Adult Religious Education supports and provides programming that furthers the spiritual and intellectual journeys of our multigenerational UU community. For more information email
2022-23 Adult Religious Education
New Adult RE Class: Mistakes and Miracles Book Study
Join friends from South Valley UU Society for a monthly book study based on the book Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism, hosted by Rev. Lora Young and Rev. Monica Dobbins. Mistakes and Miracles tells the stories of five UU congregations who have committed themselves to becoming multicultural, anti-racist communities. Their stories can inspire our work, as well as warn us of mistakes we haven't yet made.
Participants will be expected to acquire the book Mistakes and Miracles (available from the UUA Bookstore) and read the selected chapters before the monthly gathering on Zoom.
Wednesdays:
December 7th (through Ch 2)
January 11th (I am out of town the first week) Chapter 3
February 1st Chapter 4
March 1st Chapter 5
April 5th Chapter 6
May 3rd. Chapter 7 and 8
Those interested should contact Janis Reis to sign up:
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Love the Hell Out of the World
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7-9pm on Oct. 13 (Introduction), Oct. 27 (Practice 1), Nov 10 (Practice2), Dec 1 (Practice 3), Dec. 15 (Practice 4), Jan 12 (Practice 5); Jan. 26 (Practice 6), Feb. 9 (Final Celebration).
Facilitator: Karin BaumgartnerLocation:
First Unitarian Church SLC, The Haven
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But how do we decide what course of action to follow when a situation is complex, and the moral course is unclear? What must we do to follow the values of the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition? Where do we turn for guidance that will help us fulfill our own wish to live a moral life?
This program invites participants to focus attention on the moral and ethical questions that arise or have arisen in their lives and explore the ethical frameworks that can help in sorting through a dilemma. The discussions will be based on stories—stories from participants' personal lives, stories of people, congregations, and organizations at moments of decision, and complex real-life scenarios. Meetings will include discussion, reflection, experiential learning, and community building that brings Unitarian Universalist religious ethics to bear in our lives.
Participants will be introduced to philosophical frameworks of different schools of ethical thought as a way to engage in exploring and expanding our understanding of ethics and morality. We will promote participation right from the start with engaging hypothetical scenarios that lead us to explore each ethical framework.
All materials will be provided.
Oct 24, Nov 7, Nov 14, Nov 28 7-8:30pm
Facilitator: Derek Gersdorf and Andrea Globokar
Location: First Unitarian Church SLC, The Parlor
10 spots available
CLASS IS FULL
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Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience. These are the six sources our congregations affirm and promote:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
- Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature
Wednesdays Oct 5th for six weeks 7pm
Facilitator: Derek Gersdorf
Location: First Unitarian Church SLC, High School Classroom
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Meditation is a process that helps us understand and experience our lives from a spacious and more relaxed perspective opening our inner wisdom and compassion to enrich our relationships to the world.
Participants 8-10, Duration: 4 Weeks Dates & Times to be determined by participants; Between 25 October - 19 November
Week 1. Introduction & Intentions First Unitarian Church in The Parlor 2 hours(to be reserved)
Week 2 Zoom. 2 hours
Week 3 Zoom. 2 hours
Week 4 Mill Creek Canyon 4 hours
References will include books, podcasts, websites and specific teachers on the internet.Refer to Tara Brach on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeBPgmZZ8H4
Or
The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield or Why Meditate?: Working with Thoughts and Emotions by Matthieu Ricard, for what to expect.
It will be a pleasure to explore meditation and your questions together.
All are welcome. Click here for information about our Mindfulness group:
Email for questions and zoom link.
Background: Our group started in the fall of 2018 at First UU Church. We meet weekly to discuss works dealing with mystical spirituality. The format of the meetings begins with a short meditation followed by a discussion on a reading.
We’ll meet weekly on Sundays at 12:30 pm in Room 208 beginning September 11, 2022. Whether you are new to this type of study, or not, we would love for you to join us. We anticipate that this book will take approximately ten weeks.
If interested: email Adrienne Splinter or John Shavers at
Some of the works previously studied:
The Genesis Meditations by Neil Douglas-Klotz
An Emerald Earth Felicia Norton & Charles Smith PhD
The Mystic Heart by Wayne Teasdale
The Hidden Gospel; Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus by Neil Douglas-Klotz.