Sundays at Throop start early, before our service and continue for several hours after the service. We are an active intergenerational community gathered together to explore our spirituality in many different forms, such as choir, discussion, spiritual practice, community building, social justice action, and worshiping together. We invite you to attend the aspects of our Sunday that speak to you or to stay for the entire program.

We begin the day singing. This is a group for those who love to sing. We are singing for pleasure, learning songs for worship, and learning songs in spanish.

Spiritual Practices are part of the Religious Exploration program here at Throop Church. We currently have 14 Spiritual Practices. Most of these are held on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and some of these are held during the week at various times.

Spiritual Practices are life-giving. Those who choose to participate share, grow, and reflect together. They nurture themselves and each other through their shared connections within these activities. Spiritual Practices are intergenerational. The leaders of each group can be youth, young adults, or adults. All ages are welcome and included in the various Spiritual Practices.

When people enter a practice they may enter at the beginning level. They may stay for a while at this level learning the art of the practice. As they continue "practicing" their chosen activity their understanding and ability grows and deepens. They may also stay at this level of deepening for a while. Finally, they may reach a level of teaching practice. Here they may start to lead a practice of their own and share their passionate understanding of that practice with others.

The current schedule fo Spiritual Practices is available at throopchurchuu.org/todayatthroop/

Here is a sample list of the current Spiritual Practices at Throop Church: Creative Practices: Writing, Art, and Drum Circle; Mind Practices: Book Club and DVD/Discussion Buddhism; Body Practices: Cooking and Digging in the Garden; Partnership Practice: The Art of Listening; Personal Practice: Meditation; Worship Practices: Readings, Storytelling, and Canciones and Singing; Life Practices: Union Station Lunches and Haven House.

In addition, we have three Spiritual Practices at Throop Church that are led by professionals and cost a minimal amount. They are Debra's Acting (Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.), Peter's Tai Chi (Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m.), and Judy's Yoga (Tuesdays at 6:45 p.m and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.)

The best and easiest way to get to know our community is by attending a Sunday morning service. Every Sunday at eleven o’clock we gather to affirm our deepest values and probe the meaning of life through music, poetry and stirring sermons.

What can you expect? We have no dress code, for most who attend worship their attire could be called business casual. Some wear ties or dresses, others jeans and flip-flops. From Sunday to Sunday, the theme of the service can vary greatly as we explore different topics, but children are always welcome and our youth join us for a special intergenerational time before joining their religious exploration leaders.

Service topics are available at throopchurchuu.org/todayatthroop/

Please come join us.

Every Sunday our children and youth gather together with the young adults and adults to begin our worship together in the sanctuary. This time is a time to gather in community. If the service is a special intergenerational service we all remain in the service together for the entire time. If it is not a special intergenerational service the children and youth are sung out to their Religious Exploration classes. These classes are divided by age group or multi-age depending on the subject and activity. The classes focus on Unitarian Universalist values and promote our children's inclusion in this church.

Children and youth at Throop Church create their Religious Exploration program with the assistance of their mentors. In September they choose three themes to explore. This year the elementary-age children will be exploring Unitarian Universalism and our order of service elements, the first AIM of Throop Church (AIMS), and generosity. The youth will be exploring sharing Unitarian Universalism with the wider community through YouTube, the first AIM of Throop Church, and sustainable living.

Along with these themes a major portion of the Religious Exploration program is participating in intergenerationa services. We recently held Horton Hears a Who and Day of the Dead. Also, the children and youth participate in the Spiritual Practices at 10:00 a.m. And finally, we will be having fun building community through sleepovers and cooperative games. We have a Halloween Sleepover every year.

Every Sunday we gather to eat following our service. The first Sunday is a Potluck where everyone is invited to bring a dish to share. The second Sunday is our Green Project Lunch where we prepare a meal that is locally grown. The proceeds go towards our garden project currently in progress to illustrate our value of sustainable living. The third Sunday is also a potluck coordinated by one of our members. The fourth Sunday is provided by our Youth who are learning how to cook. Don't panic. They are mentored and are very good cooks. Please join us for this time to sit, relax and talk.

Every Sunday after lunch we hold a class based on the AIMS of Throop Church. We have created five threads based on these AIMS. They are Transformation, Sustainable Living, UU Who? (path to membership), Arts and Music, and Standing on the Side of Love.

Transformation is based on the first AIM of our desire to become a intentional multicultural, intergenerational, inclusice, and welcoming congregation. We use this class to educate ourselves and thus transform ourselves into this dream. We are currently exploring the Welcoming Congregation from the Unitarian Universalist Association. We welcome gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, and transgenders and through this class we are learning how to do this better.

Sustainable Living is based on the second AIM of our desire to transform our spiritual home into a life giving and sustainable environment that reflects our love of this earth and our commitment to the generations to come. We hold a discussion group during this time to examine the many avenues this work can travel. We have explored solar power, water issues, and cold weather plants so far.

UU Who? or our path to membership is one of the entries into Throop Church. This is a three part series designed to deepen participation. The first class is "Where Do We Come From?" This class reviews the historical path of Unitarian Universalism to the present day. Sharing and questions are encouraged. The second class is "What Are We?" reviews the congregational structure you will find at Throop Church and within the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our organization is based on the covanental process. This is a process that has deep roots in protestant liberal religious denominations and our denomination in particular. The third class is "Where Are We Going?" introduced the Religious Exploration program and the process of deepening commitment.

Arts and Music is based on the third AIM of our desire to put special emphasis on encouraging ministries of arts and music that are shared with the wider community. We have a group of actors, musician, and writers. Currently, we are holding poetry reading session where people can bring their own poems or poems that move them.

Standing on the Side of Love is based on a public advocacy campaign created by the Unitarian Universalist Association. This programs promotes respect through exploring the ways people are dehumanized through acts of exclusion, oppression, or violence because of their identities. We will explore topics and work towards playing a role in our community.

For families with young children we have child care available with notice throughout the day. Please see the Director of Religious Exploration for details.