2026 Store Tour Dates
If you've been waiting for your opportunity to peruse the UUW&R Bookstore in-person, here is where we'll be this year!
July 29 - August 2
AUUMM Conference in Milwaukee, WI
August 14-16
UU Women's Connection Summer Retreat in Michigan
Maybe up in Wisconsin again in August...
General Assembly is mostly online in 2026. We'll be back in 2027 - San Jose, California!
... plus more to be announced this summer and fall!
We are getting more brand-new UU chalice jewelry -- it's selling fast so get some soon as you can!
Chalice Earrings
NEW! Hand-assembled UU chalice earrings. Double hoops with semi-precious gemstones. Nickel-free hooks. $15 to $30. Stones may include Amazonite - Courage • Cherry Quartz - Hope, Love, Compassion • Goldstone - Creativity, Ambition, Protection • Howlite - Calm, Letting go of attachments • Malachite - Transformation, Positive Change, Leadership • Shell - Intuition, Sensitivity, Imagination • Unakite • Lapis • Tiger Eye • Onyx • Amethyst • Fluorite • Rose Quartz • Quartz • Labradorite • Sunstone • Moonstone ... if you would like a specific size or combination of stones, email
designs © 2026 UU Women and Religion
Share the Plate for UUW&R
UU Women and Religion is a grassroots project started by lay leaders in the 1970s as an effort to promote examination of religious roots of sexism and patriarchy within the UUA and beyond. UUWR officially began as a task force following the unanimously-passed WOMEN AND RELIGION RESOLUTION at the 1977 UUA General Assembly. Although the Task Force was eventually sunsetted, the movement still exists in UU communities that hold Women & Religion programs and gatherings for those who identify as women. It exists at the UU General Assembly, where UUW&R brings our Store to the Exhibit Hall and occasionally hosts a gathering. The many changes inspired by this movement include congregations' use of an annual Water Ritual, and the Joys and Concerns time that many congregations embrace. We call it the Continental UUW&R to distinguish it from the one surviving district group, Pacific Central W&R.
Joy in Absence
At times we can be the orchestrator of our own discomfort. We choose things for our lives and at times we don't consider the weight those things may have. Protecting your joy is not only about preserving your own happiness. It preserves both your mental and physical health. Life is stressful enough without adding things that create more hardship. That's not self love or care. What may logically be the right thing may not be the most healthy thing for your life. Wisdom is learning your limits and where to step back for your own personal well being.
It's been three years since I started my journey for a more joyful existence. Some things I kept in my life out of obligation even though I knew they were causing me harm. I wanted to be a good person. I wanted to do the right thing. I had no peace. I was never able to rest my body or my thoughts. Rest is necessary for a positive experience and peaceful life. You can't live in chaos and expect peace or joy. You can't heal or be healthy without the ability to regenerate through effective rest.
The absence of negative things, people and situations creates the foundation needed for joy. Doing an honest inventory of what creates peace and what creates despair and hopelessness are very important. When I started this journey this felt like such a selfish thought, however, you must protect yourself and your joy. People thrive and grow in joy.
I have learned that the most important person to me has to be me. I am the first layer or protection and the one who knows me more intimately than anyone else ever can. Protecting my peace must be a priority. I can't care for myself or anyone else when I'm not at my best. I deserve to be my best. You deserve your best you. You deserve JOY.
~Nyx
