Wellspring Wednesday

Wellspring Wednesday at Unity Church gathers a multigenerational church community Wednesday evenings to nourish right and holy relationship among us and deepen our life of faith grounded in spiritual practice and antiracist multicultural work. The Wellspring Wednesday experience includes:

Sharing meaningful time and nourishing food together
Brief multigenerational worship in Ames Chapel
Opportunities to play, learn, and practice with one another

Here's what you can expect:

5:45 p.m.: Dinner prepared and served by our Food Ministry Teams. Menus are posted with the programming for each week. The cost for dinner is $10/adults, $5/child (ages 5-12), $3/child (ages 2-4), and $25/family. If you need financial assistance to help cover the cost of dinner, please email Philippa Anastos at [email protected]. If you plan to join us and need a special dietary preparation, please email Heidi Birkholz at [email protected]. Vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free options available. Please read our nut policy for information about how we help support community members with this life-threatening allergy.
6:45 p.m.: Multigenerational chapel service in the Ames Chapel
7:10-8:30 p.m.: Weekly programs with childcare provided.

Food Ministers Welcome Here
Interested in helping to prepare Wellspring Wednesday meals? No previous experience is required as we give on-the-job training. We only ask you have a collaborative spirit and are willing to put love into the food we prepare and serve. If you are interested, you can sign up here or you can email Heidi at [email protected].

February Programs and Menus

February 11
Dinner: Sloppy joes, macaroni & cheese, roasted broccoli, chocolate krinkle cookies

Evangelizing Love | Parish Hall
Join Unity's Executive Team for a session that includes readings and small-group discussion about this month's worship theme. How do we understand evangelism in a Unitarian Universalist context? What does it mean to evangelize a concept as all-encompassing as love? Is this task made clearer or more difficult by our current social climate? How do we not only live this evangelism in the wider world, but grapple with it internally?

Lectio Divina | Gannett Room & Zoom
Come experience the alchemy that occurs through focused reflection on an inspirational text. Many people find Lectio Divina sessions to be a time of rejuvenation and insight.

Young Adults Group | Center Room
A fun, reflective group working to build multifaith and multicultural community.

Winter Sowing | Art Room
Help the Act for the Earth Pollinator Team plant native seeds from our Seed Library into tubs and jugs to set outside to freeze and thaw and grow into seedlings in late spring for pollinator gardens. Dirt, tubs and jugs provided. Take some home with you for your own pollinator garden or to give away in early summer.

Beginner Violin | Choir Room
Join Mayra Mendoza for beginning violin lessons appropriate for all ages. Email [email protected] by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday to ensure a lesson.

February 18
Dinner: Chana masala, rice, raita, kachumber salad, cardamon cookies

Session 1: Interconnected Roots of Oppression: Foundations of Racial Capitalism
Understanding Racial Capitalism as Structure Behind Systemic Inequality
Wednesday Learning Series | February 18—March 25 | 7:10-8:40 p.m. | Parish Hall & Zoom (Zoom offered for session one only)
The abolition of slavery did not end systemic racism. The structures that made slavery possible — a political economy rooted in extraction, exploitation, and inequality — remain firmly in place. They were redesigned and repackaged to reproduce advantage and disadvantage with relentless precision. When we look beyond individual prejudice and turn our attention to the deeper architecture of racial capitalism, the machinery of interconnected oppressions comes sharply into view. As scholar-activist Ruth Wilson Gilmore makes unmistakably clear: “Capitalism requires inequality, and racism enshrines it... The capitalism we have inherited, constantly producing and reproducing itself, will continue to depend on racial practice and racial hierarchy, no matter what. This is another way of saying we can't undo racism without undoing capitalism.”

This learning series invites us into dialogue circles where we share our lived experiences and questions, examine the deeper roots of injustice, and strengthen our understanding of the interconnected systems of oppression. Moving in parallel with the aims of ISAIAH’s People’s Agenda, we will imagine new possibilities and cultivate collective action toward genuine transformation.

This program series, grounded in dialogue circles, is primarily designed to be an in person experience. A remote option is available for the first session, and based on interest, additional online learning opportunities may be offered through Justice Learning Partners.

Session 1, February 18: Foundations of Racial Capitalism (Parish Hall and Zoom)
Session 2, February 25: Land, Ownership, and Housing Justice
Session 3, March 4: Borders, Policing, and the Politics of Belonging
Session 4, March 11: Finance, Debt, and the Cost of Inequality
Session 5, March 18: Universal Care and the Struggle for Collective Well Being
Session 6, March 25: Fossil Capitalism and Imagining New Futures

Somatic Yoga | Body Room
Experience a gentle, nervous system-informed yoga practice designed to help you pause, tune into yourself, and release tension stored in the body. The class is accessible to anyone comfortable sitting on the floor, bring a yoga mat, blanket, or blocks for added comfort. Led by Dr. Tamara Kraft, a somatic psychotherapist and holistic health coach.

Beginner Violin | Choir Room
Join Mayra Mendoza for beginning violin lessons appropriate for all ages. Email [email protected] by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday to ensure a lesson.

Justice Learning Partners | Postponed to April 15

February 25
Dinner: Fried chicken, coleslaw, African soul rice, rice krispie treats

Session 2: Interconnected Roots of Oppression: Land, Ownership, and Housing | Parish Hall
This learning series invites us into dialogue circles where we share our lived experiences and questions, examine the deeper roots of injustice, and strengthen our understanding of the interconnected systems of oppression.

Five Theological Questions | Robbins Parlor
How is the sacred present in and felt by each of us?
Be prepared to discuss the question in a large group format.

Young Adults Group | Center Room
A fun, reflective group working to build multifaith and multicultural community.

Somatic Yoga | Body Room
Experience a gentle, nervous system-informed yoga practice designed to help you pause, tune into yourself, and release tension stored in the body. The class is accessible to anyone comfortable sitting on the floor, bring a yoga mat, blanket, or blocks for added comfort. Led by Dr. Tamara Kraft, a somatic psychotherapist and holistic health coach.

Beginner Violin | Choir Room
Join Mayra Mendoza for beginning violin lessons appropriate for all ages. Email [email protected] by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday to ensure a lesson.

Hymn Sing | CANCELED

Wellspring Wednesday Proposal Form

Is there a program or class you would like to see offered -- or that YOU would like to offer -- at an upcoming Wellspring Wednesday?

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL