Category: Themes
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Our Music: A Month For Singing!
by Susanne Maziarz, Music Director at Neighbourhood Our hymn of the month is the same as last December, Shelley Jackson Denham’s (1950-2013) Dark of Winter, #55. It is a beautiful four-part hymn, beautiful in both text and music and so profoundly appropriate for this time of year. The lyrics are as follows: Dark of winter,…
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Families Growing Together: An Opportunity For Growth
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Peace is a concept that is often misunderstood. We confuse peace with being free of conflict and calmness. December can be a time of sheer joy but it can also prime us for anger, frustration and hurt. For some, the holiday season is a reminder of how much…
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Families Growing Together: Common Good
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Let’s Start A Conversation! “Parent shaming” usually occurs on social media where it is easier to criticize someone, behind the protective barrier of a computer or phone screen, than it is do in person. But it hurts no less. There is an old African proverb that “it takes…
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Our Music: Collaborative Music
by Susanne Maziarz, Music Director at Neighbourhood Our hymn of the month for the theme of Gratitude is the product of a collaborative effort between Neighbourhood member and poet Peter Marmorek, and myself. I invited members of the congregation to submit their original poetry to me to be set to music. I received many entries…
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Families Growing Together: The Gratitude Bond
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Why is gratitude so hard to teach? As children, we are taught gratitude as a social habit. We are encouraged to continue in the hope that it becomes more than just something we should do. At some point, we hope that ourselves and our children recognize that gratitude…
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Our Music: Debate on a Hymn
by Susanne Maziarz, Music Director at Neighbourhood For this month of Hope, our hymn of the month will be the African-American spiritual, #95 – There is More Love Somewhere. The lyrics are: There is more love somewhere. (2x) I’m gonna keep on, ‘til I find it. There is more love somewhere. The word “love” is…
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Families Growing Together: Hope Can Be Fickle
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning A long time ago, I used to hope that there would be no hill that I had to march up to get to school every morning. I’d lay in bed and say “God, could you get rid of that hill, just today? Just this once?” Of course it…
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Our Music: Come and Join Us
by Susanne Maziarz, Music Director at Neighbourhood Are you hiding your inner rocker? There is a chance for you to come out and be part of the music made at our Sunday service. Neighbourhood’s Spirit Band is always looking for instrumentalists and vocalists to join us in preparing for one of our Sunday services. The…
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Families Growing Together: Finding Authenticity
by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning Does your family need to come out? Are you struggling to keep up appearances? Coming out used to be an term to establish young women as acceptable and proper in society. Now, it has so much more meaning: authenticity, hope, realness. Envious thoughts can soon follow as we…
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Our Music: Finding Discipline in Chanting
by Susanne Maziarz, Music Director at Neighbourhood Have You Tried It? Since attending my first Singing Meditation service in Texas in 2013, I have made co-leading a public interfaith chant circle (along with Fred Maycock) one of my monthly spiritual practices. Last year we began a short version of our Sunday evening chant/meditation circle to…