Last year, and two years before that, on returning from the Ministers Retreat and Canadian Unitarian Council Annual General Meetings, in Mississauga and Montreal, I used this same title for my talks, and I looked back at them in preparation for this one. So much has changed over the three years! There was no mention in my first talk of the things which have taken much of our attention since then, although I found the same sense of joy in the meetings themselves that I experienced last week, in beautiful Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley, and the same wonderful connectedness.

First there were four days with the Unitarian Universalist Ministers of Canada -- 34 of us, from Fredericton to Victoria. (Last year I was able to say “from St. John's to Victoria,” but alas, the St. John's congregation has not been financially able to continue with professional Ministry.) Then there was the long weekend with about 250 attenders at the AGM of the Canadian Unitarian Council. I want to tell you a bit about both those parts of my week in Kelowna, and I hope to give you some of the flavour both of my personal experience of our Canadian connections and the more far-reaching impact of the meetings.

Please keep in mind that you, the Waterloo congregation, are the people who make it possible for me to go to these meetings, through the part of our budget which is dedicated to “Minister's Expenses” Meetings of this kind take the major part of that budget line. One of the reasons I mention this is because whenever there's a choice of accommodations or means of travel, I try to choose “budget style,” as I'm sure you'd wish me to do! So I flew to Kelowna on WestJet on May 13, which is really no hardship at all as WestJet flies from Hamilton, which is a much smaller and friendlier airport than Toronto ñ in fact I use it by choice rather than necessity.

Like all the other Ministers arriving at various times that day, I was met by a member of the Kelowna Congregation and driven to our Retreat location, an Easter Seals camp a little bit north of the city, in beautiful surroundings ñ snow-capped hills, vineyards, lilac blossoms and a picturesque horse ranch. When we'd all gathered, we began our Retreat with a (check-in( with the full group, discovering once again how intimately connected our private lives are with our congregational ministries. We did more of that next day, too, in small groups which gave us the opportunity to interact on a deeper level, sharing our answers to the questions, “What brought you to Ministry? What keeps you in Ministry? What do you need to nurture your Ministry?” That evening, we were privileged to hear Rev. Anne Orfald's “Odyssey,” that is, her spiritual life-story.

A chunk of time in our Retreat was taken up with business matters - it's only once a year that we all get together, so there's plenty of practical and organizational stuff to attend to - but there are always worship services morning and evening. Part of the value of our connecting is in becoming familiar with each other's personal and congregational worship styles and character. As you probably know, no two Unitarian congregations are alike, although we do share many challenges and blessings, and it's wonderful to get to know as much as we can about one another! Also, Ministers in more mainstream churches tend to have colleagues nearby, but we Unitarian Ministers are scattered across the vastness of Canada and treasure communication with each other all the more for that reason.

We had our closing worship and business sessions on the fourth morning (I was this year's Secretary, so was kept busy recording minutes), then moved to the campus of Okanagan University College, a little closer to downtown Kelowna, where the AGM of the Canadian Unitarian Council was being held. My first duty was to join my colleague, Wayne Walder, Minister of the Neighbourhood UU Congregation in Toronto, at a meeting of the Canadian UU Chaplains Association, in our capacities as members of the CUC's Chaplaincy Committee. We spoke with the 20 or so Chaplains gathered there about their concerns for the future direction of the Chaplaincy programme in Canada. There was a very productive couple of hours discussion of our common interests and tasks. Between our two groups, we're producing a Lay Chaplains Manual and a Resource Book which will be helpful, we believe, in the training of new Lay Chaplains.

The AGM itself, with the theme of “Widening Our Vision; Renewing Our Strength,” began on Friday evening, when there was the banner parade and In-Gathering service. Just as last year, it was lovely to see our Waterloo banner proudly carried by Lee and displayed with all the others from across Canada. They decorated the main meeting space all weekend and were a visual reminder of both our diversity and our connections, from coast to coast.

On Saturday morning, after an excellent keynote address by Anglican Archbishop David Crawley on Religious Communities in Exile, I co-facilitated, with Chris Lilley from Vancouver and Penny Kome, CUC's media consultant, a workshop called Public Relations on a Shoestring. One of the things that participants were specially interested in was our way of welcoming newcomers, which as many of you know has developed from the suggestions of several people here. I hope it will continue to evolve, with your input, because the way we help people to feel invited and comfortable here is one of the most important aspects of our public relations.

