September 14, 2003 - 5:00pm
Tainted Legacy 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights
The Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, guest speaker
Bill Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA and former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, writes, Since 9/11, the Bush Administration's 'War on Terror' has prioritized security at the expense of human rights. At the same time too many advocates of human rights have blithely dismissed the need to reexamine our thinking about rights and liberties in the face of the terrorist threat. Will more people die if we follow human rights standards or if we modify or even violate them? What happens when our right to security bumps up against other rights? How do we strike the right balance?
September 7, 2003 - 5:00pm
To Learn, to Celebrate, to Serve
The Rev. Judith Meyer, speaker
We start the church year with a service to affirm our calling as Unitarian Universalists. We also welcome the Rev. Stefanie Etzbach-Dale, our ministerial intern, who will be working with us this year.
Good as Gold
The Rev. Jim Conn, guest speaker
Labor Day Sunday Labor Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the role of work in our lives and in our common life. Karl Marx was not the first to say that workers are the source of a nation's wealth. But it is the disparity between work and worth that is the source of extreme wealth. That condition creates a problem for democracy. It always has. Jim Conn, urban strategist with the United Methodist Church, was formerly minister of the Church in Ocean Park and mayor of Santa Monica. Music Angela Meade, vocalist
At Home in the Struggle
Susan Conrad, guest speaker
The saying la vida es la lucha suggests that struggle is fundamental to our humanness. How can our participation in efforts for human dignity - on any scale - contribute to deepening a life of faith? This sermon will explore this question, and suggest that our own experiences of struggle can enrich the spiritual community we build together. Susan Conrad, who served our congregation as Faith in Action Intern two years ago, is a student at Harvard Divinity School. Music Michael Lamb, vocalist
Whale Rider The Reverent Subversive
The Rev. Silvio Nardoni, guest speaker
The currently-playing movie Whale Rider depicts a community of indigenous people in New Zealand trying to adapt, survive, and thrive in the modern world. Despite the apparent differences from the situation of our own religious community, there is much we can learn about the creative tension between tradition and innovation from this charming film. Silvio Nardoni is affiliate minister of our church. Music Sarah Kirkup, flute
A Life Worth Living
The Rev. Ricky Hoyt, guest speaker
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
It's Time to Speak Out
Ellen Geer, guest speaker
Ellen Geer, artistic director of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, will recount what happened to her family when they spoke out during to the 1950s, and the similarity to what happens today when dissent is voiced. We find ourselves at a time that many are again afraid to speak. When that happened at mid-century it divided and isolated people, and caused some to quit being human. The important thing today is to find courage, and we hope that in communities such as ours we can help one another to find it. Music Jennifer Jurrick, vocalist
The Christians Among Us
The Rev. Robert Jordan Ross, guest speaker
Who are these people? What do they want? What are they trying to get us to believe? Why don't they go worship with their own kind? Look, don't get me wrong diversity is good, but there are limits! Sometimes the spoken anxieties among us feed a self-closeting of UU Christians, who find themselves in the unusual position of being afraid to speak their truth amongst a people who advocate for the liberty and power of all people to be able to do so. Robert Jordan Ross is minister emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of South County, Mission Viejo, and a member of the Steering Committee of the UU Christian Fellowship. Music: Julie Millett, Vocalist
The Great Commandment
The Rev. Ricky Hoyt, guest speaker
Jesus quotes two of the Jewish commandments as the greatest of all that we should love God, love our neighbors, and love ourselves. When he also commands that we should love even our enemies he presents a challenge that we must treat every particle of the universe as a container for the ultimate values we hold most dear. Music Dominic Genova, Jazz Bass
Sources of Faith
The Rev. Ricky Hoyt, guest speaker
So beloved are our UU seven principles that many of us forget the second half of that statement the list of sources of our faith. I'll review that list in light of my own analysis of the three sources of spiritual wisdom intuition, community, and the world around us. Music David Ellis, Guitar
