Bloor Street has a growing collection of videos that it has produced to share with others. Many of these videos have a social justice focus. We hope you find something here that is helpful to your journey.
Planning an Exposure Tour from Youth on Bloor on Vimeo.
Planning an Exposure Tour
In the summer of 2012, Youth on Bloor went to the Dene Nation region in the Northwest Territories. This video was commissioned by the United Church of Canada to explain how to plan this kind of exposure tour for youth groups. If you've been wondering how the trip went last summer, this video will give you a pretty good sense of it. Youth on Bloor is the teens group run by Bloor Street, Trinity Saint Paul's and Bathurst United Church.
Holy Ground
On February 10th, Dr William S. Kervin was the guest preacher at Bloor Street United. he came to speak about the issues churches confront when they plan to redevelop their buildings, as Bloor plans to do.
The 2012 Craddock Lecture: Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, "Life is Hope"
Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Muslim medical doctor from Gaza, who appeared at Bloor Street United Church on October 28th, 2012 to deliver the annual Craddock Lecture. His talk ,"Life is Hope", focuses on how to find peace and forgiveness in times of conflict. His three daughters were killed in Gaza during conflicts with the Israelis.
The full video of his talk can be seen here, presented in three parts.
If These Walls Could Talk: The History of Bloor Street United Church
This video was created for the May 2012 Doors Open event, where a silent version with text was seen on a large screen by hundreds of visitors to the church. The version you see here gives a quick overview of the history of Bloor Street, and the many changes it has seen as Toronto grew from a small town into a major city.
The 2011 Craddock Lecture with Margaret Atwood
Each year, Bloor Street United Church hosts the Craddock Lecture, a chance for a distinguished guest to take over the pulpit to speak about spiritual issues to the congregation, students and the general public. This year's Craddock lecture was delivered by Canada's most famous fiction writer, Margaret Atwood.
Ms. Atwood's lecture is entitled "Religion: Recovering our Roots". She explores how modern religions have lost touch with nature, which was once the foundation of spiritual experience. Her talk draws on themes she has explored in her recent novels, such as The Year of the Flood where in a post-apocalyptic future, survivors reconnect with nature, re-interpreting the Bible to make sense of their disaster.
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"Religion: Recovering our Roots", part oneMargaret Atwood starts her talk with some humourous memories of growing up in a family that attended United Church services. |
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"Religion:Recovering our Roots", part twoMargaret Atwood explores how the biblical view of nature as sacred was slowly lost after the Enlightenment, within churches and outside in general society. |
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"Religion:Recovering our Roots", part threeMargaret Atwood discusses how imperative it is that Christians re-establish their connection to nature before seculr society and capitalism goes too far its in exploitation of the environment. |
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"From Respect to Love: Befriending Creation", part oneProfessor Stephen Scharper of the University of Toronto speaks about the Christian relationship to nature in this Craddock Lecture at Bloor Street United Church. |
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"From Respect to Love: Befriending Creation", part twoProfessor Stephen Scharper of the University of Toronto speaks about the Christian relationship to nature in this Craddock Lecture at Bloor Street United Church. |
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"From Respect to Love: Befriending Creation", part threeProfessor Stephen Scharper of the University of Toronto speaks about the Christian relationship to nature in this Craddock Lecture at Bloor Street United Church. |