The Business Meetings of the weekend included the very important vote on the proposed new structure of the independent Canadian Unitarian Council. For newcomers and those of you who may still be unsure what this is all about, let me fill you in a little. For decades now ( in fact, since shortly after the merger in 1961 of the Unitarian and Universalist denominations into the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Canadian Unitarian Council ( and with increased intensity over the past few years, Canadians have been exploring the possibility of a more autonomous identity, less dependent on the UUA in Boston.

As with any move toward independence, strong feelings have been involved all across the spectrum of opinions, from those who understandably fear that the CUC, with only about 5,000 members across Canada, is too small to survive autonomously, and who fear also the loss of treasured continental connections, to those who find this development exciting and invigorating. At last year's AGM, a large majority voted in favour of independence, and an Implementation Task Force then went to work to produce a blueprint for working it out, with the new structure to come into effect this July 1.

The Task Force's report is called “Of Regions and RiNGs” and provides for four Regions in Canada, currently labelled B.C., the West, Central, and East. Two new full-time staff people will be hired, called “Directors of Regional Services,” one for the two Western Regions and one for the two Eastern ones. A full-time Director of Lifespan Learning will also be hired, to help serve the Religious Education needs of all Canadian congregations. You can imagine that these three people will be very busy indeed, and will need the assistance of many volunteers.

A network of Service Consultants, paid for individual projects, will be developed, and a whole bunch of volunteer network coordinators as well. There's going to be lots of scope for everyone's talents and energy. And the report was so thorough and well thought-through that it was passed ñ not just with a large majority as with the previous years' steps - but unanimously! The CUC Board and all involved with the transition planning were ecstatic ñ I know, because I had dinner with a couple of them at a Kelowna restaurant that evening! And did you know that Lee Dickey has been part of all that planning, particularly in relation to how much it will all cost and how we can provide the financial resources?

In last year's talk, I said that over and over again it was emphasized by those who will be most responsible for implementing the agreement that it's extremely important to take the continuing anxieties and reservations of the dissenting minority into account as plans are made to complete the structural changes by July 1, 2002. There is no attitude by CUC leadership of “They'll just have to live with it,” but rather a sense that “We must find ways to make this as good a process as possible for everyone, with all their diversity of hopes and fears.” I think the unanimous vote last weekend was testimony to how well that has been done. And even before the vote was taken, we here in Waterloo had been asked, and agreed, to host the first day-long Annual Meeting of this Region, on October 26! Look for more information in the June “Window” about that - it's going to be wonderful, as we celebrate “The Fellowship of the RiNG” -- that is, the fellowship of the Regional Networking Group.

There was, as always, a banquet on Sunday evening, followed by entertainment from the Kelowna congregation. I left after breakfast on Monday morning to fly to Calgary where my second daughter, Sara, lives, and we had a brief but beautiful visit before I came home on Tuesday. I can use the very same words I used last year -- “It had been, indeed, a fine weekend.” As I think about the future for the Canadian Unitarian Council, and as I think about the future of our congregation here, I have similar feelings in both cases. I feel about the CUC and about this Unitarian Congregation of Waterloo that there is tremendous energy, amazing potential, superb gifts and skills. I'm convinced we can achieve almost anything we want to, as a community here and as a Canadian movement. But I know it will need all kinds of help, including the money to make it possible.

You give steadily and generously to the work of this congregation, and through being members you also support the denomination as we send dues for each member to the CUC. Those dues-per-member will be slightly higher this year, to reflect the very high start-up costs of the new structure, but a deficit is still forecast for the next few years, until we're well-established. Itís for that reason that some months ago our Board approved taking a special collection at this service ñ the one we didn't take on “Sharing Our Faith” Sunday in February. It seemed that the Sunday after the vote for our new structure would be even more appropriate, and that you'd sense the excitement of the time, and the needs of this new venture. I ask, especially, that those of you who are not members, and who therefore may not contribute in a regular way to the work of the CUC, will consider giving a donation today which reflects your belief in the value of this free religious movement and the support you find here for your personal search. Please give as generously as you can ñ and of course you will be sent a tax receipt.

We'll pass out envelopes during the closing hymn, and you can put your donation in, then place the envelope in the basket on the round table as you leave. You will be supporting the project which was the theme of the AGM in Kelowna - “Widening Our Vision; Renewing Our Strength.” And that, I believe, is a Good Thing.