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.
