All women are invited
Potlucks are monthly, usually on Friday evening. They are announced in Soundings, the Order of Service on Sundays and in the regular TUCWomen email. Join in the good times with old friends and new. Get to know women of the congregation by sharing a meal and good conversation. Bring something to share or if there’s no time to shop or cook – just come. There is always plenty.
RSVP for Potlucks tucwomen@uuwestport.org
Brown Bag Lunches are a time to gather together… connect with each other… make new connections… and deepen existing ones… informally… in conversation. Bring your Brown Bag (filled with your favorite food and drink) and join us at the Meeting House at 12:30 Sunday following the 11:00 service. They are typically the second Sunday of the month. Watch for announcements in Soundings and the Order of Service.
UUthe Vote! Lots of opportunities to get involved!
Wear purple for this Sunday’s service! In recognition of International Women’s Day, our #metoo Sunday, the UUtheVote effort is kicking off directly after our 11 AM Service – we’d like to invite everyone – all genders – to wear some purple on Sunday. You can go all out and be decked out head to toe, or just show a “nod” with a tie, scarf, belt or the like. Whatever you’re comfortable with!
Introduction to UUtheVOTE
Date: Sunday March 8th
Time: 12:30 pm
Location: East Wing. The Unitarian Church, Westport, CT
Presenters: Janet Luongo, Sudha Sankar, a TUCWomen leader, and guest Gail Berritt, an attorney and voting activist.
Join us to discover how we as UUs can engage in political activism in ways that suit our skills and passions. This introductory session, in line with guidelines from the UUA, will suggest ways for us to be involved, and further the path towards justice and equity. For more information, go to UUtheVote.org.
Get the Vote out! Write VoteForward Letters!
Date: March 11
RSVP: for location and information Jluongo3@optonline.net
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM, letter writing
To help get the vote out, come to Janet Luongo’s house to write letters to encourage people to vote. If you like, bring your food and come early, at 6:00 pm, so we can get to know each other over supper.
Planning meeting: TUCWomen wants to hear from you!
Date: March 15
Time: around noon – after the 11:00 AM service
Location: Meeting house
The leadership team of TUCWomen invite you to come together and share your ideas for TUCWomen. TUCWomen’s overarching goals are to provide a rich set of opportunities for women to build deeper relationships and to support women’s engagement — social, spiritual, political or educational — in the TUCW community. As a Ministry by women for women, this is a meeting to dream big and make plans for the upcoming year. We would like to invite new leadership, new ideas and new energy. Please bring your own snacks/lunch to the meeting.
Women’s Spirituality Series, Women, Spirit and Imagination, continues with new sessions
Spring Series! A welcoming place to feel safe to discover our creativity and inspiration.
We’re continuing our Spring Series of workshops designed to help stimulate our creativity, our imagination and spirituality. Most are led by members of the church who have expertise in different creative and spiritual domains such as drawing, writing, gardening, dance, photography, etc..
Dates: March 18, April 8, and May 22
Next Session: Awakening Mentorship: Giving and Receiving by Cheryl Dixon Paul
Date: March 18
Time: 7:00-8:30 PM
Location: the East Wing
Starting with a chant, we will do a mindful meditation on a teacher, mentor, friend who opened your spirit: What was it that they saw in you? How did that change how you see yourself? A suggested creative response is to craft a poem or journal on that person, and share with each other if we like. We’ll end by asking ourselves, “Who am I mentoring?” Please bring an object that reminds you of a teacher, a mentor or dear friend for our altar.
Transform a good story to inspire others by Elizabeth Macdonald
Date: April 8
Time: 7:00-8:30 PM
Location: the East Wing
We UU’s are passionate about our values and about how our values can inspire others to right action. The goal of this workshop is to provide you with a foolproof approach on how to create and deliver a great motivational story. Elizabeth is a 4th generation UU. She has been a member of the church for two years and is excited to share her professional experience and insight into helping fellow women UUs sharpen their communication tools.
