Adult Programming

Groups For Learning

Join discussion and practice groups for individual and community deepening.

Circle Suppers  Connection Circles  Soul Matters Writer’s Group  Book Group - Understanding the Bible  Introduction to Meditation March 5-April 12

Tai Chi  2025 Bird Walks with Rev. LoraKim  Facing Death with Life - Starts 1/19  Care, Compassion, & Transformation in the Midst of Crisis

 

Affinity Groups

Find fellow enthusiasts and explore new interests!

Awakening Hearts Sangha  Bent Needles  Humanist Society of Iowa  mUUvie Discussion Group

Queer & Transgender Action Group (QTAG)  Sacred Bridges CUUPs  Unity Circle Alliance  UU Board Game Night

Women's Lunch Bunch  Women's Wednesdays  Young Adults Spiritually Socializing (YASS)  Talent Limited

 

 

How to Start a New Group

Have an idea for a new Affinity Group? Great! Find a few other people who share your passion and get started. At your first meeting you may want to ask yourselves:

  • Who is this group for? (i.e., who is your target audience?)
  • What is the purpose of your group? A clearly defined purpose is behind the most successful, thriving groups!
    • What are you going to do/discuss when you meet?
    • Is there a clear need for this group in our community?
    • Is anyone else at the church already doing what you want to do? If so, would it make sense to join forces? Or can you distinguish a separate need that your group will fill?
  • How often do you want to meet and when? (Setting a regular schedule is usually best!)
    • If you are meeting during a time that the church isn’t regularly open, someone will need to be assigned an access key to the church and be trained on how to lock up the building.
  • How are you going to spread the word about your new group?
  • Is it really a class you want to hold at the church with a curriculum and limited number of meetings?

The next step would be to contact Faithyna Leonard at fleonard@ucdsm.org who can offer further suggestions for getting established and to let you know if they are aware of others who might be interested.

How to Promote Your Group

Once a group is established, it’s important that you let others know about it and invite them in!

  • Make sure you have space reserved so that you’re guaranteed a room, and so your group shows up on the church calendar. Upcoming events listed in our Intercom email newsletter and Sunday order of service are pulled from this calendar, so make sure your group is there!
  • If you would like an announcement included in the Intercom and Sunday order of service, please use this form and submit it by noon on Wednesday to be included in the upcoming weekend publications.
    • Please note that, due to the volume of announcements received, we typically do not run them for more than two weeks in a row. We recommend submitting your announcement two full weeks before your event or gathering so it can get the most exposure possible in the Intercom.
    • We highly recommend an announcement when you are initially recruiting others to join your group or when you have special event you want to publicize.
    • You may include an image with your announcement if you like! (Make sure it doesn’t have a copyright that precludes us from using it, though.)
  • Signs can be posted at church only on the “Church Events” bulletin board in the south entryway.
  • The best way to promote your event is with a personal invitation! This is a great reason to strike up a conversation with someone new at Sunday morning coffee hour or over dinner on Wednesdays. Find out what they’re interested in and let them know what you’re involved with. Then invite them to join you – and offer to join them!