Thoreau events are open to all - visitors, friends, and members
Sunday Celebration
October 5, 11 am "UU Response to Authoritarians: With Justice Our Guide?"
In the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition, seeking social justice is an imperative founded on our tenets of universal dignity and love as central principles. When we learn of patterns of repeated intentional injustice, it can be difficult to avoid despair, even with the models of 20th century civil rights leaders like MLK and John Lewis. In today's service, our Emeritus Minister, Rev. Dan returns to share reflections on justice and practical reminders of how persistent commitment and organization can overcome the obstacles we encounter.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Women's Book Club
Book: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
A New York Times Bestseller
Soon to be a Netflix Film
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.” -- Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
Books are selected by the members of the Women’s Book Club
Reoccurring monthly on the First Monday, starting at 1:00 PM; we meet in members’ homes.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
October 12, 11 am “The Gospel of Free Thought”
As a denomination we promote what I’d like to call the “Gospel of Free Thought.” And we promote this with regard to both Religion and Spirituality. I believe we should actively share this worldview with others around us. If that is proselytizing, then so be it. Let’s proselytize. Please join us as Rev. John Pepper is in the Thoreau pulpit once again to reflect on these ideas and our long-held UU belief that we not proselytize.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration / Adult Discussion
Aug 17 - “Speaking of Photography” with Ron Masters
Is a picture worth a thousand words? What makes a photo interesting to you? We’ll critique work ranging from famous to unpublished, across several genres; discuss what works and doesn’t; consider a visual vocabulary; and maybe discover new ways of seeing.
Join us in-person in Thoreau’s Sanctuary or via Zoom for our discussion service.
On one Sunday a month, our Adult Discussion Group coordinates the speaker for our weekly gathering.
During ADG Sunday Service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available.
You are invited to join us for light snacks after ADG.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
October 26, 11 am “The Art of Making Mistakes”
Artie Throop is our speaker, and they will reflect on what art has taught them about mistakes, being comfortable in learning through mistakes (and enjoying the process), and accepting other’s mistakes.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
September 28, 11 am “What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say”
Too often uncomfortable situations such as a sudden death, chronic illness, or inappropriate remarks, leave us with no words, tripped up responses, or defensive outbursts. Is there a better way to respond? Lindi Kohn, who has been on both ends of not knowing what to say, will be in the pulpit to talk about what she has learned.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Discussion Group
September 28, 9:45 am “History of the world in 18 minutes ”
Jim Sheridan will lead this discussion on the “History of the world in 18 minutes”. Backed by stunning illustrations, David Christian narrates a complete history of the universe, from the Big Bang to the Internet, in a riveting 18 minutes. This is "Big History": an enlightening, wide-angle look at complexity, life and humanity, set against our slim share of the cosmic timeline.
Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.
The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.
For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.
Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration / Adult Discussion
Aug 17 - “Speaking of Photography” with Ron Masters
Is a picture worth a thousand words? What makes a photo interesting to you? We’ll critique work ranging from famous to unpublished, across several genres; discuss what works and doesn’t; consider a visual vocabulary; and maybe discover new ways of seeing.
Join us in-person in Thoreau’s Sanctuary or via Zoom for our discussion service.
On one Sunday a month, our Adult Discussion Group coordinates the speaker for our weekly gathering.
During ADG Sunday Service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available.
You are invited to join us for light snacks after ADG.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Men's Dinner Group
Please join us for the Men's monthly dinner group.
Location: Beck’s Prime 1822 Hwy 6 Sugar Land, TX 77478
Let us know to look out for you! Get in Touch.
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
September 14, 11 am “Make Believe’
Some things we resist, we might learn to accept (a family members annoying but non-destructive habit). Other things that we accept, we might learn to resist (social injustice). Rev. Daniel O’Connell is back in the Thoreau pulpit to ask “what can we learn something from how children ‘pretend.’”
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Discussion Group
September 14, 9:45 am “In the USA Law is King”
Ron Hammons will examine the American principle of having no kings, and no one above the law.
Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.
The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.
For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.
Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
2nd Friday Discussion Group
2nd Friday Discussion Group will meet on Sept 12th at Becks Prime:
1822 SH-6 S, Sugar Land, TX 77478.
Near the Sugar Land Whole Foods.
