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Sermons

This is a full list of sermons presented at UUCCSM since mid-1999. Links to sermon texts are included when made available by their authors. Audio recordings are also available for most sermons presented after September, 2007 by our staff ministers and others directly affiliated with our church (just click the speaker icon next to each sermon where it's available*). Audio from guest speakers is posted only when we have their permission to share it.

Hard copies of sermons by Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae are available in the church office. Contact office assistant Sibylla Nash at office@uusm.org if you have a request.

"Leaving Room for Hope: Sermons for Uncertain Times," a book of Minister Emerita Judith Meyer's sermons, is available here.

**Please Note: Video recordings are available for sermons with a small TV icon showing at the bottom of the sermon listing. Just click the icon to watch the service.**

July 2, 2017 - 10:00am
Poetry of Protest and Praise
Rima Snyder
Join Rima Snyder, Emmy Cresciman, and others as they explore poems by William Wordsworth, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Wendell Berry on the topics of nature, patriotism and environmentalism.

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June 25, 2017 - 10:00am
Forgiveness - A Practical Approach
Monthly Theme: Joy
Bart Campolo
Popular guest speaker Bart Campolo, Humanist chaplain and former prominent Evangelical leader/organizer, returns to UU Santa Monica for this Sunday's 10:00 am service: 
 
"Most religions have plenty of injunctions about forgiveness, and many threaten dire consequences for those of us who fail to heed them, but very few offer a clear definition of what forgiveness actually involves, let alone step by step instructions about how to do it.  For secularists, the problem runs at least one step deeper, to the question of whether forgiveness is always the best way to handle a grievance, and if so, why.  Join Bart Campolo, the humanist chaplain at USC and a certified expert in mistake-making, as he takes on the business end of forgiving each other and ourselves."

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June 18, 2017
Change Matters
Monthly Theme: Joy
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robbins
The one thing in life we can count on is change, and yet the one thing that is hardest to deal with is change that is imposed on us — without our consent or input. Movement is not necessarily change, and change is not necessarily progress. Find strength and support in your community as you adjust to the dynamics of change.
 
 

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June 11, 2017 - 5:00pm
Heart and Soul: A Contemplative Worship Service (5 p.m.)
Monthly Theme: Joy
Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Joyce Holmen and Karen Hsu Patterson
In consultation with our minister, we are continuing the Heart and Soul services, now led by Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Joyce Holmen, and Karen Hsu Patterson. With singing and instrumental music, statements and questions, silence and sharing, we’ll explore this month's theme of what it means to be a community of joy.
June 11, 2017
Hopes and Wishes and Dreams
Monthly Theme: Joy
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robbins
It is hard to have hope when you are filled with doubt. Having faith in yourself and in your community provides the foundation for hope to emerge.

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June 4, 2017 - 10:00am
Celebration Sunday (one service at 10 a.m.)
Monthly Theme: Joy
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur, Kathleen Hogue and Dr. Zanaida Robles
One service only at 10am
 
We conclude our church year, start our summer service schedule, and say a final goodbye to Rev. Rebecca with a festive service of celebration, music, and appreciation for our church.
 

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June 3, 2017 - 1:30pm
Service of Celebration (1:30 p.m.)
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
Join us for a special Service of Celebration for Rev. Rebecca, followed by a champagne and punch reception. The service will feature special music by our Adult Choir and a chance to mark the ending of this chapter in the life of the congregation in ritual and ceremony, just as we did when we began Rev. Rebecca's ministry with a Service of Installation on February 13, 2011.

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May 28, 2017
Living in the Future
Monthly Theme: Embodiment
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
Rev. Rebecca's last full sermon from our pulpit, which will conclude her ongoing series on leave-taking with reflections on her seven years at UUCCSM.

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May 21, 2017
Growing Unitarian Universalists
Monthly Theme: Embodiment
Kathleen Hogue and Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
Join us for this annual intergenerational service in which we celebrate all we've learned together this year in our lifespan religious exploration programs, and recognize all our senior youth who will be "bridging" into young adulthood this year with a special Bridging Ceremony. The services will be followed at 12:30pm by our congregation's Annual Meeting.

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May 14, 2017 - 5:00pm
Heart and Soul: A Contemplative Worship Service (5 p.m.)
Monthly Theme: Embodiment
Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Joyce Holmen and Karen Hsu Patterson
In consultation with our minister, we are continuing the Heart and Soul services, now led by Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Joyce Holmen, and Karen Hsu Patterson. With singing and instrumental music, statements and questions, silence and sharing, we’ll explore this month's theme of what it means to be a community of embodiment.