We have a variety of programs for adults planned this year!
On this page you will find many classes, book groups, and workshops. We also have Spiritual Practice Groups, which you can find here: Spiritual Practice Groups
Registration for classes is open to all members and friends of OUUC and members of the larger community. To help us keep these offerings sustainable, we suggest participants donate $0-$10 per class meeting. Don’t bring cash to class, either write a check or make a donation online.
Current Classes and Programs
OUUC Book Group
2nd Thursdays, 6:30pm
The group will be meeting on the 2nd Thursday at OUUC at 6:30 (following the community dinner) beginning in September (but skipping December). The meeting will also be multiplatform on zoom.
Our first book will be The Ravished Forest by Sandra Crowell which tells the story of Helen Mitchell Sanders of the Chehalis tribe and her fight for justice for Native Americans who had been cheated out of receiving the full value of their forest land from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The author will be meeting with us in September to answer any questions you have.
Please share any book recommendations you have for October or November with Frances Tanaka.
Copies of The Ravaged Forest will be available to borrow or for purchase for $20, contact Frances to get a copy.
Love at the Center Discussion Group
2nd Wednesdays of each month 7pm
All are welcome to join us for a discussion group around the book “Love at the Center”
“Given everything our world faces today, having faith in love is no small thing.” – Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt
Unitarian Universalists as a progressive religious community hold a humbling expectation to periodically re-evaluate the freely chosen covenant that holds us together. While this work impacts the bylaws that define our governance structures, it also gives life to the values we express in common cause. We do this work to live into the Unitarian Universalism of the future.
In response to the Article II Study Commission and the final adopted language of Article II outlining our shared values, it is clear that the value most describe as central to their faith, to their living, and to the mission of their congregations is love itself. We are a people guided by, and centered in, our engagement with all that love requires.
Our pressing task now is to ask ourselves and each other how this understanding calls us forward, individually and collectively. We may agree that love is central, but what does that mean to us and what does it require of us? It is in that spirit that we asked more than two dozen leaders in our movement the question of what it means to put love at the center of our faith.
In these pages, you’ll find personal testimony to love’s power, reminders of the centrality of love throughout the long histories of Universalism and Unitarianism, and theologies of love drawn from many different expressions of Unitarian Universalism—from the natural world to the justice rally, to a loved one’s deathbed, to the quiet moment before a worship service begins. May Love at the Center serve as an invitation to deepen your own understanding and practices of love.
Our group will meet monthly to discuss 3 essays from the book each month.
2nd Wednedays on zoom, 7-8:30pm
September 10th: Essays 1-3
October 8th: Essays 4-6
November 12th: Essays 7-9
December 10th: Essays 10-12
January 14th: Essays 13-15
February 11th: Essays 16-18
March 4: Essays 19-21
April 8: Essays 22-24
May 13th: Essays 25-26
Drama Workshop with Janet Spencer
6 weeks of: Theatre Games, acting lessons, Play reading (aloud), character study, scene study. No experience necessary. For ages 6 – 100
Janet studied acting in New York, at Barnard College and the Michael Howard Studio, and appeared in a few off-Broadway productions in her early 20’s. Hunger drove her into theatrical management, a career she followed for 40 years. Janet has returned to acting, appearing in three Harlequin productions since moving to Olympia.WhenJan 24 – Feb 28, 2026 (1:00 pm – 2:30 pm)
Tao of Gender Book Discussion
Meeting Dates: 3/26, 4/2, 4/23, 4/30, 5/7, 5/28, 6/4 6:30-8pm
Rescheduled..now in person & on Thursday nights… We’ll use today’s language of gender to explore Taoist ideas, not as fixed truths, but as symbols that spark reflection in our hearts and minds. While the 2002 book The Tao of Gender serves as an anchor, we recognize it as one Western perspective. To honor the tradition and decenter whiteness, we invite this text into conversation with scholars and practitioners from China and Thailand. There is no homework.
Class instructor: Schyler P. Raad, is a nonbinary educator and lifelong learner with experience facilitating dialogue-based classes.
Travel That Changes Hearts and Transforms Lives – 2026
The popular class is unfolding again, in 2026. Begun decades ago by OUUC member Billie Williams, the “travel series” offers vicarious adventures through the experiences of your fellow OUUC members. The slideshow presentations are meant to be more than a satisfying travelog; expect some introspection about the impact of these journeys on the presenters’ worldview and values.
The class will take place in the Sanctuary from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m.
