Category: Meeting

Our programmed meetings.

July 23 – Hopefulness

The theme of this week’s meeting is Hopefulness. The world can seem like it’s slipping backward at times, but there are many reasons for hope, and progress continues to be made in many ways. It’s good to focus on hope from time to time.
We will show a TED Talk, one with a very hopeful message, and we will follow it with a group discussion about our own reasons for hope.  Please bring any personal examples, and any evidence you have that the world is getting better. Active participation is encouraged but not required, you are welcome to come and listen.
We will be meeting as usual at Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave.
The meeting is in our summer location, the 2nd Floor Multipurpose Room beside the elevator.

July 16 – The Oasis Community in the Community

This week we will explore the different ways we see the Oasis Community making a difference in our broader community.  Please come with your ideas, and as always snacks for us to share while we discuss.

The meeting is in the 2nd Floor Multipurpose Room beside the elevator (a new room for us) in our usual building – Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave.

July 2 Gathering: Canadian Stories and Potluck

(Catching up on past events we failed to post about:)

On July 2, we had a party.  Happy 150th Birthday Canada!
To celebrate we asked those who would like to share their story of “What does being Canadian mean to you?”.  It could be a treasured memory, something from Canada’s past that inspired you, your favorite Canadian tune or just a heart felt sentiments about this vast land we are honoured to call home.

June 25 Speaker: Alternative Families

(Catching up on weeks we had failed to post about:)

Our June 25 speaker was Michael Dorman, about alternative families, including gay families. Michael was one of the founders of Gay Fathers of Toronto, almost 30 years ago, an organization that is still going strong!

June 18 Speaker: Artificial Intelligence

(Catching up on weeks we had failed to post about:)

June 18 our fascinating speaker was Richard Zemel, talking about Artificial Intelligence, including ethical issues about it.

RICHARD ZEMEL is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, and the Research Director at the new Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Prior to that he was on the faculty at the University of Arizona, and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Salk Institute and at CMU. He received the B.Sc. in History & Science from Harvard, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto. His awards and honours include a Young Investigator Award from the ONR and a US Presidential Scholar award. He is a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, an NVIDIA Pioneer of AI, and a member of the NIPS Advisory Board. His recent research interests include learning with weak labels, models of images and text, and fairness.

Sunday Gathering – Using Improv to Beat Anxiety

Toronto Oasis is a community that meets regularly to create a place to celebrate the human experience. Each week we gather to discuss a wide variety of issues and interests. Launched in February 2016, Toronto Oasis welcomes all people who want to be part of a community exploring life through reason.

Every week we gather to be inspired, entertained, motivated and  build our secular community in Downtown Toronto.  This week’s speaker is Yitzi Gal. to speak about how improv theatre helped him overcome social anxiety.

Sunday, May 28, 2017
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Koffler House
569 Spadina Ave, Toronto, Toronto, ON (Map)

Join and RSVP

Featured Speaker this week:

YITZI GAL is a faculty member at The Second City Training Centre in Toronto. He is currently attaining his masters degree in Drama Therapy at Concordia University in Montreal. He has also studied Drama Therapy at NYU in New York City. Yitzi teaches improvisation for anxiety classes at Second City as well as other venues around Toronto. Yitzi began taking improv classes nearly ten years ago in order to cope with his own anxiety, and has since graduated from several improvisational theatre programs and has performed in various venues in Toronto, New York, and Montreal.

Featured Musical Guest:

KATHRYN MERRIAM and CASSIE NORTON

Snacks & Goodies

Thank you to everyone who contributed to last week’s refreshments! What a delicious tradition for our post-gathering socializing.

As always, your contributions are very welcome this week and will never go to waste; extras go to feeding the homeless.

Sunday Gathering – Don’t Throw the Baby Out… Lessons from Liberal Religion

Sunday, May 21, 2017
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Koffler House
569 Spadina Ave, Toronto, Toronto, ON

Join and RSVP

Every week we gather to be inspired, entertained, motivated and build our secular community in Downtown Toronto. This week we are excited to have our very own Dan Cooperstock present for us.

Don’t Throw the Baby out with the Bath Water!

Dan will talk about what secular non-religious folks and communities can learn from the helpful practices and specific values learned in liberal religions, most particularly from his experience as a liberal (and non-theist) Quaker. Among other aspects of his talk, he will talk about the Quaker business process, and give examples of how Quaker values have applied to his business.

