Welcome to Workplace Centre, where ethics and spirituality are alive and well.

Join us for monthly breakfast and lunch meetings, conveniently located in downtown Vancouver...

Meetings are presentation-and-discussion format, about 75 minutes long, with speakers chosen on topics that help you keep ethics and spirituality alive and well in your place of work.  


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

November 2008 EVENTS 

NOTE: Our Spirit/Work luncheon is on **TUESDAY** this month Spirit at Work presents

TUESDAY, November 18th, 2008               12:00 - 1:30pm   Addictions, Hope and the Challenges of Work & Living with John Kuchenthal,  Business and Professional Development Consultant and Charles S., his AA Sponsor Do you ever feel driven by the pressures of work & daily living?  How do you cope, or find peace? Sometimes, living ain't easy...  Whether it's the pressures inside or around us, we often do things our better selves tell us we shouldn't. We over-work, shop or consume, or take substances that can hurt us. Yet we're all doing the best we can. This session will explore the drivers in life towards addictions and destructive habits/thinking, and what we can do about them. Drawing on their own experiences in business, spirituality and "Alcoholics Anonymous," our speakers will help us to consider:            - the pressures and challenges that affect us all            - the behaviours we use to cover over our pain/feelings            - how insights from A.A. can help us move beyond our ego/small self              at work, and create cultures of respect via common experience. These insights will then be used to help us: draw on our own experiences, listen to ourselves more deeply, share with others, and give us tools we can use in our work and daily life.    [More about this topic]                     click here to RSVP  or  phone: 604.685-6560 DATE:           TUESDAY, November 18, 2008 -- 12:00 - 1:30 pm LOCATION:   Main Floor, Conference Rooms, Terasen Building,                      1111 W. Georgia St. (at Thurlow), Vancouver Cost:             Without lunch: $10                      With lunch:  non-members - $20;  members - $15 Lunch:          Catered sandwiches, salad, tea and coffee                               __________________________ About Our Speakers: John Kuchenthal joined Alcoholics Anonymous over a year ago to come to terms with his addictions and to deal with his own physical and psychological pain. There he discovered that his pain was not just a frustration/challenge, but a motivation to heal and to embrace his deeper spirituality. A Board member of Workplace Centre for over 15 years, John has a wide range of skills and experience in personal & professional development. Previously a vocational counsellor at Malaspina College and a program designer with the Federal government creating re-employment programs for professionals, John has 20 years' experience as a business consultant (in resolving conflicts and creating common ground among workers and management) and 35 years as a personal development trainer in organizations. Joining John will be his AA sponsor, Charles S., who has been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous for 18 years.                click here to RSVP  or  phone: 604-685-6560 back to top

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ethics for Breakfast presents

Wednesday, November 12, 2008                7:15 - 8:30 am Ethics and the Fishbowl of Public Life   with Stephen Owen, QC, Vice President, External, Legal & Community    Relations at UBC, and Former Member of Parliament & Cabinet Minister                            With all the public scrutiny,                     would you be willing to be a politician? Most of us have the tendency to perform more ethically and to a higher standard when we are being observed. Yet the harsh scrutiny by the news media of those in public life can cause individuals and organizations to act secretively. This in turn can lead to misfeasance and malfeasance. What principles and processes can assist public officials to rise above the risks and fray? What is it like to live and work in this "fishbowl"? Join us for this rare look into the challenges of being an elected official, with someone who's seen it from the inside out.                click here to RSVP   -or-  phone: 604.685-6560 DATE:            Wednesday, Nov. 12th-- 7:15-8:30 am LOCATION:     BC Hydro Building                       333 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver                       Check-in at Security Desk - Main floor lobby COST:           Members - $7.00     Non-Members - $10.00                       (muffins, tea and coffee included)                            click here to RSVP   or phone: 604.685-6560 About Our Speaker: Stephen Owen has held many prestigious public service positions ranging from Ombudsman of British Columbia to Member of Parliament and Federal Cabinet Minister. His professional activities have included a two-year term as Chair of the Ethics and Education Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and numerous consulting assignments with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Amnesty International and other international organizations. In April 2007, he was appointed Vice President, External, Legal and Community Relations at the University of British Columbia. [More about this Speaker] Full details on Mr. Owen's biography can be found at: http://www.external-affairs.ubc.ca/cv/.

