UU Wellspring
UU Wellspring is a ten-month spiritual deepening course for Unitarian Universalists. It is a program that explores how the foundations of our faith support us throughout our life. It offers an opportunity to connect deeply to your UU values and suggests techniques to ground your social action in spiritual practice. It provides a group of supportive seekers to share in your journey.
Here is what past participants are saying:
“It helped me feel more grounded in Unitarian Universalism, made me feel like I was nurturing my spirit and hence leading a richer life, made me feel deeply connected to my group.
Wellspring “is not so much a process as an opportunity… We have the opportunity to identify spiritual voids in our psyche and fill them as we are able… Wellspring is food for hungry souls.”
“it was literally life changing. It was a dive into Unitarian Universalism and an exploration of spiritual concepts that helped me grow significantly. The discussion, practices, and readings encouraged me to identify my own beliefs and perspectives, and build a new relationship with the Divine that was my own. “
What Wellspring gave me was a sense of the “gravitas” of our religion… [It] showed me that Unitarian Universalism is not an “anything goes” or even a “new” religion; rather, it has deep roots, and a strong spiritual, philosophical, and theological grounding.
The UU Wellspring program has five separate curricula. Each curriculum incorporates these five components:
- Daily spiritual practice
- Small-group connections
- Individual work with a spiritual director
- Deeper knowledge of UU history and theology through reading and responding to pre-session assignments
- Reflection and commitment to living our values in the world
The first step is to participate in UU Wellspring: Sources. This is the prerequisite for all other years of UU Wellspring. Sources offers participants an opportunity for reflection around two key areas: Unitarian Universalist history and theology, and the “big questions” that are central to our Unitarian Universalist faith, including human nature, death, joy, and forgiveness.
The following programs are open to graduates of Sources:
- UU Wellspring: Spiritual Practices
This program offers participants an opportunity to explore spiritual practice from a Unitarian Universalist perspective and a chance to deepen their commitment to their own daily spiritual practices. The class will also explore the depth and variety of spiritual practices in our Unitarian Universalist tradition and the roots of different spiritual practices. Participants will learn how they might adapt these practices to their own use. - UU Wellspring: Deep Questions
This program is designed to expand participants’ understanding of the eight Unitarian Universalist principles and their meaning in our lives. It explores the connection between the principles and powerful life questions, including human nature, forgiveness, accountability, and our relationship to the planet. It calls us to action based on our deeply held UU beliefs. - UU Wellspring: Faithful Action
This program explores all the ways in which participants can live out their faith, including through service to community, family, and friends, our congregations, and the world. In the small-group experience, participants create a bold and brave space in which to examine how each of them addresses the many challenges of our world. They commit to offering intentional service over the course of the program, and address questions of burnout, hopelessness, and maintaining their own spiritual health while trying to repair the brokenness of the world. - UU Wellspring: Sacred Arts
This program offers spiritual deepening through the arts. The connection between spirituality and creativity will be explored through an examination of various art forms, participants’ own acts of art-making, and reflections on what art has to teach them about theology and faith. Previous artistic activity is not a requirement. Participants will be encouraged to take up or continue with a creative practice.
All Wellspring classes begin in September and end in June. To learn what classes UUCWC is offering this year, visit the Adult Learning Classes page.
To learn more about UU Wellspring, visit http://www.uuwellspring.org/.