"Trusting In Community" Sunday, March 23, 2025 Join us for this All-Ages Worship to hear a sweet story about how a cat helped calm a scary storm and brought a community together. Interactive opportunities to build trust in our community, both within our walls and outside our walls, will be part of the service. Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congre…

“Trusting In Community” Sunday, March 23, 2025 Join us for this All-Ages Worship to hear a sweet story about how a cat helped calm a scary storm and brought a community together. Interactive opportunities to build trust in our community, both within our walls and outside our walls, will be part of the service. Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congre…

"Trust the Body" Sunday, March 16, 2025, 10:50 am What does it mean to live an embodied life, to treat the body as a shrine and as a source of wisdom? What happens when we don't? Maybe trust isn't just between two people or out in the world, but in one of the most fundamental relationships to ourselves? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; …

"Trust the Body" Sunday, March 16, 2025, 10:50 am What does it mean to live an embodied life, to treat the body as a shrine and as a source of wisdom? What happens when we don't? Maybe trust isn't just between two people or out in the world, but in one of the most fundamental relationships to ourselves? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; …

"Leaning In" Sunday, March 9, 2025, 10:50 am Anxiety and a feeling of ungroundedness can erode trust in ourselves and in our community. How do we lean into relationships during challenging times? Are there ways we can build trust instead of diminish it? Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Emma Wa…

"Leaning In" Sunday, March 9, 2025, 10:50 am Anxiety and a feeling of ungroundedness can erode trust in ourselves and in our community. How do we lean into relationships during challenging times? Are there ways we can build trust instead of diminish it? Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Emma Wa…

"Safe Harbors in Stormy Times" Sunday, March 2, 2025, 10:50 am Someone teaches you about the ocean. Someone shows you how to swim for the joy of it, or maybe so you can be safe. Each of us will face storms, and what someone taught us about the water, about swimming, and about what will get us through is relevant now. And relevant to why generations…

"Safe Harbors in Stormy Times" Sunday, March 2, 2025 Someone teaches you about the ocean. Someone shows you how to swim for the joy of it, or maybe so you can be safe. Each of us will face storms, and what someone taught us about the water, about swimming, and about what will get us through is relevant now. And relevant to why generations have inve…

"Inclusion" Sunday, February 2, 2025 Who's in? Who's out? Belonging? Exclusion? Making room? Accommodations. Drawing the circle wider. Stretching beyond what we know, what and who is familiar. What does inclusion mean, and what does it ask, and why bother! Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational L…

"Inclusion" Sunday, February 2, 2025 Who's in? Who's out? Belonging? Exclusion? Making room? Accommodations. Drawing the circle wider. Stretching beyond what we know, what and who is familiar. What does inclusion mean, and what does it ask, and why bother! Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational L…

"Story: Wine, Weddings, and a Coming Out" Sunday, January 26, 2025 The theme of January is “Story.” One of the things I love about a tradition—religious, cultural, or literary—is that the community starts to repeat and value certain stories as worth revisiting, as worth revising in light of the interpretations we bring to them based on where we are…

"Story: Wine, Weddings, and a Coming Out" Sunday, January 26, 2025 The theme of January is “Story.” One of the things I love about a tradition—religious, cultural, or literary—is that the community starts to repeat and value certain stories as worth revisiting, as worth revising in light of the interpretations we bring to them based on where we are…

"MLK" Sunday, January 19, 2025 Jonathan Eig won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2024 for his biography King: A Life. People who previously refused to be interviewed told their stories, government documents that were newly released, and lots of research present a rich perspective on more of the layers of the story of Martin Luther King Jr., his …

"MLK" Sunday, January 19, 2025 Jonathan Eig won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2024 for his biography King: A Life. People who previously refused to be interviewed told their stories, government documents that were newly released, and lots of research present a rich perspective on more of the layers of the story of Martin Luther King Jr., his …

"Build Strength Through Our Stories" Sunday, January 12, 2025 Stories are powerful and offer us lessons to help resource ourselves. By looking at historical figures, ancestors, and our own lives, we can remember the stories that have given us resilience and have helped us build community in challenging times. Let's come together to tell these stori…

"Build Strength Through Our Stories" Sunday, January 12, 2025 Stories are powerful and offer us lessons to help resource ourselves. By looking at historical figures, ancestors, and our own lives, we can remember the stories that have given us resilience and have helped us build community in challenging times. Let's come together to tell these stori…

"The Stories We Tell" Sunday, January 5, 2025, 10:50 am Humans are storytellers, and stories have the power to influence us, for better or worse. Our affiliated community minister, Rev. Mille Phillips, will address what stories we tell ourselves or others. Do they empower us or hold us back? Which do we need to rewrite or retell? What stories do we…

