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A Home for the Holidays
We are officially in the Season of Unmanaged Expectations. Nostalgia, Hallmark Movies, and our own hopes and dreams create for us a vision of celebrations that involve, at least metaphorically, home and hearth. Each year we hope and plan and wait, and each year, we are disappointed in some way. The disappointments are so frequent, that it is rare and necessary to exclaim, “This is the best [fill in the blank] ever!” Spending an ordinary day on a holiday is anathema to so many of us that we embellish the stories of what we did to celebrate. On this Sunday, we will talk about what home is, and what it means to have a home, especially for the holidays.
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A La Media Noche (arr. D. Saldana) - UUSM Vocalists |
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A Late Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday The holiday we celebrate today is quite different from feast days British settlers happened to share with members of the Wampanoag Nation in 1621. What, if anything, is left over from that first Thanksgiving? |
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A Life Worth Living Each of us must feel that we have through our life contributed to something significant and larger than ourselves. What that is for you, no one can tell you, but you must be able to name it for yourself in order to achieve satisfaction in your living. Ricky Hoyt is a minister, author, and former member of our congregation. Music James Raymond, jazz pianist & vocalist |
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A Lotus in Bloom
Thích Nhất Hạnh — the simple Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and peace activist — has inspired the spiritual lives of countless people of all faith traditions. In January, he departed from our mortal coil and we offer this service in honor of his profound life and teachings. We hope you will join us for this special service.
Please also note: Daylight Savings Time begins today!
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A Matter of Life and Death |
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A Multireligious Bouquet (Online Service)
A church of Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, Secularists, and Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and other spiritual seekers!? One of the most unique features of Unitarian Universalism is the expansiveness of our religious and philosophical embrace. It distinguishes us from every other religious tradition and yet is reflective of the world in which we live. It presents its own challenges and opportunities in creating beloved community. Join us as we explore our uniquely beautiful multireligious bouquet.
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A Note to Our Members and Friends at This Uncertain Time [COVID-19 Update]
As COVID-19 grips the country, you have no doubt been instructed and warned and increasingly alarmed by the news reports.
What we think you need to hear most at this time is that you are not alone.
The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica is here to support you. And we see this time of heightened anxiety as an opportunity for us to learn to be together and support each other in new ways.
One of the great things we can offer to another when facing fear or uncertainty is calm and the presence of mind to make good decisions and take sensible action. Another is the tools to connect and care.
Here’s what we would like to share today:
Centering practice works: Adopting a meditation practice of just sitting for 5-20 minutes a day can help to alleviate and cultivate mindful presence. If you don’t have your own prayer or meditation practice, We’d like to share a resource library (from our friends at InsightLA).
We are heeding LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s recommendation to slow the spread of the Coronavirus by foregoing worship in our sanctuary this weekend. Instead….
Please join us online for a special livestream Sunday Worship through Facebook. If you need help accessing Facebook, please contact board member Eileen McCormack who can assist you!
If you are a RE Family, DRE Cleo will have a special email for you. Stand by!
Because our older members are among our most vulnerable, the Pastoral Care Team is going to be setting up a check-in system.
Isolation can be lonely but we do have wonderful technology to connect, whether telephones, FaceBook or Zoom Rooms. Please reach out to pastoralcare@uusm.org if you are in need of support or you are willing to reach out to others who may need you.
We are ramping up our capabilities for virtual group and committee meetings beginning next week. Stand by for more information.
We are ramping up our online communication tools, creating a private FaceBook
If you become infected with COVID-19 please let Rev. Jeremiah know so we can track cases and care in our congregation. He is reachable at minister@uusm.org or you can call the church office.
We are taking the precautions necessary to protect our community. It is important that everyone follows the directions of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and our local public health agencies.
If you need to be on campus, know that we are following LA County Department of Public Health recommendations to reduce risk.
Finally, know you are not alone and this beloved community is here for you. Please don’t hesitate to call the church office or reach out to one of us at any time.
With love and concern,
Jeremiah Jacki
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae Jacki Weber
Developmental Minister President
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A Padded Room
A sermon on racism by a white person for white people. **Trigger Warning/Content Warning**
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A Passion for Learning Through the Lived Experience Professor of Sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College and activist for immigrant and worker rights, Calderon shares how his survival in higher education has rooted in the connections between experience as the immigrant son of farm worker parents and the lessons he has learned overcoming systemic obstacles as a community organizer, family participant, and intellectual activist. |
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A Path Appears
Lu Xun says, "Hope can be neither affirmed nor denied. Hope is like a path in the countryside: originally there was no path—yet, as people are walking all the time in the same spot, a way appears."
The Unitarian Universalist Church calls us to take action in the world to live out our Seven Priciples. How do we approach change in a process-oriented way that we can sustain so that a path appears for us and for others?
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A Pilgrim's Postcards According to Marian Wright Edelman, there are two ways to be in the world as a tourist or as a pilgrim. Each has a very different experience of life. The service will include an observance for Memorial Day. Music Ivan Schulmann, oboistAccording to Marian Wright Edelman, there are two ways to be in the world as a tourist or as a pilgrim. Each has a very different experience of life. The service will include an observance for Memorial Day. Music Ivan Schulmann, oboist |