UU Santa Fe

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UU Santa Fe | A Unitarian Universalist Community
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Here you will find information about our various adult learning programs, their dates and registration (if any).

adult learning opportunities | Human Being Training

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We commit to lifelong learning and spiritual practice that enriches our lives and those around us. We offer balanced content and spiritual practices from the world's great religions and wisdom traditions, informed by our distinct Unitarian Universalist perspective. Throughout the year, we may offer this content in various formats such as workshop, retreat, forum, or discussion group.

We schedule adult lifelong learning classes and workshops throughout the year. They are led by expert volunteers, staff and outside guests. To register for adult learning exploration classes you may signup online, or contact the class facilitator or our Program Ministry staff.

UU Santa Fe Adult lifelong learning is a cooperative adventure. If you would like to facilitate a program, contact our Program Ministry staff.
2020-2021 Offerings
  • Starting Point (Aug & Jan)
  • Seven Thousand Ways to Listen (Nov)
  • Yoga for Body and Soul (beginning Dec)
  • ​Justice Book Discussions (Jan-May)
  • A Triad of Poets (Feb)
  • The UU Blessing Path (Mar)
And for fun and insight:
  • Pew Religious Center Religious Typology Quiz
  • The Belief-O-Matic®

​ADULT LIFELONG LEARNING OFFERINGS


At-A-Glance

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​“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”―Mahatma Gandhi

Program facilitators may cancel any program that does not have at least 5 registrants. For more information about these programs scroll down this page.
​Our Remaining 2020-2021 Program
  • Belonging. Starting Point, January 24 & 31, 2021, led by Adult Lifelong Learning, Ministry and Community Life Teams (see below)
  • Engaging. Justice Book Discussion Series, January-May 2021, led by our Justice Issue Teams—Racial Justice, Domestic Violence Awareness, Immigrant & Refugee, Environmental and Gun Violence Prevention (see below)
  • Racial Justice. Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho, January 28, led by Kitty Sherlock and Jean Darling (see below)
  • Domestic Violence Awareness. The Fog of Faith: Surviving My Impotent God by Leona Stucky, led by Leona Stucky and Diane Brown, February 15 (see below)
  • Being. A Triad of Poets, Selected poems from Robinson Jeffers, David Whyte and Mary Oliver, February 2-9-16, led by Maj-Britt Eagle (see below)
  • Being. The UU Blessing Path. A UU Framework to Spiritual Maturity, led by Steven Mead, Lifespan Religious Educator, beginning February 24 (see below)
  • Becoming. Curated Adult Self-Study Resources, always available, changing monthly. Curated by Steven Mead, Program Ministry

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Fall in love with Unitarian Universalism! For newcomers.
Starting Point
Dates Next session January 24 & 31, 2021
Location online
Facilitated by Rev. Gail Marriner, Steven Mead, Sherry Kraemer, et al.
Sponsored by Adult Lifelong Learning, Ministry and Community Life Teams
​Cost none
Registration required;
 to Register, click here

As our journeys take new or unexpected turns, we all find ourselves looking for new kinds of companions. So if you're a newcomer or long-timer looking to fall in love with UU Santa Fe and Unitarian Universalism all over again, well then, consider Starting Point your spiritual "re-start." We usually offer Starting Point two times per year (August and January).

Yoga

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Melissa Briggs-Bransford is a choreographer and educator, and has been teaching movement, dance and yoga to ages 3 through adult for over 20 years. She is currently on dance faculties at UNM and NDI New Mexico. Melissa, her mother, and her daughters have been attending UUSF since 2012, and love this community!
Yoga For Body and Soul
Dates Weekly Mondays, 12-1 pm, beginning December 7
Location online
Led by Melissa Briggs-Bransford
Sponsored by Adult Lifelong Learning
​Cost $10/session. If you would like to attend, but cannot afford the tuition, contact Steven Mead and arrangements will be made
Payment via Venmo (Venmo is a service of PayPal, Inc.) @Melissa-Briggs-Bransford
Registration required; to Register, click here. When you register, you will be given the Zoom meeting ID link
Equipment to have on hand for each class:
  • yoga mat
  • strap ( or belt or scarf)
  • large towel that can be rolled up
  • Yoga blocks and meditation cushion if your have these

​The world is an unpredictable place right now, and it’s hard to balance it all. Yoga, a practice which equally engages the mind and the body, provides both an opportunity for physical movement and a chance to cultivate mindfulness. Yoga reduces stress, increases self-awareness, and builds strength and balance. For those of us working from home these days, it’s the ultimate “brain break."

Through integrating breath with movement, we are able to calm our nervous systems, integrate right and left brain functioning, and increase mental clarity. As we progress through the foundational poses of yoga we stretch and strengthen the body, learn the principles of alignment, and practice relaxation and breathing techniques. We leave class feeling less anxious and less stressed, with skills to bring more balance to our lives.

