- June 16, 2019
We start a lot of new groups at UUCPA, which, ideally, means a flurry of publicity and how-to-get-involved information. And sometimes groups end, and we should mark that as well.
Decades ago, several (as it was then called) Palo Alto Unitarian Church members who loved music and drama organized an arts-in- worship group. They created dramas ...
- May 18, 2019
More beauty and more layers of meaning are coming our way in the form of a permanent projection screen that will be installed in the Main Hall, near the ceiling above the piano. The AV Committee has been hard at work exploring all the options and issues, and has made a first-round proposal to the ...
- May 2, 2019
In last Sunday’s sermon, “Lima Bean Respect Day and Other Neglected Celebrations,” I asked about something you value and wish to honor with your attention that doesn’t show up in the civic or religious calendar. Animated conversations followed, as people paired up and talked about what is important to them
Two of the things that are ...
- February 23, 2019
Attendance is up, and there’s lots going on at UUCPA on Sundays! This has created a parking challenge: we have had several Sundays recently when there were few parking spots left during the second service. And a chair challenge: while the Main Hall is not actually full, the empty chairs can be scattered in ones and twos that make ...
- February 9, 2019
I’ve been pondering the relationship between trust and faith. Remember last year when the oleanders along the UUCPA entrance driveway were cut way back? Nothing remained but bare stubs. Our gardeners, paid (James Nelson) and volunteer (Nancy Neff, Glenda Jones), assured us that this was the way to make them healthier. ...
- January 27, 2019
Our service on December 16 originated with the question, Since people with a typical Unitarian Universalist profile – those who respond to polls about religious affiliation with “spiritual but not religious” or “none of the above” – are increasing in number, why doesn’t our church grow? There are many answers to why churches do or ...
- January 15, 2019
I wrote about our then-new benediction on my blog about a month after we adopted it. This past Sunday, I alluded to the line about beauty, and promised to fill you in on the background. Here it is.
We began ending our services with a benediction in the fall of 2012. To be precise, we already ...
- November 4, 2018
As we all go to the polls this Tuesday, we know how high the stakes are. (If you’ve only realized that recently and aren’t registered, you can register right up to and including Election Day — please do!) UUCPA is also a democracy and we vote at least once a year at our annual meeting ...
- October 6, 2018
Further reflections inspired by the most recent Town Hall meeting I was able to attend (“Shall We Change Our Name?” on September 2). Last month I wrote about the challenges of being a Christian at UUCPA. Something else I realized as I listened to the open-hearted sharing is that something I take for granted, something ...
- September 9, 2018
The Town Hall meeting on Sunday, September 2 (“Shall We Change Our Name?”), was a high point of my 15 years at UUCPA. I have witnessed some deep conversations here, but never such tender sharing in such a large group. I hope everyone felt that their vulnerability was welcomed and supported. If not, please do ...
- June 16, 2018
This spring has brought many losses to our congregation. In fact, going back to last summer, there have been ten deaths of members or others closely associated with UUCPA. It’s a lot. One of our leaders, showing wisdom as well as kindness, asked how I deal with it. It’s a really good question because ministers ...
- May 31, 2018
As some of you heard me say at Fred Buelow’s memorial service two weeks ago, one of the many memorable things Fred said to me in our 15 years working together was “I see my job”–he was president or treasurer at the time–“as helping you be the best minister you can be.” Or maybe he ...
- April 23, 2018
The squares that Kathy Swartz is stitching into a quilt are painted with people holding hands, trees that bend gently to shelter us, words like “loving community” and “peace.” We put the words and pictures there in February as we envisioned the future we hope to create together. A quilt is like a crowd fund: ...
- February 8, 2018
I want to share a poem I love, by Francisco X. Alarcon:
Dreaming together
a dream
we dream
alone
reality
we dream
together
Sonando juntos
un sueno
lo sonamos
solos
la realidad
la sonamos
juntos
We each have dreams, things we hope for in the hearts of our hearts–and sometimes barely dare to ...
- February 1, 2018
You might be hearing a lot of Ursula K. Le Guin from me in the months to come. I never go long without reading something she wrote, but I’ve read an unusual amount since last Monday, when she died at the age of 88. There is so much in her books that has shaped who ...
- January 27, 2018
For the past several years, I’ve had a three-part practice each Lent: give to a charitable or social-change organization, give something up, and add something creative or positive. My contribution this year will go to Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism. (Later this year we’ll have a second Promise and the Practice service – our first ...
- December 30, 2017
The season of light is behind us as the light itself grows longer and stronger. It’s beautiful the way so many festivals of light converge upon November and December: Diwali, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Solstice. People have responded to the turning of the year in so many forms, calling forth light to balance the dark.
I ...
- December 21, 2017
Every year a bunch of friends of mine all over the country and beyond play the “Little Drummer Boy” challenge: who can go the longest, maybe even get to Christmas, without hearing that song? With stores, streets, and the radio a minefield, at least one person posts daily, “I’m out.” I’m still in. I did ...
- December 3, 2017
For anyone who’s seen the inside of my house and office, it is not a surprise to hear that I love books. And I’m in good company here at UUCPA. I’ve written before about how our church is bursting with book-lovers and books. We have Brown Bag Books discus- sion group as well as other ...
