BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260601T202618Z UID:270-1209221@richmondhilluc.ca DTSTART:20260607T143000Z DTEND:20260607T160000Z CLASS:PUBLIC CREATED:20260601T145738 DESCRIPTION:\n\n\nThis Sunday\, June 7th\, RHUC will be joining with the co ngregation of St. Matthew's United Church at 333 Crosby Avenue\, RH at 10: 30 am to celebrate PRIDE Sunday. We are thrilled to announce that the Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes will be our guest preacher that morning. Following the s ervice\, lunch will be served and Rev. Brent will be sharing a short prese ntation on the charity he founded called RAINBOW FAITH AND FREEDOM. All ar e welcome to stay for lunch and hear about this important organization. We hope to see you there! \nGUEST SPEAKER ~ PRIDE SUNDAY\, June 7 at St. Ma tthew's United Church\, RH 10:30 a.m. \nRev. Dr. Brent Hawkes\, C.M\, is the Founder and Executive Director of Rainbow Faith and Freedom\, and Seni or Pastor Emeritus of Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto. He is a na tive of Bath\, New Brunswick and a graduate of Mount Allison University.  He later received a Master's of Divinity and a Doctorate of Ministry from Trinity College\, University of Toronto. He was the Senior Pastor at Metr opolitan Community Church of Toronto for over 40 years from 1977-2018\, wh ere he was at the forefront of ministry to the LGBTQI2S Community and has helped thousands of LGBTQI2S people and their families come back into a sp iritual relationship with God. On January 14th 2001\, Rev. Hawkes officiat ed at the first legal same sex marriages in the history of the world.  He has also served the community at large with distinction\, championing sev eral human rights initiatives. He is the recipient of three honorary degre es\, and in 2007 he was appointed the Order of Canada for his stand on soc ial justice and human rights within the LGBTQI2S communities\, the highest award a country has bestowed on a gay activist. On August 27\, 2011 Rev. Hawkes officiated over the state funeral for the Honourable Jack Layton\, Leader of Canada's Official Opposition and head of the NDP\, at Roy Thomso n Hall in Toronto.  He spoke highly of Layton who had touched the lives o f millions of Canadians and had been a vocal supporter of AIDS initiatives and LGBTQI2S rights. In 2015\, Rev. Hawkes was appointed to the Order of New Brunswick for his leadership in support of LGBTQI2S rights. He has con stantly challenged the church to examine important issues such as prejudic e against gays and lesbians\, inclusive language as well as ordination of women.  He has also played a significant role in promoting the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Canadian Hu man Rights Act. \n\n LAST-MODIFIED:20260601T145738 LOCATION:St. Matthew's United Church Richmond Hill SUMMARY:SPECIAL SUNDAY WORSHIP THIS WEEK ~ JUNE 7th URL;VALUE=URI:https://richmondhilluc.ca/events/special-sunday-worship-this- week-june-7th/2026-06-07 ATTACH;FILENAME=cf70f6b1-572b-4df8-8353-296b776ecbc3.png;FMTTYPE=image/png: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2026/05/12/14/15/57/27995e73-e73d-49a b-bfe0-1e3bf4bfcbde/cf70f6b1-572b-4df8-8353-296b776ecbc3.png ATTACH;FILENAME=June 7th.png;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudf ront.net/2026/05/12/14/21/23/35f6c1b5-4011-4099-9fde-ab57c3b30784/June%207 th.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR