An Intentional Community

Summer Institute is an intentional intergenerational community that gets created and re-created each summer as we come together to live fully as Unitarian Universalists. It is a vacation week to grow, relax, play, and connect. It is a time to experience workshops and new ideas. It is a place for relaxed conversations with old friends and friends you do not yet know. It is a time to recharge and live fully.

There is a diversity of both programming and worship opportunities designed to appeal to the breadth of our community. The content of the programming and the worship are meaningful, but these community-wide events also serve to create a shared experience. There is also time for quiet reflection and introspection. We each create our own balance of activity and peace. As fabulous as it is, the programming just scratches the surface of Summer Institute. At the end of our week our sense of trust and confidence in the inherent goodness of others reaches a new level. The integrity of our intentional community is reflected by simple things, such as the transformation of perfect strangers to friends over the course of a meal. We experience our diversity and celebrate our humanity. We live and breathe our Unitarian Universalist principles without explanation to each other or any sense of self-consciousness.

When the week together is over we wonder how we can bring this life experience home with us.

That is the SI magic. The result is something quite spectacular.

Seminars

Morning seminars are for adults, and you attend the same seminar each day. Seminars vary year to year and include options from theological discussion to making art, dancing, yoga, or watching film clips. If the mood strikes you, you can also just sit under a tree and read a good book.

Specific morning seminars are always detailed  online shortly before registration opens.

 

Getting Around

Almost all of Summer Institute’s activities take place a short walk from where our main housing is located. Worship, theme talks, seminars and workshops are scheduled within a small area of campus. Most attendees walk or ride bikes between locations, but SI provides golf cart transportation for those with mobility challenges.  In addition you can bring your own or rent a mobility scooter to use on campus. Details on rentals will be posted online to coincide with registration.

 

The Bookstore

The bookstore is the headquarters for SI t-shirts, Skinner House & Beacon Press books, works by SI artists, and the SI scholarship raffle.

Remember to bring your cash, check, or major credit card. Profits go to the Heart Scholarship Fund

For information on selling items at the bookstore please email [email protected]