FUSE 2026 Workshops
with Richard Bober
“The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime.” Thich Naht Hahn.
Meditation is not about trying to create some special state of mind… it’s the process of uncovering and coming into alignment with our true nature. This is bringing the mind home. These mindfulness practices can reveal the natural qualities of calm and peace… and to allow this in a kind and compassionate way that moves us to harmony with life.
This workshop is suitable for those with little or no experience of meditation and for those wishing to reconnect or deepen their practice. We will work with the body, the breath and with kindness.
with Eleanor Chiari
Eleanor will lead us in inventing new rituals for building and creating spiritual courage, through embodied practices and collective movement. She will tell us how and why she advocates for creative ritual practices to be used during services and will explain and explore what key elements of ritual she draws on (from anthropological and long established ritual practices). Those gathered will create a short ritual and demonstrate what it feels like.
with Kate Dean
In the Wheel of the Year, we will mark the winter season with the pagan celebration of Yule or Winter Solstice on 21 December. This workshop will include a taster of a Yule ceremony. Kate will also share the latest developments in the national Unitarian Earth Spirit Network (ESN) and how you can get involved by holding your own earth-centred ceremonies, for those who find the divine in the natural world.
with Sheena Gabriel
Exploration into Spiritual Experience
With a heritage grounded in reason and rational thought, Unitarians have sometimes seemed more comfortable talking about religion, than engaging with the experiential and mystical aspects of faith. But within our tradition we find navigators of the soul who have plumbed the depths of the spiritual realm; including the marine biologist Sir Alistair Hardy, who set up the Religious Experience Research Centre at Manchester College Oxford – collating 100’s of accounts of spiritual experiences from people across all walks of life.
In this session we'll hear some of these accounts, share our personal responses, and what we might learn from them. There will also be chance to share our own spiritual experiences – those numinous moments which offer a glimpse beyond everyday reality.
with Tim Harrison
Tim Harrison will lead this session in the children’s workshop (adults welcome). With a mixture of talk and his original music he will weave together environmental themes.
with Jen Hazel
Jen Hazel will offer a perspective on how music is part of our spiritual heritage and the present day. Music is essential for worship because it serves as a powerful medium to express devotion and unite us in communal praise. It creates an atmosphere of reverence, enhances the spiritual experience, and provides an emotional bridge to deeper spiritual experiences. There will also be singing of some of our favourite hymns.
With Kasia Marzec
Kasia will offer a chance to bathe in the healing sounds of a gong bath, which promotes rejuvenation, rebalancing, and transformation of the body and mind. Sound vibrations affect cells of the body and bring back natural harmony and vitality so that you can function at your optimum level.
With Rob Oulton
Outdoor session
Our life is deeply entwined with human-made surroundings and technology, yet our essential nature was created over millennia in intimate association with nature. We are drawn to be in nature because we sense it can both teach and heal us.
‘Wandering Wisdom’ invites us to connect on an intuitive level to the subtle energy of meaning in the paths, trees, plants, birds, animals, and landscape of Milton Hill House grounds. You might want to walk with a question you’re grappling with; perhaps the fragile hint of an answer or a deeper story, may shyly reveal itself? Or you may prefer to simply wander and notice what draws you.
Bring outdoor shoes, a rain jacket, and an open mind. Starting indoors in the library with some preliminary instructions, we’ll regroup at the end, to share our experiences.
With Julio Torres
Julio will share our rich legacy of justice, rooted in its historical development and the beliefs for which it has advocated. Unitarians have been involved in various social justice movements, advocating for the worth and dignity of all individuals, and have been instrumental in the transformation of the world. Unitarian Universalism continues to be a force for change, with individuals and communities actively engaging in social justice work. The tradition's emphasis on critical engagement with the world and the importance of service and social justice work is a testament to its enduring legacy.
Please note the programme may be subject to change.