Beyond the Script

beachunited July 10, 2019 No Comments

Sometimes, all it takes is a project to have a lightbulb moment, and working on the new website of Beach United is what did it for me. What started as a journey to understand what needs to be part of the website and what doesn’t turned out to be much more than that. In fact, during a brainstorming session with Minister, Karen Dale, I realized that we are not what you call a conventional charity or even a church for that matter.

Our repertoire has expanded, and we have taken on many new projects over a few years. These include our environmental initiatives such as the Solar Energy for Beach Cooperative Inc. (a not-for-profit renewable energy co-operative, incorporated for the purpose of generating and selling renewable energy in order to support Beach United Church ministries.), Gardening Group and a fully accessible green parking lot which helps reduce flooding and sewage back-ups after heavy rainfalls, a significant breakthrough with regard to sustainability.

These initiatives in addition to existing projects such as The Beach Cares, Knitting for Shivering Children Group, Interfaith Lunch Program and Out of the Cold Program have helped us raise the bar in terms of giving back to the community.

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but for those who have read up on the state of churches in Canada, BUC’s involvement in the community is like a breath of fresh air.  Recently the National Trust of Canada estimated that 9,000 religious spaces in Canada would be lost in the next decade. The reasons for this are mainly rising maintenance costs and shrinking membership in congregations.

However, our story is different. Not only have we grown our community of faith due to constant engagement especially with the younger demographic through our Young Adults Program, but also we have successfully raised funds through a variety of initiatives such as the Christmas Market and Fair Trade Fayre, where we partnered with Fair Trade Vendors to sell organic products.

We have thus gone beyond the conventional understanding of a church and truly gone beyond the script.

-Vivek Vijayapalan, Communications Coordinator 

Canadian Moms Embracing Diversity Come Together

beachunited June 10, 2019 No Comments

Canadian Moms Embracing Diversity (and each other) are Canadian mothers of LGBTQ children (of any age) who have come together for:

Support: We are here to listen, offer help and celebrate together as we strive to love, understand and become allies for our kids.

Solidarity: We stand together in support of our children and the LGBTQ community of Canada.

Safety: We listen to one another’s questions, struggles, and joys without judgement. We share ideas and listen to each other with respect. We are a closed group. What is shared in CMED stays in CMED.

Find us by searching our name on Facebook and request to be added. Because we are a closed group, no one outside the group can see who our members are, or what they post.

Our Accessible Garden

beachunited June 10, 2019 No Comments

The wrap around the garden at Beach United Church attracts a lot of attention as people walk by.  We recently purchased two accessible garden planters to extend our garden and make it possible for people of differing abilities to participate in the joy of getting close to the earth.  This has been made possible by a United Church Innovation Grant and the support of the gardening group at BUC.

The addition of these planters will offer opportunities to build community connections with organizations like Pegasus Community Project and get to know our neighbors, spending more time outdoors, learning or sharing your knowledge about gardening veggies and herbs or supporting this initiative in your own unique way.

We could really use a hand in getting the project off the ground, and there are many ways to support the initiative even if you aren’t an avid gardener. The planters will be assembled on Wednesday, June 12 in the late morning and if anyone would like to come out to help that would be appreciated  Please connect with Nicole Tanti, Community Engagement Coordinator at community@beachuc.com.

Pegasus has a location, a 5-minute walk from our church and would love to participate in some gardening over the summer, especially with other members of the community!

A Day at Beach United Church

beachunited May 17, 2019 No Comments

It is 10 a.m., and as you enter you can see Cate Duff, the office administrator busy designing a poster for the next event. To the left, David Lewis, the Operations and Rental Manager is making sure that the event calendar is in order and easily accessible to readers.  A phone next to him is ringing off the hook; the caller is probably looking for a place to rent for an event.

In the conference room, which is seemingly nondescript but always bustling with activity, Nicole Tanti, our Community Engagement Coordinator is brainstorming ideas with Karen Dale, the Minister whose plate is full with everything and anything under the sun, including the responsibility of overseeing events promotion and outreach.

I know what you are thinking; is it that busy at a church? The answer is yes, it always is, especially at Beach United Church.

It is not your conventional church, but a congregation that recognizes the importance of human values and invests a lot of time and energy in exploring faith and building relationships with God, people, and the earth.

So how do we manage to do this? We raise money through our events, donations and reinvest them into communities.  I had a glimpse of this at the Christmas Market, which is held annually with support from local businesses.  We raised a whopping $9,000 selling ethical products, homemade goodies, and  Christmas decor.

The church also hosts music events featuring some of the heavyweights in the music industry including Organist, Zoe Li, Jazz Pianist, Danae Olano, Folk Singer, Claire Coupland and more. All thanks to the efforts of Steven Webb, the Director of Music.

In addition, our social impact initiatives include the Out of the Cold Program (an initiative aimed to provide shelter to people who are homeless), Interfaith Lunch Program (a drop-in lunch program for people with low income) and The Beach Cares (a sponsorship program for Syrian refugees).

So, if you are still wondering what we do and if you should press the donate button or not, stop wondering and donate now.  Even better, if you want to participate in our events, visit our website at www.beachunitedchurch.com.

If you want to rent our space for your own event, celebration or an ongoing program, shoot us a quick email at operations@beachuc.com.

-Vivek Vijayapalan, Communications Coordinator