__________________________________

Past Events

October 2008 

Our October Ethics for Breakfast has been cancelled
- due to the long weekend, the Election, and our speaker having to postpone!

                             - - - - - - - - - - AND - - - - - - - - - - - -

Spirit at Work presents

Thursday, Oct. 16th, 2008            12:00 - 1:30pm   Finding Your Voice, Finding Your SELF! with Julie Blue Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Vocal Coach and Founder of the Singspiration Singers                What is the spark of creative genius that ignites                           your spirit and self-expression? Julie Blue is an internationally-accomplished singer, songwriter, composer, choir director extraordinaire and corporate facilitator who has inspired thousands of people to find their voices and express their creative genius. In this session, Julie will engage us in opening up our voices and hearts, and playing with the creative flow. She will talk about how Spirit guides her creative work and share some keys for staying inspired. People will take away an experience of accessing their own authentic voice, and tips for working with Julie’s "authentic voice technique" in easy and practical ways... [More about this Session]                     click here to RSVP  or  phone: 604-685-6560 DATE:           Thursday, October 16, 2008 -- 12:00 - 1:30 pm LOCATION:   Main Floor, Conference Rooms, Terasen Building,                      1111 W. Georgia St. (at Thurlow), Vancouver Cost:             Without lunch: $10                      With lunch:  non-members - $20;  members - $15 Lunch:          Catered sandwiches, salad, tea and coffee                               __________________________ About Our Speaker, Singer & Coach: Songs of healing and love embody the heart of Canadian singer/songwriter Julie Blue. (www.JulieBlue.com) With a richly soulful and beautifully evocative voice (critics have compared her to Norah Jones), she weaves together jazz, classical, pop and blues while injecting substance and timelessness into her songs. A North Vancouver resident, Julie has been singing and playing professionally since the age of 17. A global artist, Blue has performed throughout the United States, Africa, Australia, Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean and Japan. In addition to local festivals and concerts, her recent performances include Musical Keynoter for Goldie Hawn's Bright Light Foundation fundraising event and performer on the Neale Donald Walsch world tour... Julie founded the Singspiration Creative Empowerment Programs in 1989 and has touched thousands of people through her Healing Sound and Songwriting Performance courses. She has recorded 7 CDs and... [More about this Speaker]                           click here to RSVP  or  phone: 604-685-6560

We also invite you to our:
Annual General Meeting
on Thursday, October 16th, following the Spirit at Work Luncheon
(Starts at approx. 1:45 p.m.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 


September 2008

Ethics for Breakfast presents

Tuesday, Sept 9th, 2008         7:15 - 8:30 am Ethics and Homelessness with Judy Graves, Coordinator Tenant Assistance Program City of Vancouver Where do we think the poor should go? What are the ethics of a City in which the poor sleep in the streets, children are raised in crowded, damp basements, and elderly tenants have to leave the city because they can no longer afford to live here? We stand at a crossroads. Do we want to plan a city which is home to both rich and poor? And if we do not want the poor in our city, where do we think they should go?           "Homelessness is the dark shadow of prosperity." - Philip Mangano                click here to RSVP   -or-  phone: 604.685-6560 DATE:            Tuesday, Sept 9th-- 7:15-8:30 am LOCATION:     BC Hydro Building                       333 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver                       Check-in at Security Desk - Main floor lobby COST:           Members - $7.00     Non-Members - $10.00                       (muffins, tea and coffee included) click here to RSVP   or phone: 604.685-6560 About Our Speaker: This spring, Judy Graves received the Reg Robson Award from the BC Civil Liberties Association, an honorary doctorate from Corpus Christi College and, in May, was the featured speaker at the Ottawa Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast. Judy has worked with Vancouver's homeless since 1974, and in the Downtown East Side since 1979. She coordinates City Hall's Tenant Assistance Program where her assigned mandate is to mitigate the impact of development on low-income tenants and the homeless. She says, "I feel honoured to be able to do God's work in a secular setting." Judy is mother of journalist Pieta Woolley and Grandmomma of Baby David Woolley.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_____________ and for lunch... _______________

