December 2025​

Tuesday, December 2: Close To Home for the Holidays   

What can we do this holiday season to keep our community's resources from migrating to the pockets of the world's wealthiest? Let's talk about withholding support from extractive capitalism and increasing support for our neighbors. Led by Rev. Eileen Casey- Campbell. ​

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Tuesday, December 9: Incarceration 101  

Recently, so-called “antifa” activists, congressional candidates, and even our state’s Attorney General have faced criminal prosecution. Animal Ministry member Adam Durand discusses how he ended up sentenced to six months in jail for protesting Wegmans’ treatment of egg–laying hens, and how to pull through it. ​​

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Tuesday, December 16: Recent Trends in Scams, Frauds, & ID Theft

Tonight, Daniel Lyon will cover trends that he’s been dealing with in this area over the past five years as Manager of Lifespan’s ‘Scam Protection Program’. Daniel is a retired officer and will cover signs of a scam as well as resources for folks victimized this way. ​​

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Tuesday, December 23: Open Topic & 2026 Planning Session 

Tonight, we’ll discuss what is on our minds as 2025 draws to a close, as well as continue our discussion around suggestions for topics and presenters for our Zoom group sessions in the coming year. John Lukes will lead. 

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Tuesday, December 30: Our 2025 ‘Joys and Concerns’ Wrap-up 

Let’s share joys and concerns we all experienced this year. This may help us be more prepared to embark on the coming year’s journey. John Lukes will lead. ​

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January 2026​

Tuesday, January 6: UU Whale Coast Alaska Tours

Join MJ Curry, Jenny Cos, and some fellow travelers to hear about these amazing Alaska tours that are hosted by UU Alaskan congregations. Our presenters will describe their experiences on the tours from 2024 and 2025 and answer questions. These tours are fundraising projects for the Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau and Sitka UU congregations and are wonderful opportunities to get to know local Alaskans in their communities. All are welcome for this presentation! ​

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Tuesday, January 13: A NYSCU 2025 Bicentennial Recap

Richard Reed will be re-visiting his time at the Bicentennial weekend celebration of NYSCU, the New York State Convention of Universalists (nyscu.org/) which was held in Canton, New York this past October. ​

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Tuesday, January 20: UU Acronyms, Jargon, & Other Terms Explained

What is FIAC, COM, NomCom, UUA? Why do so many Unitarian Universalist churches start with the name "First?" What do our leaders mean by the words Polity, Covenant, Worship, and Faith in a UU setting? Join Rev. Michelle Yates to consider these and more. Bring your related questions and/or email her your questions ahead of time at edu@uuroc.org. ​​

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Tuesday, January 27: Emerson and Transcendentalism 

Ralph Waldo Emerson believed in religion without churches or creeds.  He believed in a religion independent of churches, creeds or majority opinion.  He was a major influence on Unitarian Universalism and on U.S. American culture generally.  Phil Ebersole will briefly present his core ideas and lead a discussion. ​

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In-person Drop-In Discussions:​​​​

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Sunday, January 4 at 9:15am in the Chalice Room *In-Person* - Humans Assisting Humans 

Since the “Enlightenment,” religious thought has refined itself, becoming more secular.  As editor of the Universalist Herald, David Damico has noted a wide variety of viewpoints concerning how “Universalism” can be interpreted as a form of Humanism.  For Unitarian Universalists, the topic is worthy of discussion. David Damico will facilitate a discussion related to the slow lessening of religious reliance and a refocusing on humankind. 

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Sunday, December 7 at 9:15am in the Chalice Room *In-Person* - The Low-Level Trauma We All Live With 

Joy Lecesse will do a presentation on dealing with trauma−not just the “Big T” trauma of catastrophic events in our lives, but the “little t” trauma of the background of fear and uncertainty we all deal with in these troubled times. 

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Sunday, November 5 at 9:15am in the Chalice Room *In-Person* - Have We Voted For The Last Time - Is Trump’s Presidency Permanent?

Bill Elwell will lead a discussion on whether elections will be cancelled and Trump successfully assumes all power as a full-scale dictator.  He said he’d only be a dictator for the first day, but maybe he was using the term ‘day’ as used in the Genesis Creation Story.​

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Sunday, October 2 at 9:15am in the Chalice Room *In-Person* - Humans Assisting Humans with David Damico 

Since the "Enlightenment," religious thought has refined itself, becoming more secular. As editor of the Universalist Herald, I have noticed a wide variety of viewpoints concerning how “Universalism” can be interpreted as a form of Humanism. As religious liberals, the topic is worthy of discussion. This discussion will relate to the slow lessening of religious reliance and a refocusing on humankind relying on itself. David Damico facilitates. ​

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We will meet at 9:15am in the Chalice Room. All are welcome. Drop-in discussions will continue on the first Sunday of the month. All are welcome!

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Phil Ebersole is the facilitator unless otherwise mentioned. Topics are subject to change. If you have a topic you would like discussed or, better still, would like to lead a discussion, speak to Phil Ebersole.​