Join us for a special youth-led service as our high school group – UU Youth for Justice (UUYJ) – shares reflections from their week-long service and cultural immersion experience at the Appalachian South Folklife Center in West Virginia. Through stories, song, and spirit, they will explore how the experience deepened their shared UU value of honoring the interdependent web of all existence. This service invites us all to consider how connection, community, and shared purpose can transform lives—both others’ and our own.
Led by Rev. Kristina Church, Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele, with Director of Music Ministry Emily Hall, Worship Associate Renee Ruchotzke.
In this month of Freedom and of Pride, let’s examine the boxes our culture places us in– and how we free ourselves and those around us from the assumptions that keep us all confined. How can we shed life-limiting beliefs about who we are and may become? How can we mobilize to defend the rights of ALL people in the face of repression and violence? How can we ensure that those who come after us may grow up free to be & express their most authentic selves?
Camp Lilac is an overnight summer camp in Ohio for transgender and gender diverse youth. They create a safe, welcoming, and confidential space in which gender diversity is the norm. Campers develop an increased sense of confidence in their identities and a strong community of peers and supporters.
Each month, our social justice team chooses a recipient for our special offering to a community partner. If you wish to support that partner, you can:
Give electronically and choose “special offering” in the drop-down
Write a check, and put “special offering in the memo line
Put cash into an envelope and mark the “special offering” box
Led by Rev. Kristina Church and DRE Colleen Thoele with Director of Music Ministries Emily Hall.
Join us for our annual ritual of Flower Communion, which honors the unique and inherent dignity of each person, expressed through the beauty and variety of flowers. First celebrated by Czech Unitarians in 1923, the Flower Communion has been one of our most beloved Unitarian Universalist traditions for over a century. Come celebrate with us! Please bring a flower to share during our service.
CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service
The final Shared Ministries Council meeting of the church year is Sunday, May 18 in Hobbs Hall after worship service. If possible, all committees should have at least one representative present.
Potluck lunch, bring a dish to share; we will provide drinks and tableware.
Unitarian Universalists often name the experience of “transcending mystery and wonder” as a foundational element of a spiritual life. This service will reflect on two contemporary stories about the intermingling of the sacred and the secular, inviting us to consider how we welcome mystery and wonder, within and beyond sanctuaries on Sunday morning.
Led by Rev. Heather Janules, UUA Congregational Life Staff in the New England Region, Service Leader; Worship Associates Kathy Kerns and Rev. Christie Anderson
I hope you are settling in to these warmer months and finding ways to stay cool, experience joy and remain connected to the love in your life. Connection keeps us focused on our humanity- it’s so important.
Together, with our children and youth, we are nurturing and growing the seeds of peace and creation at church! Kent UU is a place of joy and action – when the world feels like a dumpster fire, you (yes, you!) have a place to go for a hug and a cup of coffee to regroup. Unitarian Universalism reminds us that we are all born whole and Holy, unique and beloved. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whomever you love…..you are welcome here. Kent UU is dedicated to making room for all who wish to bend this timeline toward justice, equity, transformation and love.
I am so excited to roll out our program for Summer beginning Jun 21st! Our program , I Care for the Earth and the Earth Cares for Me!, will take place on Sunday mornings at 10 AM for 10 weeks and is an inclusive, creative and inspiring series of stand alone workshops for children and teens to experience how nature cares for us and how we can be better stewards of the natural world. These pop-in sessions are perfect for the busy summer months- we will paint, create, observe, repair, explore and learn together. I hope you, (yes. YOU!), will join us.
Below you’ll find the schedule for Summer. As always, our Sunday morning schedule, FAQs and class information can be found on the Family Ministry page by clicking HERE.
In Faith and With Love,
Colleen Thoele, Director of Religious Education
PS: My door is always open- reach out with questions or for a listening ear to [email protected]
Summer 2026 Family Programming
June 13
Parent Group and Playdate!
June 14
Flower Communion Service
June 19
Soulful Home Family dinner
June 21 Summer RE Begins
Bee Keeping w/ Mr. Tim! FIELD TRIP
June 28 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
River Walk! Nature scavenger hunt/show and tell
July 5 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
It’s patriotic to care for the Earth!
July 12 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
Watercolor Postcards- share the beauty of Nature w/others
July 19 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
Self Care in Nature
July 26 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
Birds! Birds! Birds!
August 2 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
One Patch of Grass – a mindfulness lesson
August 9 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
Plants! Plants! Plants!
August 16 Summer RE 10:00 AM Fessenden Hall
Local Food and Farming *backpack blessing in worship @ 11:00
The smallest acts of courage and kindness can become powerful, creative catalysts for good! How can we be Agents of Radical Welcome in our own communities? If we seek to imagine and build a better world, where should we begin?
Led by Rev. Kristina Church and Director of Music Ministries Emily Hall.
Children start in the service, then will go to their classes.
Adult discussion groups will resume in the Fall.
CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service
Empathy lies at the heart of most religious teachings, yet now we are hearing language that casts caring about others as a “sin”. What do world religions have to say about compassion and empathy? How can wonder and imagination about the lives of others expand our capacity to love?
Led by Rev. Kristina Church, Worship Associate Elaine Bowen, and Director of Music Ministries Emily Hall.
Children start in the service, then will go to their classes.
Adult discussion groups will resume in the Fall.
CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service
