UNITED CHURCH MAKES DONATION TO CENTRE

Following the sale of their landmark Pandora Avenue building to the Victoria Conservatory of Music, members of Victoria's First Metropolitan United Church consulted extensively over how to disburse the funds from the sale. In the end, they decided that a significant portion of the funds, $98,425, be donated to UVic's centre for studies in religion and society. "It's the United Church's first significant gift to the centre," says the Rev. John Hogman explaining that it's difficult for the United Church to make donations locally since, unlike the centre's other founding churches, it does not have a local diocese. The local sale of church property made the "quite remarkable" gift possible.

The centre's acting director, Dr. Michael Hadley, says the centre will always be mindful of the values that motivated the gift. The United Church favoured the UVic centre because of its commitment to community partnerships. Current research projects at the Centre include restorative justice, environmental ethics, and sacred word and sacred texts. A busy schedule of lectures and presentations is open to members of both the on- and off-campus communities to enable them to share the knowledge generated by the Centre's research. [PP]

-- 30 --