. . . which makes this Sunday’s service extra-special.
https://youtu.be/leapdEjqWG0
Let us thank you!
If you have included UUCPA in your will, or if you are thinking about it and would like to learn more, please join us for a thank-you brunch in your honor next Sunday, May 18 at 12 noon in the Fireside Room.
Let us know via the online Legacy Society form–we wouldn’t want ...
Spiritual Adventures In Parenting, UUCPA’s group for parents of children from birth through high school, meets again this Sunday, May 18, from 11:30a.m.–12:30p.m., following the church service. We’ll gather in the Room 6. Childcare will be provided. To learn more, email spiritualparenting@uucpa.org.
UUCPA is proud to cosponsor the campaign kickoff to pass SB 42, the California Fair Elections Act, to bring more justice and equity into electoral politics. Join us for the Bay Area Campaign Kickoff in Berkeley on Sunday, May 18th, from 3:30pm-5pm for SB 42 to place the California Fair Elections Act on the November 2026 ballot to ...
This week, the Religious Education Discernment Task Force shared our report with the UUCPA Board, and the Board endorsed our recommendation to move ahead for Reverend Cat Boyle to become our called Assistant Minister of Religious Education. Overall, we find that Cat’s strengths are needed by UUCPA, and we believe that she will continue to ...
There will be a special congregational meeting on Sunday, June 1st, at 11:30AM, directly following the service. At this meeting, the RE Discernment Task Force will present their final report and recommendation based on the feedback they received during the small group discussion phase of the discernment process. That report has been shared with the congregation and ...
Most years, our Flower Communion is on the second Sunday in May (the same day as Mothers’ Day), but please note that this year we will celebrate it on June 1. This is one of Unitarian Universalism’s most beloved traditions. Everyone brings a flower, creating a multi-colored, multi-scented, many-splendored abundance of blooms on our altar ...
Rev. Amy’s final Sunday at UUCPA is coming up on June 15, which is also Father’s Day. Please plan to join us that day for a special farewell service immediately followed by a festive reception on the patio.
We are looking for volunteers to bring flowers that day. Please write to broo…@uucpa.org if you could help.
And if you haven’t contributed yet ...
The Heart and Home Collaborative’s Board sent this letter, along with several notes written by guests (reproduced here):
Heart and Home Collaborative’s women’s cold weather shelter wrapped up its 2024–25 shelter season on March 31, and we just want to say thank you.
Because your community opened its doors, women had a safe place to come inside — not ...
To opt out, please inform the church office by June 15
We have had numerous requests for us to resume making a printed directory of church members. Wishing to balance connection and privacy, we will only print names, photos, email addresses, and phone numbers–no physical addresses. If you wish to have any or all of your ...
Dismantling White Supremacy, which was founded in November 2019, is coming to a close with two sermons by Amy–one the evening of Tuesday, May 13, the second the evening of Tuesday, June 10–with each followed by lots of time for Q&A and discussion. They address the questions: How can we incorporate anti-racism into whatever other ...
Thank you to everyone who participated in UUCPA’s Annual Meeting on April 27! With a strong turnout, we accomplished a lot together:
New Leadership Elected: We warmly welcome our incoming Board of Trustees members—Robert Neff, Steve Ludington, Liam Mina, Heather Chen, Arhan Dutta, David Puryear (full terms), and Gary Rosin (partial term). We also elected Linda ...
We recently sent a notice that the Action Council was requesting Board approval to sign a letter on behalf of UUCPA rejecting presidential attacks on nonprofit organizations. This message is to let you know that both the Action Council and the Board voted unanimously to sign this letter, along with the UUA, on behalf of UUCPA. ...
The Resonant Reading group, an exploration of ideas, feelings, and our life experiences using a different short reading as our springboard each time, meets on Saturdays at 4 pm and Wednesdays at noon via Zoom. All are wide open and you are welcome to come twice a week or once in a while. ...
Our next meeting is May 21, 7-8:30, on Zoom where we’ll discuss the novella All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #1). This link on the UUCPA website (SciFi_5_21) has the Zoom information. All are welcome. We assume that you’ve read the book. At the end of the meeting, we will choose a book ...
