Spiritual Practices Congregational Retreat

Sunday, Jan. 21, 1-5 p.m. Register here. Downloadable descriptions available here. 

Welcome the new year by starting or deepening your spiritual practice life with the support of this community. We’ll each have the opportunity to experience one or two practice sessions facilitated by practitioners within our congregation. Participants will also have the chance to join on-going practice groups meeting regularly in February, March and April.

Practice Group Descriptions, Facilitator bios

[FULL] Aging: Reflection and Sharing:

Using questions inspired by the book, A Year to Live by Stephen Levine, you’ll be invited to reflect upon particular aspects of your life and share personal stories. The focus will be on positive stories of overcoming fear, forgiving others, expressing appreciation and living authentically.

Harlan Limpert is a UU minister with significant experience in small group facilitation on religious matters.

[FULL] Art Making:

Creating art as a spiritual practice is similar to other meditative practices. The goal is not the output, but to bathe the mind and soul. We will support each other in using creativity on a regular basis to increase wellness and spiritual connection. 

Denise Konen and Kate Guin first started creating art together many years ago at Camp Unistar. They have supported each other in this practice since then, and also studied Day Schildkret’s ritual earth art together. Kate has a degree in art history, is a photographer, zentangle enthusiast, and budding watercolorist. Denise is an artist, a teacher, and activist. Both Denise and Kate are long-time church members, and find solace and strength in art.They believe strongly that this practice can help heal the world.

Circle Suppers:

The beloved First U tradition of rotating small group meals in each other’s homes returns for the first time since the pandemic began. You may consider if your home would welcome dinner guests or if you are interested in attending these gatherings. These suppers are a wonderful way to begin or deepen connections within this beloved community.  Note: this spiritual practice group will gather during Session C, from 5-6:30. Circle Supper participants may choose to come at 5 p.m. for the kick-off meal only. 

[FULL] Cultivating Joy:

“May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses,” writes John O’Donohue. Through a variety of heart-centered practices like storytelling, (gentle) movement, meditation, music, mindfulness, and more, we will explore how we might invite, reveal, and experience greater joy in our lives by connecting deeply to our inner worlds.  

The pandemic provided an opportunity for Bee Harrison to spend a full year in Soul School, an interdisciplinary yoga teacher training program that focuses on teaching yoga with skill and imagination, guided by Seán Johnson and Mitchel Bleier. She joyfully shares the practices she learned. 

Centering Prayer:

Centering Prayer is a meditation practice that opens you to your higher power. It has the power to heal you while also opening you to characteristics that separate you from your higher power.

Dick Young is a teacher of Centering Prayer Meditation, and has 35 years of daily meditation. He has studied and practiced Buddhism, Jewish Kabbalah practice, and dabbled in other spiritual traditions.

[FULL] Improv:

Staying responsive and fluid can get harder as we get a little set in our ways and routines. Improvisation is a fun and creative way to stretch our ability to yes to surprises, and to engage with other people. This spiritual practice includes applying the principles used in improv games to our daily spiritual lives. All abilities welcome. 

Rev. Meg Riley started teaching improv in classes ten years ago and wishes she had done it decades earlier.

Knitting:

Knitting can be soothing and meditative. It invites us to slow down and take things one stitch at a time. It teaches us patience as well as trust and faith in your own abilities. 

Merinda Brayfield has been knitting regularly for four years and has made everything from washcloths to sweaters. She knits kinda constantly! Merinda believes knitting is a doorway to foster connections, and is a comforting and useful skill that anyone can learn.

Meditation:

The meditation practices we will explore draw on a variety of resources including Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach, insight meditation, Thich Nhat Hahn, Christina Feldman, and ourselves. Along the way, we will explore virtues such as lovingkindness, self-compassion, joy, generosity, forgiveness, and other ideas that will move us in our spiritual paths. All levels of experience welcome.

Nancy Nyquist Potter has been meditating almost daily for several years now and has taken a number of classes at Common Ground Meditation Center. She writes, “meditation practice is one of the main paths for living with worry, pain, lack of control, and hope, trust, love, and generosity. I have found that living and loving well is easier with my practice.” 

Mindfulness Meditation:  

Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation. This course will focus on mindful living and self-compassion, and deepening one’s own spiritual path through mindfulness and meditation.

Pam is a social worker, advocate, and coach.  She has facilitated small groups, taught religious education classes, and raised her children at First Universalist.  She considers herself a UU Buddhist and actively practices at Common Ground Meditation Center. Pam is currently studying with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Meditation and mindfulness have had a profoundly positive impact on her life, and she wishes to share this gift with others.

Quilting:

In this session, practitioners will work on a shared project to build introductory quilting skills. Quilting is a spiritual practice in multiple ways. The creativity can be an act of self-care. And, it can connect us  to the greater community when donated either to individuals who are struggling and perhaps don’t have a loved one who can make a quilt for them to cocoon into like a warm hug, or to organizations that are asking for quilts.

Chris Chiros has been quilting since 2007, and enjoys being in community with other creative people.  Willingness and enthusiasm are her main credentials! 

Sacred Sweeping: Exploring Spirituality through Cleaning Together:

Through shared intentions and gentle practices, we come together to create an environment that fosters peace, balance, and connection. Our gathering will be a blend of mindful cleaning time, meaningful discussions, and shared exploration around clearing as spiritual practice. Whether you love to clean or it’s something you avoid at all costs, there is a place for you in this group. 

Dallas Rising (they/she) has had a life-long struggle with keeping things tidy. Part of their spiritual growth journey is about looking at areas of life where there is challenge or resistance and going closer to explore if or how that relationship might transform. They also thought that others may enjoy an online option for participation where we can come together and do something highly practical and needed while connecting with this church community! 

[FULL] Writing Your Spiritual Memoir:

This practice explores a range of interesting quotes on topics from “What does spiritual mean?” to “Suffering and Struggle” and “Gratitude and Joy” and an assortment of questions to serve as writing prompts. You will respond to whatever moves you, then either share your written response with the group or talk about what the process has meant to you.

All her life, Marion Dane Bauer has discovered her life’s meaning through varied writing practices. She loves supporting others in their own deep exploration through the written word.  

You Might be a Transcendentalist if…:

This group will explore Transcendentalism through engagement with one of its best known works, Walden by Henry David Thoreau.Transcendentalism is an important thread within Unitarian Universalism and deeply influenced and continues to inform how we view religion and the practice of what we know today as Unitarian Universalism. In other words, chances are good that you’re at least ¼ Transcendentalist, whether you know it or not.