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Living by Imagination

By: Stefan Jonasson

When I was a boy, I had a vivid imagination. Some might have even called it overactive. It found expression in many ways and my parents, along with our neighbors, encouraged it, as long as it didn’t stray in the direction of fabrication.

Long before our family owned a car, my father began replacing our potholed asphalt driveway with concrete. He did it a patch at a time, cutting away the failed asphalt down to the gravel base and replacing it with concrete that he mixed by hand in a wheelbarrow. Each slab was irregularly shaped and their sizes varied. He tinted each batch of concrete a different color. After pouring each slab, Dad finished the surface with a corn broom for texture and then carefully edged it with a smooth trowel. Over the course of a summer or two, he made his way up each side of the driveway, leaving a remnant of asphalt in the center. The result looked a little like the shape of San Francisco Bay—without the Golden Gate channel. The asphalt was the bay while the concrete was the surrounding landscape, albeit a prairie terrain rather than a mountainous one.

It didn’t take long before I was using the edging as “roads” for my Dinky Toys and Matchbox cars, which fit perfectly along the roadways Dad had created. The textured surface on the rest of each slab made perfect fields, not unlike the wheat fields we passed on the real highways. I had a few hundred miniature vehicles—I was a bit spoiled!—so it didn’t take long for traffic jams to develop around Riverbend Bay as I laid out my toys. It’s a good thing we didn’t have a car to park on the driveway, although I did have a toy or two crushed by vehicles turning around at the end, seemingly unaware that this particular driveway was alive with imaginary people and places.

Stories unfolded in my imagination as I drove my vehicles up and down the roadways. There were wars and disasters, deliveries and country drives—every conceivable circumstance that a youngster’s imagination could dream up. I spent hundreds of hours in this landscape, my imagination running wild. I’m 60 now, but I still keep some of those toys I played with when I was six in a box downstairs, and whenever I take them out, my imagination still overflows.

I graduated eventually from toy cars to a paper route, but that didn’t interfere with my imagination. Delivering papers is boring work, so there was plenty of time to think as I pulled my wagon filled with newspapers from house to house. Along the way, I would talk to myself out loud, sing or whistle, and keep my mind occupied by letting it drift to other places. Some of my customers would just shake their heads as their daydreaming, tow-haired paperboy meandered along the street—usually late—delivering the day’s news. Other customers actively engaged my imagination, encouraging my storytelling and singing, playing along with me when they could.

The curious thing in all of this is that I grew into who I am through the unfettered growth of my imagination. Looking back, I realize that the values I treasure were shaped through my imaginary wanderings as a child and refined through my experiences as an adult. But whoever it is that I am today, that person can be glimpsed in a boy who played on the driveway and delivered papers. If I am impatient with the world as it is, it is only because I learned to dream of a better world as a child. And I’ve never ceased believing that the world of our dreams could become a reality if we pursued our dreams with imagination instead of caving in to so-called common sense and practicality.

In The Conduct of Life, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “We live by our imaginations, by our admirations, by our sentiments. The child walks amid heaps of illusions, which he does not like to have disturbed.” I agree that we live most fully when we live by our imaginations, and I acknowledge that, as a child, I was surrounded by heaps of illusions. But if my imagination and illusions have been disturbed, its only because, as adults, we allow ourselves to become disenchanted and estranged from our imagination, which happens to be where our better angels reside.

Imagination, whatever our age and circumstances, is vital.

Which is why I am so excited to see a new leadership team come on board at the CLF. The board and the search committee were bold in imagining the CLF’s future—a future that responds to the urgent call of justice that we feel in the present moment. They were bold in imagining ministry as something that goes beyond those who are ordained, and chose a leadership team that includes two religious educators as well as an ordained minister. And I am so eager to see what the vivid imaginations of the CLF’s new lead ministry team—Aisha Hauser, Christina Rivera and Michael Tino—will bring us as we imagine the future together.

Attached media: https://web.archive.org/web/20211110172715/https://www.questformeaning.org/podcasts/20_09/04.mp3

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Gimli Unitarian Church

By: Stefan Jonasson
Since 2012, the Gimli Unitarian Church is the only Unitarian congregation in the Manitoba Interlake still holding regular services. It meets on the "odd Sundays" of the summer months and generally holds a Yuletide service on the Sunday before Christmas. For service details, please go directly to the Gimli Unitarians webpage.


