Our programs are guided by the set of Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism and the Six Sources they draw from.

One of the Principles affirms our intention to accept one another and encourage each other’s spiritual growth. Programs include stand-alone events and ongoing activities and can be found in our Event Calendar, Friday emails and the monthly Newsletter.

Ongoing programs include:

Adult Religious Education

Various opportunities for adult learning are offered on weekdays and weekends and include annually a presentation of the Five Wishes End of Life Care document by our minister as well as curricula from the Tapestry of Faith of the Unitarian Universalist Association and beyond. In the past, these have included Hindsight Humor and Hope, Mindful Eating, Conversations of Faith and more. We are open to presenters both within and without our congregation. In addition we have book discussion groups offered by our Caring Committee or our Social Concerns Action Committee.

Gathering

Rev. Maddie presents monthly Gatherings on a Tuesday evening. Gathering is a time of Sound, Silence and Word. It is a time to stop in our busy weeks for Meditation, hear inspiring poetry and prose and experience professional musicians from classical to world music to jazz and more. Usually lasting about fifty minutes. Free Will Offering for the Gathering musicians fund($5-20 suggested).

Meditation Practice Group – The Silent Pause

We offer a weekly Meditation Practice Group at 6:00 pm in the Parish Hall or on Zoom and/or Facebook. This group celebrates the diversity of Buddhist and other meditative orientations and welcomes participants from all contemplative traditions to attend. Allow about an hour and bring your meditation cushion, if you have one, or you can sit in a chair. The meeting begins with a reading or short discussion, with a guided meditation leading us into a time of silence. There is power in meditating together. Led by Rev. Maddie or Jim Cole.

Rise Up Singing

Rise Up Singing is currently suspended.

Do you have a ukulele, mandolin or fiddle in your closet? Have you had a hankering to sing Clementine or a Beatles tune? Join us and invite your friends who love to sing! Rise Up Singing is a community monthly drop in community singing group at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula that meets on the third Friday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Parish Hall. Join the fun as Maddie Sifantus leads us as we experience communal singing. All ages are welcome. Free Will Offering ($5 suggested). Singers and instrumentalists of all ages are welcome to this informal and spirited evening of shared music making. Bring a copy of Rise Up Singing or Rise Again, if you have one. Some copies will be available to buy or borrow for the evening.

Yoga

Members and friends of the congregation are invited to attend yoga in our Parish Hall on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 9:30 am – 10:30 am. with Yoga instructor, Lisa Hammond. Class fee is $6 – $8 per session. Lisa has been practicing yoga for approximately 6 years, teaching for 5 years, and has been blessed to have been leading yoga here in our Parish Hall since early Summer 2015. She teaches a gentle style yoga and her classes are appropriate for all levels. In addition to a variety of trainings she has taken over the years, in December 2018 she completed her 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification under the loving guidance of Ventura based Pixie Kastrup of Sacred Living Yoga. Lisa Hammond can be reached at 831-801-2276 or soaringheartsyoga@gmail.com If you’d like to receive Lisa’s weekly email, please feel free to email or text her your contact information.