Here’s the menu: https://www.becksprime.com/menu/menu.pdf
TOPIC: Patio Ponderings
We’ll discuss whatever you’d like to hear other’s thoughts about. Often we share new thoughts about issues as old as Rome:
“The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, however, this process of corruption spread to the law courts, and to the army, and finally when even the sword became enslaved by the power of gold, the republic was subject to the rule of emperors.” — From Plutarch’s eulogy for the fallen Roman republic.
ALL are welcome!
Reoccurring monthly on the Second Friday.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Women's Book Club
Book: The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
"A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times." -David Mitchell, author of Utopia Avenue
A rich, magical new novel on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.
Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he's searching for lost love.
Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited--- her only connection to her family's troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.
A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak's best work yet.
Books are selected by the members of the Women’s Book Club
Reoccurring monthly on the First Monday, starting at 1:00 PM; we meet in members’ homes.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
September 7, 11 am "Little Altars Everywhere: Modern UU Transcendentalism?"
If we can be fully open to our senses- all six (?) of them- we may be inspired by our encounters with everyday objects, beings, and places to find greater meaning for our lives. Thoreau and Emerson wrote extensively on their "direct experience of the Divine in Nature." Using this auction-item topic as a point of convergence, our Emeritus Minister, Rev. Dan King, returns to share reflections on how we can promote an awareness of an essence greater than ourselves.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Discussion Group
September 7, 9:45 am “AI – The Mother of Invention?”
Amanda Ayles will explore AI, where its going and what we can do with it.
Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.
The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.
For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.
Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
August 31 - “Silence is Complicity”
Ron Masters’ grandmother’s grandfather, David Mahon, argued for diversity, equity, and inclusion—across national borders—as Universalist religious principles in a 1860 speech to his Unitarian congregation in County Antrim, Ireland. He vigorously opposed oppression of ordinary people for the enrichment of the political and religious establishment. By 1880, he migrated with his wife and children to a farm in Iowa. Mahon’s message resonates with our situation today. Ron will read from his great-great-grandfather’s sermon. Ron says: “I found the original manuscript and a transcription among my father’s effects after dad died in 2011, having not been aware of Mahon previously. Thoroughly modern Mahon would fit right in at Thoreau today.”
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Discussion Group
August 31 “US Newspapers”
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, newspapers in the United States have played an important role historically. Garna Christian will lead this look at American print journalism.
Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.
The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.
For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.
Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
August 24 - “Including Others as a Habit of Mind”
You already know how to be more inclusive. You know how it can transform you. But you've fallen out of the habit. David Throop of Bay Area UU will be in the pulpit to tell us how to find our way back.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Discussion Group
August 24 “Self-Reliance”
Noel Zinn will lead this discussion on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, “Self-Reliance”.
Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.
The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.
For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.
Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Men's Dinner Group
Please join us for the Men's monthly dinner group.
Location: Beck’s Prime 1822 Hwy 6 Sugar Land, TX 77478
Let us know to look out for you! Get in Touch.
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration / Adult Discussion
Aug 17 - “Speaking of Photography” with Ron Masters
Is a picture worth a thousand words? What makes a photo interesting to you? We’ll critique work ranging from famous to unpublished, across several genres; discuss what works and doesn’t; consider a visual vocabulary; and maybe discover new ways of seeing.
Join us in-person in Thoreau’s Sanctuary or via Zoom for our discussion service.
On one Sunday a month, our Adult Discussion Group coordinates the speaker for our weekly gathering.
During ADG Sunday Service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available.
You are invited to join us for light snacks after ADG.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Sunday Celebration
August 10: Water Ceremony and Ingathering
Join us this Sunday as we gather together to begin a new chapter in community, reflection, and renewal.
Each year at Thoreau UU, we celebrate the start of our new church year and coming back together as a community with our Annual Water ceremony and In-Gathering. Everyone is invited to bring water with them to church and to share insights garnered over the summer as they gathered their water, or to reflect on the everyday holiness of their water offering. So bring some water on Sunday and think about a few short sentences you can say about why water is meaningful to you.
Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.