- November 18, 2017
—Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern
For anyone who’s seen the inside of my house and office, it is not a surprise to hear that I love books. And I’m in good company here at UUCPA. I’ve written before about how our church is bursting with book-lovers and books. We have Brown Bag Books discussion group as well ...
- November 10, 2017
I can’t wait to see the new Murder on the Orient Express. Some might find that surprising. I’ve seen the Sidney Lumet version with Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot at least once or twice, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read the book. The twists hold no surprises for me, nor for ...
- October 14, 2017
Dear ones, it’s overwhelming, isn’t it? It seems like every time we tune in to news, we receive another blow. The risk of burning out, shutting down or stressing out is real. Like Dorothy Day, one of my heroes, I keep thinking of this verse from Ezekiel: “A new heart I will give you, and ...
- September 28, 2017
Several months ago I was rehearsing with the choir, which generously welcomes sporadic participants like me, when we turned to a piece I knew I’d sung before. It turned out that the choir had sung it at my installation here, 13 years earlier, and then it came back to me: I had been a choir ...
- September 24, 2017
It’s really exciting to be getting ready for the arrival of our Sabbatical Religious Educator, Mr. Barb Greve. Barb and I have not worked together, but we’ve met frequently: not surprising, since Barb has seemingly been everywhere and done everything in Unitarian Universalism. I’ve enjoyed every interaction. He has such knowledge, expertise, and love for ...
- September 21, 2017
Midweek Meditation
- September 13, 2017
There are lots of hymns that express my religion. And there are lots of popular-genre songs that express my thoughts on various and sundry secular matters. But what’s rare is a song that sings like a pop song while also getting right to the heart of religious questions. Jessica Martin, with what she calls “an ...
- September 1, 2017
The eclipse, which made an appearance in last week’s midweek meditation and Sunday service, made me think of one other thing that’s particularly relevant to this week’s service. It had to do with giving.
I came prepared with a pinhole viewer, which is to say that I didn’t come all that prepared. I’ve made them before, ...
- August 25, 2017
Dear UUCPA folks,
There was such a nice neighborly feeling on Monday. I left my dance class in a rush the moment it ended, 15 minutes before the eclipse’s peak, having stretched to “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” (We all cracked up when it came on. “I couldn’t resist,” the teacher said.) A cluster of people ...
- August 10, 2017
I was in New Orleans for the annual General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association, where the Reverend Susan Frederick-Gray became our first elected female president (not the first to serve–keep reading for details). All three candidates were women, and they created a covenant of behavior among them when the race began. It made ...
- June 10, 2017
You know those situations when someone says something that insults or stereotypes a group, and you don’t figure out what you should say about it until hours later? That’s so often how it goes for me – more often than not. In fact, sometimes I’m not even fully cognizant that they’ve said something problematic until ...
- April 16, 2017
Two separate and painful events in the wider world of Unitarian Universalism occurred on the same day, March 30.
The Rev. Ron Robinson, a UU minister and founder of the Third Place Community in Turley, Oklahoma , was arrested on child pornography charges, and admitted guilt. This was a shock and a source of great sor- ...
- April 2, 2017
You may have heard the grim statistics on how many transgender teenagers have attempted suicide or died by suicide: 40%. Here’s another statistic: when transgender teenagers have supportive family and community, that rate plummets. If their families are supportive, it is no different than in non-trans kids. A community that accepts and supports transgender people ...
- January 4, 2017
It is good to be back with you! As I write this I am not yet caught up with all that has happened at UUCPA during the past six months. However, Mary is leaving me lots of information from her busy time here, and by the time you read this, I will have met with ...
- June 5, 2016
Dear ones, you have all the information about the who and what and how long about sabbatical, and more is in the sabbatical guide that is posted online and in the Main Hall pamphlet rack, so I won’t belabor the point.
I just want you to know that I will miss you during these months away. ...
- May 22, 2016
It’s hard to believe, but I will be leaving for Mexico in just six weeks. My six-month sabbatical begins July 1, and I’ll be taking my annual study leave from June 4 to 30. So what will that time look like?
Here at UUCPA, very much as usual. We have a terrific lineup of services from ...
- February 14, 2016
Last Sunday, as we lit our chalice, Jane Glauz spoke about her lifetime in our congregations. One snippet she shared was the founding of East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Ohio.
Synchronicity struck like the chime of a clock: later that day, I learned that East Shore had marked their 60th anniversary that same morning. Their ...
- December 20, 2015
It’s hard to believe, but I have been the parish minister here for over twelve years, and it’s been over five years since I returned from my first sabbatical. Our ministers, like those of most UU congregations, accumulate a month of paid sabbatical leave for every year, and are expected
to take it when 4-6 months ...
- September 13, 2015
On the 50th anniversary of Selma in March, when I asked people to cross the bridge to a better world by committing to an action they would take for racial justice, I chose two for myself. The first was to read lots of African-American history, fiction, and poetry — so little has been part
of my ...
- June 21, 2015
I have a little note here from last year: a child at church asked in passion- ate terms why we were replacing our labyrinth, which they thought was more interesting and unique than the brick one, and why we were taking out so many juniper bushes where creatures lived. I had mixed feelings about those ...
- March 22, 2015
Where did our benediction come from? Dan and I were talking one day about different ways to end the service. For a long time it has ended with applause, which feels like a strange sound to have ringing in our ears as we leave—as if we have been to a performance. I wanted something that ...