Dan Cooperstock discovered liberal Quakerism in University in England in 1979, and has been a member of and very active participant in the Toronto Quaker Meeting and the Canada-wide Quaker organization, including many leadership positions, since 1981. Professionally, Dan is a computer programmer. For the 10 last years he has been an entrepreneur, writing and selling software for small to mid-sized churches and charities. Outside of work, Dan is an avid movie-goer, group ride leader with the Toronto Moto Scooter Club, participant in a song circle, and dancer with the LGBTQ square dancing club the Toronto Triangle Squares.

This week at Oasis: Alternate Libraries- How Humans Share the Earth

Here’s what’s happening this week at Oasis!

Featured Speaker:

LAWRENCE ALVAREZ is co-founder of the Toronto Tool Library and The Sharing Depot, and President of their parent non-profit, the Institute for a Resource-Based Economy. He was born and raised in Zimbabwe and he has lived in Botswana, Canada, South Africa and Argentina. His passion lies in travel, exploring human relationships and our shared experience, and finding the connections between us.

Snacks & Goodies

Thank you to everyone who contributed to last week’s refreshments! What a delicious tradition for our post-gathering socializing.

As always, your contributions are very welcome this week and will never go to waste; extras go to feeding the homeless.

This week at Oasis: The Colour of Justice

Here’s what’s happening this week at Oasis!

MARGOT VAN SLUYTMAN is an internationally-respected voice in the field of Restorative Justice. Her lived-experience informs her justice advocacy, lectures, and writings. She has shared the stage with Sister Helen Prejean, author of the book and Oscar Academy Award Winning, Dead Man Walking. And, last year, while in South Africa to give a talk, she had a two hour conversation with the inspiring Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In February this year, she spent time with inmates at Pollsmoor Prison, which was Nelson Mandela’s home for a time. She worked with several young men, offering a safe space for them to share their stories, and an open heart and ear to them. Margot was inspired by their yearning for hope. “We shared I and Thou,” she says, “Not Us Vs. Them.

Come have lunch!

Want the conversation to continue? Join fellow Oasis members in gathering for lunch! We’ll convene after the gathering and choose a nearby spot, so bring your suggestions!

Snacks & Goodies

Thank you to everyone who contributed to last week’s refreshments! What a delicious tradition for our post-gathering socializing.

As always, your contributions are very welcome this week and will never go to waste; extras go to feeding the homeless.

This week at Oasis: Conversation and Jazz! (2nd April, 2017)

Here’s what’s happening this week at Oasis!

Featured Speaker:

You! This week we are switching things up, so come join us for thought-provoking conversation and brainstorming on community building. With a community of such amazing individuals, it’s no surprise you want to interact with each other more; We heard your feedback and are excited to facilitate more connection and exchange this week. As always, we’ll have snacks and music to enjoy in between!

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Featured Musical Guest:

ROBERTA HUNT

With her personal and exuberant approach, Roberta adds her own voice to the jazz and blues repertoire. The over 15 years spent as rhythm pianist with the legendary New Orleans Jazz band ‘Kid Bastien’s Happy Pals’ (Grossman’s Tavern, Toronto) nurtured her love of New Orleans music which she now takes to the next level with Red Hot Ramble!
With a rootsy and bluesy style, Roberta was described by one music writer as “Mix big piano with beautiful voice, add some attitude and a lot of charisma. With a penchant for those you-done-me-wrong songs and her musical roots in the jazz and spirituals of New Orleans: a picture of Roberta Hunt starts to emerge…”
In addition to time spent songwriting and solo vocal/piano performances, Roberta stays active in the Toronto/Southern Ontario music scene with Red Hot Ramble, Bertie and the Gents and sit-ins with various ensembles. Roberta has also participated in the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans; Davos Sounds Good Festival, Davos; Rapperswil Jazz Festival, Switzerland; Jazz in Mortigliano, Italy as well as Southern Ontario jazz festivals over her career.

Snacks & Goodies

Thank you to everyone who contributed to last week’s refreshments! What a delicious tradition for our post-gathering socializing.

As always, your contributions are very welcome this week and will never go to waste; extras go to feeding the homeless.