"Little Things Mean a Lot"
Sunday, November 27, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
My dad did a commercial decades ago. It is one of the stories you might hear us retelling when we gather around the table which we are still lucky and blessed enough to do. But, all laughter aside, the joke calls us back to some of what is essential to a life grounded in gratitude.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; Christine Tulis, Harpist and Singer; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader; Mark Sumner, Pianist
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; DeAndre Smith, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher
Or just in the Midwest? Asking because I might be moving soon.
Due to mobility aids and a health decline, my disability suddenly became visible while I was part of a UU congregation. I had to start using a wheelchair. And when I did, dear Gods, it was like someone flipped a switch. My church went from just looking at me a little funny for my cane use to being downright hostile toward me and my chair. The amount of ableism I encountered was disgusting. People routinely leaned on my chair, even after being told not to. People moved my chair with me in it without my permission. I got rude comments practically every 5 seconds. It was so bad that the congregation was willing to allow me to be homeless because no one wanted to house a disabled person. That was the most common reason given to my face, anyway.
Is there a point to me trying again in another state?
“After the OObleck" - A Forgiveness Ritual”
Sunday, November 20, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
Forgiveness can be a sticky topic, especially when we refuse to grant forgiveness to ourselves or others. Let us gather this morning to hear a story about how messy and sticky it can get. Then, we can choose to participate in a forgiveness ritual to help us leave that stickiness behind. If you are attending virtually, please have a rock or stone with you as you watch.
Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Brielle Marina Neilson, Mezzo Soprano; Jon Silk, Drummer; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist
Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
I do actually believe in God but not the traditional viewpoint. In the last few years I had a business and two relationships fail, other business problems, health problems, family problems...you name it, I have encountered it. It's been getting steadily worse.
None of my friends are able to help, and despite praying, God seems distant. I've spoken to my minister, she has said she has felt the same on occasion. My therapist references the story of Job (she is Christian) but it's cold comfort when I am suffering now. Unless she knows specifically when the suffering will end, it's not helpful.
I still pray and have not lost my faith, since I have had God appear in my life before in remarkably dramatic ways. But still the torrent of bad news is unrelenting, so I am on the edge of despair sometimes.
Posting here instead of Christian subs because Christians always say "God's perfect timing" which is NOT helping (like the last three therapists I saw)
"The Double-edged Sword of Faith"
Sunday, November 13, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
Someone asked me on the way out of service this fall what I meant, as a Unitarian Universalist, when I said the word "faith." Let's look at what faith is (and is not) and the role it plays in our lives -- the blessing and the danger of it.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Kate Offer, Soprano Kai Leith, Pianist & Conducting; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist & Conducting
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; DeAndre Smith, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher
“Across the Veil”
Sunday, November 6, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
This is the time of year of the Pagan celebration of Samhain, and the Christian (no doubt borrowed and adapted!) witness to All Souls and All Saints, and to the celebrations of Día De Los Muertos in Mexico and across Latin America. All of these community and religious ceremonies and sacred times begin with the Samhain idea that at this time of year the veil between the living and the dying is thinned. It is a season, therefore, for reaching across that veil and pulling those we have loved and lost, their spirit and their legacy, more intentionally into our world for a while.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Laurel Sprigg, Soprano; Brielle Marina Nielsen, Mezzo Soprano; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher
“Living with the Trouble”
Sunday, October 30, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
The saga of our relationship with the nightly raccoons, as a metaphor for learning to live with the troubles in life.
Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Soloist; Laurel Sprigg, Soloist
Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher
“What Fuels These Fools?”
Sunday, October 23, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
What makes Fools “faithful”? More than anything it is a willingness to hang in there, even when it seems like not much is changing. Futility, rather than fuel, seems to be what’s on people’s minds these days, but the Fools are committed to the faithfulness of fidelity and steadiness, keeping on even when it seems rather ridiculous to do so. Carmen Barsody and Sam Dennison, two long-time Faithful Fools, bring us their reflections on what it takes to keep on keepin’ on. As Faithful Fools ready to celebrate 25 years of reflection and engagement, and Carmen and Sam will share their 25th year questions and insights with us.
Carmen Barsody; Sam Dennison; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader; Rosalie Alfonso, Percussionist; Jon Silk, Drummer; Bill Klingelhoffer, Percussionist; Michael Yamashita, Hula; Ka'ala Carmack, Pianist, Vocals and Ukulele
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher
Can Atheist, Agnostics & Pagans be members of the unitarians, do they have to renounce their old position and embrace the new position or do they retain their own position and identity in the group?
“Being Alive”
Sunday, October 16, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
For months we struggled with the confinement required to avoid Covid, then the numbers went down and we began to move around again. Some said it felt 'Alive' again. What does being alive mean now that many of us now have more freedom?
Rev. David Sammons, Minister Emeritus; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
“Whose Land Is This?”
Sunday, October 9, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
Woody Guthrie sang, “This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the Gulf Stream waters.” Yet Indigenous Peoples’ Day, observed on the second Monday of October (but not as a holiday), suggests that we acknowledge the unceded rights of this continent’s first peoples. Doing so might even shed light on some of our society’s deepest problems. John Buehrens is both our past Senior Minister and a former President of the UUA. He will also reflect on his recent visit to Alaska, where descendants of the Inuit, Aleut, Athabascan, Tlingit, and other peoples constitute 22% of the population.
Rev. John Buehrens, Preacher; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist; Rosalie Alfonso, Percussionist; Ka’ala Carmack, Ukulele
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour