MILC AGM 2023 Recording

The 2023 AGM focused on Bold Discipleship in Practice

Guest speakers included:

Tracy Davis, DLM, Supporting End of Life Journeys

Torrin Maag, Master’s Student, Atlantic School of Theology, Lessons from Young Adults: Discipleship in the 21st Century

Diane Matheson-Jimenez, Spirituality as Bold Discipleship

Labyrinth Day Resource

Labyrinth Day 2023, May 6, 1:00pm – Join the worldwide Rolling Wave of Peace – Self Guided Walk Instructions

Introduction: Welcome! For this year’s event, we are playing with the theme of waves as get ready to join the ‘rolling wave of peace’ around the world that is World Labyrinth Day. If you are doing this as a walking meditation on your own or at your local labyrinth, we invite you to carry a glass of water as you walk. Waves will be created in your glass as you walk, and you may contemplate the movement as we seek to wash the world in peace with our intention, one person at a time. When you get to the centre, you may pour your water into a collective receptacle if walking with others, or wait until the end of the walk to water some plants with it. While we walk we could also remember that we ourselves are mostly water, and that we constantly create vibrations in ourselves throughout our daily activities that extend beyond our bodies. Let us remember to send out positive energy to the rest of the world, our home, and make that home a better place.

A Gaelic Blessing

Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the gentle night to you
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you Deep peace of Christ the light of the world to you Deep peace of Christ to you

Song – “The Peace of the Earth”, based on a Guatemalan song, “La Paz de la Tierra”

The peace of the earth be with you, the peace of the heavens too; the peace of the rivers be with you, the peace of the oceans too.

Deep peace falling over you;
God’s peace growing in you. (Repeat)

Walk as One at 1:00 – everyone walks at 1:00pm in their own time zone Water the ground with peaceful water from everyone

Song – “Go Now in Peace”

Go now in peace;
go now in peace.
May the love of God surround you everywhere,
everywhere you may go.

World Labyrinth Day 2022 – Walking for Peace in Our World – Self Guided Walk

by the Labyrinth Sub-Committee of MILC (Manitou Intentional Learning Community

This is our eighth celebration of World Labyrinth Day in Sudbury and our first in person one after two years of virtual! We are glad that you can be with us in spirit using this script! Try to walk with us “as one at 1:00” on Saturday, May 7.

If you don’t have a finger labyrinth, here’s a link to instructions on how to make one:

You could use the same design concept on your lawn and use spray paint to draw it for a temporary labyrinth the way this person did: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=226534064976841

Our theme this year includes readings and songs about peace and the natural world. We hope that you can access the links to these before or during your walk. There are three original pieces that are printed here. Enjoy, and may you embody the peace we all want to see in the world.

Spirals and Labyrinths – Rev. Dawn Vaneyk

A labyrinth is designed to work the way a spiral works – there is one path and one path only. It leads you to the centre. If you watch someone prepare a soft serve ice cream cone, you will notice at the end, they do a swirl with the ice cream, like a spiral, round and round, one round on top of the other till it makes a little peak. Some labyrinths are complex spirals. You seem to be on the outside, and getting closer to the centre and then you are on the outside again. But even a complex spiral is a spiral and you will not find a dead end or get lost. That very path will take you to the centre and also out again where you began.

When we walk the labyrinth spiral, we can feel a connection to other spirals in the universe. Our universe itself is called a spiral universe.

You can see other spirals in nature: In the spring, the ferns aren’t big broad leaves. They begin their journey to BE big broad leaves by first being a “fiddlehead” – a small plant all curled into a spiral shape. You can look for those at this time of year.

Look at the house of a snail, the cross section of an ammonite fossil from 66 million years ago – there are spirals!

We carry spirals inside our bodies: our fingerprint is like a spiral, the cochlea in our ear is a spiral. Our DNA is a spiral. Even our bones, especially when young, grow in a spiral form.

When we walk the labyrinth, we are connected, not only to ancestors who, long ago built labyrinths for walking, but we are connected to the earth and her creatures, to our own bodies, and so, because we are human, to all the other people walking the labyrinth with us, the people we may be thinking of or praying for, and the people walking labyrinths all throughout the world today.

Before walking the labyrinth with your feet or your fingers today, find a picture of DNA. Find a picture of a fiddlehead, a snail, an ammonite, a spiral galaxy.
Marvel at how connected we are to creation and one another, past and present.

Directions For Labyrinth Walking – Rev. Dawn Vaneyk

At the entrance: Perhaps invite the guidance of the Spirit in your walk; Some people like to offer a concrete prayer for guidance or help; some simply ‘set their intention’ – to intend to be open to whatever gift the walk will give.

The walk in: don’t “force” anything ; walk with awareness – of your feet, of sounds and sights, of feelings – you don’t need to follow those things and get involved with them, or lost in the story they might tell ; just notice and let go. Be here.

At the Centre: Rest for a time in God’s Presence/ in the gift of having reached the Centre; you may wish to face the four directions; to be still; to be grateful; to listen. When the time is right, begin the path out.

On the way out: again, enjoy the walk; if a thought or guidance comes to you, be grateful. If this is just the first time this week you have slowed down to do nothing but be and walk – just be, and walk. It’s a sacred gift.

At the end: take a moment to give thanks for the walk, for the gift of it, for the fruit of it that may not come today, but at some moment when you need it.

If peace comes by Hakim Karwan, 21. Afghanistan.

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Barry

Peace on Earth by Marilyn Boileau

As we have gathered here at the labyrinth, in this natural setting, hearing the birds, surrounded by evergreen trees and feeling the wind, sun or rain on our faces. I’m reminded we are all part of something so much greater than ourselves. It is heartwarming to realize we are gathered together with others around the world in our desire for peace in the world.

I’m going to set my intention for my walk with the words from the song “Let there be Peace on Earth” written by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson Miller.

Prayer for Peace

Song: Salaam Alaikum

Advent Labyrinth Walk

** Event Cancelled due to inclement weather. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Saturday, December 11 from 12:00-4:00pm

Lourdes Grotto Labyrinth, 271 Van Horne St.

The Manitou Intentional Learning Community’s (MILC) labyrinth sub-committee presents our first outdoor in person labyrinth walk since the beginning of the pandemic!!

It will be a group event but people will walk the labyrinth individually or in ‘bubbles’ of people. We would ask you to sign up for a 20-minute slot between the hours of 12:00 and 4:00pm. If you’d rather just show up, be advised that you may have to wait a little while for your turn.

Please e-mail Amy to book your spot: [email protected].

The gate will be open, so you can drive directly up to the labyrinth and we will have sanded paths for you to walk. Members of the sub-committee will be there to guide you and offer warm refreshments!

If you would rather stay home, you can watch last year’s Winter Solstice Walk. You can find the video on YouTube on the St. Peter’s United channel:

Self-Guided Labyrinth Walk for Fall Equinox 2021

Directions for Labyrinth Walking


At the entrance
: Perhaps invite the guidance of the Spirit in your walk. Some people like to offer a concrete prayer for

guidance or help; some simply ‘set their intention’.

The walk in: Don’t “force” anything; walk with awareness of your feet, of sounds and sights, of feelings – you don’t need to follow those things and get involved with them, or lost in the story they might tell; just notice and let go. Be here.

At the Centre: Rest for a time in God’s Presence; you may wish to face the four directions; to be still; to be grateful; to listen. When the time is right, begin the path out.

On the way out: Again, enjoy the walk; if a thought or guidance comes to you, be grateful. If this is just the first time this week you have slowed down to do nothing but be and walk – just be, and walk. It’s a sacred gift.

At the end: Take a moment to give thanks for the walk, for the gift of it, for the fruit of it that may not come today, but at some moment when you need it.

Thoughts About Equinox

The Equinox of Autumn is a moment of balance between daylight and night. It is the start of our journey toward the Solstice, when the longest hours of night turn once again to the lengthening of day.

For many people this is a time of difficulty. Letting go of the summer can be hard, especially this summer that included some loosening of restrictions around COVID 19. With the returning to school this fall and bracing for a possible fourth wave, my family has felt the need to restrict our bubble once again, for the protection of ourselves and others. Perhaps you have had a similar experience.