"The Stories We Tell" Sunday, January 5, 2025, 10:50 am Humans are storytellers, and stories have the power to influence us, for better or worse. Our affiliated community minister, Rev. Mille Phillips, will address what stories we tell ourselves or others. Do they empower us or hold us back? Which do we need to rewrite or retell? What stories do we…

"Hanging of the Greens" Sunday, December 15, 2024 Join us for the annual Hanging of the Greens Service. This all-ages service has us begin together in the sanctuary and then move around the church, decorating garlands and wreaths and making pomanders, learning a winter song, and coming together at the end in that age-old ritual in pre-Christian Eur…

"Hanging of the Greens" Sunday, December 15, 2024 Join us for the annual Hanging of the Greens Service. This all-ages service has us begin together in the sanctuary and then move around the church, decorating garlands and wreaths and making pomanders, learning a winter song, and coming together at the end in that age-old ritual in pre-Christian Eur…

"How Do We Lead?" Sunday, December 8, 2024 Church has always been a place (and houses of worship in general) where the definition and understanding of how leadership shows up among us is broader and fuller than the world sometimes defines it. It's not so much that we loosen the definition but that we see so clearly how it takes so many different sk…

"How Do We Lead?" Sunday, December 8, 2024 Church has always been a place (and houses of worship in general) where the definition and understanding of how leadership shows up among us is broader and fuller than the world sometimes defines it. It's not so much that we loosen the definition but that we see so clearly how it takes so many different sk…

"Seeing Nature and Presence Through the Eyes of Robin Wall Kimmerer" Sunday, December 1, 2024, 10:50 am This sleepy Sunday of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend—one of the quietest times I know anymore (assuming you don't dive into Black Friday's melee)—is a great time to walk and wander with scientist, professor, mother, and member of the Citizen Po…

"Seeing Nature and Presence Through the Eyes of Robin Wall Kimmerer" Sunday, December 1, 2024, 10:50 am This sleepy Sunday of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend—one of the quietest times I know anymore (assuming you don't dive into Black Friday's melee)—is a great time to walk and wander with scientist, professor, mother, and member of the Citizen Po…

"Breaking Bread" Sunday, November 24, 2024 As we prepare to gather at the tables to mark next week's day of gratitude, let's tell stories of what shows up on our tables, who and how we gather, and the practices that begin here. Bring a bread or baked good to share at our social hour afterwards, if you are baking or have the opportunity to do so! Re…

"Breaking Bread" Sunday, November 24, 2024 As we prepare to gather at the tables to mark next week's day of gratitude, let's tell stories of what shows up on our tables, who and how we gather, and the practices that begin here. Bring a bread or baked good to share at our social hour afterwards, if you are baking or have the opportunity to do so! Re…

"Forgiveness & Repair: A Ritual" Sunday, November 17, 2024 We will gather in our annual ritual to examine where in our lives repair and forgiveness might happen. How can we heal ourselves and each other from harms we have done? Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Lucy Smith, Secretary, Board of Tr…

"Forgiveness & Repair: A Ritual" Sunday, November 17, 2024 We will gather in our annual ritual to examine where in our lives repair and forgiveness might happen. How can we heal ourselves and each other from harms we have done? Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Lucy Smith, Secretary, Board of Tr…

"The State of the Union and the Soul of the Nation" Sunday, November 10, 2024 No matter what happens in our election, as I write this, it is playing out in voting booths and polling places across the country. We will have work to do together. The divide is too big, the rhetoric too scary and angry, for us to think that we can just declare victory o…

"The State of the Union and the Soul of the Nation" Sunday, November 10, 2024 No matter what happens in our election, as I write this, it is playing out in voting booths and polling places across the country. We will have work to do together. The divide is too big, the rhetoric too scary and angry, for us to think that we can just declare victory o…

"Uncertainty" Sunday, November 3, 2024 Among the hardest emotions to tolerate is uncertainty. And yet it is both so much a part of our lives, inevitably, part of the entire mortal condition, and part of a life that takes risks and reaches for the stars. It is also the river we wade into this election season. How do we live in the face of and dance …

"Uncertainty" Sunday, November 3, 2024 Among the hardest emotions to tolerate is uncertainty. And yet it is both so much a part of our lives, inevitably, part of the entire mortal condition, and part of a life that takes risks and reaches for the stars. It is also the river we wade into this election season. How do we live in the face of and dance …

"Listening to Our Ancestors" Sunday, October 27, 2024 On this day, we honor and celebrate the time of year held sacred in so many traditions to recognize our continued connection to our ancestors. Although it is not lined up with Samhain, All Saints and Souls Day, and Día de Los Muertos, we will hold that legacy and step into that sacredness of tim…

