This sermon will delve into the worldviews and spirituality of native peoples, specifically Native Americans and the Aborigines of Australia, drawing heavily on the classic, "Mutant Message Down Under" by Marlo Morgan.  We find in these worldviews universal truths of interconnectedness, gratitude, and faith in abundance. 

 

The Rev. Hannah Petrie, a life-long UU, was affirmed and ordained at North Shore Unitarian Church in Deerfield, IL.  She graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry in its centennial year 2004, and has served UU congregations in Texas, Michigan, Florida, and most recently, Pasadena, CA. 

 

Note:  Please mark your calendars - August 21 will be our Ingathering Services at 9am and 11am! In this experimental year, we are trying out re-aligning the church year with the calendars of many local schools, including the Santa Monica-Malibu School District and Los Angeles Unified School District, which begin well before Labor Day. This will give us an “early” Ingathering service on August 21, when kids are going back to school, and also allow us, especially our families with kids, to get into our rhythm of two services for a few weeks before our annual all-church weekend at De Benneville Pines on Sept 16-18.

 

The theme for General Assembly 2016 in Columbus, Ohio, is “Heart Land: Where Faiths Connect.” Join Rev. Rebecca and our GA attendees as they bring home what they have learned and experienced at the largest annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists in the world.

 

[Note:  No audio recording is available for this service.]

 

Join us for a heart-felt farewell service celebrating our departing Director of Lifespan Religious Education, Catherine Farmer Loya, with reflections inspired by her thirteen years of service to our community. Please join us after the service for a festive Farewell Reception for Catherine; this will also be a last chance to write amessage of thanks to her and contribute to a farewell gift.

 

Interfaith leader Eboo Patel writes, “the [pluralist] movement I belong to has failed to replace the image of Muslims as terrorists with that of Muslims as neighbors.”

 

What would it look like for interfaith work to succeed in fulfilling “the promise of America” for people of all faiths and no faiths, including Muslims?

 

“In the depths of the Great Recession, a cancer nurse, a car dealership worker, and an insurance fraud specialist helped uncover the largest consumer crime in American history—millions of families were kicked out of their homes based on false evidence by mortgage companies that had no legal right to foreclose.” More info about the book here: 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Chain-Title-Americans-Uncovered-Foreclosure/dp/1620971585/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467927142&sr=8-1&keywords=chain+of+title

 

David is a contributing writer to Salon, The New Republic, Vice, The Intercept, The Fiscal Times and others. Before that, he was a well-known political blogger at Firedoglake. Glenn Greenwald has said: "In the wake of the devastating 2008 financial crisis, David Dayen has become one of the nation’s most knowledgeable, astute and important voices in identifying the culprits and documenting the efforts to protect them. His new book is one of the most important yet written on the causes of that crisis, the abject failures of the political class to punish the wrongdoers, and the dangerous refusal on the part of the nation’s elite to safeguard against future and even worse meltdowns.”

 

Some may have met David and his wife, Mary, when they joined us at one of the CLUE demonstrations at Millennium Car Wash a couple of years ago. Join us this Sunday in the Sanctuary at 7:30PM as we welcome them to UUSM. Flyer attached below.

 

Photographer Larry Barber has spent the last eight years traveling the world and taking photographs of some of the most beautiful and poignant natural wonders on earth. Come and witness the renewing power of gazing at the beauty of nature as Barber displays 20+ of his best works.

 

Barber graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Journalism in 1961 and began his career as a reporter and cameraman. He learned to focus on the essential elements of telling a story. After graduating from film school at UCLA, Barber decided to change direction and focus on issues of the spirit, which eventually led him to a ministerial degree from United Church of Religious Science. From 1979 to 2008, Barber served as senior minister in La Crescenta; as associate editor of “Science of Mind” magazine; and as associate minister of Founder’s Center for Spiritual Living in Los Angeles.

 

Barber’s initial interest in the power of the natural world occurred in February 1973, when he appeared at a Santa Monica City Council Meeting to defend the Santa Monica Pier, which was slated for destruction. Barber argued that the primary value of the pier was as a venue where human beings could refresh their inner selves by regular contact with sunlight, sky, and ocean. A photo from this famous meeting, which took Barber along a path that led him to photography, will be displayed at the show.

 

 Come learn all there is to know about UU Santa Monica.