Summer is quickly winding down almost as soon as it got started. I can’t believe we are almost halfway through August already. I wanted to let you know about six Adult Religious Exploration events that we have been planning this summer for the start of our new church year next month, and one “save the date” announcement for next March 2017. I have listed them all first, and then provided a more detailed description below. Remember, the more you put into your church community, the more you take with you, in a blessed win-win reciprocal spiral of community. Please plan on participating in at least one — if not all! — of these fantastic opportunities:

 

September 4, 2016 –  Deadline for Chalice Circle Registration

September 10, 2016 –  Facilitator Training 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon in Sanctuary

September 11, 2016 –  UU Mystics – Second Sundays 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. in the Youth Room

September 18, 2016 – (Third Sundays 9 to 10:15 in Youth Room) Sacred Scripture Study with Soul

September 20, 2016 –  (6 p.m.) UU Mystics in Community Teleconference

September 21, 2016 –  An Evening of Art – Wednesday Night Adult Religious Exploration Kick-off Extravaganza

March 24-26, 2017 – Annual TUUC Women’s Retreat

 

Chalice Circles for 2016-2017

September 4, 2016 – Chalice Circle Registration Deadline

The Soul Matters Chalice Circle overarching concept for 2016-2017 will be: “A community of…”

UU religious community is a precious gift. Within it, we find values and questions that are rarely encountered elsewhere in our lives. Values and questions that push us, ground us, and remind us who we most deeply are. So this year our themes honor this gift of community and its role as caretaker of values. Together we will ask: What is it we find when we gather? And what is it we are asked to share with the world?

Our themes related to this concept:
A community of…
September: Covenant
October: Healing
November: Story
December: Presence
January: Prophecy
February: Identity
March: Risk
April: Transformation
May: Embodiment
June: Zest

Please find me after Sunday service with my clip board to sign up to join a Chalice Circle, or email me at dir.are@tahomauu.com

 

Facilitator Training

September 10, 2016, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon in Sanctuary

This training is for anyone who wants to sharpen their skills at leading groups. You will leave here with a toolbox of skills to help you facilitate small groups of people on their path to spiritual maturity. With the expansive definition of small groups ranging from Covenant Groups, Chalice Circles, Adult Religious Exploration classes, and standing committees. This training will also prepare Chalice Circle Facilitators for their first sessions in September. Continental breakfast provided.

 

UU Mystics

September 11, 2016, Second Sundays 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. in the High School Youth Room

UU Mystics is a New Group Beginning in September on Second Sundays

We are members and friends of Unitarian Universalism walking the path of spiritual experience and growth as it unfolds in our lives. We come to this group for inspiration, to study, and to explore our direct experience of the fullness and mystery of life. We will begin meeting monthly in September on the second Sunday from 9:00—10:15 a.m. in the High School Youth Room. Our first discussion will be a book study of How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Robert Waldman (advance reading recommended, but not required.) In safe, supportive, deep listening community we find kindred souls who help clarify our attention, move us more deeply into our hearts, and show us the way to embody and engage our own unique spirituality in our lives.

 

An Evening of Art – Wednesday Night Adult Religious Exploration Kick-off Extravaganza

Wednesday, September 14, 2016, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Facilitator: Susie Maharry

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for setup. Open mic begins at 6:30 p.m. Culinary artists bring food to eat, visual artists display art to look at and/or purchase, and performing artist play music to hear. This is truly sensations for all our senses! Anyone may participate and all are invited to attend.

 

Third Sunday Sacred Scripture Study with Soul 2016-2017

September 18, 2016, Third Sundays 9:00 to 10:15 a.m. in High School Youth Room

We will be entering our seventh year of Third Sunday Sacred Scripture Study (formerly known as Bible Study) at Tahoma UU Congregation this fall. In the previous six years, we have followed the Revised Common Lectionary, looking at the Bible readings according to the schedule followed by most Protestant churches. This year we are changing it up a bit. We will still follow the Revised Common Lectionary, but we will also integrate three additional sources. This year we have the option of looking at the Torah and Haftorah (some books from what you may know as the Jewish Bible) readings from an annual schedule used in the Jewish tradition. We will have readings from Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions, which have been selected to correspond nicely with the lectionary readings.

 

UU Mystics in Community Teleconference

Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 6:00 p.m. – Call in from your home on your phone

You can join our UU Mystics community teleconference from your own home on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. This teleconference will include UUs from around the country who want to gather in a teleconference community to discuss mysticism topics. For this first teleconference we’ll be exploring the same book we’ll discuss in our local group, How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain. For the teleconference, call 800-977-8002 and use participant code 745238.

Be sure to check out the website at www.UUMystics.org.

“Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and openness to the forces which create and uphold life.”

 

Take a Risk

2017 TUUC Women’s Retreat

The annual TUUC Women’s Retreat is scheduled again at the Dumas Bay Center in Federal Way for March 24-26, 2017. You might think March 2017 is light years away, but your retreat committee is already working hard to plan a thoughtful and inspiring weekend.

This year’s theme, “Take a Risk,” builds on the congregation’s theme, “Risk,” for the month of March. Join us as we take musical risks, develop new attitudes about our bodies, and more.

Here’s some information to help you plan:

 

Full weekend registration – Friday and Saturday night accommodations with Saturday meals and Sunday breakfast:

$185 early-bird by Sunday, December 4, 2016

or

$200 by Sunday, January 29, 2017

 

One night only registration – accommodations and meals:

$120 early-bird by Sunday, December 4, 2016

or

$135 by Sunday, January 29, 2017

 

Saturday day-only registration – includes meals:

$65 early-bird by Sunday, December 4, 2016

or

$80 by Sunday, January 29, 2017

 

Early-bird registration deadline is Sunday, December 4, 2016. After that date, prices go up by $15, as shown above.

 

Final registration deadline is Sunday, January 29, 2017.

 

Questions about the Women’s Retreat? Contact Debbie Cafazzo.