Services

Sunday, June 26, 2022: Self-Defense as Self-Care

Robert

This Sunday, Stacey Elza will discuss how the principles of resourcefulness, improvisation, and grace that underpin hapkido — the Korean martial art she practices — can have implications for our own spiritual practices, especially when the world seems intent on beating us down

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing, will follow from the end of the service until 12:00 noon.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome. 

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information

or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, June 19, 2022: How We Worship

Robert

The primary benefit of practicing any art, whether well or badly, is that it enables one’s soul to grow.

— Kurt Vonnegut

Worship, simply put, is an art, one that Unitarians and Universalists have sometimes failed to understand. This Sunday Robert Helfer will explore some of the history of Unitarian Universalist worship and spirituality.

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing, will follow from the end of the service until 12:00 noon.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome. 

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information

or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, June 12, 2022: Living Our Principles

LdeG

It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.

Alfred Adler

What is a principle, and how do we live it? Our Principles services are usually about a particular principle, but this Sunday, Lisa deGruyter will explore what a principle is, where our UU principles came from, and our responsibilities in interpreting them and finding our own.

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing, will follow from the end of the service until 12:00 noon.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome. 

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information

or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, June 5, 2022: Prickett’s Fort State Park

Robert
Prickett’s Fort Cemetery

We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s second outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer on Sunday, June 5, at Prickett’s Fort State Park.

During this time of continuing covid-19 pandemic we are following current CDC guidelines (see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/gatherings.html). Fully vaccinated people are safe without masks for themselves and for unvaccinated people.  If you are not vaccinated you should consider wearing a mask and practicing appropriate social distancing.

We will meet at 11 a.m. in the picnic area for a short service followed by a potluck picnic, conversation, and walking. Bring food to share if you are able and wish to share; otherwise, just bring food for yourself and share our company.

Note: admission to the park itself is free of charge, but there is a fee if you want to visit the reconstructed fort or the museum. For further information, see here.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

For a map and directions, please use this link: https://goo.gl/maps/itHRuPSKwcwfS4zt8

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or to carpool, or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, May 29, 2022: Beginning From a Place of Self-Love

Robert

Let nurturing beauty be our spiritual practice. On Sunday, Phoebe Durst will help us see how, “beginning from a place of self-love.”

Our services are Sundays at 1030 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing, will follow from the end of the service until 12:00 noon.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome. 

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information

or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, May 22, 2022

johnnyawwsome

“Our task is to be who we are, in every way we can be; our salvation proceeding in putting ­ourselves back together after each tumble…We irridesce, shine, and radiate. We exclaim and roar: we are.”            By Kenneth L. Patton

                                    Source: “Becoming: A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood”

Kenneth Leo Patton (August 25, 1911-December 25, 1994), identifed as one of the major poets and a prophet of contemporary liberal religion, was a voice for a poetic, naturalistic humanism at a time when most humanists were defining a religion of reason. Minister and scholar David Bumbaugh has summed up Patton’s work: “It was he who taught a monotone rationalism how to sing; it was he who taught a stumble-footed humanism how to dance; it was he who cried ‘Look!’ and taught our eyes to see the glory in the ordinary.”

We would love to have you come worship with us.

This Sunday we will explore Kenneth Patton and his legacy within our faith.

Our services are Sundays at 1030 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  A coffee hour, time for discussion and socializing, will be after the service, until 12:00 noon.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome. 

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information

or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, May 15, 2022: Annual Meeting

LdeG

This Sunday is our Annual Meeting. We will gather as usual at for coffee, check-ins and informal discussion, and the Annual Meeting will begin at 11:00. Everyone is invited to participate in the discussion; decisions are by consensus of members. If you’d like, bring a snack to share.

Annual Business Meeting. The annual business meeting shall be held each year on the third Sunday of May, to hear reports of officers and staff, to appoint new officers and committees, to adopt an annual budget, and to transact any other business that may properly come before the congregation.
(From the Bylaws)

Treasurer’s Report

Election of Officers (Until the beginning of the church year after the membership reaches 15, the officers shall be the President, the Moderator, the Chair of Ministry and Oversight, and a Secretary/Treasurer, who will serve as the Board and Nominating Committee. The congregation as a whole will carry out the functions of the Committee on Ministry and Oversight.)
The current officers , slated for re-election, are

  • Moderator – Lisa deGruyter
  • Committee on Ministry and Oversight Chair – John Hall
  • President – Patricia Dennison
  • Secretary/Treasurer – Robert Helfer

Annual Review of the Covenant of Right Relations.
https://westforkuu.org/about/covenant-of-right-relations

Planning and Budget for 2019-2020 Church Year (starts July 1)
Includes

  • outreach to the larger community and how we could accomplish that
    (including detailed planning for Clarksburg First Fridays, which we have decided to try)
  • whether we should resume an adult education session or structured discussion at 10
  • whether we should return to coffee hour after the service (which would mean starting the service earlier or renegotiating hours with PWA)
  • whether we should have one or more longer planning/visioning sessions, possibly not on Sunday morning

We have returned to meeting in person. Currently masks are not required and vaccinations are strongly encouraged.
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome.  There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

Sunday, May 1, 2022: Valley Falls State Park

Robert
Tygart Valley River

Tygart Valley River at Valley Falls

We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s first outing, we will gather for a celebration of spring, flowers, and the challenges of labor history on Sunday, May 1, at Valley Falls State Park — picnic and hiking on the banks of the Tygart Valley River.

We will meet at 11 a.m. in the picnic area for a short service followed by a potluck picnic, conversation, and walking. Bring food to share if you are able and wish to share; otherwise, just bring food for yourself and share our company.

During this time of continuing covid-19 pandemic we are following current CDC guidelines (see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/gatherings.html). Fully vaccinated people are safe without masks for themselves and for unvaccinated people.  If you are not vaccinated you should consider wearing a mask and practicing appropriate social distancing.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

For a map, please use this link: https://goo.gl/maps/CiiqyDAXiw42

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or to carpool, or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

 

A Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) came for the picnic

Sunday Service – April 24, 2022

johnnyawwsome

This week we are in person at the PWA in Clarksburg. John Hall is presenting the service with a focus on the dynamics of power in UU and society and how we might wield that power responsibly on behalf of those most vulnerable titled “With Great Power…”

Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.

Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome.  There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information

or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday April 17, 2022: Flower Ceremony

LdeG

Please bring flowers to share.  Whatever is blooming, or a twig in bud, is fine.

We have resumed meeting in person. Everyone is invited to lunch at Robert and Lisa’s after the service; ham, potato salad, and rolls will be provided. Other dishes to share are welcome.

We will have our Flower Ceremony, which was created by Dr. Norbert Čapek for the Liberal Religious Fellowship he founded in Prague, then Czechoslavakia, in 1925, and which became the largest Unitarian Church in the world. He sought a ceremony that would celebrate love and community and the interdependent web of life and love among a new and diverse congregation drawn from many backgrounds, and which would be a celebration not tied to any older religious ceremonies, which many of his congregation had rejected. Nearly a hundred years later, it is celebrated by many Unitarian Universalist congregations everywhere.

Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association UptoView Postwn Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There is religious education children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.

We would love to have you come worship with us.

Children are welcome. There are activities available for toddlers during the service.

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park on the south side of the building, which is marked reserved for the PWA.

Map

The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302