Month: February 2026

Sunday, February 22, 2026 Weathering, Surviving, and Thriving

Posted on by MaryBeth Hannan

Our dominant culture teaches “tough-it-out” maxims like what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and no pain, no gain. Yet research at the frontier of epigenetic and trauma studies is forming a very different picture of what really constitutes resilience. How do adverse experiences actually impact our bodies and minds? What’s the biological price paid for survival under terrible circumstances? And how should UUs respond to the multigenerational damage done by our society’s endemic inequality?

9:15 AM Service — meeting in the Church Sanctuary (in person only)

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, worship associate Becky Haines, and Dir. of Religious Education Colleen Thoele.

Religious Education for Children and Youth

See the latest schedule and locations.

Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for Adults

Location: Fessenden Hall

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

  1. What do you know about having to hide parts of yourself to survive or get by? Have you been able to invite those parts back into the world later in life?
  2. Our culture promotes and celebrates the path of grit and pushing through no matter the costs. Have you ever resisted that, and saved yourself by courageously quitting, walking away, or letting go?

11:00 AM Service — meeting in Hobbs Hall and on Zoom

Led by Rev. Kristina Church and Worship Associate Becky Cline.

CLICK HERE to view or print the Order of Service.

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2/8/26 Knitting Group News!

Posted on by Renee Ruchotzke

Members of the KentUU Knitting Group are directing their needles to the production of “Melt the Ice Hats” to prepare for the March 28th “No Kings” demonstrations. 

Here is the history about the hats from designer Paul Neary@needleandskein: 

“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country.  Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute.” 

Paul adds, “As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.” 

The Knitting, Crochet, & Needle Point group meets on Wednesdays from 4:30 – 7:00pm in the Bret Orsburn library in Hobbs Hall.

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Rejected Texts, Lost Gospels: Discovering the Surprising Diversity in Early Christianity

Posted on by Renee Ruchotzke

With Katie Grigg-Miller

Relatively recent discoveries have uncovered a wealth of apocryphal writings from the time of Jesus, which were either lost, suppressed, or destroyed. These fascinating texts reveal a surprising diversity and flexibility of religious thought, and may even lead us to re-define our concept of “Christianity.” 

Making use of recent scholarship, we’ll pull back the curtain on the lifestyles, beliefs and practices of the earliest Christians, and we’ll investigate why and how so many texts were rejected, resulting in a narrowed Christian doctrine. We’ll also touch on Christian Nationalism and its backlash on women’s agency, comparing it to the lifestyle of the original Christians.
Join us in a discovery of the social justice codes, women leaders, and inspiring words of wisdom of the ancients.

Thursdays, 6:30-8:00pm

In the Historic KentUU Sanctuary

Dates: March 5, 12, 26, April 2, 9

Register for Rejected Texts, Lost Gospels
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Plastic Recycling Ending

Posted on by Renee Ruchotzke

We are no longer able to be a recycling drop-off point for soft plastics, such as grocery bags. Local Giant Eagles stores in Stow, Ravenna, Streetsboro, and Tallmadge all have collection bins that you can use to recycle your soft plastics. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

We have appreciated the opportunity to work with the Girl Scouts and TREX as we collected the plastic in exchange for TREX benches made from recycled plastic. Unfortunately, the TREX bench program is no longer being offered.

Much gratitude for Jennifer Gregg for keeping this ministry going all these years and earning us so many benches for outside Hobbs!

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‘Fostering Community’ Skill-Up for Leaders

Posted on by Renee Ruchotzke

This program has ended for the year!

Free and Open to All Who Support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

No pre-registration required. Drop ins are welcome.

Learn to create a community where everyone has a voice and multiple needs are considered, without bogging down the decision-making process with endless meetings.

Improve your leadership skills for organizations (existing or emerging) using non-hierarchical, consensual methods and practices.

We’ll explore and practice “circle-based” discussion and decision-making techniques from Art of Hosting, Liberating Structures, and Sociocracy as well as big-picture strategies from various schools of thought leadership.

Led by Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, Affiliated Community Minister
Email renee (at) kentuu.org for more information

First Monday of the month, 6:30pm – 8:00pm

  • November 3: Choosing Great Leaders
  • December 1: Facilitating Engaging Discussions
  • January 5: Making Well-Thought-Out Decisions
  • February 2: Leading in a Time of Uncertainty
  • March 2: Inflection Points: Big Changes by Starting Small
  • April 6: When Disagreement Becomes Conflict
  • May 4: Leading Up When You Don’t Have Power or Authority

Fessenden Hall (Church Basement)
UU Church of Kent
228 Gougler Ave
Kent, OH 44240

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Sunday, February 15, 2026 There Is a Love Holding Us

Posted on by MaryBeth Hannan

Our Universalist heritage offers us a vision of being held in the boundless love of God. Modern Unitarian Universalists speak of putting Love at the Center, but what do we mean by that, exactly? On this Valentines Day weekend, let’s take a deep dive into the theological concept of Love. How can we live this value in our daily lives, and give it its rightful place at the heart of our UU faith?

9:15 AM Service — meeting in the Church Sanctuary (in person only)

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, worship associate Dani Beale, and Dir. of Music Ministries Emily Hall.

Religious Education for Children and Youth

See the latest schedule and locations.

Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for Adults

Location: Fessenden Hall

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

  1. How has beauty been a source of survival and resilience for you? Do you think beauty and love are connected, and how so?
  2. Wider perspectives infuse us with deeper resilience, enabling us to move beyond the daily stresses and defeats that seem all-important. Tell about a time when you survived by connecting to something larger than your separate self?

11:00 AM Service — meeting in Hobbs Hall and on Zoom

Led by Rev. Kristina Church.

CLICK HERE to view or print the Order of Service.

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