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Our Pluralism Project The world religion banners that hung from our walls for many years were a visual affirmation of our religious pluralism. This Sunday we’ll welcome our new banners and reaffirm their meaning for us now. |
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Our Sabbath (Online Service)
Sundays are a sacred time for worship, rest, and play in our tradition. That is perhaps especially true in this time of quarantine. How did it come to be that we gather like this for a time of Sabbath? This week we will explore the Jewish and Christian origins of our sacred day and its relevance to our lives.
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Our Sanctuary is Open!
We are happy to report that after careful consideration of the UUA’s most recent guidance and the practices of our neighboring congregations, our COVID Steering Committee reopened our historic sanctuary to vaccinated members and friends on Sunday, February 27, 2022.
Vaccinations, well-fitting masks, and social distancing are still required. (Though reservations are not.) So if you’re vaccinated and follow these basic protocols, you can just show up for our 10:30 am services on Sunday mornings.
At the conclusion of the service, all members and friends will be asked to move to our beautiful outdoor courtyard for social hour. We are still not able to serve coffee or food but we know many look forward to our community time nonetheless.
We recognize that participation in our community life in this way necessitates some risk and this option may not be for everyone. We will continue to offer our services and coffee hour online as well to remain as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Only street parking will be available for the time being on Sunday mornings.
We are also reopening our church building and grounds for small to medium groups to meet throughout the week. Vaccinations, well-fitting masks, and social distancing are also required for group meetings. Reservations can be made with the church office.
We hope that in the coming months it will become increasingly safer for us to gather together but we all know the pandemic has not always been predictable. We will keep you updated as the situation evolves. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
We hope to see you at church or online soon!
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Our Song of Thanksgiving |
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Our Struggle Will Be Our Freedom “Why do people suffer?” has been a question that humans have sked for hundreds of years across all religions. On Labor Day, we will talk about the power that comes when we unite our suffering and struggle. The Rev. Rae Huang is a faith-rooted organizer with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) and is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church. |
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Our Theme for November is Service, and Service is Our Prayer... Our worship is ended, our service begins. These words provide the coda closing our worship services, reminding us of our call to work and serve in the world. Our ministry theme this month is Service. Here are a few other resonances that echo from that theme: Service… to our country. This month Veterans Day falls on 11-11-11. What does this day of remembrance mean to you, and to veterans in our liberal faith? |
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Our Time It has been 10 years since I arrived in Santa Monica to serve this congregation as your minister. The anniversary is a good time to speak about ministry, and what I have learned in my time with you. |
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Our Whole Church Sex and religion are often in the news, but it's usually bad news. And yet sexuality is part of being alive and part of our community, too. We'll take a look at sexual ethics and keeping our community safe and whole. Chalice Lighting Remarks by Rima Snyder |
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Our Whole Lives Come learn about our UU approach to sexuality education, now offered to every child, youth, and adult in our church. |
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Our Whole Lives (Read Rev. Bijur's Reflection Text) (Read Catherine Farmer Loya's Reflection Text) |
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Our Whole Lives (OWL) O.W.L. is swooping in for its bi-annual roost. We hope your teen will enter the nest and get comfortable. We have a fabulous four-person, co-ed facilitation team in place waiting to welcome the youth of our church. Many of your children took the grade 8/9 O.W.L. course and some have already taken the grades 10 -12 program. We encourage them to return. The Our Whole Lives life-span human sexuality program is relevant in different ways to different youth at different times depending on who is in their cohort and where they're at in life. Yes, there will be some review of factual material (now that it's likely even more relevant and personally important than before) but there will also be a different and stronger focus on young adult relationships. In most cases, their hormones aren't raging to the same degree they were a few years ago and they can begin to apply serious thought to the choices they will be making when they become more independent. The constant interweaving of our UU principles with the activities and discussion points of the O.W.L. curriculum makes for a powerful and important growth opportunity for senior high schoolers. Parent Orientation is February 10 at 1:00 PM Senior High Our Whole Lives is a 9 session 26 hour course. Please contact our DRE at: 310-829-5436 x108 or via email at dre@uusm.org with questions, comments, to RSVP for the parent orientation or to request child care for the parent orientations. Our Whole Lives is a series of sexuality education curricula for five age groups: grades K-1, grades 5-6, grades 8-9, grades 10-12, and adults, developed by and used in UU and UCC churches across North America. Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. In the 2018-2019 program year our RE program will offer two OWL classes – one for Jr High and one for Sr. High. Classes are taught by co-ed teams of church members who have attended official OWL trainings. Children may participate only with written permission from their legal guardians and after their guardians have attended mandatory orientation sessions. (For information about the OWL program for adults, contact the Adult RE committee.) Our Whole Lives Grades 7-9, Second Edition A sexuality education program for youth that models and teaches caring, compassion, respect, and justice. A holistic program that moves beyond the intellect to address the attitudes, values, and feelings that youth have about themselves and the world.
Sr. High OWL Senior High Our Whole Lives is a 14 session course. This level has a stronger focus on young adult relationships, media literacy and practice with communicating about power and balance. In most cases, their hormones aren't raging to the same degree they were a few years ago and they can begin to apply serious thought to the choices they will be making when they become more independent. We will also address present-day needs –social media, online porn, identity variance and vocabulary, fake news, etc. Look for information soon for this level that begins in February. For more information, contact our DRE - dre@uusm.org
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Out of Darkness |