On December 10, dozens of clergy from many faiths risked arrest by approaching the border between California, U.S.A. and Baja California, Mexico. Hundreds more accompanied and supported them, I among them. It was a profound experience, as was the unplanned protest a few of us joined in Tijuana the next day, conveying so much about the meaning of connection across and despite the barriers we create. We formally welcome new members in today’s service. Music: Veronika Agranov Dafoe
Small things can make a big difference. We’ll reflect on the ways someone has changed your whole day and maybe even your life by something that probably seemed quite small to them. And of course, we’ll open to ways that we can be that small and dramatic change for others. Music: Lewis Santer and Valerie Rose Price
For our fifth annual Chalice Sunday, we talk about where the chalice comes from in our past, and how we keep the flame burning for the future. Then we will watch our individual small lights become one great blazing altar.
Music: Mary Gospe, vocalist/guitar
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
The philosopher Paul Ricoeur says we all must outgrow the naive beliefs of childhood, but that as we mature, we may come to a form of wisdom that combines the best of adult understanding with the simplicity of a child’s encounter with the world. Perhaps this “second naivete” can help our faith tradition, which in some ways has been stuck for too long in an adolescent world-weariness, to become re-energized. And at the same time, each of us, as individuals on our own journey through belief and doubt, might find richer insight. Music: Yuri Liberzon, classical guitar
We welcome Christmas with stories, carols and special music, and candles. Come to sing the familiar songs that are always powerful, and experience the magic of candlelight in the darkness.
We rejoice in the everyday miracles of the season, marking the winter solstice, telling the story of Hanukah, and inviting all who wish to play a part to help make the story of Jesus’s birth come to life.
Welcoming more of our tribe into the church: those who check “None of the above” when asked their religious affiliation. Are they UUs without knowing it? How can we help them to find out? This is the Season of Light, and they make our light shine more strongly!
The Gospel of Matthew says an angel told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and cross the border into a land where Herod could not find and kill them. Our Worship Associates will tell their families’ own stories of immigration . . . legal and not so legal. Special Music: Kerensa Fu and Dawn Walker, flutes
Who is that knocking at your door? This is an intergenerational service, all about doors and what we fear is on the other side … what we hope is on the other side … what we would be surprised to find is on the other side. Come to find out today! Music: Four Shillings Short; Celtic, Folk, and World music
