July 6 – Reflections on Discernment Speakers: The Board of Directors, First Unitarian Church
Service Leader: Mel Webber
Music: June Caskey
In mid-2007 our Church made a commitment to undertake a discernment process as a congregation. We have just finished a series of congregational retreats that started in December. What is the purpose of our journey and where is it taking us? Your Board will present this service in an effort to contribute to transparency and bring clarity to the discernment process.

July 13 – All I Really Know About Being a Universalist I Learned From My Dog
Speaker: Mark Zenchuck
Service Leader: Roy Dahl
Music: Mark Zenchuck and Roy Dahl
Some of us identify strongly with the Universalist side of our faith’s duality, yet it receives little press in comparison to our Unitarian pedigree. Today, Universalism gets the spot light and what better educators on the subject could we possibly find then our own canine companions? When it comes to walking the talk here, perhaps we should all be more like those people whose dogs take them for a walk. Please bring your dogs as they will be an integral part of this service!

July 20 – Happiness as a Spiritual Practice
Speaker: Don McFadyen
Service Leader: Jennifer Kaye
Music: Jim Barrett
What is happiness? Does it depend on circumstances? Does it come from inside? This service will explore the idea that the practices relevant to the pursuit of true happiness parallel those practices essential to spiritual development. We will discover that happiness is an engaging and accessible spiritual pathway.

July 27 – Is There Nothing You Would Die for?
Speaker: Bill Johnston
Service Leader: Leslie Kaye
Music: Cathy Grisé, Joanne Dear and The Hamilton First Summer Choir
This question comes from James Reeb, one of hundreds of Unitarian Universalists who risked their lives in 1965 to join Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, to march for voting rights for African Americans. Robert Hemstreet, one of our former Hamilton First ministers (1964–68), was among them. Two brave UUs were murdered before the march ended. Through the story of this extraordinary moment in UU history, we'll explore core values, ultimate commitments and moral courage.

August 3 – Change Yourself, Change Your Community, Change the World
Speaker: Kevin MacKay
Service Leader: Jennifer Kaye
Music: Pamela Marques Sky Dragon Co-Op
Founder and Mohawk College professor Kevin MacKay focuses on how we can take responsibility for the life and world we want. Kevin combines theories of social change with personal experiences as an activist and community organizer. Through discovering responsibility, creativity and solidarity, Kevin will demonstrate how we can be catalysts for positive change.

August 10 – Learning to Live More Simply
Speaker: Karen Trollope-Kumar
Service Leader: Pat Dickinson
Music: Tim Versteeg
In this service, Karen Trollope-Kumar explores the voluntary simplicity movement that is inspiring millions worldwide to examine their lives and to pare away the non-essential. As we embrace a philosophy of living more simply, we allow space for lives of greater depth and grace.

August 17 – From Racovia to Walden Pond: Unitarians and Utopias
Speaker: Tim Versteeg
Service Leader: Michelle Corbeil
Music Ministry: Mary Ann Forbes and Jim Barrett
In 1569, during a period of religious tolerance in Poland, a group of Unitarians founded the town of Raków, which for almost a hundred years was a centre of progressive religious thinking in Reformation Europe. Almost 300 years later, in 1845, Henry David Thoreau began his experiment at Walden Pond, the story of which still inspires Unitarians and non- Unitarians alike. As Unitarians we are called to make the most of our lives and our world. These two stories from our history illustrate how collectively and individually we have attempted to make our “heaven” on Earth.

August 24 – Harry Potter: A How-To Guide on Speaking Truth to Power Service
Leaders: Professors Kulcher, Miklos, Silverglen and Steinbergs
Music: Voices and Songs of Freedom from Across the Globe
This Intergenerational Service will explore our relationship with power by examining how J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga speaks directly to our Unitarian principles of justice, equity, liberty and democracy. Come dressed as your favourite Harry Potter character or real life freedom fighter. Arrive early so the Sorting Hat can assign you to your Hogwart's School House. Bring an amulet of power to place in our cauldron for a special ritual. Hear inspirational stories about real children and youths who have valiantly fought against abuses of power.

August 31 – Music For Its Own Sake
Music Minister: Rachel Derry
Service Leader: Beverly Horton
Music: Various members, adherents and friends of the congregation
This is our special end of summer all music service, where the many musicians in our community share their many gifts. If you are interested in participating in this service please contact Rachel Derry, our church’s Music Director, at rachel@firstunitarianchurch.org by no later than August 24.