Hopedale Unitarian Universalist Community

Hopedale Unitarian Universalist Community Please join us for Sunday services held at 10:30 AM weekly. Nursery and child care are always availab Nursery and child care are always available.

A social hour with coffee and snacks follows at approximately 11:30 AM. All are welcome!

04/02/2026

Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio and are available via Zoom.

April 5 – Easter
Happy Easter! We’ll talk about the meaning of Easter – what are we celebrating? We’ll hear the Bible story about Jesus, talk about how our Christian friends celebrate Good Friday and Easter, then talk about what is different about how UUs celebrate. This will be an intergenerational service. There will be an egg hunt for the children afterwards. Presenter and Service Leader: Jennifer Blue
Easter Egg Hunt following the service – rain or shine.

April 12 – Rethinking Caregiving: Beyond “Labor of Love”
Kate Poppenhagen is a doctoral student in Social Gerontology at Miami University and volunteer staff member with Cincinnati Pride who worked for nearly two decades in long-term care, first as a direct care provider for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and later as an advocate for residents in assisted living and skilled nursing communities. These experiences have shaped her passion for advocacy and led her to reflect on new ways of understanding caregiving beyond the idea of a simple “labor of love.” Drawing on her professional experience and ongoing research, Kate explores how caring, person-centered relationships develop at the intersections of justice, ethics, and advocacy. In this presentation, she reflects on how spirituality and LGBTQIA+ identity shape elders’ needs and desires for care as they age, and how relationships, technology, and advocacy influence what meaningful care can look like in later life.
Presenter: Kate Poppenhagen; Service Leader: Ann Fuehrer
Social Justice Second-Sunday Collection to Cincinnati Pride
Adult RE – “Defending Trans Lives and Democracy: Linking the Imara Jones 2025 Ware Lecture to the Attack on Democracy.” At noon following the service.

April 19 – Memories
Let’s reflect on our memories and what they do for us and to us. I will share some of my recent memories, and I will invite you to share some of yours. Together, we’ll explore the past in hope that it will help prepare us for what's to come.
Presenter and Service Leader: Darrel Davis. Monthly Potluck following the service AND RE-sponsored garbage/recycle/compost quiz.

April 26 – A Rain of Stones, a Turning Tide: The L’Aigle Meteor Shower
On April 26, 1803, over 3,000 meteorites fell on the town of L’Aigle in France. The subsequent scientific investigation concluded that the rocks were not from earth and changed 2,000 years of scientific thought. Join Diane Wright as we consider the events and processes that change our understanding of the world and of ourselves. Presenter: Diane Wright; Service leader: Jennifer Blue
Spring Congregational Meeting at noon. Agenda and packet will be sent April 11.

03/01/2026

Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio and are available via Zoom.

March 1 @ 11:00 a.m – UUSC Service: What Hope Looks Like in Practice
March 1 @ 10:30 a.m. – Hopedale Cookie Contest (See Congregational Life)
This service is part of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) Weekend.
Presenters the Rev. Laura Randall and Cassandra Ryan from the UUSC staff will speak at St. John's UU Church, Cincinnati. Hopedale will stream the service at our building, and you may watch at home via the YouTube link https://tinyurl.com/StJohnsUU-Live. See more details in Beyond Hopedale.

March 8 – Paying Attention
The journalist Oliver Burkeman wrote, “Your experience of being alive consists of nothing other than the sum of everything to which you pay attention.” Join Diane Wright as we consider the ways our attention has become a commodity, and ways to reclaim it.
Presenter: Diane Wright; Service Leader: Patty Klingenberg
Social Justice Second-Sunday Collection
Remember to Spring Forward to Daylight Saving Time

March 15 – The 17th Century Life and UU-like Philosophy of Baruch Spinoza
Albert Einstein was asked, probably many times, if he believed in god. His reply was “I believe in Spinoza’s god, who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a god who concerns himself with fate and the doings of mankind.” Spinoza’s life as a lens maker and his freedom to be a philosopher to propose “heresy” will be summarized.
Presenter: Neil Danielson; Service Leader: Celia Ellison
Monthly Potluck Follows Service

March 22 – The Art of Magic and the Magic of Art
A famed occultist has defined magic as “causing change in conformity with will.” That definition works as a goal for the arts, too. Especially now, we need art to cause change, and to keep us hopeful in the face of oppression.
Presenter: Kevin Rose; Service Leader: Jennifer Blue

March 29 – Finding Hope in Choppy Waters
The Rev. Dennis McCarty will return to our pulpit to explore ways to navigate difficult times. Anyone who engages the national news may feel as though religious liberals face more defeats than victories these days. But might it help to look at success and failure in a different way? The Rev. McCarty will look at success, failure, and some lessons of history as we sort out these trying times.
Presenter: Rev. Dennis McCarty; Service leader: Patty Klingenberg

02/04/2026

Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio and are available via Zoom.

