getting settled in my new digs here in Montreal, learning the UCM routine, finding where to park and trying to get my car restarted.

What's happening this week: January 15 - 22

Join us this Sunday, January 15 at 10:30 am as our sabbatical minister, Rev. Carole Martignacco, delivers a sermon entitled Finding Time for the Holy. Music by Sandra Hunt. The children's choir will meet at 10 and sing for the chalice lighting as the service begins.

During the month of January, all unidentified cash in the collection baskets will be donated to Head and Hands, an organization that works with youth to promote their physical and mental well-being.
A   community potluck lunch will be held for Religious Education folks, followed by a Spirit Play workshop, as well as a meeting of the Mulano group parents. Child care available. Please RSVP to Religious Education director, Caroline Balderston Parry at 514-485-9933. French R.E. will be held next Sunday, January 22.

Read on for more activities happening this week.

What's happening this week: January 7 - 14

Please join us on Sunday, January 8, at 10:30 am for a sermon entitled Coming Full Circle, delivered by our sabbatical minister, Rev. Carole Matignacco (Rev. Diane Rollert is in the Philippines until April). Music by pianist Sandra Hunt. After the time for all ages, all the children will meet in the Children's Chapel to walk the small labyrinth together.
Please bring non-perishable food items to share with the NDG Food Depot.
During the month of January, all unidentified cash in the collection baskets will be donated to Head and Hands, an organization that works with youth to promote their physical and mental well-being.
Read on for more activities happening this week.

A New Year Begins: What's Happening January 1 - 8, 2012

Wishing all of you a healthy and happy 2012. May you nuture and inspire others and take action in the world. Not sure how to do that? Come visit our active community and find out! Read on to find an activity or group that interests you. Or come to our fire communion service this Sunday, January 1 at 3 p.m. No matter what you believe (or don't believe) you are welcome.

Please note our holiday hours The Church office will be closed until 9 am on Tuesday, January 3.  Telephone messages will be checked daily and mail will be checked on Thursday, December 28.

Candlelight Service

Join us this evening, December 24 at 5:30 p.m., for a candlelight service.

What's happening this week: December 18 - January 1, 2012

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and New Year.
We wish you the strength to meet any challenge;
the joy of knowing you are loved;
the satisfaction of rendering service and 
the peace of a quiet heart!

Join us Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10:30 for Celebrate the Dark: A Multigenerational Solstice Service with our director of religious education, Caroline Balderston Parry, Nicoline Guerrier and the children. Music by pianist Sandra Hunt and the Parts in Peace Choir.
Because our theme is "Celebrate the Dark," we are asking the children to wear dark clothing if possible.   
Please bring your donations for the Mitten Tree. Stay after the service for our annual Christmas/Winter Solstice/Multigenerational Potluck with tourtière, quiche, salads, sweets and holiday treats! Suggested donation: $5 per person/$10 per family. Donations appreciated. All proceeds go to future hospitality committee events.
And all are welcome to join in our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service on Saturday, December 24 at 5:30.

What's happening this week: Dec. 11-18

Join us this Sunday, Dec. 11, the day after Human Rights Day, as we welcome special guest Flora Terah, a former parliamentary candidate in Kenyan elections in 2007, who was attacked and tortured by a gang of men warning her against running for office. Her son was murdered in March 2008 and her story became a case study for Amnesty International on the state of the world's human rights. The service, entitled We, the Global Village: One Kenyan's Story, begins at 10:30. Music provided by Sandra Hunt.
On Tuesday, the Carmina Choir will hold a special Christmas concert in the Sanctuary.
During the month of December, all unidentified cash in the collection baskets will be given to the Montreal Diet Dispensary which annually provides nutrition and moral support to two thousand women in need during their pregnancy and during the first months after the birth of the baby. Read on for information on other activities happening this week.

We are not Gadgets

Rev. Diane Rollert, December 4, 2011

Here’s the picture. I’m sitting with my laptop on my lap. I’ve got at least ten windows open – windows on my computer, that is. Within each window is another resource for today’s sermon: An article sent to me by my son: Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr. Carr’s article has linked me to another article: The Pancake People or “The Gods Are Pounding My Head” by Richard Foreman. In another window, I can hear the sounds of radio host Krista Tippet interviewing Sherry Turkle, founder and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. Another window displays the transcript of the interview. In yet another window, there’s the website that has delivered Gilles Vigneault’s lyrics Avec nos yeux for today’s reading (I actually found the song in a printed book, but the web saved me from having to retype the words). There is a host of documents open in Word to write notes, and to prepare openings and offerings. To my left is my iPhone, my indispensable
always-on-call-always-connected-to-my-contacts-e-mail-calendar-music-photos-solitaire-angry birds-complete-library-of-classic-novels-to-read-in-the-dark-at-night-and-on-the- metro favourite tool and toy. To my right is David’s iPad open to an electronic version of Jaron Lanier’s book You Are Not a Gadget.

What's happening this week: Dec. 4-11

Email, text messages, Twitter, Facebook...they can all get to be a bit overwhelming, yet so hard to unplug. Join us this Sunday, December 4, as Rev. Diane Rollert delivers a service entitled We Are Not Gadgets: Unplugging for the Holidays. Music provided by pianist Sandra Hunt. Service starts at 10:30. Please bring non-perishable food items to share with the  NDG Food Depot. 
During the month of December, all unidentified cash in the collection baskets will be given to the Montreal Diet Dispensary which annually provides nutrition and moral support to 2,000 women in need during their pregnancy and during the first months after the birth of the baby.

Also, today after the service, learn to use our new defibrillator. Then join Revs. Diane Rollert and  Carole Martignacco in conversation about passing the baton for Diane's sabbatical in January. Read on for more activities this week.

Spiritual Legacies

Sermon by Nicoline Guerrier, 27 November 29, 2011

There’s a famous line by Mark Twain that goes, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in 7 years.”

This year, for the first time in all my years with this community, I’m spending most Sundays downstairs in the Religious Education program, and so I’m spending a lot of time thinking about what it is the children are looking for from us as teachers.

What's happening this week: Nov. 27 - Dec. 4

This Sunday, November 27, lay chaplain Nicoline Geurrier will deliver a sermon entitled Spiritual Legacies. Our talented pianist and choir director, Sandra Hunt, will provide the music. Service begins at 10:30 a.m.
Children in Spirit Play classes will learn about another Unitarian Universalist heroine today. Join us after the service for a bowl of chowder and home-baked rolls, followed by delicious desserts. L'Abri en Ville will be selling Christmas cards (yes, it is that time again!) Don't forget the congregational budget meeting that begins at 1 p.m. Sunday in the Sanctuary.
During the month of November, all unidentified cash in the collection will be given to St. Michael's Mission (in the church with the red roof), providing assistance, clothing and food to a multilingual and multi-cultural clientele in Montreal's downtown core. Read on for more upcoming events this week.