76 Second Avenue near Centre Street
Gimli, Manitoba


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Sunday, December 20, 2015 - A Time for Sweet Surprises

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, December 20, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. – A Time for Sweet Surprises – The poet Margaret Sangster described Christmas as “the time of the year for the sweet surprise.” With the passing years, it becomes harder for many to feel surprised as the Yuletide approaches and yet we wait and hope. And with some luck, sweet surprise and delight may yet visit us. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

A Celebration of Candlelight and Carols. All are welcome. Refreshments will follow the service.

Gimli Unitarian Church is located at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street.


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Sunday, September 6, 2015 - The Good We Seek for All

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, September 6 at 11:00 a.m. – The Good We Seek for All – “The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain,” claimed Jane Addams, “until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” On Labour Day weekend, we do well to reflect upon what a good and just society looks like. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!


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Sunday, August 30, 2015 - From Chaos to Creation

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, August 30 at 11:00 a.m. – From Chaos to Creation – “Invention,” according to Mary Shelley, “does not consist of creating out of void, but out of chaos.” The old mythologies teach us to believe in creation ex nihilo – out of nothing – but is creation not better understood as the emergence of order out of chaos? Rev. Stefan Jonasson

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!



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Sunday, August 16, 2015 - Faith in Things Unseen

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, August 16 at 11:00 a.m.Faith in Things Unseen – The most precious things in life are intangible for most people and our deepest values stand upon beliefs we cannot prove and experiences we often cannot articulate. Even those of us who fancy ourselves humanists and materialists have a faith in things unseen. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!

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Sunday, August 2, 2015 - May I Change Your Mind?

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, August 2 at 11:00 a.m. – May I Change Your Mind? – Some years ago a Buddhist magazine, Tricycle, sponsored “Change Your Mind” Days across the country, involving meditation events in public places. The title was a pun on the usual way we think about “Changing Your Mind,” which usually means changing your opinions. It turns out the changing your opinions may be even harder than changing your mind through spiritual discipline. In fact, it turns out that changing your mind by changing your opinions takes a special kind of spiritual discipline. Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!
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Sunday, July 19, 2015 - Surprised by Joy

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, July 19 at 11:00 a.m. – Surprised by Joy – “Life is a series of surprises,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it certainly seems to be true. And while it’s also common to hear people, especially bosses, say, “I don’t like surprises,” I’ve been surprised by joy so often that I relish the surprises that come my way. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!


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Sunday, July 5, 2015 - Stumbling into Heaven

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, July 5 at 11:00 a.m. Stumbling into Heaven – Heaven has been the topic of several books in recent years, from imaginative volumes like The Five People You Meet in Heaven to the wishful thinking of pop theology like Heaven is for Real. The Universalist showman P.T. Barnum insisted that heaven isn’t a place at all, but rather a state of being right here on earth. Rev. Stefan Jonasson


Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!


A slice of heaven: Spruce Sands, Manitoba (Photo by Stefan Jonasson)

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Summer Sundays at Gimli Unitarian Church - 2015

By: Stefan Jonasson
Gimli Unitarian Church will open for the summer season on Sunday, July 5, 2015, continuing on the first and third Sundays of the month until the final service of the season on Sunday, September 6. Services are at 11:00 a.m. in the congregation’s landmark building at 76 Second Avenue. Dress is casual — after all, it’s cottage season! 

July 5 – Stumbling into Heaven – Heaven has been the topic of several books in recent years, from imaginative volumes like The Five People You Meet in Heaven to the wishful thinking of pop theology like Heaven is for Real. The Universalist showman P.T. Barnum insisted that heaven isn’t a place at all, but rather a state of being right here on earth. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

July 19 – Surprised by Joy – “Life is a series of surprises,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it certainly seems to be true. And while it’s also common to hear people, especially bosses, say, “I don’t like surprises,” I’ve been surprised by joy so often that I relish the surprises that come my way. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

August 2 – May I Change Your Mind? – Some years ago a Buddhist magazine, Tricycle, sponsored “Change Your Mind” Days across the country, involving meditation events in public places. The title was a pun on the usual way we think about “Changing Your Mind,” which usually means changing your opinions. It turns out the changing your opinions may be even harder than changing your mind through spiritual discipline. In fact, it turns out that changing your mind by changing your opinions takes a special kind of spiritual discipline. Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz

August 16 – Faith in Things Unseen – The most precious things in life are intangible for most people and our deepest values stand upon beliefs we cannot prove and experiences we often cannot articulate. Even those of us who fancy ourselves humanists and materialists have a faith in things unseen. Rev. Stefan Jonasson

August 30 – From Chaos to Creation – “Invention,” according to Mary Shelley, “does not consist of creating out of void, but out of chaos.” The old mythologies teach us to believe in creation ex nihilo – out of nothing – but is creation not better understood as the emergence of order out of chaos? Rev. Stefan Jonasson

September 6 – The Good We Seek for All – “The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain,” claimed Jane Addams, “until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” On Labour Day weekend, we do well to reflect upon what a good and just society looks like. Rev. Stefan Jonasson
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Sunday, August 17, 2014 - The Affirmative Life

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, August 17, at 11:00 a.m.  The Affirmative Life – “To live the affirmative life is to adopt a positive attitude towards the whole of existence,” wrote Horace Westwood. “Our affirmations must bear some relation to what is real or what may become real.”  As heirs to the ages of the past, yet belonging to a future yet unknown, we are called to affirmative lives.  Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!
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Sunday, August 3, 2014 - And If We Fail?

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, August 3, at 11:00 a.m.And If We Fail? – Risk is a part of living. In a world where insurance, security systems, and RRSPs are promoted to give you peace of mind, no one likes to talk about the fear of failure. This sermon looks at risk, reward, and failure — in school, in business, in relationships, as issues in religious living — and since it's Festival weekend, we'll have to include a look at Iceland's recent experience with economic disaster and rebound for life lessons. Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz

Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!



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Sunday, July 20, 2014 - Radical Moderation

By: Stefan Jonasson
Sunday, July 20 at 11:00 a.m.  Radical Moderation – The late Elliot Richardson declared, "I am a moderate — a radical moderate."  The very phrase seems like a contradiction, but is it really?  Amidst the shrill pronouncements of radicals and ideologues, public discourse might benefit from some radical moderation — in religion, in politics, and in everyday life.  Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson


Services are in the Gimli Unitarian Church's landmark building at 76 Second Avenue, near Centre Street. Dress is casual — after all, it's summer!



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Summer Sundays at Gimli Unitarian Church

By: Stefan Jonasson
Gimli Unitarian Church will open for the summer season on Sunday, July 6, 2014, continuing on the first and third Sundays of the month until the final service of the season on Sunday, August 31. Services are at 11:00 a.m. in the congregation’s landmark building at 76 Second Avenue.  Dress is casual — after all, it's cottage season! 


July 6 The Possibility of Purpose“From this belief in the possibility of purpose in my own life,” wrote Frederick May Eliot, “I go on to the belief in the possibility of introducing purpose into the social life of groups and communities and nations.”  Have you considered the purpose of your life lately?  And if you have, does your life’s purpose have something important to say to the community?  Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson


July 20 Radical ModerationThe late Elliot Richardson declared, “I am a moderate — a radical moderate.”  The very phrase seems like a contradiction, but is it really?  Amidst the shrill pronouncements of radicals and ideologues, public discourse might benefit from some radical moderation — in religion, in politics, and in everyday life.  Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson


August 3 And If We Fail?Risk is a part of living. In a world where insurance, security systems, and RRSPs are promoted to give you peace of mind, no one likes to talk about the fear of failure. This sermon looks at risk, reward, and failure — in school, in business, in relationships, as issues in religious living — and  since it's Festival weekend, we'll have to include a look at Iceland's recent experience with economic disaster and rebound for life lessons.  Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz


August 17 The Affirmative Life – “To live the affirmative life is to adopt a positive attitude towards the whole of existence,” wrote Horace Westwood. “Our affirmations must bear some relation to what is real or what may become real.”  As heirs to the ages of the past, yet belonging to a future yet unknown, we are called to affirmative lives.  Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson



August 31 Beyond the Reach of Tides – Henry David Thoreau was a saunterer, not a sailor.  Pondering the ocean depths and the fate of shipwrecks, while strolling along the beach, he yearned “to place my gains beyond the reach of tides.”  Are we ever really beyond the reach of life’s tides and trends?  Should we even want to be?   Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

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