Wellspring Wednesday

Wellspring Wednesday is a multi-generational opportunity to gather midweek at church for food, fellowship, and fun. All are welcome. This is a time to engage in religious community, a time to cultivate our values and beliefs.

Schedule for the Evening 
5:45 p.m.: The evening begins with a hot, nutritious meal and a good conversation. Menus are posted as available both online and in This Week at Unity. Gluten free and vegetarian options are always available. The cost for dinner is: $8/adult, $4/child ages 5 to 12, $2/child ages 2 to 4, and $20/family, and can be paid by cash or check. (Children under the age of 24 months are free.) Reservations for dinner are not required. People with specific food allergies may contact madeline@unityunitarian.org to arrange to have a special preparation. Financial assistance is available to cover the cost of dinners, contact Lisa Friedman by e-mail at lisa@unityunitarian.org or by phone at 651-228-1456 x107. ​If you would like to help prepare the meal for Wellspring Wednesday, please complete the online form!

6:45 p.m.: Everyone is invited to a short worship service in the Ames Chapel.

7:15 p.m.: Classes and programs follow worship and begin at approximately 7:15 p.m. Childcare and children's programming is offered at no cost during this time. Families should check their children in on the evening’s sign-in sheet in the Parish Hall before heading to their program. The Children's Library is also open from 6:00-8:00 p.m. each Wednesday.
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January 15
Dinner: Rosemary roasted chicken with red potatoes, glazed carrots, beet and quinoa salad, tahini millionaire brownies

Meeting the Challenge of Minnesota's Solos
It is estimated that 20%-30% of those age 50+ can be considered "solos." These are individuals who by choice or circumstance cannot rely on family to help navigate life events, make health decisions, and/or serve as health decision surrogates. Is Minnesota prepared to meet this challenge? Come learn from Linda Camp about the emerging issues and how organizations, such as Unity Church, can be part of the solution.

Open Page Writing Session
Brokenness: where the light gets in
RSVP to karen@unityunitarian.org 
“There is a crack in everything,” observed Leonard Cohen. “That’s how the light gets in.” We’ll explore the places where we experience the world or ourselves as broken, and consider how we can find our way to wholeness. And how does brokenness sometimes open our lives and our world to the truth and the light we are seeking?

Led by Consulting Literary Minister Karen Hering and held at Unity Church, Open Page writing session participants use stories, poetry, images and objects as well as wisdom from religious teachings, science and history, and provided prompts, to reflect on the monthly theme. No writing experience is necessary. Bring something to write with and on.

Textile Arts 
This group meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 7:15-8:30 p.m. and is open to textile creatives of all ages. Bring your knitting, embroidery, needlepoint, etc. Questions? Contact Linda Mandeville at lindamandeville41@gmail.com.

Embodied Spiritual Practice: Yoga 
Pamela Scott will guide participants to use their breath to develop mindfulness and promote a union of mind, body, and spirit. All levels of yoga practitioners are welcome. Dress comfortably, bring a mat and a small blanket if you have one.

Kung Fu
This holistic self-defense practice invigorates the body, rejuvenates the spirit, and clears the mind. Explore our rich Five Animal Kung Fu to develop a personalized style that suits your temperament and body type. Beginners and experienced martial artist welcome! Questions? Email Bryan Kujawski at barney.kujawski@gmail.com.

January 22  
Dinner: Pot roast, potatoes and onion, oatmeal stuffing, salad

A Peace of My Mind
John Noltner is an American photographer and peace activist. His work and subject matter is varied, ranging from small town America to projects oversees. His photographs have been published in national magazines, including National Geographic Traveler, AARP, Smithsonian, and Business Week. Since 2009, Noltner has been asking people the simple (or not so simple) question, “What does peace mean to you?” for his multimedia art project, A Peace of Mind. The project combines photographs of diverse subjects and their personal stories exploring the meaning of peace. He has included the voices of Holocaust survivors, homeless individuals, political refugees, and other. The project has been presented at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, the National Civil Rights Museum and the Sojourners Summit for Change. A Peace of My Mind represents John’s belief that art and storytelling have the power to transform our hearts as well as our communities and that we each have the power to create positive change in the world. 

Mindful Relating
Everyone wants to have meaningful relationships, but often, we're not taught how to do that. This session presents fun and easy-to-learn mindfulness techniques to bring home and incorporate into your life. Through simple, heart-centered, interactive practices, Thomas Stout will guide you to be more present in each moment, build authentic connections, and improve the quality of relationships. Thomas is a certified Intimacy Educator and has been facilitating groups and offering private coaching for many years and studying the art of relationship his entire life.

