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βWhat the Pecans have to Teach?β (November 21, 2021) Worship Service
I know -- What does Vanessa mean by this?! Drawing on a chapter in Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass" a little more about the pecans in your pie, and their life story and wisdom, to lead us soulfully into the week ahead.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Linda Harris, UUSC Chair; Bell Choir led by Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Maddy Gerlach, Soprano; Sylvie Jensen, Alto; Nancy Munn, Soprano; Morgen Warner, Soprano; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm. GarcΓa Ganz, Pianist
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
I have an interest in possibly attending a Unitarian Universalist Church in the future if I get the opportunity, but I curious of what the average service is like. Iβm not Christian (ex Catholic), and Iβm worried it could just be like a nondenominational Protestant service. Thank you for any answers
βThe Pursuit of Radianceβ (November 14, 2021) Worship Service
As the darkest days of the year arrive, lights appear everywhere: ropes of lights outline tall buildings, colorful Christmas lights brighten windows and trees, candles are lit reverently in Hanukkah menorahs, Kwansa kinaras and winter solstice rituals. We humans instinctively crave and seek out light when days are dark. This is true, metaphorically, in our personal lives as well. When our days are dark and despair fills our lives, we crave the light of hope, insight and love. The sermon will explore light as a symbol of the human spirit, and how we can bring more light into our lives.
Rev. Joy Atkinson, Guest Minister; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. GarcΓa Ganz, pianist
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on YouTube, 9:30 am
Across the United States, people are showing up at school board meetings to protest various recent controversies. But there is an underlying battle that has been waged since 1848 when Unitarian Horace Mann said βEducation ... read more.
Our nuclear family is mixed faith. I was raised Catholic, still consider myself Catholic, but I am also a perennialist, who respects and loves to study the truth at the core of all faiths.
Would it be frowned upon to take my family to a UUC, while I continue to go to church from time to time at my Catholic parish as well?
"We are the Thousand Winds that Blow" (November 7, 2021) Worship Service
This service is one that may be becoming a tradition for us -- a chance on this Sunday that coincides with Samhain, All Souls Day, and Dia de Los Muertos to call into our space the memory, an a snapshot of the lives we have lost this last year -- call them into the space to bless and mourn and offer gratitude.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Carmen Barsody; Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Nancy Munn, Soprano; Brielle Marina Nielson, Mezzo Soprano; Leandra Ramm, Mezzo Soprano; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Tenor; Richard Fey, Baritone; Boris Lieberman, Guitarist; Wm. GarcΓa Ganz, Pianist
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on YouTube, 9:30 am
There is one thing you can change in your theological thinking that will allow you to live a happier and more fulfilled life and will also make you more effective at designing a world that you want ... read more.
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on YouTube, 9:30 am
We complete our monthβs theme of βDesign Your Lifeβ by lifting up an important part of living: FUN. Wear your costume and come ready to celebrate!
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on YouTube, 9:30 am
The pandemic has brought new revelations to us β¦Β about us.Β Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Do you want the same things you wanted before spring of 2020? Who are you, and more importantly β¦ who do ... read more.
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on Youtube, 9:30 am
The labor movement worked for a vision of a life designed to hold meaningful work, adequate rest, and joy-filled living. As we design our own lives, are we honoring what they fought for?
R. Rapey (R. Kelly) did some of the most disgusting abuse of children I have seen since reading the accounts a man gave of his mother's abuse in A Child It. Teenage Children were forced to eat feces and drink urine and engage in bondage.
What type of Charities could I contact for my Church to help me and my church help could help black victims of child sexual abuse like R. Rapey's?
βThe Costumes We Wearβ (October 31, 2021) Worship Service
A worship service about disguises.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Nancy Munn, Soprano; Bill Ganz, Accompanist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βThe Land of Memoryβ (October 24, 2021) Worship Service
The artist Etel Adnan, wrote that her memories were like a forest with unstable boundaries. Adnan was born in Lebanon, lived in France, then moved to California, living at the base of Mount Tamalpais, where she wrote and painted for many years. Her paintings were a way to explore memories and make meaning of them. Navigating the land of memory can be complex and challenging. But it can lead us into a deeper understanding of who we are, and how to live more fully into our lives as we make our way forward.
Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister; Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. GarcΓa Ganz, Pianist
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
"Right Thinking, Right Feeling and Right Relations" (October 17, 2021) Worship Service
Twins and co-authors of a recent book "Burnout", Emily and Amelia Nagoski talk about patterns of thinking and dealing with stress that lead to burnout. However, they also go deeper, to patterns of thinking, feeling and being in relationships that undermine our own and one another's health, joy and, I'd say, derail us on the journey to Beloved Community. In our work to hold ourselves accountable for the proposed 8th Principle of Unitarian Universalism, they offer some very tangible ways we can untangle from problematic habits of heart and mind!Β
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Ramos Magaloni, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Laurel Sprigg, soprano; Wm. GarcΓa Ganz, Pianist; Jon Silk, Drummer
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers
"Who is Earth to Me?" (October 10, 2021) Worship Service
Robin Wall Kimmerer in her book "Braiding Sweetgrass" opens with a simple description of this act of weaving, braiding the supple green stalks of a plant, but what unfolds is layers of relationship and story and a paradigm that has saving grace.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jon Silk, Drummer; Asher Davison, Soloist
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Director of Communications; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Judy Payne, flowers
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on Youtube, 9:30 am
This month, weβre talking about how to design a life worth living. Unitarian Universalism is a faith that knows we do not live for ourselves alone. Our theology is one of collective liberation and collective salvation. What ... read more.
"Higher Love: Installation Service" (October 3, 2021) Worship Service
"The Installation Service of Senior Minister Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern"
This is a sermon (Higher Love) about where this ministry together takes us and some of what we learn along the way. Our preacher, the Rev. Elizabeth Lerner Maclay, is the Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI. Rev. Maclay has been in Providence since 2017 in a congregation that first gathered in 1720! Rev. Maclay played a central role while serving in Maryland for the successful passage of that state's Marriage Equality legislation, as well as their DREAM Act and their repeal of the death penalty. In Providence she has led the organizing of faith communities for gun control and worked during this pandemic with other faith leaders, particularly Black religious leaders, to found and co-lead Faith in Science, promoting equity of vaccine access and uptake for people of color in Rhode Island.
Shirley Gibson and Kathleen Quenneville, Members of the Search Committee that called Rev. Southern; Rohit and Leila Menezes, Rev. Southernβs husband and daughter, respectively
Dennis Adams, Worship Associate, UUSF; Rev. Elizabeth Lerner Maclay, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI; Rev. Mr. Barb Greve, Hospice Chaplain with Vitas Healthcare and former Co-Moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Board of Trustees Moderator of UUSF; Harry Arthur and Max Benbow, Representatives of the Family Ministry Program; Rev. Dr. John A. Buehrens, Former President of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister of UUSF; Jonah Berquist, Board of Trustees Vice Moderator of UUSF; Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake, Presiding Minister, Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples; Charles Du Mond, Co-Moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Michael Pappas, M.Div., Executive Director, San Francisco Interfaith Council; Rev. Rosemary Bray-McNatt, President, The Starr King School for the Ministry; Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita, UUSF; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister, UUSF.
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Director of Communications; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Judy Payne, flowers
Reiko Oda Lane, Organist & Bell Choir Director; Mark Sumner, Pianist & Music Director; Wm.; Garcia Ganz, Pianist; AndrΓ©s Vera, Cellist; Jon Silk, Drummer; UUSF Choir; UUSF Bell Choir
Carrie Krause, Dir. of Lifespan Faith Development
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on Youtube, 9:30 am
Somewhere along lifeβs journey, most of us in the United States are taught that staying in the lines is valued, even when those lines are strangling us as individuals and a ... read more.
"Enough is Enough: The Inflation of Satisfied and the Risks" (September 26, 2021) Worship Service
In the stories of people I know, their children's stories, in what I see in the world, with dire consequences to the planet and to our mental health, I see the inflation of "enough" and I don't just mean in material terms. I mean in all kinds of ways. Let me give examples and let's look at what that might be doing to us and what can be done about it.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; Sam Hamner, Small Group Ministry; Allen Biggs, percussionist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, songleader; Mark Sumner, pianist
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Amy Kelly, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
"Ganesh Chaturthi and the Need to Remove Obstacles" (September 19, 2021) Worship Service
Each year in India there is a ten or eleven-day festival to celebrate Ganesh, the Elephant-headed god who is playful but who also is famous for a particular kind of power, one we all always seem in need of summoning into our lives. Join me for some stories, images, and reflections on the power of ritual.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Sam King, Worship Associate; Puran and K.G. Singh; Unitarian Church Jowai; UUSF Church Choir, conducted by Mark Sumner
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Amy Kelly, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
"New Eyes and Not Afraid" (September 12, 2021) Worship Service
This Sunday is this confluence of holidays and holidays and anniversaries raising the question not just of how we begin in the midst of ongoing challenges, but how people have always done so; even we ourselves did 20 years ago. We frame that exploration with music, special music, for the occasion. Come join us.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister; Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; Sarah Brindell, Guest soloist/songwriter; Bill Klingelhoffer, shofar; UUSF Church Choir, conducted by Mark Sumner
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Carrie Steere-Salazar, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
"In Our Hands Is Placed a Power" (September 5, 2021) Worship Service
Welcome to our annual Labor Day service, where we celebrate the contributions to social justice by the labor movement both currently and historically. As has been true for several years now, we will be joined by members of San Francisco's labor union choir Rockin' Solidarity. Hard times have always been here for the vast majority of the world's population, but now all of us are at critical crossroads, and which roads we take over the next decade or two may determine the very survival of humanity. As we make these life-or-death choices, what can we learn from both the victories and defeats of organized labor?
Rev. Millie Phillips, Guest Minister; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; The Rockinβ Solidarity Labor Chorus, Pat Wynne, Director; Mark Sumner, songleader; Bill Ganz, pianist
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Carrie Steere-Salazar, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on Youtube, 9:30 am
We had expectations for what Fall 2021 was going to be like β¦ and those plans have changed. As we move into another year where covid shapes much of what we do (and donβt do), perhaps we ... read more.
Multiplatform β Outdoors and Livestreamed on Youtube, 9:30 am
Join us either in person, outdoors at Live Oak, or on our Youtube channel for our annual Homecoming/Water Communion service.
How is your anger showing up? Are you more irritable, or carrying a slow-simmering rage? There are many justifiable reasons to be mad right now. How do we best channel that anger in a way that is productive and doesnβt harm us or the people ... read more.
The last 5 years, and especially the last 8 months have given us ample reason to question some things we took for granted. We may be feeling disillusioned with humanity and with life itself. What do we do with those feelings?
This service will be streamed ... read more.
"The Power of Focus" (August 29, 2021) Worship Service
Steve Jobs is famous for his message on focus, the power of focus. In a different way, the same message has power for our spiritual and moral lives. After all, have you noticed how what we look for in the world in part determines what we find? Or how consciously deciding what we want to make happen also requires us to surrender to not making other things happen if we are to have any chance at meeting our goal? Or how choosing the qualities we put forward in the world also necessitates spiritual practices and focused time for reflection to be able to cultivate those qualities in our character and habits of the heart. As we begin to step into a new year of school, of work after summer, of church and community life, this Sunday is one chance to reflect on where each of us might choose to focus our energies.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; Brielle Marina Nielson, mezzo soprano; Mark Sumner, pianist; Jon Silk, drummer; Asher Davison, song leader & clarinetist
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Judy Payne, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
"I Know Nothing" (August 22, 2021) Worship Service
In the millions of acres of trees, in the dark and light, the shadows, the dappled light along canyon walls and rivers, there is real knowing. What is it, to surrender, to let go of having to know, to do, and to let it be enough that the elements sing?
Rev. J.D. Benson, Guest Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Asher Davison, bass-baritone; Wm. Garcia Ganz, accompanist; Nancy Cooke Munn, songleader; Mark Sumner, pianist
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Judy Payne, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20210822OSWeb2
LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/dl5AOdg58-g
"Deep Time: Stories We Tell the Children, and the Work of Repair" (August 15, 2021) Worship Service
A personal story about the journey to be a good ancestor.
Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Guest Minister; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Alex Taite, tenor; My-Hoa Steger, accompanist; Brielle Marina Nielson, songleader
Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Athena Papadakos, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20210815OS1
LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/Gr_uecb1Kqw
Dear Governor Newsom:
I have a weird and fantastic idea for your consideration. Today I was listening to news radio and a report said the homeless epidemic is the No. 1 concern for most Californians. Later, I read an article about how luxury cruise ships are retired and sent to "grave yards" to be dismantled. I put one and one together and I came up with the following idea.
Like in FDR's New Deal, help for the country must come from the top down. So why doesn't California buy some of the ships destined to be retired and provide centralized housing to the "unhoused and destitute" while the ships are anchored in local ports. I've noticed that the epidemic seems most critical in very popular port towns.
I don't know if you've ever been on a cruise ship but most of the rooms are not luxurious. Yet, they can provide a safe haven to single men and women.
Currently, Italy is using a cruise ship as a prison. I do not mean lets jail the homeless. Not by any measure of this suggestion. Yet, a room, a bed, shower, and centralized ammenities, medical care, and resources may be the 1st step to helping willing and able bodied people come back to us whole. The ships are huge and like some of our military ships, they are similar to small cities.
We need to get aggressive to fight the current tent cities and the dehumanization felt by our fellow Americans...all the while giving people the tools, to "learn how to fish".
I reiterate, letβs do this only for willing partincipants... the destitute trying to regain their place in society. As such, the stay for participants should be finite and the participants should be treated with the upmost respect. Everyone needs a little help at some time.
It is more cost effective to renting rooms at local hotels and motels and as such, the residents should be able to board and go off board at their convenience... hopefully to look for jobs.
This type of unconventional tactic might be the key to fixing our current state of emergency all the while at a good cost and in the absolute benefit to our residents and the state.
Best regards,