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.
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.
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!
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
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.
How has beauty been a source of survival and resilience for you? Do you think beauty and love are connected, and how so?
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
It is with great joy that our congregation’s members voted unanimously to call the Reverend Kristina Church to be our settled minister at a special meeting on January 18, 2026.
The Reverend Church has been serving us as a contract minister since August of 2024 Being called changes her role from being contracted on a yearly basis to long-term covenantal partnership with us.
The special meeting and vote were the culmination of a months-long discernment process that compared the hopes and dreams of our congregants around ministry to the ministry being delivered by Reverend Church.
Thanks to the Contract-to-call task force for their exemplary work in gathering the information and writing a summary report (emailed to church members and friends) that showed that we, the congregation and the Reverend Kristina Church to be a great match.
Join us for an evening of the Dances of Universal Peace!
Dance leader: Alicia Patrice Musicians: Lisa Thiel on banjo, Dawn Heartsong on percussion, Daniel Kennedy on percussion, and Emily Hall, Kent UU Director of Music Ministries, on guitar and flute
The Dances of Universal Peace are spiritual practice in motion. Drawing on the sacred phrases, scripture, and poetry of the many spiritual traditions of the earth, the Dances blend chant, live music and evocative movement into a living experience of unity, peace and integration. This taste of our true nature – as Universal Peace – opens to the possibility of a deep spiritual revolution within the person.
The Dances of Universal Peace are beginner friendly and we welcome all to join us! There will be space in our circle to participate seated and to sit and receive the dances for those who wish to. This spiritual practice welcomes people of all faiths to move and connect together.
This event will include musicians from and be a fundraiser for the music ministry program at Kent UU. Donations will benefit the work of the music ministry program to connect, inspire, and empower our world through collective musicking.
Suggested donation $10-15. All amounts welcome, no one turned away for lack of funds. If you are able to donate more, it allows for someone who cannot donate to attend. If you are not able to donate, please come as our guest.
Event will be held in Hobbs Hall (Fellowship Hall located behind the Church). Hobbs Hall is in the building with solar panels on the roof next to the gravel parking lot.
This month we support, Doctors for Global Health (DGH), as our special collection recipient. DGH is a private, not-for-profit organization promoting health, education, art, and other human rights throughout the world.
The DGH Mission: ”To improve health and foster other human rights with those most in need by accompanying communities, while educating and inspiring others to action.”
Our Committee on Shared Ministry will be hosting a book reading/discussion group to reflect and learn from Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s brilliant book, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World.
This Common Read offers a glimpse into one of our faith’s foundational sources, Judaism. Readers follow the author, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, into a framework for making amends offered by the 12th century Jewish physician and scholar, Maimonides.
Written for people of any or no faith tradition, On Repentance and Repair introduces practices for accountability that can bring us into wholeness and make a difference in our personal, community, and national relationships.
Co-facilitated by Rev. Kristina and Dani Beale
2:00 – 3:30pm in Fessenden Hall
Sunday, March 15 Sunday, March 29 Sunday, April 12 Sunday, April 26
The book is available for purchase in print, ebook format, or audiobook from InSpirit or your favorite bookstore, or available to borrow from the Kent Free/Portage County Library in various formats.
Watch a UUA Video Panel Discussion with the Author on Vimeo
As a congregation, we’re blessed when visitors come, seeking a supportive space for their unique spiritual journeys. We’re deeply affirmed when they choose to become members: bringing new ideas and approaches; sharing their one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable gifts; increasing our capacity to serve justice; and bringing more opportunities to care for each other! What do new and longtime members need to grow and thrive here? How can we be a religious home worthy of their faith and trust?
9:15 AM Service — meeting in the Church Sanctuary(in person only)
Led by Rev. Kristina Church, DRE Colleen Thoele, and Dir. of Music Ministries Emily Hall, and Malachi Stevens.
9:45am Adult “Justice January” Program in Fessenden Hall
Location: Fessenden Hall
From Values to Action: Mapping and Networking
Rescheduled from Sunday, January 25
Where is good work already happening and how do we connect to it?
Did you know that Unitarian Universalism traces its beginning back to the early Christian Church? Are you curious about the long and rich history of Unitarian Universalism and the many radicals, rebels and reformers, the heroes and the heretics who are part of our liberal tradition?
Each week we’ll start with a shared meal at 6:00pm in Hobbs Hall, then (about 6:30pm) watch an hour long documentary from Long Strange Trip, a six-part series by Ron Cordes, followed by discussion afterward. Each video explores the history of Unitarian and Universalist thought and practice from its early, liberal strands at the beginning of the Christian era to what we know today as Unitarian Universalism.
6:00pm – 8:30pm – Hobbs Hall
Friday, February 20: Part 1: In the Beginning… (We’ll join the Soulful Home families in Fessenden Hall for the shared potluck) Friday, February 27: Part 2: The Birth of Unitarianism Friday, March 6: Part 3: American Unitarianism, 1620-1860 Friday, March 13: Part 4: Universalism, 1600-1860 Friday, March 20: Part 5: Evolution, 1861-1961 (We’ll join the Soulful Home families in Fessenden Hall for the shared potluck) Friday, March 27: Part 6: Unitarian Universalism
Led by Rev. Kristina and Claudia Miller
This class is open to everyone. We hope you’ll join us!
Come and find out what our youth have to say about the times that they are growing up in. As Justice January comes to a close, our children and youth will lead this service and share their experiences as kids in an ever escalating and tumultuous time. Are we ready to listen? Are we ready to follow their lead?
9:15 AM Chapel Service — meeting in the Church Sanctuary(in person only)
Led by Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele and our UU Church of Kent Youth.
MaryBeth will be away January 23 through February 10. While she is usually available for emergencies during absences, this time she will be unavailable and will respond to upon her return. Please contact Rev. Kristina or Colleen for any urgent needs.
Gather in Hobbs Hall at 10:30am or after the morning RE programming to help lead a couple of hymns from the front of the room! If you are not familiar with the songs, we will be singing them during our Justice Chapel at 9:15am, #153 Oh I Woke Up This Morning and Ella’s Song.
Join Staff Accompanist Vanessa Vesely and Music Director Emily Hall for a fun evening of music and singing!Learn how more about our new hymnal, Sing Out Love, and sing some of our new favorites! Come early and bring your computer/tablet/phone and get your own log in to the virtual hymnal.
Historic Sanctuary at the Kent UU Church Wednesday, January 21 6:00pm Connect with virtual platform – get logged in! 6:30pm-7:30pm Sing!