Onward Educators • Topic: Be Here Now
Using the work of education, coaching, and resilience researcher Elena Aguilar, we will strengthen and support one another in monthly meetings. Grounded in neuroscience, social science, and psychology, this workshop will change the way we think about emotions, stress, and our purpose as educators. We will focus on the 12 habits that cultivate resilience, and their correlating dispositions, and provide a roadmap for how to feel more effective, more fulfilled, and happier at work. Facilitators Jackie Smith and Julianne Malcom will guide the group through a year of resilience-building exercises and reflections, and participants will collaborate to build their capacity for resilience throughout the school year. The sessions follow an arc throughout the year, but participants are welcome to come to some or all sessions. All educators are welcome.

Tween Group
Unity's Tween Group (grades 5-7) meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month during Wellspring Wednesday. The group gathers at 6:45 p.m. for worship in the Ames Chapel, then heads to Jr. High room 021 — the location for postworship drop off (7:15 p.m.) and pick up after programming (8:30-8:45 p.m.). Guardians, please come and sign your kids in and out! Tweens is led by Ray Hommeyer, contact them with questions at ray@unityunitarian.org.

Embodied Spiritual Practice: Yoga 
Pamela Scott will guide participants to use their breath to develop mindfulness and promote a union of mind, body, and spirit. All levels of yoga practitioners are welcome. Dress comfortably, bring a mat and a small blanket if you have one.

Beginning Violin
Did you ever want to try the violin? Come join Mayra Mendoza for a beginning violin class — all ages are welcome! Mayra is a violinist and teacher who volunteers frequently with the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony, McPhail Center for Music and the Minneapolis Public Schools. She has also played with the Wayzata Orchestra and Northeast Symphony. Questions? Email mayraquitzia@hotmail.com.

(No Kung Fu)

January 29  
Dinner: TBD

The Mapping Prejudice Project: Confronting Structural Racism in the Twin Cities 
The Mapping Prejudice Project has been leading community members in Hennepin County through the process of building the first comprehensive map of racial covenants for an American city and they are beginning work in Ramsey County. Racial covenants are clauses that were embedded into property deeds to bar people who were not white from buying or even occupying the parcels of land to which they were attached. 

Covenants were made illegal by the 1968 Fair Housing Act. But their legacy continues today in the Twin Cities, which have some of the largest racial disparities in the country. The Mapping Prejudice Project is designed to make visible what is invisible to many white people today. The project works in community to reveal for participants how structural racism shaped the urban landscape, blocking African Americans from critical avenues for wealth accumulation. Delegard will reveal the "hidden" histories uncovered by her team, describe the unconventional methodologies that undergird this work and suggest how everyone can translate a heightened awareness of this history into meaningful action. 

Kirsten Delegard is the Director and one of the co-founders of the Mapping Prejudice Project, located in the Borchert Map Library at the University of Minnesota. She is affiliated with the Department of Geography, Environment and Society and the Heritage Studies and Public History Program at the University of Minnesota. 

Getting Scrappy: Veggie Leftovers
Participants will play with all the ways to use ends and scraps from vegetables to get scrappy. Bring a to-go container to take home some of your goodies!

Committing to Unity
This class explores the deeper meanings and expectations of membership and shared ministry. It offers time to reflect on the meaning of generosity and how you can discover the places in your life where the world’s needs meets the gifts and joy you have to offer. The class concludes with a ceremony as participants sign the membership book and officially join the church! RSVP by filling out an Intent to Join card at the welcome table in the Parish Hall of by emailing Rev. Lisa Friedman at lisa@unityunitarian.org.

Embodied Spiritual Practice: Yoga 
Pamela Scott will guide participants to use their breath to develop mindfulness and promote a union of mind, body, and spirit. All levels of yoga practitioners are welcome. Dress comfortably, bring a mat and a small blanket if you have one.

Kung Fu
This holistic self-defense practice invigorates the body, rejuvenates the spirit, and clears the mind. Explore our rich Five Animal Kung Fu to develop a personalized style that suits your temperament and body type. Beginners and experienced martial artist welcome! Questions? Email Bryan Kujawski at barney.kujawski@gmail.com

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Get Cooking!

​Tuesday Night Chopping
Tuesdays, 4:00-6:30 p.m. 
Help prep the Wednesday night meal. Chopping, baking, fellowship!
Sign up at http://bit.ly/choptuesdays

Wednesdays Night Service
Wednesdays, 4:00-7:30 p.m. 
Cooking, table setting, serving, dishwashing, and fun! 
Sign up at http://bit.ly/ucww2019
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Questions about food ministry? Contact Madeline Summers at madeline@unityunitarian.org.