"Listening to Our Ancestors" Sunday, October 27, 2024 On this day, we honor and celebrate the time of year held sacred in so many traditions to recognize our continued connection to our ancestors. Although it is not lined up with Samhain, All Saints and Souls Day, and Día de Los Muertos, we will hold that legacy and step into that sacredness of tim…

"Skilling up for Love" Sunday, October 20, 2024 Being human is not just something we are born into; it is something we practice. Being human in a person who loves deeply and loves well is the same. And nothing is more crucial to a strong and loving relationship than deep listening—the kind that is seductive, gorgeously affirming, and brings us extr…

"Skilling up for Love" Sunday, October 20, 2024 Being human is not just something we are born into; it is something we practice. Being human in a person who loves deeply and loves well is the same. And nothing is more crucial to a strong and loving relationship than deep listening—the kind that is seductive, gorgeously affirming, and brings us extr…

"Listening Deeply to Hear if We Got the Story Right" Sunday, October 13, 2024 Storytelling is powerful. Maybe the most powerful tool we have to move human hearts and wills—a nation, a family, people—all of us tell and live into a lot of stories and their truths. Which means stories also need to be interrogated, and we only do that by listening deep…

"Listening Deeply to Hear if We Got the Story Right" Sunday, October 13, 2024 Storytelling is powerful. Maybe the most powerful tool we have to move human hearts and wills—a nation, a family, people—all of us tell and live into a lot of stories and their truths. Which means stories also need to be interrogated, and we only do that by listening deep…

"Accountability to What We Hear Inside" Sunday, October 6, 2024, 10:50 am As we enter into the Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and as we launch into an examination of the theme of Deep Listening, I find myself reflecting on how deep listening to ourselves, our inner voice and feelings, is foundational to our personal discernment. Perhaps …

"Accountability to What We Hear Inside" Sunday, October 6, 2024, 10:50 am As we enter into the Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and as we launch into an examination of the theme of Deep Listening, I find myself reflecting on how deep listening to ourselves, our inner voice and feelings, is foundational to our personal discernment. Perhaps …

"The Turbulence of Invitation" Sunday, September 29, 2024, 10:50 am Invitation sounds so easy and lovely, but already this month we have unpacked some of both what it opens up for us and what it requires. What about the ways invitations throw the unexpected our way? In ways small and large, it requires courage and bent-knee flexibility and readines…

"The Turbulence of Invitation" Sunday, September 29, 2024, 10:50 am Invitation sounds so easy and lovely, but already this month we have unpacked some of both what it opens up for us and what it requires. What about the ways invitations throw the unexpected our way? In ways small and large, it requires courage and bent-knee flexibility and readines…

“From a Wave to a Welcome: Invitation as a Spiritual Practice” Sunday, September 22, 2024 How do UUs embody the core value of liberating love? Perhaps we commit to “invitation” as a conscious practice, continually inviting new experiences and new ways of being to co-create a better world. This week we’ll consider how an everyday welcome might trans…

“From a Wave to a Welcome: Invitation as a Spiritual Practice” Sunday, September 22, 2024 How do UUs embody the core value of liberating love? Perhaps we commit to “invitation” as a conscious practice, continually inviting new experiences and new ways of being to co-create a better world. This week we’ll consider how an everyday welcome might trans…

"Invitation to Participate in the Democratic Process" Sunday, September 15, 2024, 10:50 am How do we as UUs live into our values as we engage the democratic process? How is this a spiritual practice? As we sort through all the chatter, let us find ways to ground ourselves in what we believe to participate in the democratic process intentionally. Re…

"Invitation to Participate in the Democratic Process" Sunday, September 15, 2024, 10:50 am How do we as UUs live into our values as we engage the democratic process? How is this a spiritual practice? As we sort through all the chatter, let us find ways to ground ourselves in what we believe to participate in the democratic process intentionally. Re…

"Spiritual Practices and Climate Justice" Sunday, July 7, 10:50 am, 2024 "We can never return to innocence, but we can move forward with integrity." - Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman The 20th-century spiritual leader, Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman, loved San Francisco. A mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Pauli Murray, Thurman found in this city a special dy…

"Spiritual Practices and Climate Justice" Sunday, July 7, 10:50 am, 2024 "We can never return to innocence, but we can move forward with integrity." - Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman The 20th-century spiritual leader, Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman, loved San Francisco. A mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Pauli Murray, Thurman found in this city a special dy…

"Radical Rethinking of God: God is Queer" Sunday, June 30, 10:50 am, 2024 On this Pride Weekend, we will dive into Queer Theology: What does it have to say about the nature of God and of the holy? Why is that important for all of us? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Wo…

"Radical Rethinking of God: God is Queer" Sunday, June 30, 10:50 am, 2024 On this Pride Weekend, we will dive into Queer Theology: What does it have to say about the nature of God and of the holy? Why is that important for all of us? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Wo…