On Sunday 20th November, St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel will host the closing ceremony of York’s annual Interfaith Week. The ceremony will be preceded by an Interfaith Service attended by members from a range of diverse faith backgrounds. Special guests include the Lord Mayor and Civic Party.
At 11:00am, the Chapel will host ‘Finding Sanctuary’, an Interfaith Service for people of all faith backgrounds. This will be followed by a vegetarian shared lunch. Attendees are encouraged to bring vegetarian food to share. All are welcome.
At 13:00pm, the Chapel will host the final event of York Interfaith Week. During the ceremony, the winners of the York Interfaith Group Logo Competition will be revealed and presented with certificates and prizes. The competition ran between September and early November, inviting school children to create an inclusive, eye-catching interfaith logo.
“We are delighted to be hosting this event, which brings together people of different backgrounds to celebrate the diversity of faith traditions in York and their contributions to making our city a safe sanctuary,” says Reverend Stephanie Bisby, minister of York Unitarians.
“As Unitarians we acknowledge the wisdom of all faiths and seek to form connections with all who share our values of freedom, reason and compassion. It is a special pleasure to be hosting the ceremony this year, as one of our congregation, Dee Boyle, is currently serving as vice-chair of York Interfaith Group.”
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In July 2022 we celebrated 350 years since the beginning of our congregation. Our earliest members would not have identified with the word ‘Unitarian’ but would have entirely understood our ethos of freedom of thought, celebration of diversity, and shared exploration. You can view our 350th anniversary service on the ‘Services’ page of our website, and download a talk about the future of Unitarianism to read here:
The weekend also featured musical entertainment, and of course plenty of cake!
Would you like to chat about a book (fact or fiction), article or blog post you have read?
Would you like to listen to others recommend their good read?
Join us in Chapel on Thursday 29 September 2-4 pm
(This group meets quarterly but will vary dates and times to promote wider accessibility)
Members of York Unitarians and other YUU and neighbouring congregations are invited to an online discussion group in July and August based on ‘Why are we Here? Discerning our Unitarian Mission in
an Upturned World’ . The book has been published this year by the Lindsay Press. You don’t have to have read the book to take part, but there is a copy in the library if you want to have a look, and the essays in it are based on last year’s Hucklow Summer School theme talks, which are still available online to listen to at
https://www.hucklowsummerschool.co.uk/
Sessions are at 6.30pm on 12th and 26th July and 9th and 23rd August, and generally last around an hour
York Unitarians had a great day at 2022 York Pride. Did you see our banner marching through town, or visit our stall on Knavesmire?
We also had a Pride-themed Sunday service on 19th June. If you missed it, you may like to read the opening words on the UUA website: https://www.uua.org/worship/words/opening/protest-and-party. The service ended with these thoughts:
“Pride can be set against humility, and we can say that humility is a virtue and pride a sin. But pride can also be set against shame, and when society has done all it can for the longest time to make a person feel as if they don’t deserve to exist, don’t deserve a space in the world, don’t deserve love or happiness, then pride can be a very healthy antidote. Pride in our progress encourages more progress. Pride in ourselves and our society encourages us to treat one another better. And pride in our diversity encourages us to care for each other regardless of race, ability, gender and sexual expression. Ultimately, I was proud to march yesterday behind the banner ‘Unitarians celebrate diversity’ – because Pride is how we celebrate diversity.”
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