Opening to Spring with Plant Medicine by Jaime Silverstein
Date: May 22
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Location: Meeting House
Enjoy an evening aligning with the spirit of Spring through meditation, movement and plant medicine. Special guest Jamie Silverstein, a Kripalu-certified yoga teacher, gardener, and herbalist will teach us practices to support the transition from winter to spring, and spring to summer, to re-awaken our connection with the natural world. Jaime believes that working with plants, animals, and natural movements reminds us of the interconnection among all living beings. This class will include a short meditation to ground spring wind energy, gentle movements to support the lymphatic system, and teachings of plant allies that are emerging this time of year. You will leave this class with new rituals and practices, and a spring tonic to use throughout the season.
RSVP: tucwomen@uuwestport.org
Sacred Circles Continue in 2020
Women, Spirit and Imagination, the outstanding women’s spirituality series continued this year after a successful beginning last Spring. Each session is independent of the others so all women are invited to register for a few or all. The purpose of this series is to offer women a welcoming, safe place to explore their spirituality and imaginations. Most sessions will provide an experience of meditation, inspiration, imagination and connection, where women may absorb the healing power of beauty and a supportive community, and develop a feeling of calm and peace within, an inner haven to return to at any time. No prior experience is needed. Watch the schedule for new offerings in the new year.
The Sacred Circles with Grandmother Nancy continue and usually will be held twice a month.
We are fortunate to have Grandmother Nancy Andry who guides our Sacred Circles. She is an elder and storyteller of the Algonquin nation. As a lifelong participant of the native red road of spirituality she has studied with many medicine teachers of the Lakota and Ojibwa people.
Women of all ages are invited to participate in the formation of a circle of support and trust. Through stories and rituals, Grandmother Nancy will guide us in exploring what she calls “the ancient ways of knowing”. Such knowing invites us to deepen our connection to nature and to our own inner wisdom.
In Sacred Circle, Grandmother Nancy will use the talking stick, which encourages respectful listening so that all who wish to share may be heard. There will be drumming which reminds us of the heartbeat of Mother Earth and of our own voices previously silenced. Grandmother Nancy teaches a number of rituals, such as the Water Ritual, that help us connect not only to the natural world but also to the world of the unseen. She brings a source that UUs draw upon: “Spiritual teaching of earth-centered traditions that celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.”
Put these dates on your calendar:
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM in the Meeting House
March 10 and 24
April 14 and 28
May 12 and 26
June 9 and 23
For more information send a note to tucwomen@uuwestport.org
Read more Sacred Circle with Grandmother Nancy
What Sacred Circle Participants Have to Say
“Meeting Grandma Nancy and hearing her stories was wonderful. She’s truly an inspiring and insightful woman.” — Jamie Coppola
“Listening to women opening up, sharing authentically from their hearts and feeling, inspired me to share my own experiences. It was truly healing to my heart and soul.” — Golden Hawk
“I enjoyed the ritual aspect of Grandmother Nancy’s workshops. The drumming is a wonderful way to start her workshops. It has a grounding effect. Grandmother Nancy is sincere in her efforts to create a scared space.” — Beverly Bailey
“I felt a sense of peace and the beginning of a great companionship amongst the women of the circle.” — Sarah Kent
“What I most appreciated about the talking circles is how it gave us, the participants, an opportunity to share in a meaningful way and showed what a wonderful community of caring, interesting, and insightful people we are a part of!” — Elizabeth MacDonald
“I enjoyed participating in several sessions of Grandma Nancy’s workshop. One session began with us gathering in a circle and drumming to the rhythm of our heart beats. Then we closed our eyes as Grandma Nancy calmly had us imagine ourselves on a journey into a snowy wood where we came upon a wolf. Both exercises, as well as singing a Native American song taught to us by Grandma Nancy, opened us up to honestly answer the questions she posed as she passed around the talking stick. It was a welcome respite from the stress of daily life.” — Sari Bodi