by Stan Hirst I met my neighbour Elinor in the supermarket the other day. She was in Hot & Cold Cereals studying the side panel of a cornflakes box. As I strolled up she shook her head and replaced the box on the shelf. I recognized the cereal as one I sometimes buy, so I… Continue reading A few things we should know about GMO
Keep It in the Ground: The Biggest Story in the World
by Josef Kuhn Keep what in the ground? Who says this is the biggest story in the world? The ‘what’ is hydrocarbon fuel material in its many forms. Alan Rusbridger, Editor-in-chief of The Guardian and Bill McKibben, leader of 350.org, got together this past year and from their discussions concluded that ending the mining, transporting… Continue reading Keep It in the Ground: The Biggest Story in the World
Environmental Action and Spiritual Discipline
by Karl Perrin We are so lucky. We live in a heaven: a place of peace and beauty and kindness. We stand on the shoulders of giants – people of truth and service, people with the courage to speak truth to power. As Vancouver Unitarians, we are blessed with this musical architecture of Wolfgang… Continue reading Environmental Action and Spiritual Discipline
Emotions and the environment: its the consequences that matter.
by Stan Hirst This past week the Suzuki Elders held a salon on environmental leadership and the emotional impact of a changing world . We mulled over no less than sixteen emotions and their internal dynamics of causation and possible benefits. We shared anecdotes of how emotions affected ourselves and our personal feelings. I came… Continue reading Emotions and the environment: its the consequences that matter.
Truth and reconciliation reflections
Understanding truth and reconciliation requires us to listen, to witness, and to share. David Suzuki is an adopted son of the Haida First Nations. He is revered by aboriginals across Canada from east to west, north and south. Suzuki Elders were invited to attend the Truth and Reconciliation Dialogue Workshop in Vancouver on August 22… Continue reading Truth and reconciliation reflections
Looking Back and Forth: A Sense of Place
by Erlene Woollard I grew up as a quietly feral child in the deep US South in the midst of a conservative, highly traditional and even rigid decorum. My earliest memories are of much family chaos juxtaposed with the serene visits to my grandparent’s farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was… Continue reading Looking Back and Forth: A Sense of Place
When Are We Going to Get There?
by Lillian Ireland “When are we going to get there?” I pleaded for the umpteenth time, as I sat huddled between my two brothers in the back seat of the Volkswagen Beetle. Through the eyes of a six year old, everything looked the same; the long road, blaring headlights, and blowing snow. How I wanted… Continue reading When Are We Going to Get There?
Ever Lived a Moonbow?
by Roger Sweeny For this retelling I invite you to be my shadow as we climb to the open, moonlit bridge of the Light Cruiser HMCS ONTARIO to begin the Middle Watch (midnight to 0400) on this Battle of Atlantic Sunday, 20th May 1951. Also, since the story involves moon, stars and water, I have… Continue reading Ever Lived a Moonbow?
My Little Hakka Village
by Cynthia Ho Lam I was 3-years-old when I left Shanghai, my mother’s hometown in Mainland China, with my extended family, in the great exodus to flee the Communists, and to retreat to the island of Taiwan, in 1949. Having been colonized for 50 years by Japan, Taiwan was now all of a sudden seeing… Continue reading My Little Hakka Village
My Neighbourhood – Then and Now
by Ellen Leslie I grew up in Westridge, a post-World War II development at the eastern margin of Burnaby, below what is now Simon Fraser University. They skinned the ground to make way for family housing. It was, in those days, a neighbourhood of stay-at-home Mums and working Dads. There were lots of kids. Families… Continue reading My Neighbourhood – Then and Now