Offering and Receiving

Connection, Support, and Spiritual Practice

Check your weekly email for Zoom links and contact info, and for any scheduling changes.

Small Group Ministries 2025-26

Rev. Karen and Rev. Bowie are creating several new opportunities to reflect on our times and share support with one another.  All are in person, drop-in opportunities – come once, or as often as you like:

New Book Group: Love at the Center

Are you interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalist theologies, in an accessible way?  A book group facilitated by Rev. Karen on Love at the Center is a great way to do that!  The book is a series of short essays, focused on the value most UUs describe as central to their faith, love: “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.”  You can read a sample that includes the first four essays here.

Please let Karen know if you’d like to attend, and we’ll decide on a meeting time and platform together. 

Cheers and Fears, with Rev. Karen

This is a space in which we’ll offer each other support in navigating today’s times.  We’ll cheer each other on, and we’ll share our fears and hold them together.  The one-hour sessions will meet on alternating Sundays after worship, in the Reeb library: November 9, January 11, March 8, May 10

Our Wild and Precious Lives, with Rev. Bowie

This is a space in which you can talk with others about issues facing us as we contemplate living and dying, titled after Mary Oliver’s famous poem “The Summer Day.”  The one-hour sessions will meet on alternating Sundays after worship, in the Reeb library: December 14, February 8, and April 12

Sacred Breath Choir – Thursdays 7:00 pm

Please note – As of 1/1/26 the choir is meeting intermittently while we search for a new Music Director. See the weekly newsletter for updates and join the choir email list to receive the latest news.

Sacred Breath welcomes folks of all voice types and musical backgrounds (including people with no experience whatsoever!) We meet weekly on Thursdays from 7-8:30pm and sing at 1-2 services a month. At rehearsals, choir members warm-up their voices and bodies, learn pieces for Sunday services, sing for the joy of it, and connect with fellow Reebers. Singing is nourishment for the mind, body, and spirit.  Nourish yourself and your community by joining Sacred Breath Choir!

Email us at music@jruuc.org if you have questions or comments about choir or music at JRUUC. Click for more information.

Covenant Groups

Covenant Groups are part of the Adult Religious Exploration Program at JRUUC. Groups are randomly created at the start of each church year, based on the availability of people interested, and they meet monthly. They are closed groups, for confidentiality and community-building, and are made up of 6 to 10 people plus a facilitator. They have several purposes: to build relationships through the practice of deep listening, and to practice shared ministry with each other and our congregation as a whole. Please see this brochure for more information, and sign up here if you’d like to be part of a virtual or in-person Covenant Group this year.

Please contact Rev. Karen if you have questions. 

Monthly Laughter Yoga

If you enjoyed the Laughter Yoga offered at a service back in April, you’ll be tickled to know that we are now offering a monthly Laughter Yoga session available to anyone and everyone! Members of the Laughter Club of Madison will return to JRUUC on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. for one hour of healing laughter in community. Mark your calendar, and bring a friend! Second Mondays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at JRUUC, beginning September 8. Questions? Contact Virginia Harrison.

Meditation with Friends – Wednesdays 6:30-7:00 (on Zoom only)

Beginners are welcome! Hosted by Susan Podebradsky. Mindfulness and meditation help us strengthen the ability to be more aware of the truth of the present moment and choose our actions instead of simply being propelled forward by habit. We begin with a brief opening reading followed by a few minutes of guided meditation and then silent meditation (12 minutes total). We follow that with a few minutes to chat about the reading, the meditation, or mindfulness in everyday life. We close with another 2 minutes of silent meditation to carry us out into the world.

We are currently reading from Pema Chodron‘s book Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change. See the weekly newsletter for the Zoom link. Contact Susan Podebradsky with questions.

JRUUC Folk Music Gatherings

This is an informal gathering of Reebers who enjoy playing and singing folk songs together.  This group will occasionally decide to offer music for a Sunday service, but there’s no expectation for this.  Come to as many sessions as you’d like!  Bring your voice and/or instrument.  Meetings are usually the 1st and 3rd Saturdays 10:30am-noon, but check your enews or contact Mike Stimson to be added to our email list.