Toronto Oasis, Secular Community

We are back to our usual space this week: Our event begins at 11am, On the 2nd floor of the Koffler house, 569 Spadina.

Ever since she joined a Women’s Liberation group in 1968, our featured speaker, Margrit Eichler, has been a feminist. Margrit will reflect on how she became a feminist, what it meant then and what it means now to define oneself as a feminist. She will touch on some of the crucial events in Canadian history: The Persons’ Case, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and particularly sec. 15 (equality before and under the law), and the dramatic changes in Canadian family law. She will reflect on the problems of dealing with issues for which there was, at the time, no proper language in which to discuss them, and the resulting linguistic groping around that was required to arrive there (and continuing linguistic confusion). She will look at some of the milestones for women in Canada – how they affected her personally and how they interacted with scholarship.

Back in 1968, Margrit was a foreign student (from Germany) at Duke University. When she had to leave the USA because her visa had run out, she applied to all Canadian Sociology Departments with a graduate program to teach courses on women. She was probably the first person to be hired on that basis.

Her participation in the movement had convinced her that it asked the right questions but did not come up with the right answers. Research was needed to supply such answers. This set her on the course of developing courses, co-founding the first Canadian journal on feminist research, being involved in multiple ways in feminist studies and feminist actions, serving as expert witness in law cases, particularly with respect to gay couples, getting the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies established, and much more. Her work took her across most continents. From 1971-1975 Margrit taught at the University of Waterloo, and from 1975-2011 at OISE, from where she retired as Professor Emerita. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and was also elected to the European Academy of Sciences. She is now active on a volunteer basis in 6 organizations.

Our musical performer will be singer songwriter Dana Sipos.  http://www.danasipos.com/

Originally hailing from the industrial landscape of Hamilton, Ontario, Dana Sipos inhabited the far Canadian north – Yellowknife, Northwest Territories – for many years before going nomad.  Her captivatingly nuanced songs continue to be infused with a wild wind and a haunting, slightly hypnotic surrealism akin to the mysteries of the North.  Her 2015 release, Roll Up the Night Sky, was nominated for a Canadian folk music award in the Pushing the Boundaries category celebrating innovation in creating new folk sounds.  She has a new album, Trick of the Light, to be released soon this year.

To RSVP to this event please visit our Meetup page.

Our event begins at 11am, Our meeting this week will be held at the 1st floor Auditorium of the Koffler House (569 Spadina Ave).

What is Pilates and why you don’t know what you think you know! Our featured speaker, Emma Kate Millar, wants to open a dialogue and get talking about your health and fitness by addressing questions and attitudes and busting myths such as:  Who is Pilates for? Why does it matter? How can I tell if this is a fad or a legitimate method?  How does Pilates compare with Yoga?  I do my own workout thanks!  I’m not flexible enough for Pilates. I’m too old for Pilates. And much, much more!

Emma Kate is passionate about hearing from others and learning about their fitness journeys and what motivates people (or doesn’t) to get up and get moving.

Emma Kate Millar has a B.F.A in Dance Science from York University and specializes in Pilates for post rehab and special populations.  Prior to that, Emma Kate was a professional Modern Dancer with a background in competitive Irish Dancing. In 2003, however, she sustained a serious back injury, which threatened to take away her abilities as a dancer and physically limit her life through pain.  After experiencing the benefits of Pilates, she attained certification under STOTT Pilates and then the Pilates Method Alliance. Since then, she has had the opportunity to work in some of the best studios in Toronto and to teach alongside Top Master Trainers. All of these experiences have prepared her well to create Body Mason: a culmination of many years of knowledge and hands-on experience of helping bring awareness to the body—its movement, its strength and its resilience.

Our featured musician will be Tristan Murphy AKA Amateur.

Old Instruments, New Music.  Amateur is a few friends playing experimental pop songs on a variety of acoustic instruments.

To RSVP to this event, please visit our Meetup page.

Our event begins at 11am, we are back to our usual space on the 2nd floor of the Koffler house, 569 Spadina.

Our featured speaker, Gregg Fenten, will speak about how the history of community-based conflict resolution formed and developed. He will talk about two fundamentals of life – relational and transformational – and elaborate on three primary principles of belief and practice: individuality, diversity/difference, and inclusivity. Gregg will compare the community-based approach versus the court/justice-based approach to conflict resolution. We will also learn about the STRONG approach for dealing with conflict.

Gregg Fenten is an accredited family mediator (AccFM) with the Ontario Association for Family Mediation (OAFM). His work includes doing triage and referral services as an Information and Referral Coordinator within the Toronto Family Justice System for the past number of years. He is a coach with York University’s Certificate in Dispute Resolution Program and the Family Mediation Program and a Dispute Resolution Educator with the Advanced Certificate in Dispute Resolution.