February 1 – "National Get Up Day" comes to us from the world of figure skating, and celebrates stories of perseverance. One of the first lessons learned in figure skating is how to get back up and keep going. Join Diane Wright and the Hopedale community as we consider the ways we can be inspired to get back up ourselves when we have fallen, literally and figuratively. Presenter: Diane Wright, Service Leader: Celia Ellison. Adult RE after the service at noon. Book discussion of The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels, led by Patty Klingenberg. Also available over Zoom at Sunday service link. See details in RE Connection.

February 8 – "Luminescence: A Holiday UUs Can Call Their Own." We celebrate Luminescence, a UU holiday to honor the light we generate as members of the Unitarian Universalist faith. Presenter and Service Leader: Linda Amspaugh. Social Justice Second-Sunday Collection benefits Common Cause Ohio, Intergenerational Service.

February 15 – "Buddhism." Join Rob Reichhardt from the Buddhist Center of Cincinnati as he talks about some of the core teachings of Buddhism. From understanding the nature of suffering to opening the heart, Rob will explore how the teachings of the Buddha can guide us in understanding many of the struggles we face and how we can move beyond them to an open heart for ourselves and others. Presenter: Rob Reichhardt. Service Leader: Drew Ruther. Monthly Potluck Follows Service.

February 22 – "For Want of a Word." Did you know the consolidation of the Unitarians and the Universalists almost didn’t happen because of a single word? What lessons does that experience offer us for who we are today? Presenter Rev. Jennifer Gracen, will contemplate this idea with us,. She is in her third year of interim ministry with St. John's UU in Cincinnati. A geek and a lover of history she is fascinated by moments when life seems to turn on a dime. Service leader: Patty Klingenberg.

Adult RE after the Feb. 22 service at noon. “In Defense of Separation of Church & State: Vital in 1787 – Critical Now,” led by Rebeccas Luzadis.

01/24/2026

Hopedale Sunday Service - January 25, 2026
Due to the weather forecast Hopedale will not have an in-person service this Sunday, the service will be Zoom only.
The Rev. Dennis McCarty will be re-scheduled for another Sunday.
This Sunday's service will be from UUA resources.
Stay safe and warm.

01/03/2026

SERVICES
Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio and are available via Zoom.

January 4 – "Neurospicy New Year or The Neurodivergent Guide. to January."
The turning of the year is an invitation to ask: whose rhythms do we honor in our communal life? Neurodivergent ways of sensing and knowing can reveal possibilities for more accessible, compassionate, and imaginative churches. The Reverend Alix Klingenberg reflects on her own lived experience to explore how communities become more whole when we make space for different kinds of minds. Rev. Alix will join us from Boston for this all-Zoom service. You may stay home with your hot cocoa on a winter morning to join us online or if you don’t Zoom, come to Hopedale where Zoom will run. Presenter: Rev. Alix Klingenberg. Service Leader: Patty Klingenberg.

January 11 – "Our Vision of the Future"
Join us for an intergenerational exploration of our hopes and dreams on National Vision Board Day! We will look at ways to explore our hopes and dreams using visual information, and everyone will leave with their own mini vision board for the coming year and beyond! Presenter: Diane Wright. Service Leader: Jennifer Blue. Intergenerational Service Social Justice Second-Sunday Collection benefits the Oxford Free Clinic.

January 18 – “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
Today we reflect upon the official song of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. With words by poet and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson and music by his brother, composer J. Rosamond Johnson, this enduring hymn has inspired many Americans in the ongoing struggle for justice, civil rights, equal opportunity and human freedom. Presenter & Service Leader: Curt Ellison. Monthly Potluck Follows Service.