This is an intergenerational service, so there will be no RE class for the children. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
2nd Friday Discussion Group
2nd Friday Discussion Group will meet on Aug 8th at Becks Prime:
1822 SH-6 S, Sugar Land, TX 77478.
Near the Sugar Land Whole Foods.
Here’s the menu: https://www.becksprime.com/menu/menu.pdf
TOPIC: TBD
ALL are welcome!
Reoccurring monthly on the Second Friday.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Women's Book Club
Book: "The Book of Lost Friends" by Lisa Wingate.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives.
“An absorbing historical . . . enthralling.”—Library Journal
Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.
Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three youngwomenset off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.
Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three youngwomen, a long-ago journey, and a hiddenbookthat could change everything.
Books are selected by the members of the Women’s Book Club
Reoccurring monthly on the First Monday, starting at 1:00 PM; we meet in members’ homes.
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Summer Interest Groups
August 3: Summer Interest Groups
ADG Presents:
Trump’s Jeffrey Epstein Problem with Ed
We'll explore Donald Trump's shifting stance on Jeffrey Epstein—once promising transparency, now denying key details. Has he become part of the very "swamp" he vowed to drain? We’ll begin with two short videos: a brief Epstein biography and an MSNBC commentary, followed by open discussion. All are welcome.
Tangent Thoughts with Deirdre
A welcoming space for UU adults navigating life with ADHD. We gather to share experiences, exchange resources, and offer each other understanding and a lot of humor on this journey. We delve into topics relevant to our lives, from executive function to building meaningful relationships, all within the context of our UU values. Expect open hearts, open minds, and definitely a few tangents!
Atlantis and Lost Civilizations with James
Long dismissed as myth, the story of Atlantis may hold deeper significance when viewed through the lens of archaeology and cross-cultural study. This talk explores striking parallels in ancient architecture, symbolism, and societal myths across the globe—raising questions about shared memory, lost knowledge, and the resilience of oral tradition. Without resorting to speculation, we’ll consider how converging evidence from geology, anthropology, and ancient texts invites a more nuanced look at humanity’s forgotten past.
The Federalist Papers with Amanda
What holds a democracy together—and what threatens to pull it apart? This discussion aims to explore The Federalist Papers (written in 1787–88 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay) through a Unitarian Universalist lens. Together, we’ll reflect on the tensions and paradoxes at the heart of America’s founding documents, and how they resonate with our UU principles today. No prior reading is required—just bring your curiosity and civic spirit.
Kids & Youth
The kids of Thoreau will be preparing songs for the Water Ceremony.
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!
Adult Enrichment
AE Lunchitarians
This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.
Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising
Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!
Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!
Summer Interest Groups
July 27: Summer Interest Groups
Practical Mindfulness with Manuel
Join us for session two of Practical Mindfulness as we focus on meditation as a tool of mindfulness.
ADG Presents: STOP THE PRESSES! with Garna
STOP THE PRESSES! What do you consider the most important news story of the past week? Any topic: political, financial, cultural, personal, Garfield, etc.
Fiction Book Club with Ashley
This summer book club will focus on fiction books to include genres such as paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi. This Sunday, we will be discussing The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. This book can be found at your local library, purchased online, or through apps such as Libby by linking your library book.
Services for Seniors with Ron H. and Special Guest
Senior citizens often require a variety of services to support their health, independence, and quality of life. This is a discussion of some essential types of services needed and available for seniors. What services and how can Thoreau assist our seniors?
Health care services
Personal care services
Nutritional services
Transportation
Social & Recreational Services
Housing & Living Arrangements
Independent Communities
Financial & Legal Services
Mental Health Services
Advocacy Services
Technical Assistance
Care Giver Breaks
An Overview of AI Tools with Amanda
Copilot, Claude, and Grok -- oh my! The world of AI tools is vast, and in this information & discovery session we'll be diving deeper into the sub-list of "AI assistants" that have been designed to 'help' us get through the barrage of data coming at us every day. This session aims to answer the following questions:
Who owns the tool?
How much does it cost?
What was its intended use?
Why would I use one over the other?
“Let’s Make a Zine” Kids and Youth
Join the fun as we turn the conference room into a publishing house! This summer the kids will be making their very own Zines! We will explore what it is to be UU through print media and personal expression!
Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!