Hey folks. This week our gathering will include music, Kids Table, some time to be still (an increasingly rare opportunity), and a Talky Bit for our consideration. In the Talky Bit we’ll be returning to our exploration of what ethics and morals might look like beyond the bounds of religion. In particular, we’ll begin to dig into the possibility that compassion might be the centrepiece of such a notion, and also what some of the challenges to that idea might be.

We’re also getting close to our  Pie In Your Face fundraiser.  (November 3rd). This short video featuring the creative kids of our community recaps how this whole thing works. Please be in touch if you have any questions. Feel free to share the link with anyone that might be interested.

We’ll gather at 10:45 a.m. at VA Cafe. We’ll livestream here and podcast here..

I’ll see you on Sunday.

Peace,

Tim Plett

Hey folks – this is a Full Circle Sunday, so we can look forward to the opportunity to connect in Community Time, sing together, have something for the youngest members of the community, and dig into something challenging in the Talky Bit. We’ll meet at 10:45 a.m. at VA Cafe. We’ll livestream here and podcast here later in the week.

In the Talky Bit, we’ll be starting an exploration of the possibilities of what might form the basis for a wider “human ethics” in a world where that is no longer primarily something given shape by religions. It’s an intriguing question, and one that I believe many “post-religious” travelers can find a bit challenging. I think it’ll be interesting to explore.

And about that survey…We’ve done very little over the years to deliberately ask folks what is working well and not so well for them at The Table. I think that’s been quite consistent with our commitment to making a space where people are not being (or feeling) watched or judged. However, it also means that we don’t know very much about those things. So we’re going to see if we can do something about that, ideally without assailing those other positive values.

Now…I suspect there might be some concerns about this, but let me see if I can put your mind at ease. The survey is online, short, completely voluntary, can be completed anonymously if you wish, and is all reflective, qualitative questions. In other words, we’re listening for experiences and opinions more than gathering data. Think of it like when we sit in a circle for Community Time, but with the circle being online so it can reach more people, and be accessed at everyone’s convenience. In terms of process, I’m going to provide this info now so people can ask their general questions or express their concerns over the coming week (you can always reach me by email at this address, and of course I’m pleased to connect in person), and then next week I’ll provide a link to the survey. Please do reach out if you have any questions.

I’ll see you on Sunday.

I’m guessing, but my guess is that “healing” wasn’t likely included as a reason for most of the field trips any of us have been on. Personally, I can think of one noteworthy exception, which is the last time we gathered as a group at the Kapabamayak Achaak Healing Forest. This Sunday we are planning to revisit that experience, with some additional guides. Details as follows:

For anyone that was not able to join us last year, the forest is located in St John’s Park, near the corner of Fowler St and Anderson Ave – across from St John’s Cathedral. I’ve included a Google link to that location at the bottom of the email. If you are new to the Healing Forest, or simply want a refresher in advance of our gathering, there’s more info in the rest of the blurb.

Kapabamayak Achaak Healing Forest honors Indigenous children lost to or affected by the residential school system, and offers a place for learning and teaching about all injustices from colonialism and racism, past and present. The sharing of our collective stories is a pathway to understanding All Our Relations.

We will be guided in our learning this Sunday by both a “forest keeper” (in this case, Kyle Mason, who was with us last year), and by Elder Don Robinson. Don is an Elder who has been an important person in Theresa’s journey, and is someone I believe will have some deep wisdom for us to learn from.

Other details:

Additional Information:

For a Google link to the location, click here.

I am very excited about this. I know it can be a bit of an “extra” to come to a new location, be outside, etc, but I also know that our time together last year was a very meaningful one that I still often reference in both my own thinking and my interactions with others, particularly regarding matters of reconciliation. My thanks to Brent Johnson who has taken the lead on this from the start, and to Theresa for connecting us with Don Robinson and continuing to keep these themes in view in our life as a community.

If you have any questions, please be in touch.

Hey folks – I hope your long weekend was a good one, and I’m looking forward to being back in a shared space with you.

We’ll gather at VA Cafe at 10:45 a.m. to share what songwriter Leonard Cohen once called ” a slice of…life” with one another, and to reflect a bit on some possible lessons being outdoors might teach us about our deep human drive to make religions. More stories than philosophy in this one, I think, if that appeals to you.

For those not able or inclined to join us in person, we’ll livestream here and podcast the Talky Bit later in the following week here. Join as you are able, reflect at your leisure. How lovely.

I’ll see you on Sunday!

Let me start with a disclaimer. If I was asked to sit in / jam with a musical hero of mine (say, the bass player Marcus Miller), I would sheepishly decline, partly out of deference but also because I would so clearly be out of my league. I won’t be starting the Talky Bit on Sunday with a history review of Scotland (where Corinne and I have been adventuring while away), because Tim Penner already did that like a rock star on behalf of Ireland. The details differ and the politics are unique to the locations, but when it comes to religious conflict in particular there is a fair bit of overlap. Catholic  vs. Protestant, Protestant Version A vs. Protestant Version B, shake, stir in violence, repeat. I’m not trying to diminish the harm, just pointing out that the themes are familiar. The net result often feels like the near-annilation of something filled with good potential – communities of love and kindness caring for one another and those around them, and the leaving behind of only the physical spaces. In many cases. even those feel like they have survived despite religionsly motivated attempts at destruction.

