2025 Winter Program - January - March

Bring your body and mind together in the rhythm of life!  Zumba®  is a dance-based fitness program that uses Latin and World music.  Slow and fast rhythms help to tone the body and at the same time provide interval training that can boost aerobic fitness.  Experience the joy of movement with Wendy, a licensed Zumba®  instructor with a long background in dance-based activities.

Session 1:  11 Mondays - Jan 6 - Mar 24 (no class on Feb 17) 

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $99 per session 

Session 2:  11 Wednesdays - Jan 8 - Mar 26 (no class on Feb 19)

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $99 per session 

or $176 when registering for both session 1 & 2

Drop-in fee:  $12 per class

Zumba®  will be held  in the upper level Theatre of The Refinery

This class will focus on developing fundamental watercolor skills. Each week, Susan Huntley, will take participants through the stages of design and composition, drawing, and painting.  You will tackle a variety of subjects from landscapes and skies to still life and florals.  This session is designed to be fun and inspirational, and will focus on how to relax and enjoy the creative process of watercolor.

6 Wednesdays - Jan 22 - Feb 26

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $ 110, materials NOT included.  A material list will be sent to participants at time of registration.

Watercolor II will be held  in the lower-level of the Refinery

Join Vanessa Hyggen for an introduction to the beautiful art of beading.  Learn the basics of beading a flat stitch pattern.  You will choose how you wish to complete your project during second session.  Participants will receive a beading template and will have 3 options to choose from for how to finish their piece.

Vanessa Hyggen is a Woodland Cree and Norwegian painter and bead artist from nemepith sipihk (Sucker River), in Northern Saskatchewan.  Vanessa is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and she currently lives in Saskatoon.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan.  In her practice she is interested in utilizing memory, tradition, and themes of nature in her work.

2 Wednesdays, Jan 15 & 22

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Class Fee:  $ 85, including materials

The Art of Beading will be held  in the lower-level church hall

T'ai Chi Chih (TCC) is a mindfulness moving meditation.  The set of 19 movements and one pose is soft, flowing and easy to learn.  Benefits may include peace of mind, improved health and simply, joy.

The most powerful way to come to understand TCC is by taking a class with an accredited teacher so that the movement of energy can be felt first-hand.

TCC practice allows the essential energy, or Chi, that moves within us all to circulate and balance.  That in turn improves our health and sense of well-being.

Accredited in 2002, Donna Aldous, has enjoyed teaching TCC and seeing how it can change peoples lives.  Her morning practice keeps her grounded and in the moment for a large part of the day, not a small thing.

Class #1:  Tuesday, Jan 21

Class #2:  Tuesday, Feb 18

Class #3:  Tuesday, Mar 11

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $20 per class

T'ai Chi Chih will be held  in the lower-level mediation room at the Refinery

Most people aren’t aware that a depth of spiritual experience is available to them at almost any time. By learning to perceive and receive the silence that surrounds all that is, anybody from any walk of life can begin to cultivate rich and resonant relationships with all reality, seen and unseen, physical and non-physical.

In this session, Simon Lasair, a nationally and internationally known researcher in the fields of spirituality and spiritual health, will teach you how to befriend this silence. Drawing upon his years of spiritual practice as well as his published research in the fields of spirituality and spiritual health, Simon will use humour and storytelling to lead you into a felt encounter with silence, teaching you how you can make a relationship with silence part of your daily life. Come for an evening of reflective conversation and insight-building practice that will help you change the way you relate to your life and, indeed, all of reality itself.

Simon Lasair is a husband, a father, and a lover of books, music, and deep conversations. He has worked for nearly a decade as a professional listener in his role as health care chaplain and has also published a few articles about chaplaincy work along the way. Simon’s workshops are warm, engaging, and stimulating, encouraging everyone present to experience themselves in new and different ways. Come for times filled with laughter and reflection. Come also to find yourself and your understanding of the world changed by the ideas Simon wants to share with you.

Monday, Jan 20

7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $ 35

Befriending Silence will be held  in the lower-level of the Refinery

Have you ever considered writing your life story but didn’t know where to start or whether it would be interesting enough for others to read?  For most of us, our life is a disorganized collection of experiences, good and bad, as well as emotions, insights, losses, gains,

and periods of stagnation and growth.  You can’t go to a store to find a ready-made picture of your life.  It’s up to you to create your story by assembling life’s pieces.  Writing your life story is a significant undertaking, but if you don’t accept the challenge and write about it, who will?  Your story matters because you are the only one who can tell it.