January 25 – "Finding Hope in Choppy Waters"
The Reverend Dennis McCarty will return to our pulpit to explore ways to navigate difficult times. Anyone who engages the national news may feel as though religious liberals face more defeats than victories these days. But might it help to look at success and failure in a different way? Rev. Dennis will look at success, failure, and some lessons of history as we sort out these trying times. Presenter: Rev. Dennis McCarty. Service leader: Patty Klingenberg

11/26/2025

Upcoming Sunday Services

December 7 – “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Thoughts in National Letter-Writing Day”. We celebrate the art and history of handwritten letters. Come join us as Diane Wright explores letter-writing, and how it differs from other forms of connection. Presenter: Diane Wright, Service leader: Adriane Ruther.

December 14 – Darrel Davis will reflect on “Memories” and what they do for us and to us. Darrel will share some of his recent memories, and will invite others to share theirs. Together, we’ll explore the past in hope that it will help prepare us for what's to come. Presenter and Service Leader: Darrel Davis.
Second Sunday Collection will benefit Planned Parenthood.

December 21 – “Solstice.” On the longest night of the year let’s lean into the darkness. Our celebrations of light are coming, our human desire is to counter the cold of winter, but for this moment we will center ourselves in the stillness. Join Presenter and Service leader: Patty Klingenberg. Monthly Potluck Follows Service.

December 24, Wednesday, 7 p.m. – Christmas Eve Intergenerational Service. Join us for lessons and carols, many carols. If you are joining via Zoom please have a candle with you, if possible, so you can participate in sharing of the light that ends the service. If you are coming in person, please bring cookies to share following the service. Presenter and Service leader: Celia Ellison.

10/31/2025

NOVEMBER SERVICES

• Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio and are available via Zoom.

• November 2 – The Saints, the Skulls, and all the Souls. The end of October and beginning of November are set aside by several cultures as times for remembering those who are deceased. Join Diane Wright as we consider these traditions around the world, and what they mean for us as Unitarian. Service leader: Kathleen Carels.

• November 9 – Presentor Stephen LeDoux asks, “Can a Science Flood Story Inspire Us as Much as the One by Noah OR How Long Can You Tread Water?” The biblical flood story of Noah has been inspirational for millennia. More recently science has uncovered facts about a flood unprecedented in human history, from a time and place that indicate it was the source of the Great Flood experiences and stories. Can this flood story by science be at least as inspirational as Noah’s story? More inspirational? Perhaps a closer look will provide an answer.
Service leader: Richard Schlub
Social Justice 2nd-Sunday Collection benefits Talawanda Oxford Pantry & Social Services.

November 16 – Hope, Yearning, Resolve. How do we as a congregation and as individuals use, let alone practice, such words during these challenging times? Join the Reverend Mary Tarbell-Green as she tells us the story of a deer and what her journey has to teach us. The Rev. Mary serves as Assistant Minister for Pastoral Care at First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati. She is a Funeral Celebrant whose spiritual practice involves gazing outside her home at the Ohio River with all of its twists and turns. Service leader: Patty Klingenberg.
Monthly Potluck follows the service.

November 23 – Thanksgiving: Being Grateful. J. Robert Moskin says, “Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” The service will include tossing our Gratitude Ball of Yarn, some help from our kids, and the availability of Guest at Your Table boxes. Presenter and Service leader: Celia Ellison. An Intergenerational Service.

November 30 – Silent Quaker.
Let's take a moment at this busy time of year to slow down and listen to the silence. Join Jennifer Blue for silent Quaker worship on Thanksgiving weekend.

10/01/2025

OCTOBER 2025 SERVICES
Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio and are available via Zoom.

October 5 – Leaders to the Threshold: Gathering on World Teachers’ Day
World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994. It is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education, to reflect on support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally. World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF and Education International (EI). Join Diane Wright to consider the role of teachers in each of our lives and in the greater community.
Presenter: Diane Wright
Service leader: Patty Klingenberg

October 12 – Bridging the Gap: A Rhythmical Analogy for Our Times
We’ll explore the way polyrhythm can bring opposing—or at least competing—systems together and maybe even produce some fun in the process. Instruments provided or feel free to bring your own.
Service leader and presenter: Peter Carels
Social Justice Second-Sunday Collection to benefit Oxford Winter House

