I started going to the UU church in Palo Alto when I was in 2nd grade. It was a compromise my parents reached about how to raise their 4 children. I became very involved in our UU church, and that was where most of my friends were. Many of them I am still very close with. It was an exciting time in the 60’s with the women’s movement, civil rights and war demonstrations. We even had an alternative high school at our church called Lothlorian. I really felt welcomed and accepted, which is so important for a teenager and it opened my eyes to the world around me.

I lapsed during my college years, then got married & started a family. It was during the LA riots 15 years ago that I declared we needed a community. We needed help making sense of the world around us. I knew church was where we could find support as we raised our children. That is when we began coming here.

During the last 15 years, this church has become a very important part of my life. I’ve been through some very difficult and challenging times. No matter what, this was where I could go, to find some peace and feel that I wasn’t alone. Here I learned to create some balance in my life. I discovered I had some very real spiritual needs and how much fun being on a committee can be. It helped me clarify who I was as a mother, a wife and world citizen. Thanks to this church my daughter has blossomed into an amazing person and I thank you all for that.

In the last few years, I have become involved with our national movement. I have a new pride in being a UU when I see the work that we are doing to bend the world toward justice. I look forward to our General Assemblies each year where we come together to worship, learn and clarify our position in these troubled times. It makes me feel that together our liberal voice might be heard and change is possible.

So I light the chalice grateful to be a UU. Here I have learned and done so much through the various stages of my life.