Justice-Making Book Discussion Series

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​“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Justice-Making Book Discussion Series, January-May 2021, led by our Justice Issue Teams
Location online
Facilitated by our Justice Issue Teams
Sponsored by Adult Lifelong Learning and Justice Council
​Cost none
Registration required
so we can send you the Zoom meeting ID link
  • Please purchase or borrow the book and read it prior to any of our discussion sessions.
  • Read our weekly eNewsletter for additional information, dates, times, and Zoom meeting ID links.
  • You need not have read the book to join in these conversations!

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​​​January. Racial Justice. Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho, led by Kitty Sherlock and Jean Darling, January 28, 6:30 pm. Copies of the book will be available at Collected Works bookstore. Phone to reserve your copy, 505-988-4226. Register here so we can send you the Zoom meeting ID link.
 
Emmanuel Acho, son of Nigerian immigrants, former linebacker for the NFL, and TV sports commentator and psychologist, writes an accessible and straightforward guide – answering questions white people have asked him on his videoblog and in personal conversations – a conversation about race that many white people have never been able to have.


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February. Domestic Violence. The Fog of Faith: Surviving My Impotent God by Leona Stucky, led by Leona Stucky and Diane Brown. February 15, 2021 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm, register here so we can send you the Zoom meeting ID link.
 
This is the true story of Leona Stucky’s childhood on a Kansas farm, surrounded by a loving family and the simple tenets of her Mennonite community. Violence enters her world in the guise of a young man who seems normal to everyone else but who Leona knows to be deranged in his obsession with her.


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March. Immigrant & Refugee Justice. The Undocumented Americans, by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, led by Sally Sabo. Date TBA. Registration link forthcoming.
 
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was on DACA when she decided to write about being undocumented for the first time using her own name. It was right after the election of 2016, the day she realized the story she’d tried to steer clear of was the only one she wanted to tell. So she embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants—and to find the hidden key to her own.


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April. Environmental Justice. At the Precipice: New Mexico’s Changing Climate, by Laura Paskus. Adam Wasserman will lead the discussion. Date TBA. Registration link forthcoming.
 
At the Precipice explores the question many of us have asked ourselves:
What kind of world are we leaving to our children? The realities of climate change consume the media and keep us up at night worrying about the future. But in New Mexico and the larger Southwest, climate change has been silently wreaking havoc: average temperatures in the Upper Rio Grande Basin are increasing at double the global average, super fires like Las Conchas have devastated mountains, and sections of the Rio Grande are drying up.


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May. Gun Violence Prevention. Bullets into Bells - Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence, Beacon Press, led by Kathryn Holladay. Date TBA. Registration link forthcoming.
 
Bullets into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence brings together the voices of poets and citizens most impacted to call for the end of gun violence with the activist power of poetry.


A Triad of Poets

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"As for us: We must uncenter our minds from ourselves; We must unhumanize our views a little, and become confident As the rock and ocean that we were made from.​"​―Robinson Jeffers​
A Triad of Poets ~  Jeffers, Whyte and Oliver
Dates 3 sessions, February 2021, 2-9-16, 1-3 pm
Location online
Facilitated Maj-Britt Eagle
Sponsored by Adult Lifelong Learning
​Cost none
Registration required;
 to register, click here. When you register, we will send you the Zoom Meeting ID link

A Triad of Poets ~  Jeffers, Whyte and Oliver
In this offering of three poets, we explore whether our awe in the face of sublime wilderness may arise from our communion with nature, "one great whole animated by the breath of life". Whether, while in the poem there may be a creative "I", it is the "I" of the human mind woven into the material web of life. We'll read selected poems of Robinson Jeffers, David Whyte and Mary Oliver with a "beginner's mind", open to the delight of the unexpected. And in this openness, who we are is woven into where we are.

The UU Blessing Path

Eight Sessions Beginning March
  1. Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self by Richard Rohr
  2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
  3. The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf
  4. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
  5. Pilgrim by David Whyte
  6. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy
  7. The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper
  8. Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh

“Life is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had.”― Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond
PictureThe Three Vinegar Tasters
The UU Blessing Path - A UU Framework to Spiritual Maturity
Dates orientation February 24, Eight sessions 4th Wednesdays thereafter
Location online
Facilitated and created by Steven Mead, Lifespan Religious Educator
Sponsored by Adult Lifelong Learning
​Cost none
Registration required;
 click here so we can send you the Zoom Meeting ID link
  • February 24, 3-4 pm. Meet & Greet and Orientation
  • March 24, 3-5 pm. Reading and discussion: Rohr, Richard. Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self. 1st ed, Jossey-Bass, 2013
  • For this offering, we will just do the 'contemporary voices', thus, an eight-reading, eight-month exploration
Through a curated reading list (see list, left) of eight contemporary works (fiction and nonfiction) and intentional spiritual practices, we will explore what it means to be human through the perspective of Unitarian Universalism. What does it mean to be in right relationship with the self? With others? With the world? With the Ultimate? What insights might be gained from these works? What is spiritual maturity? What balance should we seek between contemplation and action? How might the UU Blessing Path transform you? Join us reading and discussing these works and our various spiritual practices; meeting online monthly.