Pretty grim perspective, I realize. However, on this particular trip I kept bumping into what felt like possible signs of life, something like a gentle sort of ressurection of the best of what religion might have to offer and a diminshment of the kinds of indentity-motivated animosity that have done so much harm. That’s what I’ll be exploring in the Talky Bit.

We’ll start at 10:45 at VA Cafe with some music, some community time, and then the Talky Bit. We will livesteam here and poscast here.

I’ve enjoyed the privlige of travelling, am grateful for all the people who have stepped up and taken on extra responsbilities over the past weeks, and I’m looking forward to bringing home some stories that I hope will be encouraging for all of us.

Peace,

Tim Plett is still away, so it’s my turn to take over the talkie bit.

I recently spent a few weeks travelling around Ireland, and in true ‘other Tim’ fashion, I’m going to reflect on that experience a bit this week. I’m going to look specifically at the political and social unrest that defined much of Ireland’s twentieth century, commonly known as The Troubles. If you don’t know what that is, and you want to, show up, and you’ll find out. With a little help from the music of a local Irish band, we’ll sort through concepts of division, political ideology, and the faint possibility of peace.

We’ll be in person downstairs at the VA Café (171 McDermot Ave) on Sunday morning at 10:45 and we’ll stream on the Facebook page.

Hope to see you there!

 – Tim Penner

Hey folks. This Sunday launches us into a season in our life together that I would love to see people take full advantage of. Over the next month or so we will experience a combination of having the Talky Bit facilitated by people we don’t often get to hear from, interspersed with long weekends with no gatherings. When I say “take full advantage of”, what I’m imagining is taking in those Talky Bits (in person if possible, but many of them will also be available as podcasts / livestreams), and then letting them simmer over the long weekends. It’s almost like we built the possibility of the balance between deliberate engagement and purposeful disengagement right into the schedule.

This Sunday we’ll enjoy some music and Judi will be leading the Talky Bit. Following is some info from her about what she’ll be exploring.

And just a reminder – there will be no in-person gathering on June 30th (the long weekend) but we’ll be back in action on July 7th.

Peace,

Note: this is a longer blurb so read past the bottom of the intitial screen if you want all the info. This week is a regular gathering at VA Cafe (171 McDermot Ave) at 10:45 a.m., with a livestream and a podcast.

My dad was a subtle teacher. I can’t remember a single formal “son, let me tell how things really work” speech from him. He wasn’t perfect, of course. That’s a burden no human should carry, even after they are gone. So sometimes he lost his patience and leapfrogged right over teaching to just do what needed to be done. He didn’t announce his wisdom, one effect of which is that some of his lessons are still emerging for me. In the Talky Bit this Sunday, I will reflect on some of those “still coming into view” insights.

It’s almost officially summer (in case you care, in astrological terms it starts at 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, June 20th with a day that has over 8 hours more sunshine than the December solstice!) and that means longer summer evenings, literally greener pastures, music festivals and a less predictable schedule for all things “Table”. With that in mind, here are some items to note and look forward to over the coming months. As has been our summer custom, we will not be gathering on the long weekends. Details as follows:

June 23 – Judi is taking the Talky Bit. There’s a note at the end of this email about what she will be exploring.

Here’s more from Judi on what she will be digging into on June 23rd.

I’ll be looking at the ideas in the book “The Coddling of the American Mind” by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff and thinking of how these ideas might relate to our spiritual endeavours. The book talks about the negative changes to mental health in younger generations, especially as the authors were seeing this on college campuses. They hypothesize what might be the influences on these generations and show how cognitive behavioural therapy can make sense of these mental health problems. I am taking these observations into the realm of our faith, exploring how the ideas and beliefs we form could affect our well-being. (Judi)

Peace, everyone. I’ll see you on Sunday.

Tim Plett

Hey folks – after our field trip to the Pride Parade and Festival last week (we were there for the nicest part of the day!), we’re back at VA Cafe (171 McDermot Avenue / lower level) this week. Kids Table is on. Music is on.  Community Time is on. In the Talky Bit we’ll be exploring an idea that might actually be somewhat novel – the possibility of a construct that could meaningfully be called “spiritual intelligence”. Bring your inner armchair-psychologist and your curiosity with you.

We’ll start at 10:45 a.m. We’ll livestream here and podcast the Talky Bit here later in the week.

Coffee and goodies available upstairs at the VA Cafe. Do them (and us) the courtesy of purchasing your hot beverages at the venue. It helps keep the doors open for everyone.