Dwight Ivany joined UCV last year after he and his family “dabbled in the church for years.”

Dwight was baptized by the Salvation Army, attended United Church Sunday School and then Catholic School. He first heard about Unitarianism about 10 years ago through lay chaplain, Danny Enright. Now he’s involved in the Music Club, a men's group, and recently joined the Worship Services Committee.

Dwight says he lives “an incredibly blessed life – a wonderful wife, (Jenny Young), the most adorable son, (Tully), with another on the way, surrounded by beautiful people and music.” A desire to be of service to others in a broader sense and share those blessings is what brought him to the church.

His family reads a chalice prayer every day and Dwight, the producer, is incubating an idea of “going wild with a red pen” and with others creating Unitarian prayers with “concrete and colourful words to engage our imaginations and make the prayers memorable. Abstract words like peace and love need to be peppered with words like cherry blossoms..”

He feels the church can “raise the spirits of those who surround it. Hugs, smiles, and ideas that may help self actualize anybody interested in making the world a more beautiful place.” For himself, he says, “I'm an action-oriented person who believes that the only person I can change is me. It is my goal to make the world more beautiful than it was given to me. My environmental activism is all my own, I bike to work, eat less meat, and consider the cost of everything – widgets and trinkets take time and send carbon the wrong way. I strive for material detachment, and teach that to my son. But if we're talking about a microphone or a guitar, well, that's worth every penny and minute spent with it.”

Read more about Dwight and his passion for music at his website.