You may either commit to the whole program or join us ala cart for those sessions that appeal to you. Complete your reading before the discussion session!

2021 UU Blessing Path Matrix
File Size: 36 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

2021 UU Blessing Path Curriculum
File Size: 41 kb
File Type: docx
Download File


Spiritual Direction

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Rev. Tony Thieman-Somora
​
Virtual Office Hours
Wednesday, 10 am—1 pm 
806.239.7212
PO Box 24204
Santa Fe, NM 87502
Spiritual Direction & Pastoral Care
​Rev. Tony Thieman-Somora

Dates office hours and by appointment
Location video conferencing, UU Santa Fe and other locations
Sponsored by Ministry and Adult Learning
Costs apply (sliding scale); please inquire
Rev. Thieman-Somora obtained a certificate in spiritual direction from the University of St. Mary of the Lake and has over 30 years experience. Rev. Tony is a member of Spiritual Directors International and a member of UU Santa Fe.
  • ​Virtual Office Hours Wednesday, 10 am-1 pm
  • Spiritual Direction (sliding fee)
  • Pastoral Care (no fee required)
Guiding Questions
  • Where is the Holy meeting me or drawing me closer in the events and people of my life and in the world around me?
  • Where have I met the Spirit of Life today? This week? This past month?
  • Where do I feel cut off or drawn away from the Holy, and in what circumstances?
  • How can I cultivate alertness to the presence of the Spirit of Life?
  • How do I engage in attentiveness to life?
    ​—Marjorie Hoyer Smith

Other Resources

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UU Santa Fe Adult Self-Study Resources
UU Santa Fe curates an extensive and ever-changing collection of self-study resources.
UU Santa Fe Adult Self-Study Resources link

Harriet Kidder Memorial Library
You may like to visit the UU Santa Fe Harriet Kidder Memorial adult library to check out print materials on a variety of topics. Checkout is simple—write down the title, your name, phone/email and date you checked material out on our clipboard. Keep it as long as you need it then bring it back and put it on the shelf with the checkout clipboard. It's simple.

Specific donations may be made to our adult library and for other program needs through UU Santa Fe's AmazonSmiles Gift List. Sign on and browse through our Gift List. Give UU Santa Fe an UUnBirthday Present!
​And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home.―Sarah York (Unitarian Universalist, minister, educator)

Location

UU Santa Fe
107 West Barcelona
Santa Fe, NM 87505
​​Phone:  505.982.9674

Come! UU Santa Fe is meant for you.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Sunday gatherings are livestreamed at 10:30. You may watch livestream gatherings Sunday at 10:30 am here or recorded services at any time on our YouTube channel. ​

​Inclusivity
We welcome all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin; gender or gender identification, affectional preference or sexual orientation; age, physical or mental challenge; or social, economic or marital status. Come, there is a place for you here.

UU Santa Fe will never ask for sensitive information such as banking information and passwords via email, nor will we ever ask you to purchase gift cards of any kind. If you have any concerns about an email that appears to be sent by UU Santa Fe or its staff members, don't click on any links and forward the email to admin@uusantafe.org.

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​Copyright © 2021 Unitarian Universalist Santa Fe. All Rights Reserved.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Panegyrics of Granovetter, Free For Commercial Use (FFC), Sergei_41, does_not_travel_often, Sandor Somkuti, huntingmark, symphony of love, wuestenigel
  • Come!
    • Upcoming Sunday Gatherings
    • UU Santa Fe Events and News
    • Leadership Blog Posts
    • Connecting Digitally
    • Contact Us
    • Events Calendar
  • Visit
    • Online Welcome Table
    • Your First Visit
    • About Unitarian Universalism
    • Your Starting Point
    • UU Santa Fe Membership
    • Contact Us
    • Events Calendar
    • Spanish/Español
  • Worship
    • Upcoming Sunday Gatherings
    • Sermons and Videos
    • Our Minister
    • Our Sacred Days
    • Life Celebrations
  • Learn
    • Adult Learning >
      • Adult Learning Opportunities
      • Adult Learning Groups
      • Curated Adult Self-Study Resources
    • Family Program >
      • Family Program Content
      • Program Registration Form
      • UU Santa Fe Family Program Website
  • Belong
    • Groups >
      • Affinity Groups
      • Learning Groups
      • Spirituality Groups
      • Support Groups
    • UU Women's Fellowship
    • Art On Barcelona
    • Mardi Gras 2021
  • Engage
    • Justice Making >
      • UU Santa Fe Justice Teams
      • UUA Justice Statements
      • UU Service Committee
    • Serve UU Santa Fe | Volunteering
  • Give
    • Your Gift$
    • Serve UU Santa Fe | Volunteering
  • Join
    • UU Santa Fe Membership
  • Discover UU Santa Fe
    • Contact Us
    • Events Calendar
    • About UU Santa Fe
    • Our Minister
    • UU Santa Fe Staff
    • Our Governance >
      • Governance Documents
    • Reservations and Rentals
  • Calendar