We have a variety of programs for adults planned this year!
On this page you will find many classes, book groups, and small group ministry groups.
Registration for classes is open to all members and friends of OUUC and members of the larger community. To help us keep these offerings sustainable, we suggest participants donate $0-$10 per class meeting. Don’t bring cash to class, either write a check or make a donation online.
Want to teach a class?
What, me? Teach a class?
Would you like to share your knowledge, experience, passion or hobby with others? How does it fit in with OUUC’s mission statement and UUA values? The Adult Faith Development Team is starting to develop its Spring classes. What would you like to propose and teach?
Faith development isn’t just about exploring your beliefs and spiritual practices, it’s also about how we act on those beliefs individually and together. Our mission statement includes “ends” that state: “As I grow and learn, I practice my faith, act courageously, and appreciate beauty.” Another end states”…We deepen our connections as we learn, love, work, play, sing and find meaning together.” There’s a lot of room for creative thinking between our mission and values.
Check out our new one-page form (attached below) that includes Tips for Class Leaders on one side and an application to teach a class on the other. It includes our mission and values for ready reference.
Contact any member of our team if you have questions or send us your class application—Rev. Sara Lewis, Linda Selsor, Ian Stephan, Anita Thomson, Linda Whitcher, and Jenee Wolfram—our contact info is in Realm.
Ongoing Classes:
Dances of Universal Peace, led by Marti Dimock
Thursdays 6:30pm-8:30pm 2nd Thursday of each month
Registration is not required
(a donation will be accepted at the event)
Dances of Universal Peace is an embodied, transformative spiritual practice touching the essence of all traditions around the world. They include simple movements to live music. All are welcome, no experience necessary, dances are taught to the whole group each time. We hope you will come and lift your voice, your hands, and your spirit as we allow a variety of dances to work in our hearts as yeast works a loaf of bread.
For information regarding Olympia Peace Dances see: https://olypeacedances.org/
OUUC Book Group, led by Frances Tanaka
Join fellow book enthusiasts on the fourth Tuesday of each month for lively discussion. No need to register; you have two options to attend that day—in-person at 10:30 AM and via Zoom at 6:30 PM. Our September pick is The Women by Kristin Hannah about a young nurse’s experience in and after the war in Vietnam. The full 24-25 booklist is available as a PDF on our website along with information on how to connect with group leader Frances Tanaka.
Social Justice Book Group, led Kirsten Hill and Whitney Godby
Are you interested in learning more about social justice and how you can make a difference? Join Kirsten Hill and Whitney Godby for a social justice book study from September 2024 through May 2025. We’ll read and discuss books on the topics of economic justice, climate justice, racial justice, and building intentional community. The book group will meet onsite at OUUC every second Thursday evening of the month at 6:30 pm starting on September 12th.
Books will be:
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong
Bridges to Heal Us: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing by Erin Jones
Healing Grounds: Climate Justice and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming by Liz Carlisle
No reading needed for the first session.
Recent Classes
Protest Songs Music Jam
Ian Stephan
6:30-7:45 pm Thursday
Jan. 30, Feb. 27, March 27, April 24, May 29
In times of trial and tribulation, coming together to play and sing always lifts spirits and provides energy for positive action. Bring an instrument or your voice (or both!) to jam out and lift each other up.
UU Common Read: Authentic Selves
Led by Rev Sara Lewis
Wed 6:30-8pm
Feb. 19, 26, March 5, 12
Through interviews and photo portraits, the subjects of this book invite readers into their real lives–their revelations, challenges, joys, and networks of support. From the foreword by transgender activist Jazz Jennings and her mom and fellow activist, Jeanette Jennings, through the resources offered at the book’s end, this Common Read invites UU groups to explore the nature of living authentically and the ways connections among us help us thrive.
Travel that Inspires Series
Mar 21 – Apr 11, 2025 (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm)
March 21 — Riding the Rails to Bike Trails
Amtrak and Biking
Hear & see how Susan Southwick and Joe Joy planned their 800 mile trip by train and bike to 4 classic bike trails: the American River (Sacramento), Rio Grande (Glenwood Springs), Great Allegheny Gap and C&O (PA & MD), eastern Erie Canal (NY) bike trails.
March 28 – Somaliland Part II
Dale Armstrong has made two trips back to Somaliland to investigate the use of 3,4 MDMA assisted therapy for treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) work toward completion of a mental health facility. He will also review the latest political developments in the region.
April 4 — Haida Homeland: Ravens, Eagles, and the Golden Spruce
Diana Larsen-Mills, Jim Lengenfelder, and Emily Ray will
present slides and information about Haida Gwaii based on their 2024 trip. They will delve into the history of this area, formerly called The Queen Charlotte Islands, and emphasize the art and culture of the Haida before and after colonization by whites. They will also address current issues between the indigenous people and the federal government of Canada.
April 11 – Touring Central Europe
In October 2024, Paul and Susan Bakke visited six countries in Central Europe: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. Now that the stigma of being part of the “Eastern Bloc” has been left behind, these countries make wonderful travel destinations, each with distinctive traditions, history and natural wonders.
March and April 2025 Classes
The Wi$dom Path: CANCELED
Led by Rev Sara Lewis
Wed 6:30-8:30
March 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23
While money is pervasive in our day-to-day existence, it often receives little attention in our religious lives. Talking about money brings challenges because money is entangled with our sense of self, our wants and aspirations, and our joys and disappointments. It has complicated social dimensions and dynamics.
In this program, participants join together to give this important aspect of our lives due attention in a religious community. The heart of this program is an exploration of the relationship between money and spiritual values, specifically our Unitarian Universalist values.
Don’t Leave This Earth Until You Clean Your Room
Gail Gosney Wrede
Wednesdays, April 9, 16, & 23, 2025
2 to 3:30 p.m.
As Americans, we have a lot of personal belongings. Unlike previous generations, most of our offspring do not want our stuff, nor do they relish the idea of having to dispose of it. This class will address both the emotional and practical aspects of preparing to unload your personal possessions and planning for disposal of such when you die. This is a 3-session class, 1 ½ hours each. Gail Gosney Wrede is an inveterate organizer who has come to grips with “right sizing” now and planning for disposal of her possessions upon her death. If this topic interests and/or overwhelms you, this class is for you.GAIL WREDE IS NOT AN ATTORNEY, AN ESTATE PLANNER, NOR AN ACCOUNTANT. THIS CLASS IS NOT ABOUT ASSIGNING YOUR LARGE ASSETS TO SPECIFIC PEOPLE; RATHER IT WILL FOCUS ON HOW YOU INTEND TO DISPOSE OF YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS (OR NOT) UPON YOUR DEATH.
The Good Death
led by Jenee Wolfram
Tuesdays, 4/29, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20, and 5/27
3-5pm
LET’S HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT PLANNING FOR THE END OF OUR LIVES AND THE GOOD DEATH WE ALL DESERVE — BRINGING CLARITY AND PEACE OF MIND TO US AND OUR LOVED ONES.
This five-part series is based on the book ‘The Good Death’ by Suzanne O’Brien, former oncology and hospice nurse, & the founder of Doulagivers Institute. Workbook provided.
