Adventures In Spirituality Our 2025 Annual
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REGISTRATION IS CLOSEDThe AIS Small Groups meet for 8 weeks starting the week of August 31, 2025 and follow the Sunday Sermon Series
Sept. 7 - Oct. 19, 2025. Although the AIS Groups begins on August 31st, you may register to participate through Monday, September 8th at 11:59pm CT. Incorporating Sunday messages and Small Groups centered around a common book, we study and explore together, deepening our spiritual practice and building community. This year, we are exploring "Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground" by Mirabai Starr.
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REGISTRATION IS CLOSED!
WELCOME! So glad you are joining this adventure. Once you register below, you will receive an email confirmation with your meeting details and zoom link, if applicable. Building meaningful relationships supports YOU in today’s world. Small Groups are one way that Unity Village Chapel encourages people to deepen their connections with others and grow spiritually. |
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Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground
Welcome to the temple of your regular life. So begins beloved spiritual guide Mirabai Starr’s stunning exploration of finding the extraordinary in the everyday. In Ordinary Mysticism, she helps readers discover their own inner mystic and let go of the limiting belief that spiritual life exists only in traditional places of worship. Mysticism, she explains, is a direct experience of the sacred—no church or clergy required. Our everyday life can be an encounter with the sacred if we pay attention. Starr explores the magic of mundane life, from weeding in our humble gardens to a slow evening walk with a friend to a full kitchen table surrounded by family. Embracing mysticism in our everyday is a way of being more alive in the world, an awakening to the interconnectedness between all things.
You can visit an ashram in the Himalayas or kneel in a church pew to connect to the spirit or examine life’s big questions—but these aren’t the only opportunities to discover the sacred. Life, Starr reminds us, is holy ground. Lyrical and tender, filled with profound wisdom and mind-opening insights, Ordinary Mysticism is about finding wonder in regular life, grounded in lessons from spiritual teachers across the centuries—from Julian of Norwich to Ram Dass. Starr combines their ancient wisdom with the story of her own personal and spiritual journey—from surviving the heartbreak of her fourteen-year-old daughter’s death to growing up amid the 1960s counterculture that introduced her to mysticism to her self-made spiritual practice of today. Alongside storytelling and age-old teachings, Starr offers practices and writing prompts for help our souls seek holy ground.
When you decide to walk the path of the mystic, the mundane shows up as miraculous, the boring becomes fascinating, and your own shortcomings turn out to be your greatest gifts. May we all find meaning and wonder in our most ordinary moments.
Below are quotes of Mirabai Starr from the book:
"Say yes to what is, even when it is uncomfortable or embarrassing or heartbreaking. Hurl your handful of yes into the treetops and then lift your face as the rain of yes drops its grace all over you, all around you, and settles deep inside you."
“So you sit down to meditate not only because it helps you to find rest in the arms of the formless Beloved but also because it increases your chances of being stunned by beauty when you get back up. Encounters with the sacred that radiate from the core of the ordinary embolden you to cultivate stillness and simple awareness. In the midst of a world that is begging you to distract yourself, this is no easy practice. Yet you keep showing up. You are indomitable. You are thirsty for wonder."
”The way of the everyday mystic is to weave our humanness into the tapestry of our relationship with the divine. We welcome everything and expand our ability to hold what is. We bow at the feet of reality. Not by turning away from what hurts but by tenderly turning toward it. Heartbreak is part of the path of holiness.”
”Guess what? You’re a mystic. The world has conditioned us to put certain beings on a pedestal and perceive them as embodying a more exalted life than the sometimes bleak version we may be living. But, the definition of a mystic is someone who has a direct encounter with the sacred. That’s you.”
Welcome to the temple of your regular life. So begins beloved spiritual guide Mirabai Starr’s stunning exploration of finding the extraordinary in the everyday. In Ordinary Mysticism, she helps readers discover their own inner mystic and let go of the limiting belief that spiritual life exists only in traditional places of worship. Mysticism, she explains, is a direct experience of the sacred—no church or clergy required. Our everyday life can be an encounter with the sacred if we pay attention. Starr explores the magic of mundane life, from weeding in our humble gardens to a slow evening walk with a friend to a full kitchen table surrounded by family. Embracing mysticism in our everyday is a way of being more alive in the world, an awakening to the interconnectedness between all things.
You can visit an ashram in the Himalayas or kneel in a church pew to connect to the spirit or examine life’s big questions—but these aren’t the only opportunities to discover the sacred. Life, Starr reminds us, is holy ground. Lyrical and tender, filled with profound wisdom and mind-opening insights, Ordinary Mysticism is about finding wonder in regular life, grounded in lessons from spiritual teachers across the centuries—from Julian of Norwich to Ram Dass. Starr combines their ancient wisdom with the story of her own personal and spiritual journey—from surviving the heartbreak of her fourteen-year-old daughter’s death to growing up amid the 1960s counterculture that introduced her to mysticism to her self-made spiritual practice of today. Alongside storytelling and age-old teachings, Starr offers practices and writing prompts for help our souls seek holy ground.
When you decide to walk the path of the mystic, the mundane shows up as miraculous, the boring becomes fascinating, and your own shortcomings turn out to be your greatest gifts. May we all find meaning and wonder in our most ordinary moments.
Below are quotes of Mirabai Starr from the book:
"Say yes to what is, even when it is uncomfortable or embarrassing or heartbreaking. Hurl your handful of yes into the treetops and then lift your face as the rain of yes drops its grace all over you, all around you, and settles deep inside you."
“So you sit down to meditate not only because it helps you to find rest in the arms of the formless Beloved but also because it increases your chances of being stunned by beauty when you get back up. Encounters with the sacred that radiate from the core of the ordinary embolden you to cultivate stillness and simple awareness. In the midst of a world that is begging you to distract yourself, this is no easy practice. Yet you keep showing up. You are indomitable. You are thirsty for wonder."
”The way of the everyday mystic is to weave our humanness into the tapestry of our relationship with the divine. We welcome everything and expand our ability to hold what is. We bow at the feet of reality. Not by turning away from what hurts but by tenderly turning toward it. Heartbreak is part of the path of holiness.”
”Guess what? You’re a mystic. The world has conditioned us to put certain beings on a pedestal and perceive them as embodying a more exalted life than the sometimes bleak version we may be living. But, the definition of a mystic is someone who has a direct encounter with the sacred. That’s you.”
How to Get the Book
"Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground" by Mirabai Starr
Please Note: the book is not available via Bookshop.org.
Follow the Sunday Sermon Series
August 31 - October 19, 2025
Signing up is easy!
(1) Attend the Sunday DeepDive at 12:00pm CT, either:
In-person held in The Fillmore Cafe; or
Register to attend Virtually on Zoom
(2) Download the Study Guide
(3) Choose your AIS Small Group
(4) Join the AIS Facebook Group
(1) Sunday DeepDive: A Community Discussion Group
This is an open CommUnity Discussion group based on the Sunday message, AIS book and reflection questions every
Sunday at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm CT, with No participant limit
Sunday at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm CT, with No participant limit
Location (A) or (B):
(A) In-person at Fillmore Cafe (no registration required), led by CommUnity Members
or
(B) Zoom Group (register using the button on the right), led by UVC Staff
(A) In-person at Fillmore Cafe (no registration required), led by CommUnity Members
or
(B) Zoom Group (register using the button on the right), led by UVC Staff
(2) Download the Study Guide
(3) REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
Choose your AIS Small Group, In-person or Online!
Meet for 8 Weeks Starting August 31 and
Ending October 25, 2025
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
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Tuesday Afternoons with Jan & Mark
When: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm CT, Tuesdays Hosts: Jan Barrett & Mark Livingston Where: Zoom Spots Available: 0 |
Tuesday Evenings with Ayesha & Mark
When: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm CT, Tuesdays Hosts: Ayesha & Mark Livingston Where: In-Person, Unity Village Building 400, Room 228 Spots Available: 0 |
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Wednesday Evenings with Tandi & Lorel
When: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm CT, Wednesdays Hosts: Tandi Hechler & Lorel Hoffmann Where: In-Person, Unity Village Building 400, Room 228 Spots Available: 0 |
Wednesday Evenings with Rev. Brenda, Marie & Francesca
When: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm CT, Wednesdays Hosts: Rev. Brenda Ehret, Marie Beebe & Francesca Dominguez Where: Zoom Group Spots Available: 0 |
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Thursday Afternoon with Jay
When: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm CT, Thursdays Hosts: Jay Cross Where: Zoom Group Spots Available: 0 |
Thursday Evenings with Rev. Mary Ellen & Teresa
When: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm CT, Thursdays Hosts: Rev. Mary Ellen Davis & Teresa King Where: In-Person, Unity Village Building 400, Room 228 Spots Available: 0 |
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Friday Mornings with Kim
When: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm CT, Fridays Hosts: Kim Beer Where: Zoom Group Spots Available: 0 |
Saturday Mornings with Judi
When: 10:00 am to 11:30 am CT, Saturdays Hosts: Judi Simmons-Estes, LUT, PhD Where: Zoom Group Spots Available: 0 |
(4) Join the Adventures In Spirituality Facebook Group
More About AIS Small Groups
What are AIS Small Groups?
UVC AIS Small Groups are gatherings of up to 15* people, plus the facilitators, meeting outside of a Sunday Service in-person or virtually on Zoom to explore together, deepen spiritual practice, and build community through focusing on a weekly theme from our a book presented in the Sunday morning sermon series. Gatherings are generally 90 minutes and include connection and learning more about each other, sacred time for meditation, reflection and discussion.
* Depending on the number of AIS Small Groups the number of people meeting may vary between 12 and 15, plus the facilitators.
From another ministry and want lead your own groups?
GREAT - WELCOME! We are excited to have you join on this journey together!
You are welcome to use these generically branded resources as you would like. Swap out your logo, add wording specific to your location or whatever best suits your community. Feel free to watch our sermons on YouTube to get inspiration for messages. We do ask that you contact us at [email protected] so we can add you to the participation list and provide assistance as well as helpful resources for your spiritual center. Including UVC in appreciation tithes and love offerings help us offer these resources to the greater New Thought CommUnity. Visit our GIVE page to contribute.
You are welcome to use these generically branded resources as you would like. Swap out your logo, add wording specific to your location or whatever best suits your community. Feel free to watch our sermons on YouTube to get inspiration for messages. We do ask that you contact us at [email protected] so we can add you to the participation list and provide assistance as well as helpful resources for your spiritual center. Including UVC in appreciation tithes and love offerings help us offer these resources to the greater New Thought CommUnity. Visit our GIVE page to contribute.
If you would like to fully participate by live-streaming our Sunday sermons from YouTube directly to your spiritual community, just contact the office as we have options to make that copyright material available to your ministry.