For the past twenty-one years, Gregg’s professional practice has involved engaging individuals, couples and families. His professional experience started in the community mediation/development field with Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview (CMS-D) in Toronto, Canada as an intern, volunteer, mediator and case manager. He ultimately became the Director, Community Transformation Program.

Gregg has a diverse private practice that includes mediation and facilitation for family, workplace and community matters. His practice includes mentoring, training and communication coaching with individuals to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to be effective communicators to assist them to strategize and navigate their relationship challenges. As well, Gregg’s work involves consultation efforts in community development that includes proposal writing, project development and project implementation.

For over thirteen years, Gregg has been writing, producing and hosting the radio program Mediation Station heard live each Sunday from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST on CHHA 161O AM in Toronto, Canada. The radio program works to educate and inform listeners with information to assist them in creating positive change within their lives and in the community. It also supports the profession of conflict resolvers to enhance and elevate their professional practice.

You can listen at www.chha1610am.ca (Click the LISTEN LIVE icon) or on Rogers Digital Cable Channel 951 or at 1610am on the radio dial. Podcasts at Mediation Station on iTunes and at https://lnkd.in/g7BCxks Twitter @FentenMediation

Our featured musical performer will be Cassie Norton. We are always so enthused to have the very talented Cassie return to our stage! Cassie is the music director of Toronto Oasis and a Toronto based singer-songwriter, classically trained violinist/folk leaning tunesmith with a punk rock heart. She has recorded two full length albums, Little Strength (2009) and Quiet Wilderness (2010). She will be joined this Sunday with Wes Neal on Bass.  Check out her website: www.cassienorton.com

To RSVP to this event, please visit our Meetup page.

Our event begins at 11am.  This week we will be meeting in a slightly different location – the same building, Koffler House 569 Spadina Ave., but on the 1st floor room KP113.

There is a ready explanation for the concept of the existence of the human spirit (soul) that carries our awareness in a non-material realm. This concept allows us to believe that, after our material brain dies, we can experience an afterlife. The existence of such an entity is, however, a man-made idea which has no supporting scientific evidence, although we can understand why this philosophy originated.  Our featured speaker, Benjamin Vande Weerdhof Andrews will speak about what he has found about the origin of people’s beliefs about the spirit.

Benjamin Vande Weerdhof Andrews was raised as a boy in Holland and moved to Canada as a young man. His family attended the Dutch Reformed Church. Ben started questioning the dogma of his church and has studied world religions during his adult life. After retiring from his career as a high school teacher in Ontario, Ben began his website, www.origin-of-religion.com, to explore and discuss the role of religion in modern society and to encourage people to think outside the box. Through his explorations, Ben has discovered that many people struggle with the concepts of religion and the fear of death. He has decided to share his findings with others and has published a critical analysis of religion entitled “Why You Won’t Go To Hell”. He lives with his wife in Barrie, Ontario.

Returning to the Oasis stage, our featured musician will be Lindsay Foote!  Lindsay writes honest, soul-bearing music and couples that with a voice that will melt even the hardest heart.  Inspired by the alternative folk music scene, Lindsay has been writing songs for as long as she can remember. Originally from Winchester, Massachusetts, she moved to Canada in 2009 to study voice at the University of Toronto.

Her newest release, Going Gone EP, boasts lush acoustic arrangements paired with Lindsay’s signature candid writing style. The songs explore love, loss, and facing the truth even in the toughest moments. From her Going Gone EP, “Silence” was featured on CBC Metro Morning, CBC Big City Small World, and CJRU Double Booked. RAW RAMP Magazine calls these songs “the most celestial & moving folk songs you can imagine” and For the Rabbits calls it “the sound of an artist expanding their musical horizons and fulfilling a very rich promise.”

We are so enthused to have Lindsay Foote return to the Oasis stage!  https://www.lindsayfoote.com

To RSVP to this event, please visit our Meetup page.

Our event begins at 11am, On the 2nd floor of the Koffler house, 569 Spadina.

Our featured speaker, Michelle Bilek*, is with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (caeh.ca), formed to build a national movement to end homelessness from the community up. What’s missing is a practical, community-based approach that shifts the focus from managing homelessness to a system focused on ending it. We need to move from crisis responses (like shelters and soup kitchens) to solutions – permanent, appropriate, safe and affordable housing with the support necessary to sustain it. Michelle will share how Canadian communities can end homelessness by outlining the critical ingredients of a community-based plan such as Housing First, supporting affordable housing options, housing sharing, renting secondary units for Housing First clients, innovative building solutions and developments.

Our featured musician, Olio&I, aka Pippa Andrew, is a Melbourne based fiddle-singer and loop artist, whose music interweaves an eclectic collection of influences, spanning Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Soul and Jazz. This performance will be part of Olio&I’s first trip to perform in Canada!

You can RSVP for this event on our Meetup page at https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/248558224/

*Michelle Bilek was originally scheduled to speak at Toronto Oasis on March 18, 2018 but was unable to attend due to unforeseeable circumstances. (In her place, we were very fortunate to have Dianne Woodruff (CMA, PhD) speak to us about 3D Workout: 3DWorkout.com).

Our event begins at 11am, On the 2nd floor of the Koffler house, 569 Spadina.

Like Oasis, the Rotary Club provides a way for people to get engaged in their communities.  Whereas the Oasis network is a relatively new organization, the Rotary Club has been around for a very long time.  Our featured speaker, Peter Thoem, has been a member of Rotary for 30 years.  He will talk about the origins of Rotary, its credo and how it has grown over 100+ years.  He will share his personal experiences with Rotary and the experiences of any individual member of Rotary.

Peter Thoem is a 35-year resident of downtown Burlington.   Now retired, he is a keen observer and writer about natural history. He finds fulfilment in volunteering, putting in countless hours on local and international Rotary projects as well as at the Royal Botanical Gardens. He has undertaken studies on bird populations in Uganda and Kazakhstan as well as at various bird observatories in Ontario. He served a term as a Burlington City Councillor from 2006 to 2010. Peter and Ruth have three grown children and five young grandsons..

Our featured musician will be Noble Sobel. Through the process of discovery and decision we realize our true potential and the impact we can have on all things around us. Inspired by the infinite journey of self-discovery, and driven by a passion to connect and uplift, Noble Sobel is here to move you to dance, or move you to tears… maybe both!

To RSVP to this event, visit our Meetup page.

Our event begins at 11:00 am, on the 2nd floor of Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave

Our featured speaker, Yvonne Tang, is Director of Exhibitions and Events at Lord Cultural Resources, the world’s largest cultural professional practice.

Her clients include museums, art galleries, historic sites, festivals and events. Yvonne’s involvement on projects ranges from initial visioning to design through to opening day. She thoroughly enjoys her work behind-the-scenes at various institutions, and even though she’s been asked before, she is definitely not a spy.

In the current state of the world today – museums and other cultural institutions have a huge role to play. Yvonne will discuss how the role of cultural institutions have changed and continue to adapt today. She will also share stories from some of her recent projects including the opportunities and challenges of working internationally.

For our musical performances we will have Cassie Norton with Patrick O’Reilly. Cassie Norton is the music director of Toronto Oasis and a Toronto based singer-songwriter, classically trained violinist/folk leaning tunesmith with a punk rock heart. She has recorded two full length albums, Little Strength (2009) and Quiet Wilderness (2010). She teaches a variety of private and ensemble classes at Regent Park School of Music, and at her private studio.

Cassie will be performing with her band-mate Patrick O’Reilly on guitar.  To RSVP to this event, visit our Meetup page.

Our event begins at 11:00 am, on the 2nd floor of Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave.

Our featured speaker, Michelle Bilek, is with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (caeh.ca).  She will argue for methods such as Housing First and supporting affordable housing options – strategies like housing sharing, renting secondary units for Housing First clients, innovative building solutions and developments.  Michelle will present the case that it is methods such as these and not management of homelessness by increasing shelter spaces that are the solution.

Our featured musicians will be CITIZEN JANE, a Toronto-based folk-pop duo that evocatively weaves powerful vocal harmonies with innovative string textures to create an emotionally charged soundscape.

The duo consists of married couple Reenie Perkovic (vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Lea Kirstein (viola, fiddle, cello, vocals), who met while studying classical music on the west coast of Canada. The ladies have since made a home in Toronto’s vibrant music scene.

Reenie grew up in the Toronto area, after her family escaped the civil war in her birthplace, Sarajevo, Bosnia. Reenie was a semi-finalist in the 2016 UK Songwriting Contest, and has released 3 solo albums. She has opened for Juno-nominated Alysha Brilla, and Annabelle Chvostek (Wailin’ Jennys).

Lea is an acclaimed violist and fiddler, who grew up in Victoria, BC, where she studied viola and music education at UVic. Classical musician by day and fiddler by night, Lea discovered new ways of melding the two styles into one. Her passion for these genres took her across Canada & the U.S. with the Folk Arts Quartet. She has recorded with Juno-nominated artists Oliver Schroer and Teresa Doyle.

To RSVP to this event visit our meetup page.