October 19 – The Answer to a Humanist’s Prayer – the Rev. Chris Buice
They say, “There are no atheists in foxholes,” but it would probably be more accurate to say, “In foxholes even the atheists pray.” This morning we will reflect on prayer in the broadest possible sense of the word with special attention to what might be considered the answer to a humanist’s prayer. Chris Buice served as student minister of HUUC from 1995 to 1998 when he was studying at the Earlham School of Religion, Society of Friends (Quakers). He was ordained by this congregation at Kumler Chapel, and is currently serving as minister of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, where his office is full of turtle figurines people have given him after he taught them the HUUC cheer, "Go, Turtles, Go!"
Presenter: Chris Buice
Service leader: Celia Ellison
Monthly Potluck follows the service

October 26 – Samhain
Join us for a presentation about Samhain, one of the most sacred festivals in Wicca. We’ll explore its ancient origins, its role in the Wheel of the Year, and the rituals and symbolism that mark this powerful time of transition and reflection. The session will also highlight how Samhain is celebrated and adapted in modern Wiccan practice.
Presenter: Lori O’Malley
Service leader: Genevieve O’Malley Knight
Congregational Meeting follows the service

Hopedale Sunday Service: September 28, 2025 MARINE MINISTRYGuest presenter Rev. Dave Guilfoyle is an Episcopal Deacon ...
09/23/2025

Hopedale Sunday Service: September 28, 2025
MARINE MINISTRY
Guest presenter Rev. Dave Guilfoyle is an Episcopal Deacon serving Holy Trinity in Oxford. He served as associate chaplain with the Seaman’s Church Institute for more than ten years. The Institute is dedicated to mariner well-being, pastoral care, maritime training, navigational and vessel safety, legal advocacy and global policy for the vital, yet often overlooked, role of those who work within the maritime industry.
Service leader: Kathleen Carels
Presenter: Rev. Dave Guilfoyle

Adult RE book discussion follows service: Elaine Pagel’s personal memoir, Why Religion? A Personal Story.

Hopedale Sunday Service: August 17, 2025"At the Beginning of the World”Endings are always challenging. They bring with ...
08/12/2025

Hopedale Sunday Service: August 17, 2025

"At the Beginning of the World”
Endings are always challenging. They bring with them feelings of sorrow, anger, and fear. But wisdom reminds us that with an ending comes a new beginning. Many of us worry that the world as we once knew it has perished, and a new one is forming. So, who will we be in this new world? What stuff will we create with? And how will we minister in the new world? Member Jennifer Blue has adapted this from a sermon of the month subscription service supplied to small congregations by the UUA.
Service presenter and leader: Jennifer Blue
Children’s RE: Welcome-Back Ice Cream Social in lower level during the service.

Our address is:
Hopedale Unitarian Universalist Community
3870 Millville Oxford Rd.
Oxford, OH 45056

08/06/2025

AUGUST SERVICES

Services are held at 10:30 a.m. Sundays at 3870 Millville-Oxford Road (US 27) south of Oxford, Ohio
and are available via Zoom.

August 17 – “At the Beginning of the World”
Endings are always challenging. They bring with them feelings of sorrow, anger, and fear. But wisdom reminds us that with an ending comes a new beginning. Many of us worry that the world as we once knew it has perished, and a new one is forming. So, who will we be in this new world? What stuff will we create with? And how will we minister in the new world? Member Jennifer Blue has adapted this from a sermon of the month subscription service supplied to small congregations by the UUA.
Service presenter and leader: Jennifer Blue
Children’s RE: Welcome-Back Ice Cream Social in lower level during the service.

August 24 – "Rock and Water” Hopedale Ingathering Ceremony
This ceremony aims to deepen the meaning of our seventh principle: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Feel free to bring your own rocks and/or water collected from the far reaches of the world or from your own little corner to contribute to this uniquely UU service.
Service presenter and leader: Adriane Ruther.
Intergenerational service

August 31 – “Acting Locally AND Globally: A Spirit-led Vision Connecting Earthcare at Home and Across Continents"
Guest presenter Dr. Allen McGrew is Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Dayton, and Convener of the Quaker Earthcare Witness Mini-Grants Program.
Service leader: Peggy Branstrator
Presenter: Dr. Allen McGrew
Children’s RE: Activity in lower level during the service.

08/06/2025

HOPEDALE UU YARDSALE
August 8, 9, and 10
3870 Oxford-Millville Rd.
Oxford, OH 45056

Address

3870 Oxford Millville Road
Oxford, OH
45056

Opening Hours

10am - 12pm

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