Learn more about Recess, pricing, and our mascots below.
Registration is open for our first gathering!
Recess is for Unitarian Universalist religious professionals, lay leaders, and UU-adjacent folks who spend their days tending communities, advocating for justice, nurturing future generations, and carrying a lot. Our gatherings are not about fixing, strategizing, or producing, but rather setting the work down for a moment and leaning into joy.
Each gathering begins by making the space sacred with a chalice lighting and a low-pressure check-in (participants submit their check-in ahead of time - you'll never be put on the spot to share).
Beyond the basics, we also lean into imagination and joy through collaborative storytelling, games, themed activities, and other rotating special events. You might find yourself playing together, participating in a no-stakes friendly competition, choosing to wear a costume, sharing something hilarious during a themed show-and-tell, or engaging in other forms of creative, restorative play. Every Recess is a little different - but it’s always rooted in connection, care, and delight.
Aside from Jenn and Jersey, your hosts, you'll be joined by folks who are out in the world doing the same work you are - serving love and defying hate.
Of course, you'll get to know the Recess mascots rather well too.
Little Guy is a cheerful little chalice who embodies sacred silliness and reminds you it's ok to simply be a little guy living your little life, doing your little thing, with curiosity and delight.
The Carrot of Care is a root vegetable who roots for you! They lovingly hold space for our check-ins and tend gently to what's shared.
You can read their stories below.
Recess is:
Low-pressure and consent-based
Structured, but playful
More like a cozy live show than a meeting
A moment of spirit & whimsy.
Recess is not:
A workshop
A training or discussion group
A space for problem-solving or heavy processing
Another place where you’re expected to show up polished or prepared
You don't need to prep anything.
You don't even need to wear pants.
Just arrive.
Choose how many "scoops" are right for you!
Think of your registration as an ice-cream cone. One scoop ($20) covers your spot at Recess - and one scoop is delicious.
Want to share the sweetness? After you check out, you'll have the option to add up to 3 extra scoops ($10 each) to your registration. Extra scoops support the behind-the-scenes work of Recess and fund Shared Cones - free seats reserved for those for whom cost is a barrier.
Need to receive some sweetness? Request a Shared Cone, no questions asked. If this gathering fills up, we'll work with you to find a seat at a future gathering.
Extra scoops from the community fund Shared Cones (free seats) for every Recess gathering. You can request a Shared Cone as often as you need, no hoops to jump through. We want you here. Please include your name and pronouns, your role (UU religious professional, lay leader, community organizer, etc.), and the date of the gathering you'd like to attend in your email. This info helps us prepare your seat.
Jenn Blosser is pretty infamous for her habit of creating oddball characters who become integral parts of her programming... so it should surprise nobody that Recess is no different. Meet the mascots of our gatherings - they're looking forward to becoming your friends.
One quiet Sunday night, after a worship service where children and adults had been playfully crafting together in the back corner of the sanctuary, something marvelous happened. The spirit of sacred silliness which was left lingering in the sanctuary soaked into scraps of construction paper which the crafters had left on the ground. The scraps gathered themselves into a tiny, colorful, sentient flaming chalice.
At first, the chalice didn’t know who he was or what it meant to exist. He hopped and wobbled through the building until he found a mirror - and there, for the first time, he saw himself. A tiny flaming chalice... just a Little Guy. Delighted by becoming himself, he decided to learn everything about the congregation who brought him to life.
Little Guy loved nothing more than watching his people do their thing - caring for one another, telling stories, laughing, wondering, and simply being human together. And the congregation loved nothing more than catching a glimpse of Little Guy, smiling to themselves as he played peek-a-boo between the pews. In this way, Little Guy nourished the very sacred silliness which breathed life into him - reminding all that play, wonder, and tenderness belong at the very heart of community life.
We're excited he's ventured beyond his church to share his sacred, silly, little self with us at Recess. Who knows what adventures we might have together with Little Guy around!
The Carrot of Care (they/them) came into the world at General Assembly (GA) 2025 with a very modest job description: be passed around during youth check-ins as a grounding, tactile object. But the middle school youth in attendance had a far more ambitious vision. They formed the legendary Carrot Cult, and joyfully composed parody lyrics to Blue Boat Home and Spirit of Life, building a community around the plush, orange, soft toy.
In that moment, the Carrot of Care became something powerful - not through solemnity, but through imagination and shared delight. They stood for connection, belonging, and the kind of whimsy that builds trust. The experience was so meaningful that Jenn commemorated it with a carrot tattoo before GA was over!
The Carrot of Care comes to Recess carrying the legacy of that youth-led movement. During check-ins, they help hold space for everything people are carrying - spoken or unspoken. In short, they are the root vegetable who roots for us.
You can always connect directly with Little Guy & The Carrot of Care in our S&W Community, but if you're not a community member (yet), you can reach out to them via email as easy as pie!
Have a funny story? Fancy hearing a dad joke? Want to test out whether a sentient amalgamation of construction paper scraps can respond to an email? Hit the button below!
You don't need to be in a Recess gathering to share with the Carrot of Care - you can reach out anytime for affirmation, validation, inspiration, or just to say "hey!"