Once again the Gabriola Ecumenical Society got their new season of programs off to a beautiful start with the September 19 Program Launch.
Some of us arrived early to set up in the peaceful venue of the Netloft. Soon after participants began arriving with thoughtfully prepared potluck supper contributions in hand. Such good food!
Gary Badke brought his Native American flutes and provided a background to quiet conversation as over sixty people enjoyed the food and companionship.
Lynette Jackson began the program with words of welcome and a brief outline of the aims of the Society and our theme for this year of "Spirit in Action: Healing Ourselves, Our Community, and our Earth."
Maalaa Rosalie Lazar took the participants through the Chakras using sounds, and led us in an uplifting chant.
Eric and Sue Boulton spoke eloquently on how the spirit motivates us to enrich our island home. One of their key messages is that "it is all about attitude".
Rosheen Holland also spoke about the spiritual nature of farming and living with spirit at Good Earth Farm.
Gary finished off playing his flutes and chanting, accompanied by his beautiful friend, Mah Naz.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening and a great start to the GES program year. Many thanks to all those who helped to make it happen. It was inspiring to hear the stories of how "spirit" is in action” right here on our beautiful island.
The programs that are planned for this year will shine light on “spirit in action” on Gabriola, in our homes and on our earth…we invite you to join us to share in our blessings in the year to come!
To join the Gabriola Ecumenical Society and be added to our monthly newsletter list of ongoing activities, please visit the website https://gabriolaecumenical.com.
The GES Board and Planning Team are excited to announce that the program theme for September 2019 to June 2020 will be:
“Spirit in Action: Healing Ourselves, our Community, and our Earth”.
This theme will take us into our 16th year of Ecumenical programming on Gabriola.
The Gabriola Ecumenical Society Celebrates 15 Years of Spirited Community Engagement
Have you ever bumped along in a Gertie bus in early December to sing carols to mobility- challenged Gabriolans? Shared in the fellowship of a Seder or Giving Thanks dinner at the Gabriola Golf Club? Witnessed Tibetan Buddhist Llama Losang Samten creating an exquisite mandala from coloured sand at Netloft? Contributed your voice at a community gathering at The Roxy to help create a Manifesto of Love by and for Gabriolans? Listened to the soul-nourishing poetry of ancient mystics Rumi and Hafeez set to music? Watched a film and participated in a discussion about the Baha’I faith? Dared to show up at a provocative discussion on the topic of Ageing and Sage-ing: A New Vision of Growing Older? Then your life, dear fellow Gabriolan, has been enriched by one of the many spiritual outreach activities presented by the Gabriola Ecumenical Society.
The Gabriola Ecumenical Society (GES) is a not-for-profit, local grass-roots organization, with approximately 60 members. Its mission is to encourage and nurture spiritual questing, and it currently embraces the following definition of Ecumenism: Universal, whole, spiritually inclusive, open and collective. The programs invite exploration of traditional and contemporary ideas found in the wisdom of religious traditions, spiritual paths and the sciences.
GES was founded in 2004, to continue and expand the Ecumenical Community of St. Martin’s Anglican Church and Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church that had proved deeply meaningful to many Islanders from 1988 to 2004. Many founders of GES have remained active in the Society since its inception, nurturing its growth and providing continuity and stability, with many other islanders joining them to contribute their energy and enthusiasm over the past fifteen years.
GES offers yearly thematic programs that explore ways in which both traditional and contemporary paths of spiritual growth intersect with science, the environment, community issues, and social activism. The program theme for September 2019 to June 2020 will be “Spirit in Action: Healing Ourselves, our Community, and our Earth”.
GES is an evolving inclusive community that is respectful of diverse spiritual experiences and paths. It is open to new ways of seeing and being, and welcomes others who also seek new visions. As GES celebrates fifteen years of community contribution, it warmly invites your participation in upcoming programs and social events! Please visit the GES website at gabriolaecumenical.com for details.