By the end of this course, you will understand the differences between an autobiography

and a memoir and have practical skills to start writing your life story.  You’ll learn how to create your own Life Grid and Life Time Line, powerful tools that will guide you in delving into your memories to understand your past.  These tools will help you gather memories and confidently write about your past.  Through guided individual and group exercises, you’ll learn how to tap into your past, develop a theme for your story, and maybe even come up with a title. 

Marilyn Frey, an experienced facilitator, is a long-time member of the Saskatchewan

Writers’ Guild and several local writing groups. She is also an alumnus of Alison Wearing’s 12-

week Memoir Writing, Ink course, winning first prize in Micki Findlay’s International 50-Word

Contest in 2023. Marilyn has two published books, Reflections in a Farmhouse Window and

Wilma, and short stories in anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Fun on the Farm 3,

Folklore, and Canadian Stories magazines. Writing is her passion, and Marilyn is eager to help

you on your journey to writing your life story.

Monday, Jan 27

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $50 

Getting to  the Root of Writing Your Life Story will be held  in the lower level of The Refinery

In this session you will discover the wonder of “free flow” and the versatility of watercolor. This workshop will be a “hands on approach” for beginners and beyond. There will be demonstrations, practicum and group sharing. Bring your usual watercolor materials and a suggested and optional supply list will be provided by Gisele at time of registration.

Gisele Bauche is a facilitator of on-going workshops and retreats in art, iconography, scripture, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Direction.  Her works are featured in the Catholic Extension Society’s Calendar of Canada, Augsburg Fortress Publications, US; Novalis Publications with international distribution and other publications in Canada and the US.  Gisele’s artwork is displayed in churches, organizations, retreat centres and institutions in Western Canada.  She is regularly commissioned by individuals and organizations.

4 Tuesdays, Feb 18 - Mar 11

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Fee:  $90 - materials are NOT included.  A material list will be sent to participants at time of registration.

Celebrating the Wonder of Watercolor will be held  in the lower-level of the Refinery

Create your own set of 10 blessing stones.  

Blessing stones can be used for personal reflection or offered as gifts to others who may need a word of blessing.  The creation of these stones is not dependent on artistic abilities but on a desire to connect with the blessings in your life and reflect on the way your life is a blessing to others.

If you have ever walked down McKercher Drive, you may have received a blessing stone from the Blessing Garden in Laura’s front yard.  She paints hundreds of stones each year for others to enjoy.  Her personal mantra is “blessed to be a blessing”.

Laura Fouhse, a diaconal minister, is part of a team of regionally deployed General Council Office staff in Northern Spirit, Living Skies, and Prairie to Pine. Laura has lived her entire life on the prairies.  She grew up in Saskatchewan and spent several years living in Alberta and then Manitoba.  She returned to Saskatchewan 16 years ago to serve in congregational ministry at McClure United Church.  Laura and her partner, Jordan, live in a fur covered home with 3 cats and big dog.  When she isn’t walking the dog you can find her paddleboarding on the river or playing pickleball.

Tuesday, Feb 11

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Fee:  $30, including materials 

Blessing Stones will be held  in the lower-level of the Refinery

In today’s busy world, taking some time for ourselves is important. Practicing mindfulness or being fully aware of where you are and what you are doing at any given moment can help reduce anxiety and improve concentration. Alcohol ink, because of its fluidity, requires patience. One must sit back, watch the ink, and let it flow where it wants. It is a great way to focus and be mindful.

This workshop would provide an introductory look at the world of mindfulness and alcohol ink art and techniques. Using guided meditation to set the stage, participants will prepare to discover their inner artist. Then, using alcohol ink, will create beautiful pieces of art.

Julie Fleming Juarez has been experimenting with alcohol ink for seven years. Self-taught, she has learned to appreciate the therapeutic value of the ink and its beauty. She is inspired largely by the changing seasons and likes to immerse herself in the colours of the natural environment. Her functional artwork can be found at local gift shops (SaskMade Market Place, Little Manitou Art Gallery) and on her online website, www.wanderingsart.ca. Julie also dabbles in wet felting, altered photographs, crocheting, hand-dyed paper & journals, and writing a biweekly blog. When she's not playing with one art project or another, Julie works part-time and plays pickleball.

Tuesday, Mar 18

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $55, including materials

Mindfulness and Alcohol Ink will be held  in the lower-level of The Refinery

Join Janice to create a fun and easy mixed media project. We will work with paint, a variety of papers, stickers and stencils to create a folded booklet.  This is a creative and unique mixed media project that anyone can do.  Share a creative evening and give this project a try – warning…this project can be addictive!

Monday, Mar 31

7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Class Fee:  $20, including materials

Mini Mixed Media Booklet will be held  in the lower-level of The Refinery