At a time when hate crimes are on the rise in Halton Region, five local churches are cooperating to host Considering Matthew Shepard – a performance based on the life and diaries of a young gay man who suffered and was killed in a hate crime.

This moving event will contribute to our ongoing awareness around issues and concerns facing LGBTQ+ youth. It will provide an opportunity for healing and reconciliation between and among marginalized groups and the wider community.

This event is being offered to the public free of charge by the combined sponsorship of five welcoming, ​affirming and inclusive local churches who believe in an open community of faith, that welcome everyone. ​Together, these congregations strive to make Halton a community that embraces diversity – differences of age, ​mental and physical health and ability, religious background, marital status, family structure, sexual ​orientation, gender and its expression, racial and cultural identity, educational and socioeconomic status, and ​more. All are always welcome at Port Nelson United Church, Burlington Baptist Church, St. Christopher’s ​Anglican, Grace United Church and St. Paul’s United Church!

About Considering Matthew Shepard

Craig Hella Johnson's three-part oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard, will be performed in Burlington by the ​renowned Elora Singers, one of the finest chamber choirs in Canada. It is a fusion of musical styles, of poetry and ​prose, drawing from the events, the rural Wyoming setting, and from Matthew’s own notebooks. 

• DATE: Friday September 23rd, 2022
• PLACE: Port Nelson United Church, 3132 South Drive, Burlington, ON
• TIME: 7:30 p.m.
• COST: Free admission. If you are able, donations are accepted in advance or at the event in ​support of the Pflag Canada.
• DETAILS: https://consideringmatthewshepard.my.canva.site/

About Matthew Shepard

On a cold night, October 6, 1998, in a hateful homophobic act, 21-year-old ​gay university student Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten, and ​strung on a fence outside of town in Laramie, Wyoming, a place he had lived ​and loved. He was found by a cyclist the next morning and died of his ​injuries several days later. The public outpouring of grief for the tragic end ​to Matthew’s life was scarred by the sickening protests of hate group, ​Westboro Baptist Church. Years later, Matthew’s name would be ​associated with changes to U.S. laws concerning hate crimes associated ​with homophobia.

Some 20 years after the event, Matthew’s life, death, and the questions of ​humanity they evoke inspired composer Craig Hella Johnson to compose a ​three-part oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard. It is a fusion of musical ​styles, of poetry and prose, drawing from the events, the rural Wyoming ​setting, and from Matthew’s own notebooks.  It merges the personal with ​the universal, life with death, ugliness with beauty, and seeks hope from ​what was a tragedy without redemptive purpose.

The North Bay Choral Society performs Songs of Hope 

St. Andrew's United Church on Saturday October 1st and Sunday Oct. 2nd starting at 2pm

Tickets are $20

Children 12 and under are free

You can purchase your tickets at Stix and Stones, The Farm, North Bay Museum, Marshall Park Pharmasave or from Choir Members

northbaychoralsociety@hotmail.com

Friday, September 30 at 7:30 PM Dance  to music by Landry & Madill, in Wesley United Church Fellowship Hall.

Also enjoy door prizes, silent auction, dessert buffet

Tickets $15 per person. Available from the church office 613-735-6132 or from Ruth 613-635-7537

The title of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It holds a double meaning that teasingly suggests the play can please all tastes. But is that possible? With his subversive updating of the Bard’s classic, cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal seeks to find out. The show exults in bawdy humour, difficult subject matter, and raw emotion; Cardinal is not one to hold back when it comes to challenging delicate sensibilities.

In partnership with Gardeners of Burlington, Halton Environmental and St. Christopher's Church, hosting a Plant Sale with a large selection of perennials plants, native species, garlic bulbs and spring flowering bulbs. 

On Saturday, October 1st Amherstburg Freedom Museum, in partnership with Amherstburg Community Foundation and with support from the Canadian government, are relaunching our Freedom Achievers Speaker Series and Mentorship Program with an in-person event at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum (277 King Street). Join us as we host a mentor showcase and welcome Diversity and Inclusion Advocate, Journalist and Lawyer Dr. Hadiya Roderique.

As a young, Black woman working as a lawyer on Bay Street, Hadiya Roderique delivered a wake-up call to corporate Canada in the form of her Globe and Mail feature essay, "Black on Bay Street.” In her thought-provoking talks, she discusses barriers and challenges to diversity and inclusion, and counters those common arguments to show the power behind a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Seating is Limited! Make sure to purchase your tickets before September 23rd to get the discounted rate! Registered Mentors and Mentors get in for free! To become a mentor or mentee, please contact curator@amherstburgfreedom.org . To purchase your tickets, please go to https://freedomachiever.givesmart.com

The Historical Society is pleased to present Arden Phair's illustrated talk on the art of editorial cartooning at The Standard, 1936 to 1961.  Arden Phair is a local historian and former curator of the St. Catharine's museum.