Green Living Committee + Faith in Action invites you to spend some time gardening outdoors with our nature loving folks of all ages from UUSM!  Youth and folks with gardening skills and tools are especially invited! 

Our church campus landscape is in need of some loving attention, as we start to hold small gatherings outdoors in our Covid-19 transition period.  We will focus on filling in the bald areas along the low stucco wall with drought tolerant plants. 

We may be able to select and start a small native garden in an appropriate spot.

UUSM Covid 19 Protocols apply:

--Bring and Wear Masks and stay Socially Distanced

--No Food or Drink

--Vaccinated Folks only (unless under 12 with parent)

--Please dress in comfortable shoes and clothes, with hat, mask and sunscreen

--Please bring tools and 

--Please RSVP to greenchair@uusm.org.

Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins

The History of God

facilitated by James Witker & Sarah Robson

How and why have concepts of God changed over time and across cultures, yet remained resonant and important? How have the three great monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — shaped the image of God in their own ways? How have these faith traditions influenced each other? Join us for a theological and historical exploration of monotheism in its myriad forms and possibilities, guided by Karen Armstrong’s classic, “A History of God.” Contact: AdultRE@uusm.org for the zoom link.

Rev. James Ishmael Ford

This October, our Generous Congregation recipient is the Westside Food Bank. UU Santa Monica has a long relationship with Westside Food Bank: donating food, volunteering labor, and raising money. Most UUSM youth and young adults remember trekking over on a Sunday morning to sort food and learn more about hunger in our community. 

This year there’s a way that UU Santa Monica members and friends can support the Westside Food Bank and get some exercise in the process. Westside Food Bank is conducting their 31st 5k Hunger Walk virtually, October 17-24. And the UUSM Hunger Task Force is on the march!

We are doubling down to support Westside Foodbank with cash. They distribute to more than 70 local service agencies and can stretch a dollar like nobody’s business. The economy is improving, but even before the pandemic, an estimated one in five individuals in LA County lived with food insecurity.

If you are able, please join us to walk the 5K, on your own time, in your own neighborhood; or with the group on October 17. Yes, a real in-person group is walking October 17 at 2:00 pm. We’re starting at 18th and Arizona, but note that the church buildings and campus are is closed. This is a public, intergenerational event, so mask up and kids must have an escort.

If you’re not able to walk, please help the Hunger Task Force by supporting an individual walker or the team.

Lois Hutchinson and Jo An Peters will lead the walk, and all funds will go directly to the Westside Foodbank to help food-insecure persons in our communities. This is a way to have some fun, in addition to your regular support via Generous Congregation donations on Sundays.

Remember, lots of people are walking on their own time in their own neighborhoods, but we will be walking at 2:00 pm on October 17 starting at church. We are hoping to get ten walkers with ten sponsors each, raising $1000… or even more.  It's going to be super fun!  Everyone is welcome, kids, dogs, families, single folks, old and young… Come join us as we walk AND make a difference!

Nature Journaling on Bats

October 31, 2:30pm-4pm

Spend some of Halloween Day contemplating bats. Bats are fascinating
animals that tend to both intrigue and repel people. We will spend some
time learning about some of the many species of bats and then spend some
time drawing them from photographs. We may recall some encounters or
associations that we have had with bats. We will definitely go into
Halloween evening more familiar with these amazing animals.
This session will be facilitated by Dorothy Steinicke, a member of UUSM
and a lifelong lover of nature and the outdoors. Dorothy has spent years
encouraging people to experience the natural world.
To receive the Zoom link for this program contact AdultRE@uusm.o

Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae