Lunches for Bunches
Date / Time:
Sunday, September 10, 2017 - 11:00am - 11:45am
Contact Name:
Patrick Meighan
FIA - "An Uncomfortable Truth: Time to Talk About Racial Injustice"
UU Santa Monica's Peace & Social Justice Committee and Organizing For Action (OFA) are proud to present an interactive panel discussion with Organizing For Action (OFA) Los Angeles Chapter and featuring distinguished experts and guests.
Topics to be covered will include:
- What are the consequences of unconscious bias and it's impact on society?
- How can one be aware of it? How does it show up?
- What strategic efforts can be made to reform the criminal justice system?
- How woke are we?
AND MANY MORE!
Panelists will include:
-Jennifer Williams, professor of African American and Gender Studies at Loyola Marymount University
-Donzaleigh Abernathy: Author, civil rights activist, actress, and daughter of civil rights pioneer Ralph Abernathy.
-Charles Swain Esq. Civil Rights Attorney and filmmaker.
-Dr. Penelope Facher, Psychotherapist and graduate of the California Institute for Clinical Social Work.
-Professor Marne Campbell, Professor of African American Studies and History, Loyola Marymount University.
-Randy Shrewsberry: Former cop, Director of The Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform
Please join us for this exciting opportunity for education, dialogue, and collaboration with local activists who share a commitment to justice and equity. A reception in Forbes Hall will follow the discussion.
More about OFA: Organizing For Action (www.ofa.us) began as the organization to elect President Obama in 2007-2008 but has evolved into an independent, non-partisan, grassroots movement working for progressive change on many fronts including racial justice, reproductive rights, healthcare and climate change. It has 250 chapters nationwide dedicated to mobilizing the next generation of progressive organizers and social justice leaders.
Date / Time:
Saturday, November 11, 2017 - 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Contact Name:
James Witker
FIA - Love Thy Nature screening and Q&A with director
UU Santa Monica's Green Living Committee presents a special screening of the award-winning film, “Love Thy Nature,” with Filmmakers and Community Partners -- Saturday, October 7th at 7PM on the big screen in the Sanctuary.
Narrated by Liam Neeson, “Love Thy Nature” points to how deeply we’ve lost touch with nature, and takes viewers on a cinematic journey through the beauty and intimacy of our relationship with the natural world. The film shows that a renewed connection with nature ignites a sense of meaning and wonder so profound that it touches us at the very core of what it means to be human. The winner of 27 awards, it screened in 140 cities around the globe, advancing the filmmakers' mission to grow the nature-connecting movement.
The film’s director, Sylvie Rokab, will be present for a Q&A. And please join us afterward in Forbes for refreshments and a chance to learn more about how the Green Committee and our community partners are working on environmental and climate justice in Santa Monica/LA and beyond.
View the trailer here: http://www.lovethynature.com/#trailer
Date / Time:
Saturday, October 7, 2017 - 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Room:
Contact Name:
Alison Kendall
James Witker
September, 2017
Story Painting by Nancy Romero
Nancy Romero, an award winning and well known artist in southern California, will be exhibiting a Sampling of Stories on the Art Wall at UU Santa Monica. The Artist’s Opening Reception is tentatively scheduled (watch for updates) for Sunday, September 10, from 11 am until 12:30 pm. Meet the artist and see a collection of her “Art Toys” at the reception. She works with oil and tempera on prepared panels, often gold leafed. The exhibit will run through the end of the September.
In Romero’s words:
“I celebrate glee, playfulness and irony: we are overwhelmed by violence and negativity in our world today. My work is a small antidote.
“My paintings and toys tell stories. The subject matter is often inspired by my studies in mythology and folk art. I focus on the small battles in nature and in human relationships, playing with the images of the larger myth that infuse the minutia of our lives.
“In my paintings, I experiment with techniques, ranging from old master oil glazing to tempera and gilding. My toys are automata- they move, driven by hand cranks or small motors. They are made mostly from wood and painted in tempera.”
Romero’s education started with a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, New York, and graduate studies in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. It moved on to 30 years of painting stories and making toys based on mythology, morality, personal relationships, and the mysteries of animals. Search YouTube for ‘Nancy Romero Art Toys’ to see the toys in action. (For the digital copy use this link: See Nancy Romero Art Toys in Action instead of the sentence.)
Contact Nancy Thompson in the church office for information or weekday appointments: assistant@uusm.org, 310-829-5436 ext 102.
Contact Our Art Director, Beverly Alison for further info about this show or about exhibiting on our Art Wall.
Heart and Soul: A Contemplative Worship Service - 5 p.m.
Theme:
Welcome
Sunday, September 10, 2017 - 5:00pm
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robbins, Joyce Holmen and Karen Hsu Patterson
Heart and Soul services are led by Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Joyce Holmen, and Karen Hsu
Patterson. With singing and instrumental music, poetry, statements and questions, silence and
sharing, we’ll explore monthly worship themes.
Sunday, September 10 – What Does It Mean to Be a Community of Welcome?
Break Not the Circle
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Rev. Greg Ward
Worship Associate:
Margot Page
Acceptance and inclusion are very powerful religious principles. UUs take these very seriously.
So how do we treat those who have made mistakes? In these, the high holy days of the Jewish
Calendar, what can we turn to that will speak of forgiveness and inclusion?
Noah's Dilemma (Two services at 9 and 11 a.m.)
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Rev. Greg Ward
Noah understood about the need to bring people together. In the midst of a great flood of change,
he prepared for people to discover the best of one another. Come to UUSM's multigenerational
Ingathering story where we will pour our lives into this community and notice what a blessing
each person brings.
No Justice, No Peace (one service at 10 a.m.)
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Michael Eselun, UCLA Oncology Chaplain
Worship Associate:
Viilma Ortiz
We are used to hearing this chant of protest-- as a demand for justice. Pursuit of justice is a core
UU Principle, and yet we’ve also heard since childhood that “no one said life is fair.” When
such injustice hits closer to home—like say, a diagnosis of cancer, how do we find peace when
there seems to be no justice? UCLA oncology chaplain, Michael Eselun, will explore this
territory.
Perfect Strangers (one service at 10 a.m.)
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Rev. Greg Ward
Worship Associate:
Jacki Weber
What is your relationship with perfection? Do you have a history of trying to be perfect... to be
noticed... to be appreciated... to be loved? Trying to be perfect may sometimes get us attention,
but it comes with a price: people only know us for what we do and not who we are. And in the
process, we become perfect strangers.