UU Wausau

Practice Matters
2025-10-21 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
October’s Theme and Practice: Compassion and Loving Kindness Meditation

More and more people are seeking meaningful spiritual practices, and Practice Matters helps you explore them through doing, not just talking. Each drop-in session introduces a spiritual practice, shows how it meets universal human longings, and gives you space to experience it alongside others.

We’ll also spend time reflecting and discussing the practice in light of that month’s Soul Matters theme. No preparation or commitment is needed; just bring your curiosity and an open heart.

Learn. Practice. Share.
2025-10-26 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-02 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-09 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-16 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-23 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-30 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-12-07 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-12-14 18:30 - 20:00 and 11 more dates
Mindfulness/Meditation Community

A Drop-in mindfulness/meditation community. Please join us.

In a world that often feels uncertain and overwhelming, the power of stillness, connection, and mindful presence becomes more important than ever.

You are warmly invited to join a supportive mindfulness and meditation community — a space to pause, breathe, and grow stronger together. Whether you’re new to meditation or have an existing practice, this is a welcoming circle for all who seek peace, clarity, and resilience.

Together, we will explore:

Guided meditations to calm the mind and center the spirit

Mindfulness practices to help navigate daily stress with compassion

Community sharing to remind us that we are not alone

This is not about perfection. It’s about showing up — for yourself and for each other — with kindness and intention.

Let’s meet in stillness and rise in strength

Where: First Universalist Unitarian Church of Wausau, 504 Grant St., Wausau, WI 54403

When: Sundays 6:30 – 8:00 pm, weekly

Who: Everyone is welcome, no experience necessary

What: Each 1.5 hour session is designed to include building of community, sharing/discussion on topic or theme, and practicing mindfulness with gentle movement and stillness

If this speaks to you, we would be honored to have you with us. Feel free to invite others who may benefit.

Your hosts are Lisa Stein and Jeanine Knapp

Lisa Stein is new to the UU Wausau community, having returned to Wausau early in 2023 after living in Madison for 34 years. She is grateful to have been invited to the UU by another member and now attends with her son and his family, who are also new to the area. Lisa is a retired educator who brought mindfulness meditation and wellness to teachers, students, and school communities. She teaches a meditation program called Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

Jeanine moved to Wausau in 2020 and has been a part of UU Wausau since that fall when Soul Matters groups met virtually; Jeanine was a Soul Matters group participant for 3 years. She participates in social justice activities and attends Margaret Jerz’s Drum Club. Jeanine has had an on/off meditation practice since 2010 and studies in the Tich Nhat Hahn tradition.

Saturday Art Hangout
2025-11-01 09:00 - 12:00
Through the Veil

Join us for a peaceful morning of creativity and connection in our sun-filled Atrium. As autumn deepens and the veil between seasons grows thin, we’ll turn our attention to memory and mystery: to what is seen and unseen, what we carry forward, and what quietly transforms beneath the surface. Choose a project that calls to you: a transparent collage, a set of memory cards, a blackout poem, or a shadow box. Each invites you to explore the layered beauty of remembrance and imagination, where stories, symbols, and traces of the past mingle with the light of what’s emerging. Like the season itself, our art may be textured, imperfect, and full of wonder, an offering to the shifting world around and within us.

Our Saturday Art Gatherings welcome artists, crafters, and creative beginners alike, and are open to adults and teens. We’ll provide examples, gentle guidance, and a variety of supplies to help spark your process. Participants are also welcome to bring materials from home to use or share at our community resource table!Suggested Items:

Personal photos

Mementos

Small decorative items (miniature items, figurines)

Small found objects (stones, twigs)

Old books

Creativity Matters
2025-11-04 19:00 - 20:30 | UU Wausau, 504 Grant Street, Wausau, WI, 54403, United States
Nurturing Gratitude

November’s Creativity Matters theme is “Nurturing Gratitude.” We’ll explore how creativity can both express and deepen our sense of gratitude through art that celebrates the everyday and handmade offerings that carry appreciation beyond words. Together, we’ll reflect on how creative practice helps us notice abundance, transform small moments into gifts, and let gratitude move through our hands and hearts.

Project Options

We will have supplies for Project Options B, D, and E from the monthly Creativity Matters packet*:

A Sketched Gratitude List: Begin creating a visual gratitude list. Use images, drawings, or collage instead of words. Then, take it home and keep adding to it each day for a week or two, letting your sense of gratitude grow through what you create.

Finding Your Favorite Color: Instead of heading outdoors, take a “color walk” through our magazines and art materials. Choose your favorite color and look for it in images, textures, and patterns as a way to honor and tap into your gratitude for that color. Then use what you find to create something new, like a collage or color wheel.

Artistic Thank You Cards: Create a set of five handmade thank-you cards that express your gratitude through art as well as words. You might send them to friends and family, or think beyond your circle and thank someone who rarely hears it, like a neighbor, librarian, or mail carrier.

Don’t have a copy of this month’s Creativity Matters guide? Sign up to be part of the mailing list or reach out to our Director of Religious Education for a copy!

What is Creativity Matters?

Creativity Matters is a drop-in small group for teens and adults to slow down, connect, and explore monthly spiritual themes together through art and imagination.

It’s less about skill and more about play, allowing intuition, reflection, and creativity to guide us. Think of it as a gentle space where your right brain gets to dance with your left.

Each gathering offers time for sharing, creating, and simply being together. No experience is needed. Just bring your curiosity and a playful spirit.

Practice Matters
2025-11-18 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-12-16 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-01-20 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-02-17 18:30 - 20:30
More and more people are seeking meaningful spiritual practices, and Practice Matters helps you explore them through doing, not just talking. Each drop-in session introduces a spiritual practice, shows how it meets universal human longings, and gives you space to experience it alongside others.

We’ll also spend time reflecting and discussing the practice in light of that month’s Soul Matters theme. No preparation or commitment is needed; just bring your curiosity and an open heart.

Creativity Matters
2025-12-02 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-01-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-02-03 19:00 - 20:30 | UU Wausau, 504 Grant Street, Wausau, WI, 54403, United States
Our Creativity Matters group helps community members engage in monthly themes and explore spiritual growth through creative expression.

It’s all about allowing our intuition and imagination to guide us, not just our logic and reflective minds. Think of it as making room for your right brain to dance with your left brain.

Creativity Matters is a high school and adult group designed for everyone — no experience or artistic skill is required! Just bring a playful spirit and adventurous attitude.

Practice Matters
2025-12-09 18:30 - 20:30
More and more people are seeking meaningful spiritual practices, and Practice Matters helps you explore them through doing, not just talking. Each drop-in session introduces a spiritual practice, shows how it meets universal human longings, and gives you space to experience it alongside others.

We’ll also spend time reflecting and discussing the practice in light of that month’s Soul Matters theme. No preparation or commitment is needed; just bring your curiosity and an open heart.

Please note: In December, Practice Matters will be meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.