Rather than looking at previous joyous seasons of our lives as being gone forever, we can focus on the ‘fruits’ of these seasons, what we have learned and how we have grown, and we can carry these with us into the future. Similarly, in the fall we gather the harvest of the summer growing season and take it with us into the upcoming months for nourishment.

We can also remember that, as always, we do not make this journey alone. The Spirit of God is with us as we move from the known to the unknown, from one season to the next. Also, we have each other as companions. You may like to walk the labyrinth with those in your bubble, or walk separately and then communicate your experience afterwards with a friend.

By Amy Hallman Grout with revised contributions from Rev. Dawn Vaneyk.

Gailand McQueen in Conversation: Celebrating the Labyrinth

 

Gailand McQueen joined MILC executive representative Natasha Gerolami to talk about his new book Celebrating the Labyrinth: A Journey of the Spirit.  In this interview, Gailand McQueen shares his wisdom about the history and practices of using labyrinths in spiritual practice.

Gailand McQueen’s new book Celebrating the Labyrinth: A Journey of the Spirit is available from Wood Lake Books.

Watch the full interview here.

Resources for National Indigenous People’s Day

Apology to Action: Reflections on the thirty-fifth anniversary is a fifteen-minute video prepared by the Manitou Intentional Learning Community in collaboration with the Canadian Shield Regional Council Right Relations Resource Team, that revisits the First Apology made to Indigenous People by the United Church of Canada in August, 1986, during the 31st General Council, held in Sudbury, Ontario. The video recounts a brief history of that event, reminds us of the words spoken by those who offered and received the Apology, challenges us to consider our commitment to reconciliation and calls us to act so that the words spoken that day can truly become “words of action and sincerity.” (Edith Memnook)

The video features reflections from Lisa Blais and Maxine McVey, Right Relations Resource Team, Canadian Shield Regional Council, and the Very Reverend Jordan Cantwell, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada.

The video is suitable for inclusion in worship services, especially on June 20, 2021, to mark National Indigenous People’s Day, and to spark discussion of how we, as people of faith, can live out this Apology. .

For those who cannot use technology in their churches, the script is available. You may find words that you would like to incorporate into worship services marking the Indigenous Day of Prayer. Please attribute the words to the speaker and mention this resource.

The additional resource, Apology to Action: A Pilgrimage for Reconciliation invites you to affirm your commitment to reconciliation by making a pilgrimage to the site of the Apology Cairn in Sudbury, Ontario, or to some place that is special to you. You are invited to reflect on the words of the Apology and the Response and to commit to the hard and humbling work of building right relations. This resource was created in collaboration with the Right Relations Resource Team. Sincere thanks to Lisa Blais for her contributions and her wisdom and guidance.

The video and the accompanying Pilgrimage Package are dedicated to the Very Reverend Stan MacKay, whose presentation to the Manitou Intentional Learning Community in April 2021 ignited this project.

Reconciliation: The renewal of a covenant – Very Rev. Stan McKay

The Manitou Intentional Learning Community is excited to welcome the Very Reverend Stan McKay, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada, to lead a workshop entitled “Reconciliation: The renewal of a covenant” exploring the spirit and intent of treaties and an Indigenous philosophy of life – “All My Relations”.

Wednesday, April 7th @ 7pm

Register for the Zoom workshop by clicking on Register.

Registration closed

McKay was born on Fisher River First Nation, a Cree community in Northern Manitoba and attended Fisher River Indian Day School and Birtle Indian Residential School. After ordination he served in pastoral ministry in Norway House and Fisher River, as national co-ordinator of Native Ministry, as the Director of the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Center and from 1992 to 1994 as Moderator of the United Church of Canada. He is presently working to build cross-cultural relations and participating in dialogue addressing injustices resulting from colonial history.

McKay featured in the 2017 documentary film Truly and Humbly: Memories of the first Apology directed by Dr. Hoi Cheu of Laurentian University that traces the memories of those present at the 1986 United Church Apology to First Nations People. In the film, McKay suggests that our relationships with each other and with creation are broken, and that non-Indigenous people have much to learn from Indigenous philosophies of life.