Personal and Spiritual Exploration for Adults, September 2020 - Unitarian Univeralist Congregation of Santa Monica

Learning and exploration are about the transformation of the individual, our community, and the larger society. Participation helps us grow in wisdom, compassion, and ethical living. See below our September activities, programs, and workshops for adults.

To contact the facilitator in regard to any offering, you may email AdultRE@UUSM.org with the title of the group in the subject line. Your email will be forwarded. Please note that currently, all offerings are facilitated through Zoom. Contact Teri Lucas for more information and the link to the Zoom meeting.

Do you have a passion or an expertise? Are you a chef or a gardener, a historian or an actor? Would you like to offer some help, support, or some frivolity to our UU community via Zoom? We’re seeking programming that is fun, informative, and engaging. Please let us know if there’s something you’d like to offer and the Adult RE Committee will help you to do it. Email the Adult RE Committee (AdultRE@UUSM.org) or Teri Lucas (uusmREassist@uusm.org) and we can work with you on presenting your ideas.

Community Building Through Personal Development:

Nature Journaling with Dorothy Steinicke Sunday September 13

We will come together again to appreciate the beauty and wonder of nature by contemplating, writing, and drawing. All that is required are pencil and paper and a few objects from nature. A lifelong lover of the outdoors, Dorothy Steinicke has more than twenty years experience introducing people to a love of the natural world. She leads hikes for children and for adults in Topanga Canyon, Ballona Wetlands, and Dockweiller State Beach. We will meet on Zoom from 2:30 – 4:00 pm. Please contact Dorothy Steinicke for more details.

Ukulele Strum Along Saturday September 26

Come and play ukulele with us or join with another strumming instrument. We recommend a familiarity with the ukulele for this online format but all levels are welcome (beginner to advanced). Bring a ukulele to our Zoom meeting and chords and lyrics will be provided in advance with a few folks prepared to lead some songs. We will share tips and support each other, pulling from a wide range of music. This event is for ages 15 and up, or 10 and up if accompanied by a guardian. We will need your email contact information by September 24, so that we can send you the music ahead of time. We will gather from 9:30 – 10:30 am. Contact: Kim Kalmanson.

Exploration of Ideas:

AAHS Freethinker Forum Sunday September 27

AAHS (Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and Secularists) is an open group that meets for a lively and engaging discussion on topics of politics, science, religion, and philosophy. We also host occasional guest speakers, films, and outings. We are a home base for non-believers and questioners, but everyone is welcome. For many, atheism/agnosticism is a first step; Humanism is the thousand steps that come after. We’ll meet from 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm via Zoom. Contact: James Witker.

Science Non-Fiction Book Discussion Tuesday September 15

We will discuss “The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge,” by Matt Ridley. Human society evolves. Much of the human world is the result of human action, but not of human design. Important achievements develop from the bottom up – not from on high. To receive the link, you will want to be on the group email list. We meet from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. Contact: Rebecca Crawford, sci-nonfiction@uusm.org All are welcome.

UU Men’s Group Thursdays September 3 and 17

The Men’s Group offers a special opportunity to the men of the congregation and other like minded men to join our welcoming group in provocative and stimulating discussion and to get to know others with UU perspectives in a more meaningful way. The topic for Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 is: “How are you handling your aging? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of growing older? Consider things like the evolving meaning of life, how you want to be remembered, and of course, how you and your mate are handling the usual aches and pains of aging that all couples encounter, and how you are handling that dark fact, ‘Everything has an expiration date?'” The topic for Thursday, Sept. 17 is: Men generally do not like to admit to fear, but was there a time in your life when you were immobilized or driven by fear? We meet the first and third Thursdays of the month at 7:30 pm via Zoom. For more information, contact Richard Mathias.

Meditations:

meditation

Open Meditation Mondays September 14 and 28

We gather twice a month to sit together quietly for 20 minutes, to walk with gentle awareness for seven minutes, and to explore the integration of meditation with ordinary life through reading and sharing. Anyone who senses they would benefit from 20 minutes of silent, non-guided sitting is welcome to join us. We have found that this time of quiet meditation and shared exploration can be deeply nourishing – a time of simply “being” amidst all the “doing” of our lives. We meet from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. Contacts: Bev Shoenberger or Carol Ring.

Open Meditation: Wellsprings Wednesdays and Fridays

These are exceptional times. Taking this time for quiet meditation and sharing in the intimacy of having sat in silence together can help sustain and ground us during these difficult days. We trust each of you will use this group in the way that fits your needs. We listen to brief readings, sit together quietly for twenty minutes, journal and share with each other what’s on our hearts. We simply sit together in our shared humanity. We call off the struggle to become other than we are. These are drop-in groups. You are welcome to join us when it feels right to you. If you come in late or need to leave early, just do so quietly. We meet every Wednesday and Friday afternoon from 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm online. Contact: Bev Shoenberger.