Spirit at Work presents

Thursday, Sept. 18th, 2008            12:00 - 1:30pm   "Intentional Travel"   as a Road to   Spiritual Fulfillment     with Michael McCarthy   Journalist, Writer & Videographer  "Intentional travelers" consciously wander the world with the goal of leaving it a better place… From creating Spare Change, a "homeless newspaper" which sold a million copies – to launching micro-philanthropy projects in poorer countries – to journeying through the mountains of Tibet to rescue abandoned children, Michael McCarthy has lived an unusual spiritual journey. Michael’s journey started at an early age when he discovered writers like Jack Keroauc. He was soon "on the road" himself, hitchhiking and hopping freights, wandering the world and helping others... In this session, Michael will share stories of some of his amazing global and spiritual adventures. [More about this Session] You don't need to be on an expedition to Borneo; taking the bus to Burnaby is enough. You just have to create the magic that we had as children..." - Michael McCarthy              click here to RSVP  or  phone: 604.685-6560 DATE:           Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 -- 12:00 - 1:30 pm LOCATION:   Main Floor, Conference Rooms, Terasen Building,                      1111 W. Georgia St. (at Thurlow), Vancouver Cost:             Without lunch: $10                      With lunch:  non-members - $20;  members - $15 Lunch:          Catered sandwiches, salad, tea and coffee                               __________________________ About Michael McCarthy: Michael is the author of four books, and hundreds of articles that have appeared in the Vancouver Courier, Vancouver Sun, The Province, North Shore News, Shared Vision, Business in Vancouver and many magazines in the United States. His videos about his "intentional travels" include the upcoming Journey to Dolpo, a recent expedition to Nepal in which he and a Tibetan lama walked 500 miles over several 20,000-foot passes to rescue abandoned children. Michael’s personal Web site – www.Intentional-Traveler.com (subtitled Journeys with Purpose and Meaning) – features many similar trips to orphanages, clinics, schools and prisons. His short story about his Nepalese trek was just published in Best American Travel Writing 2008... [More about this speaker]                click here to RSVP  or  phone: 604.685-6560 back to top

More Past Events
	DIANNE DOYLE President and CEO Providence Health Care Spirituality in My Workplace Thursday, November 15 2007  Spirit at Work Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 pm
	DR. ELI SOPOW Human Research & Organizational Devt RCMP, Pacific Region HQ You’re Okay – It’s the Organization that’s Sick Tuesday, November 13, 2007  Ethics for Breakfast  7:15-8:30 am
	REBECCA EPHRAIM Publisher and Editor in Chief, SharedVISION Magazine "The Real F-Word is FEAR" Wednesday October 17 2007  Spirit at Work Lunch 12:15 - 1:30 pm
	Dr. MARK WEXLER SFU Professor of Business Ethics Corporate Psychopathy, Ethics and Social Responsibility   Tuesday, October 9, 2007  Ethics for Breakfast  7:15-8:30 am
	DR. BRIAN FRASER and the JazzThink Trio  Jazzing Up Your Leadership:     Swing and Spirit at Work Thursday, September 20, 2007 Spirit at Work Lunch 12:15 - 1:30 pm
	DANIEL SAVAS  Senior V-P, Ipsos-Reid  Ethical Use and Interpretation of Polls Tuesday, September 11, 2007  Ethics for Breakfast  7:15-8:30 am
	HAL GUNN Co-founder and CEO, InspireHealth Thursday June 21 2007  Spirit at Work Lunch 12:15 - 1:30 pm
	JIM HOGGAN  Ethics, the Environment and Public Relations Tuesday May 8 2007  Ethics for Breakfast  7:15-8:30 am
	TREVOR SIMPSON From Confusion to Clarity, A Guide to Spiritual Decision Making Thursday April 19 2007  Spirit at Work Lunch  12:15-1:30 pm
	DR. GLORIA McARTER The Ethics of Marriage Tuesday April 10 2007  Ethics for Breakfast  7:15-8:30 am
	KERRACE ALEXANDER Journey Through Leadership: Deepening Your Connection to Spirituality Thursday March 15 2007  Spirit at Work Lunch  12:15-1:30 pm
	DR. MARK WEXLER Understanding Corporate Scandals: Who are those Monsters?  Tuesday March 13 2007  Ethics for Breakfast  7:15-8:30 am
more speaker events
Get known for supporting spirituality and ethics!  Volunteer to speak, or sponsor a Workplace Centre breakfast or lunch event.   Phone 604-685-6560 or email info@workplacecentre.org