Tuesday, April 21 with Rick Brandt-Kreutz
Seeking a Pluralistic Vision: Reflections from Istanbul, Transylvania and Poland
I traveled last fall with my wife Betsy to Istanbul and Poland, and in between we spent 10 days with fellow OUUC pilgrims in Transylvania, Romania. From the mosques of Turkey, the cathedrals of Poland, and worshiping together with our partners in Kissolymos, this journey for me was a pilgrimage of both discovery and deepening faith. I will share stories of the places and peoples both “foreign” to me, as well as times I felt right at home. Muslims praying at Chora Mosque surrounded by Christian Byzantine mosaics. Unitarians are thriving today thanks to ancient Ottoman rulers. Polish Jews today who the Nazi’s tried to destroy share their story. Reflect with me on what people of different cultures and faith can teach us about living a resilient, enduring faith toward a pluralistic vision.
Tuesday, April 28 Navigating a Limestone Landscape with Emily Ray
In June 2025, five women traveled by barge on the Lot River, the curviest river in France. Learn what it was to operate a barge on our own, and to open and close locks ourselves, without the help of lockkeepers. You will learn about the unusual limestone environment of southwestern France. You will see evidence of human creativity from 16,000 to 29,000 years ago deep in a limestone cavern. And you will perhaps be as surprised as we were to learn of the importance of limestone in the building of Paris.
Tuesday, May 5 Turkey and the Netherlands: A View from the Crossroads of Europe and Asia with Paul Bakke
Although separated by only 2,200 kilometers (1,370 miles), these two places differ strikingly in their climate, geological challenges, religion, history and politics. Discover the outlines of Turkish history, unknown to most Americans, and how current affairs have the Turks teetering on the verge of turning their backs on a century of progress. In the Netherlands, learn what a National Park looks like in a country dedicated to modifying their environment, and how modern Dutch attitudes toward their colonial heritage differ from our own. And, of course, just enjoy our pictures from two beautiful parts of the world.
Tuesday, May 12 Haida Gwaii a Dive into an Ancient Culture and Landscape with Gail Gosney, Fritz Wrede, Linda Whitcher
We traveled through primeval waterways and past islands of ageless heritage to camp in ancient rain forests. The amazing landscape and wildlife proved to be only the preface to a tour through a culture and cosmology that is very old and rich. Each of us had a very different view of this realm. We cannot recreate the experience in an evening, but we will share a few of the stories and some of the history of this complex spiritual civilization. The scenery and the richness of these islands stand out of their own accord, and the spiritual unity of the culture only deepened the experience.
Adult Our Whole Lives
Date TBA
The Our Whole Lives program offers age appropriate, comprehensive, values-based sexuality education for all ages and is a beloved program in our UU congregations.
Topics for this workshop: Attitudes About Aging, Sexual Scripts, and Keeping Our Bodies Healthy
UU Common Read: Social Change Now Workshop
March 14th 10am-4pm
Join Rev Sara for a one day workshop (with lunch provided) to explore the ecosystem of social change makers model and how it can inform our work to change the world.
The UU Common Read for Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Now! offers Unitarian Universalists a path to growing more authentic, connected, and effective as individuals and communities pursuing the social justice missions we share.
Whatever the social justice priorities of your particular congregation, at its core, Unitarian Universalism embodies transformation. All of us who covenant to be together are engaged with making the world a better place. As humanists, we take responsibility as agents of transformation to make it so. This Common Read guides us to apply the teachings and practices of Social Change Now to activate, re-invigorate, and support social justice projects throughout our movement and all our common work for change.
Copies of the book are available at OUUC or you can order one from the UUA bookstore.
Want to Teach a Class?
What, me? Teach a class?
Would you like to share your knowledge, experience, passion or hobby with others? How does it fit in with OUUC’s mission statement and UUA values? The Adult Faith Development Team is starting to develop its Spring classes. What would you like to propose and teach?
Faith development isn’t just about exploring your beliefs and spiritual practices, it’s also about how we act on those beliefs individually and together. Our mission statement includes “ends” that state: “As I grow and learn, I practice my faith, act courageously, and appreciate beauty.” Another end states”…We deepen our connections as we learn, love, work, play, sing and find meaning together.” There’s a lot of room for creative thinking between our mission and values.
Check out our new one-page form (attached below) that includes Tips for Class Leaders on one side and an application to teach a class on the other. It includes our mission and values for ready reference.
Contact any member of our team if you have questions or send us your class application—Rev. Sara Lewis, Linda Selsor and Linda Whitcher —our contact info is in Realm.
