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REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
Jessie Halperin & Julia Charvat Och
Rooting us in our religious history and theological callings, this five part curriculum outlines the distinctions between reproductive “health,” “rights,” and “justice”; opens awareness of reproductive oppressions; offers opportunities to learn about ourselves and each other as sexual and reproductive beings; and equips us to move forward, out into the world, with integrity and vision. This will be an adaptation of the UUA’s curriculum on reproductive justice, which was created when the 2012 General Assembly delegates choose this topic as the nationwide 2012-2016 Congregational Study/Action Issue.
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CHANGING THE CLIMATE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Bob Mitchell
This seminar will present a scientifically accurate yet accessible understanding of how our planet is now reacting to ever rising CO2 levels. We will review Earth’s climate history to help develop insights on the present and future; look at profound consequences of expected climate change; and finally, brainstorm about what we can do as a religious community and as members of the interconnected web to help preserve our “beautiful blue boat home.
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WE ARE ALL LEADERS
Laura Howe & Laura Conkle
Leadership is needed in our families, congregations and lives. Using selected activities from the UUA Harvest the Power material, we will build our leadership skills. The focus will be to understand our individual strengths, the strength from our UU tradition, and healthy ways to respond to leadership challenges. The activities are a mixture of discussion, small group conversation, and creativity.
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CHURCH 2.0
Dan Flippo
Would you like to learn how to better use online technologies? This workshop will involve hands-on use of technologies to maintain the website, social media, and mailing lists for a fictional church. We will break down the technology jargon into human language.
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CAUGHT IN THE WEB: SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY PARENTING
Tiffany Grinstead
Ask FM. Kik. Instagram. Vine. Twitter. Tumblr. Snap. Chat. If you already know these names the kids are discovering something new to replace them with right now. How do we raise social media savvy kids when we don’t understand the technology they’re using or how to talk to them about it? This class is about understanding the sites and services kids in your life may be using and helping you come to your own position statement for how you’ll monitor, talk about and allow social media usage with the kids in your life.
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JESUS WHO? LOOKING ANEW AT THE NEW TESTAMENT
Joan VanBecelaere
This seminar will use a historical-metaphorical-social approach to explore the New Testament and what we know about the socio-political context of Jesus’ life to help us understand what the stories and writings meant in the ancient communities and people that produced them. This workshop will draw on M. Borg’s “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, R. Aslan’s “The Zealot” and the latest in New Testament scholarship.
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SO WHAT’S HUMANISM?
Leo Nagorski
An exploration of Humanism, it’s history, connection to UU, varieties of Humanism, and Humanism today. We will look at questions and issues in Humanism, especially their impact on UU and on society in general.
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BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE
Patricia Trudeau & Mary Schinhofen
This workshop explores the traditionally misunderstood or despised women of the Bible and reveals what their stories have to tell us today. We will reframe Jezebel’s take-charge “pride” and Eve’s “disobedience as we consider their contributions to the biblical narrative. What can these women teach us about our own lives and choices as Unitarians committed to the principles of self-awareness, knowledge, justice, and gender equality?
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SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Melissa Carvill Ziemer
Everybody has a story to tell. In this course, you will be invited to explore the spiritual dimension of your own story. We will occasionally sketch scenes before we write, but rest assured that no drawing or writing experience is required. The only requirements for participation are a willingness to reflect on your own life story and an interest in trying to capture moments of your story in writing.
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WHAT’S THAT NOISE – THE UNSUNG HEROES OF ROCK ‘N ROLL
Bill Brauning
Long before Elvis and Bill Haley took the world with this new type of music, rock ‘n roll was being performed and recorded by the likes of Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway and many others. This program chronicles the relentless excess and fierce music which was created by these unsung heroes of Rock.
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MASSAGE FOR VITALITY AND CONNECTIONS
Kari Gunderson
We’ll nurture our bodies with massage after some gentle yoga stretches to center ourselves each morning. Experienced massage folks are welcome to join us and just work on each other after the centering ritual while those newer to the delights of massage take instruction. If the class requests this, we can take one day for learning about muscle pain management through self-massage and an understanding of trigger points and constricting fascia.
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READING THE EARTH OF OBERLIN AND BEYOND
Jamie Martin-Hayden
If you’ve ever wondered what those people at SI see while staring at the building stone with a jeweler’s loupe, come join us to explore the stories written in the rocks. We’ll travel from 200 thousand year old soils and rocks dragged down from Canada by the Illinoian ice sheet, to 350 million year old sediments and fossil of the Black Hand Formation deposited when Ohio was a shallow tropical sea. So Come travel through time with us, from the artic to the tropics, and read stories written in the rocks of Oberlin.
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PRAYER BOXES
Carol Posch Comstock
The urge to create sacred time and space amid the ordinary reality of life is deep within us. Satisfy this urge by creating a personal mini prayer box from ordinary (repurposed) small containers, using a variety of mixed media techniques and materials. Part of the process will include meditation on personal prayer.
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AWAKEN TO THE HEARBEAT
Rebekah Benner
Make a joyful noise! Connect to the heart of the Mother Earth through the drum! Learn the basics of hand-drumming and drum circle facilitation. Rhythms from many cultures will be shared. Shamanic drum journey, trance drumming, drum chant & song will also be explored.
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MY IMPROVISED LIFE; COMEDY AS A UU PHILOSOPHY
Mike Frye
In this seminar participants will learn the basics of long form improvised comedy, eveloping relationships and ideas, and supporting each other. We’ll also explore how these concepts can apply to our daily lives as UUs and beyond.
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INFUSING ART WITH SPIRIT: HOW TO FIND YOUR LOST CREATIVITY
Amy Walters
Participants will be guided toward reconnecting with and enhancing the creative abilities in all of us. We will engage in a series of exercises and meditations specifically designed to banish routine thinking, to address creative blocks and to encourage those who don’t always believe in their own creative power. Be prepared for a little bit of writing, music, art, and storytelling. The synergy between these can reveal new connections and inspire new ideas.
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QUILTING YOUR PERSONAL SYMBOL
Natalie Isvarin-Love
Through journaling and sharing, we will explore a variety of symbols that are meaningful to each of us. From that exercise, we will each choose a symbol and create a simple quilted wall-hanging (no larger than 15″) using fabric and a variety of embellishments such as ribbons, embroidery floss, beads and buttons. No quilting experience necessary – we will just create using a simple fusing technique and have fun with very few rules.
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CULTIVATING RESILIENCE
Cynthia Frantz
We all “just want to be happy,” but the reality is that life throws us curve ball after curve ball. If our goal is happiness, we will fail much of the time. How can we stay motivated, curious and optimistic even in the face of life’s challenges? Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune. Participants will learn strategies and practice techniques that help to build mental emotional, social, and physical resilience.
