Adult Spiritual Development
Opportunities at USG for Adults of All Ages
February Spirit newsletter
If you have questions about ASD courses and programs, please contact Director of Spiritual Development, Zoë Johnston at dsd@usguu.org.
The Adult Spiritual Development (ASD) Committee of USG is committed to offering a variety of programs that deepen and broaden the range of spiritual practices in our congregation. ASD seeks to promote offerings that engage the heart and stimulate the intellect and create opportunities for USG members to share their talents and wisdom, as we strengthen the bonds of our Unitarian Universalist community. We are now offering some things in person, outdoors and indoors, and we are still offering many things on zoom.
Small Group Ministry is a form of Adult Spiritual Development, visit the webpage HERE.
This page has discussion-based spiritual development, for practice-based spiritual development – meditation & yoga – visit the Center for Mindfulness at USG page.
Unitarian Universalism 101 in person on 3rd Sundays at 12 noon; or by appointment on Zoom
An introduction to Unitarian Universalism for visitors and friends. Please contact Eric Foster and Charles Gabriel at uu101@usguu.org if you are interested.
Feminist Thealogy:
Imbolc Celebration
Sunday, February 2
12-1:30pm in Sullivan Chapel
Join Gale Gibbons and Tiffany Hill to discuss the traditional Celtic holiday of Imbolc. This holiday encourages contemplation and renewal, a time for the joy of fresh starts. We will discuss rituals and practices. Imbolc celebrates the ancient Goddess Brigid, the keeper of the hearth. Brigid reappears as the Irish Catholic Saint Brigid, who is identified with the rustic Brigid’s cross, woven of dried grasses and which some believe will protect their homes from danger. An old tradition is weaving these crosses with friends and neighbors. We will make some of these together.
See the lineup of Feminist Thealogy programs for 2024-25 HERE.
Authentic Selves Book Discussion Group
A UUA Common Read
with Margaret Thompson
Authentic Selves is a sweeping compilation of life stories and portraits of trans and nonbinary people, as well as their partners, parents, children, siblings, and chosen family members. Through interviews and photo portraits, the subjects of Authentic Selves invite readers into their real lives–their revelations, challenges, joys, and networks of support.
The Unitarian Universalist Association selected Authentic Selves as the book for UUs and their congregations to read and explore in 2024-25. USG will host an in-person book discussion across four Mondays: Feb 10 & 24, Mar 10 & 24. The discussions will be held in Sullivan Chapel from 7 to 8:30pm.
You don’t need to read the whole book before the first meeting in order to participate in the discussion, though you will need to read some of the portraits before each meeting in order to get the most out of the discussions. Among the portraits are the first person stories of Sarah McBride, recently elected Congressional representative for Delaware, and her family.
Copies of Authentic Selves are available for purchase, even if you can’t come to the book discussion.
Contact Margaret Thompson at CommonRead@usguu.org if you have questions and/or you want to participate and want to receive updates about the book discussion meetings.
Join the Men’s Group, open to anyone self-identifying as male, in person at 7:00pm in USG’s Daskam Room, usually on 4th Sundays. Contact Ben Manes at mensgroup@usguu.org.
Racism Book Study will be on hiatus until April in support of the Common Read above. We will start From Here to Equality by William A Darity and A Kirsten Mullen when we resume. Email bookstudy@usguu.org for more info or the link.
Find Black Lives UU resources for Black UUs linked here.
BLUU Boxes contain historical and inspiring treasures from the Black Lives of UUism and are available to everyone. If you would like to receive them and notices of times to gather and discuss, please contact bookstudy@usguu.org.
Offered by the Meadville-Lombard UU Seminary
The Fall session has been cancelled. Click HERE to learn more about the program and check back in the late winter.
They are currently building new communities of learners in the Within phase, with Un/Learning for Liberation program (for white participants) and the Gathering Our Selves programs (for Black, Indigenous, People of Color participants.) Join them for a deep dive into the personal, transformative, spirit-growing work each of us needs to do around issues of race, identity, and justice, in relationship with other folks who share some similar experiences!
Within is a 12-week spiritual formation program that mixes multi-media learning and reflection at your own pace, processing in small groups, and worshipping together in community! You can access it entirely online and the materials are accessible for up to a year after the start of the program.
Check out the Beloved Conversations website for lots of information about Within and all of our exciting programs!
Follow the Beloved Conversations page on Facebook for updates!