Pathways to Membership

Sunday, September 13, 2026 8:30 am

Register on Realm (no login required)

Are you interested becoming a member of First UU? We invite you participate in the next Pathways to Membership class, designed for newcomers! This class will acquaint you with our church and our faith before you consider a commitment of membership to First UU.

ARA Monthly Lunch

Food Hamati Restaurant

Sunday, September 13, 12:30pm

Join us this month at Food Hamati – featuring an extensive Mediterrean menu with both vegetarian and meat options!

All are welcome! Meet at the JAM table to carpool or meet at the restaurant – 5875 Sawmill Rd, Dublin, OH 43017 just before 1 pm.

First UU Concert Series Event:

The Early Interval

Friday, September 18, 7:30 pm

Admission is free (donations accepted).

A sampling of sweets, compliments of the Alliance Français, will complete the evening.

BREAD Listening Sessions

Saturday, September 19, 11:00 – 12:00 pm

Sunday, September 27, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Please join one of our listening sessions! Sign up at the Jam Table. See details for September’s sessions above, or plan to attend on October 4, 6 (Virtual), 11, or 18th. Email the First UU Bread Team or check out the BREAD Summer Newsletter for more details.

Upcoming Governance Meetings

Finance Meeting September 16, 7 pm

Board Meeting September 23, 7 pm

RSVP to receive a link

Did you know? Per the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus Constitution, all meetings of the Board of Trustees are open to members of this church. We would like to invite you to attend! Whether you would like to simply observe and better understand First UU Board functions, or you have an idea to propose, these meetings are an excellent way to participate in First UU’s governance! Email board@firstuucolumbus.org to talk to us!

Announcing First UU’s Concert Series 2026-27

First UU is proud to announce its 2026-27 Concert Series! Upcoming concerts include The Early Interval (on Sept. 18!), this year’s Guitar Foundation of America competition winner, The Magpie Consort, and Columbus Women’s Chorus. The series will also feature performances by our own First UU choirs, as well as five performances by the internationally-renowned Carpe Diem String Quartet, who have been in residence at First UU for a number of years. Check out all of the details for the Concert Series online or by picking up a brochure at church. We hope to see you at one of these fine concerts!

Introducing Bruno Bush

Hi everyone! My name is Bruno Carvalho Bush (he/him) and it is an honor to join you all as the new Assistant Choir Director. My first few rehearsals with Spirit of Life have already shown me what a warm, vibrant, and welcoming community this is, and I look forward to sharing music and worship with you. I am an open book and rarely in a rush to leave, so please feel free to make your presence known with me whenever you see me! Some quick factoids to get to know me: I’m proudly Brazilian-American and queer. I have a beautiful partner named Sophia who will likely join us from time to time. We raise 5 cats together (started with 1, adopted a 2nd, those two had 6 kittens, we kept 3 of them!) and are heavily involved with the Columbus theatre scene.

Come Sing at First UU!

All are invited and welcome to sing in one of First UU’s choirs, which will begin regular rehearsals in the coming weeks! Currently, we have two adult choirs and a young children’s choir, and these choirs are open to anyone who loves to sing, no audition or choir experience necessary.

• Chalice Choir weekly rehearsals are on Thursdays, 7:30 – 9:30pm, Email Director Dr. Brandon Moss with questions.
• Spirit of Life Choir weekly rehearsals are on Tuesdays, 6:30 – 8:00pm. We welcome Director Bruno Bush to First UU, and look forward to getting to know him in the coming year! New this year! Beginning September 22, childcare will be available during reharsals!
• Peace Pals (our young children’s choir) rehearsals begin Sunday, September 27th, 12:30 – 1:00pm, scheduled for the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, Email Director Erin Rothert for more information.

Democracy Action Hour

Sunday, September 13, 12:30 PM

Each week after the service we take action in community to protect our democracy. This week we’ll be writing postcards to voters to encourage them to make a plan to vote. This is also an opportunity to learn more about other ways you can get involved with First UU Democracy Team and the national UU the Vote campaign.

SYC Scholarship Fundraiser

Wednesday September 23

BiBiBop Graceland

Mention SYC to your cashier at BiBiBop on September 23, and they will donate a portion of the profits from your meal to the SYC Scholarship fund!

Sign Up for Fourth Quarter Dinner and Conversation

October – November – December

Deadline to RSVP: September 25 at Noon

Dinner & Conversation is a quarterly pot luck group of 6-8 people who meet in participant’s homes (or at the church). Sign up for one quarter at a time with one meeting per month as agreed upon by the entire group.

Please email Marcia Canter by Friday, September 25 at noon if you want to participate.

Neurodivergent Adults Group:

Community, Connection, and Support

1st and 3rd Thursdays, 6:00–8:00 pm

Next Meeting September 17

Atheist-Humanist-Skeptics

Tuesday, September 22 from 7-9 pm

Our meeting program will feature Dr. Leo Taylor, Evolutionary Biologist and anti-theist, speaking on “Evolution and the adaptive basis of religion”

Meetings and Program every 4th Tuesday

Email Tom Baillieul for more info!

Writing and Reading the Short Story

Six Tuesdays, 10/6-11/10, 6:30 pm

Register on Realm (No login required)

Join retired professor of English, John B Friedman for this six session workshop!

The class will focus more on writing than on reading, working from four models, Chekov’s ‘Lady with Little Dog,” Alice Munro’s “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” Raymond Carver’s “So Much Water So Close to Home,” and Katherine Min’s “Courting a Monk.” These stories will be distributed as PDFs. The ideal of the course will be to produce a 6-8 page short story.

New at First UU!

Kind Community Meetings

Thursdays at 6 pm,

First Fridays after Spaghetti Dinner

Through guided introductions, discussions, and sharing experiences, we’ll practice the skills that help build meaningful relationships and kind community! Discussions include finding practical ways to support one another.

Come as you are, participate as you can! These meetings are drop-in, and there’s no expectation that you attend every week or participate in any particular way.

The Religious Right Is Fighting a Holy War – the American Humanist Association Responds

Saturday, September 12, Noon

Graystone Winery 544 South Front St.

American Humanist Association Executive Director Fish Stark will discuss actions by the religious right to defund public schools, push religion into government, and attack empathy itself as a weakness and a sin. But the picture isn’t all bleak. Efforts to force the Bible into public school classrooms are being defeated in court with AHA victories in major federal cases in Florida and Arkansas.

Mr. Stark is an engaging speaker and the Humanist Community of Central Ohio is proud to host this event. You can find additional details on Meetup and hcco.org“Events.” If you are going to attend in person, we request that you RSVP

Celebrate the Jewish High Holidays with Sukkat Shalom

Rosh haShanah: September 11 – 12

Yom Kippur September 20 – 21

Details and RSVP

Finding Wisdom in Everyday Life: An Interactive Dharma Talk and Live Q & A with Venerable Pumnyum Sunim

Friday, September 17 5-6:30 pm. (RSVP)

Hagerty Hall 180, Ohio State University 1775 College Rd. Columbus, OH

Experience the wisdom of one of Korea’s most respected Buddhist teachers

and social activists. In this interactive session, he offers practical wisdom for navigating everyday life rather than focusing on religious doctrine or philosophy. Through his signature Instant Q&A format, audience members are invited to ask questions about any aspect of life, including work, family, relationships, stress, personal fulfillment, happiness, and decision-making.

Drawing on the principles of Jungto (Pure Land) Buddhism and decades of experience counseling people from diverse backgrounds, Venerable Pomnyun provides thoughtful, compassionate, and often humorous responses that encourage self-reflection and personal freedom. The event is open to people of all

backgrounds, regardless of religious belief, and offers an opportunity to

engage in meaningful dialogue about the challenges and possibilities of

everyday life.

Seeking Writers!

We began the “On the Journey” section of the newsletter to provide the opportunity for anti-racism work in bite-sized chunks. By celebrating black innovators, creators, and change-makers in a “mini biography” each week, we hope to slowly and steadily work towards shifting our minds away from white supremacy culture and towards an anti-racism minset. We hope you have enjoyed both reading and writing these articles.

We want your help! Email Becca to be assigned a name for research, or to suggest a person whose accomplishments have caught your interest. We ask authors to provide 3-5 links and a short biography. Anti-racism work can happen in small steps, and we hope you will join us!

Register Now: Classes Start 9/20!

Happening This Sunday, September 13th!