Nurture
Our SUUSI week officially begins and ends in gathered community. Ingathering on Sunday night orients everyone to our week together, beginning with joyful drumming and a banner parade (you can bring your home congregation's banner to process). We learn about our coming week together and remind ourselves of what it means to be in intentional, covenanted community -- and also in our sweet SUUSI spot of welcoming faces and awesome music!
We worship each morning and evening, and our Nurture staff are planning wonderful ways to touch base during the week and help you Shine On.
Morning services (except Monday) are 9-9:45am and Evening services are 7-7:45pm. All worship services (except Sunday Ingathering and Friday Earth-centered service) will be held in Hurlburt Auditorium in the Bonnie which is very close to the dining hall (no hikes up and down hills!)
Special Monday Morning Multigen Worship: We will begin SUUSI with a special multi-generational worship experience starting at 8:30am and ending by 9:15am in order to especially accommodate our young families so parents/caregivers do not have to choose between their spiritual nourishment and their required youth parent orientation that will follow worship. ALL AGES are welcome to celebrate the Science of Light and the Spirit of Community in festive and goofy worship service led by worship coordinator Elizabeth Schell.
Our worship journey continues through the week:
- Monday Evening Worship, “Sharing the Journey,” will be led by Wednesday’s concert hour performers Heather Pierson and Bernice Martin. Enjoy an evening gathering of song, reflection, sharing, and celebration.
- Tuesday Morning Worship calls us to “Light it Up!”with Rev. Kiya Heartwood leading us in a UU celebration of thriving, community, and joy as resistance. Prepare to be energized!
- Tuesday Evening Worship, "Shining Through Our Losses," is our annual space to gather and grieve our losses since our last time together. As we name and honor losses (deaths as well as other kinds of losses and complex changes in our individual and communal lives), we are invited to explore the idea of visible mending and letting the light shine through the cracks. Worship led by Nurture staff. If you know of a SUUSI community member we have lost since last we met, please send info to Nurture staff at nurture@suusi.org .
- Wednesday Morning Worship, “How a Community Shines,” will be led by Rev. Kimi Riegel and the Healthy Relations Team (HeaRT). As we continue our SUUSI week together, we recommit to our covenanted relationship, considering intent vs. impact and the delicate work of community-building that allows us each, individually and collectively, to "shine on." Collection for our Community Partner, “Rice and Beans,” will also be taken.
- Wednesday Evening Worship, “Shine: Remembering Our Superpowers & Joy,” a music-centered service led by Lara Herskovitch (2022 concert hour performer). As we reach our midweek of SUUSI, let's take a moment to reflect and reconnect to our core, while also remembering small joys in and around us.
- Thursday Morning Worship invites us to consider “The Shining Hope of Democracy.” SUUSI newbie Rev. Stacey Mitchell names the elephant in the room as we look to the fall election and wonder how we hold onto – and even nurture – a sense of hope.
- Thursday Evening Worship is our annual Rites of Passage service. Rev. Kiya Heartwood, chaplains, and SUUSI staff invite us to “Shine On Through Transitions” as we take time to dedicate our children, bridge our teens, and bless community members who have transitioned in their gender identities. Come and celebrate this community where ALL AGES can shine brightly and not be diminished in any way in expressing and being our true selves. If you would like your child dedicated, have a teen not involved in regular Teen programming who is bridging (Teen Staff coordinate otherwise), or a gender transition to celebrate, please email Nurture staff at nurture@suusi.org .
- Friday Morning Worship, "Honoring the Light and Shining Onward," will be an earth-centered worship led by Mary Ann Somervill, Susie Enwright-Hicks, Elizabeth Schell, and friends. Please join us for this energy-raising ritual that will close out our week and spiritually prepare us for taking our leave of SUUSI so that we may take our SUUSI light and energy and SHINE ON! Location of this service yet to be determined. Stay tuned!
Our week ends with one more traditions: a Saturday morning Closing Circle where we sing our farewell to our SUUSI friends and bless our homeward travels.
In addition, the youth and middlers will have their own morning circles, and the teens, young adults, and medians will create worship experiences within their cohorts.
Nuture isn’t just worship! We offer a variety of opportunities to connect with your spirit alone or in groups:
The Meditation Room is open throughout SUUSI for quiet contemplation. Morning Meditations are led by Kimi Riegel for those who wish for quiet sitting to start their day. The schedule will be posted at the Meditation Room and in the NUUS.
The Recovery Room is open throughout SUUSI as a safe space for those in recovery programs. There will also be meetings; that schedule will be posted at the Recovery Room and in the NUUS.
OASUUS is a space for BIPOC UUs to come together and be in community. This place
will allow UUs of color to share their experiences that make our community unique and
special. Stay tuned for any programming announcements provided by the Diversity/Equity/Inclusion department.
Should a need arise for pastoral care or conflict resolution during SUUSI, you can call the SUUSI helpline (540-534-1575) to connect with a chaplain, minister, or Healthy Relations Team (HeaRT).
- Closing CircleUnlimited
Join us to say goodbye to SUUSI and look forward to next year! Gather at Pocohontas end of Moffet Quad for Closing Circle at 9am.
- 12-Step Recovery MeetingUnlimited
Come share experience, strength, and hope in this all-Program 12 Step meeting. We're here for you!
- Addiction and Recovery Support MeetingUnlimited
Connect with others in recovery and determine times to meet during the week (note there is one meeting already schedule on Wednesday)
- Group MeditationUnlimited
Join Kimi Reigel for 20 minutes of relaxation and centering.
- Banner & Drum ParadeUnlimited
Bring your noisemakers, your banners, and your shining faces to our Banner Parade to Ingathering! Please note that folks should take their banners with them after Ingathering (they will not be hung).
- Monday Morning Multigen WorshipUnlimited
“The Science of Light & the Spirit of SUUSI Community.” We are excited to begin our SUUSI worship week with a multigenerational Spiritual Laboratory led by Elizabeth Schell, worship coordinator. Come and explore the science of light, reflecting on what it might teach us about our commitment to being a radically inclusive multi-age community. This service will start earlier than usual - at 8:30am - in order to include our children, youth, and parents before morning programming and mandatory parent meeting.
- Monday Evening WorshipUnlimited
“Sharing the Journey” led by Heather Pierson and Bernice Martin (Wednesday's concert hour performers). The connection of community means so much to our health and well being. As we begin our SUUSI week together, let’s gather for a time of song, reflection, sharing, and celebration. We hope you’ll join us.
- Tuesday Morning WorshipUnlimited
“Light it Up!” led by Rev. Kiya Heartwood. A UU celebration sermon of thriving, community, and joy as resistance. Music, art,and message for all ages. Rev. Kiya Heartwood is minister of the UU Church of the Brazos Valley, Bryan/College Station, TX
- Tuesday Evening WorshipUnlimited
“Shining Through Our Losses” led by Nurture Staff. Each year we set aside time to grieve our losses since our last time together. We gather to name and grieve SUUSI family members who are no longer with us. How do we still allow the memory of their presence in our lives to shine? And how do we give ourselves permission to disengage from memories and connections that are harmful? We also grieve other losses: of relationships, jobs, physical or mental abilities, cultural shifts. Together we can lean into complex changes and losses, allowing “visible mends” to let the light shine through the cracks.
- Wednesday Morning WorshipUnlimited
“How a Community Shines” led by Rev. Kimi Riegel and the Healthy Relations Team (HeaRT). As we continue our SUUSI week together, we recommit to our covenanted relationship. Rev. Kimi Riegel explores intent vs. impact and the delicate work of community-building that allows us each, individually and collectively, to "shine on." Collection for our Community Partner, “Rice and Beans,” will also be taken.
- Wednesday Evening WorshipUnlimited
“Shine: Remembering Our Superpowers & Joy” led by Lara Herskovitch (2022 concert hour performer). This world needs us -- and we need each other -- to show up and share our superpowers. As we reach our midweek of SUUSI, let's take a moment to reflect and reconnect to our core, while also remembering small joys in and around us. Be who you are, Do what you love, Share your superpowers. Shine.
- Thursday Morning WorshipUnlimited
The Shining Hope of Democracy" led by Rev. Stacey Mitchell. As we come to the end of our SUUSI week together and we look forward to an election year fall, how do we hold onto -- and even nurture -- a sense of hope? Rev. Stacey Mitchell is the minister at the Oneonta congregation in New York and this is her first SUUSI.
- Thursday Evening worshipUnlimited
“Shine On through Transitions,” SUUSI Rites of Passage service led by Rev. Kiya Heartwood, chaplains, and worship staff. Each year our SUUSI community takes time to dedicate our children, bridge our teens, and bless community members who have transitioned in their gender identities. Each year we see our young people shine and we are reminded of why we are here: to BE that place where our young people – where ALL AGES – can shine brightly and not be diminished in any way in expressing and being our true selves.
- Friday Morning WorshipUnlimited
"Honoring the Light and Shining Onward," will be a pagan ritual led by Mary Ann Somervill, Susie Enwright-Hicks, and friends. Music offered by Joanna & the J sounds. Please join us for this energy-raising ritual that will close out our week and spiritually prepare us for taking our leave of SUUSI so that we may take our SUUSI light and energy and SHINE ON! Due to potential weather and accessibility issues this ritual will take place in same location as all other worships (Hurlburt).
- SUUSI IngatheringUnlimited
Come one! Come all! Bring Your Light and Shine it Bright! Our first full gathering with our SUUSI community 2024!
- Addiction and Recovery Support SpaceUnlimited
Meditation room for those in 12-step recovery programs
- Prayer and Reflections for our NationUnlimited
Gather to support one another in spiritual community amidst national turmoil.
- Prayer and Reflections for our NationUnlimited
Gather to support one another in spiritual community amidst national turmoil.