get creative!
Are you an artist at heart? Have a love of literature? Express yourself in the garden? FirstU is a vibrant, creative community that includes choirs, poets, painters, readers, writers, and art lovers of all kinds! Explore our artistic groups and teams below!
Choirs at FirstU
FirstU's three choirs experiment with everything from traditional UU hymns to choral arrangements of contemporary pop songs. We all love singing together and getting to collaborate with other local choirs like Tone Cluster, Ottawa's 35-voice queer vocal ensemble.
We meet to rehearse on different days and at different times of day, so there's something to fit everyone's schedule. If you love to sing, we'd love to have you join us! |
Arts Night
Arts Night is suspended until the church reopens after Covid. Normally, Arts Night is held on the last Friday of each month from September to June, except for December. Three invited guest artists from the literary, visual, and musical arts speak and demonstrate or perform for about twenty minutes each. They showcase their art and share a meaningful description of the art, science, and spirit and passion of their particular art form, and what has brought them to this place in their lives. There is time for audience participation, discussion with the guest artists, and socializing.
Arts Night is suspended until the church reopens after Covid. Normally, Arts Night is held on the last Friday of each month from September to June, except for December. Three invited guest artists from the literary, visual, and musical arts speak and demonstrate or perform for about twenty minutes each. They showcase their art and share a meaningful description of the art, science, and spirit and passion of their particular art form, and what has brought them to this place in their lives. There is time for audience participation, discussion with the guest artists, and socializing.
Painters' Circle
We are a very friendly group of varied talents in different media, meeting Tuesday mornings. We paint, look at each other's work and encourage, no heavy critiquing, but if advice is asked for, we discuss and come up with ideas. Some people have a lot of experience and exhibit, others are beginners. This isn't a class. It is for community building and for you to make time in your week for expressing your spiritual connection with the world through painting.
We are a very friendly group of varied talents in different media, meeting Tuesday mornings. We paint, look at each other's work and encourage, no heavy critiquing, but if advice is asked for, we discuss and come up with ideas. Some people have a lot of experience and exhibit, others are beginners. This isn't a class. It is for community building and for you to make time in your week for expressing your spiritual connection with the world through painting.
Poetry Group
FirstU's Poetry Group meets on the third Friday of every month at 1:30pm. Drop in and get to know us or contact the office for more information! Reading For Growth There are two Reading for Growth Groups. Both meet monthly in the afternoon - one on the second Monday, the other on the last Friday. Each group chooses its own book to review for each month. The books cover a wide range of topics such as politics, social issues, spiritual and religious thought and current events. The discussions are lively and informative. UU Writers' Group This group provides a forum for writers to share their work with other writers, encouraging each other to write with praise and insightful, constructive criticism. The group meets on alternate Tuesdays on Zoom. Contact the office to get the zoom link and join us! |
Sound and Light Team
The S+L Team operates Audio-Visual equipment for all Worship Hall events with a monthly Volunteer rotation for Sundays and congregational events plus paid opportunities for rites of passage and other rental events. New Operators are offered mandatory technical training and shadowing with our staff Sound and Lighting Coordinator. Contact Sound and Lighting for more information or to get involved! |
Friends of the Meditation Garden
We recruit members and friends to participate in caring for the Meditation Gardens during the growing season, to help with digging, watering, weeding, planting, fertilizing and fundraising. The Friends are funded by donations and fund-raising activities. Contact the office for more information, or drop just drop by: You can find us, up to our elbows in the soil, most Wednesday and Friday mornings over the Summer. |