While there is much to be feared, worried about, and fretted over at all times, creating intentional joy is a way we can make a continued and sustained effort in activism and our pursuits to create the better world we know is possible. This service … read more.
The audio player above plays the audio podcast of the sermon only. The YouTube player below plays the video of the entire service with copyrighted and private information redacted.
Follow along in the order of service: bit.ly/uucpa_oos_20201227
We know that we Unitarian Universalists are a church … read more.
Our guest speaker is now retired and living on the Peninsula after a career that has included service to our congregations in England, New Hampshire, and California, and seven years as the District Minister for the London area.
Special Music: Ema Currier, Andrew Currier, piano and bass violin
“A word after a word after a word is Power.” This is a simple and true statement cut out of a wood panel and sits in the gathering room at Faithful Fools. Poetry has a central place in the life of the Fools. Not only are words power, they are empowering. Worship leaders will share their experiences through the power of their poetic words. Special Music: Larry Chin, jazz pianist
For our annual Flower Communion, we each bring a flower (or several), fill vases and baskets with them, and after blessing the flowers and each other, choose a flower that someone else brought and bring it home. (There will be plenty of extras for those who didn’t know or forgot–a living example of abundance!) It’s a beauty-filled, joy-filled intergenerational service built around a ritual that has been practiced in Unitarian Universalist churches since the 1920s. Music: Sarah Kirton, Scandinavian music
Can beauty indeed save the world, as a character in Dostoevsky suggested? Maybe it depends what we mean by beauty. Let’s immerse ourselves in the beautiful today and see what we discover. Music: Veronika Agranov-Dafoe, piano
In our UU churches, we increasingly aspire to mission statements that can guide us in all our actions and keep us focused on our ideals. What if we ran our country in the same way? What would America’s mission statement look like? Surprise! — it’s already right under our noses, just waiting to be lifted up in time for this year’s July 4th. Music: Ruth Huber, piano
“Know thyself,” said one of the inscriptions of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and Socrates considered it a foundation of all wisdom. But it’s not easy to know ourselves honestly. One person who can help is the writer Kazuo Ishiguro, whose intimate explorations of self-deception have garnered him this year’s Nobel Prize. Perhaps the Nobel Committee recognizes that knowing ourselves is one of the great challenges of our time. Feeling brave with me? Let’s peel away some layers of self-deception and see what we find. Music: The Season of Us, jazz duo
Our service is devoted to the thoughts and words of Albert Schweitzer, distinguished in the fields of theology, philosophy, medicine, music, and most of all perhaps, as one of the moral giants of the twentieth century. Drew Oman, Miriam Pokharel-Wood and Brian Weller will provide the readings. Since Schweitzer was an authority on J. S. Bach, the choir will present special music from Bach.
In our intergenerational Easter service, Dan tells the Easter story as his Unitarian mother relayed it to him, and Amy suggests some practices that may make resurrection a reality in our daily lives. Our pianist, Veronika Agranov-Dafoe, provides special music along with the By Your Side Singers, our new group that offers pastoral care through song. Join us for the Easter Egg Hunt after the first service.