Ecojustice Camp is running this year from July 21-25. More information and register here.
Michael and Susan Plass are having their 50th wedding anniversary at the end of May this year, and their daughter Karen is hoping to gather some stories about them from friends who have known them over the years. These stories could be handwritten or via email, whichever is easiest for whoever is providing the story. Any ...
Are you a caregiver? Do you expect to be a caregiver? Have you been a caregiver? Would you like to talk with others about your experience?
Join the new Caregivers Support Group.
We will meet once a month by Zoom to give support and exchange information. Greg Williams will be our facilitator.
When: First Sunday of the month.Next ...
Our national Unitarian Universalist Association has signed onto this open letter rejecting presidential attacks on nonprofit organizations, started by the ACLU.
From the letter: “This attack on nonprofits is not happening in a vacuum, but as a part of a wholesale offensive against organizations and individuals that advocate for ideas or serve communities that the president finds objectionable, ...
Did you know that one million people will line Market Street to cheer the SF Pride Parade on Sunday, June 29? All of them know that religion has been a source of hatred and persecution for LGBTQIA+ folks. How many of them also know that there’s a faith tradition that has been countering that hatred ...
Our Farewell Reverend Amy scrapbook is coming together, but we still need your messages!
How to participate:
Visit the writing table Sundays on the church patio.
Choose paper and create a scrapbook page to be included in the book.
Fill it out there or take the page home and return it later. All scrapbook pages must be received by May 25!
What should you ...
The Action Council is pleased to announce the new slate of approved Justice Partners for FY25-26, to be voted on at the April 27 Annual Meeting. You can find the list of Partners here. There are some changes of note:
1. We replaced Acterra with Canopy as the environmental Justice Partner, based on a nomination from the Green Sanctuary Committee.
2. We added a second LGBTQIA+-focused ...
The Forum meets from 8:30 to 10 am on Sunday mornings. Here are the Forum topics for May 2025:
5/4 India: Between China, the West, and the Global South – Kunda (Kay Brown) (Great Decisions)
5/11 Dealing with forgetfulness – Susan Owicki
5/18 Recent histories: memories vs current perceptions (notable people) Dick Duda and/or Richard Heydt
5/25 Discussion of Matters ...
What to do if ICE shows up at your congregation, place of worship, non-profit business, clinic, or private employer - May 7
The UUCPA Budget Town Hall Meeting was held on April 13 (see below). The presentation from the meeting can be found here.
Ever wonder how your financial contributions add up and fuel our mission as you have 2nd Sunday lunch? Come to the Main Hall for the FY25-26 Budget Town Hall meeting this Sunday, April 13, from ...
About ten of UUCPA’s members and friends were part of the crowd on April 15, 2025, at a protest demanding that the Trump administration obey the Supreme Court by returning Kilmar Ábrego García home. Through what ICE calls an “administrative error,” Ábrego García was sent to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center last month.
The protest ...
The Forum meets from 8:30 to 10 am on Sunday mornings. Here are the Forum topics for April 2025:
4/6 U.S.-China Relations – Dick Duda (Great Decisions)
4/13 Hydrogen: Fuel of the Future? – Richard Heydt
4/20 The value of kindness – Susan Owicki
4/27 Discussion of Matters of Current Local, National, & International Interest, & Selection of Forum ...
Over the past six weeks, we were honored to host the Heart and Home program at UUCPA, providing meals and shelter for 15 women. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed meals and supported the effort. Special appreciation to our congregation, staff, and main hall renters for being flexible with room assignments so H&H could stay ...
Help Canopy plant 15 trees in south Palo Alto’s Ramos park neighborhood on April 12, 9 am to 1 pm. Register here by April 1 (indicate you are coming from UUCPA on the reg form). Join folks from the UU Fellowship of Sunnyvale and the UU Church of Palo Alto. Our collaborative Climate Justice Revival ...
For this week’s update on our annual 25-26 pledge drive, we continue to move toward our budget goal of $540k that will support all the expenses for the staff and programs. To date 109 members (a fair amount of new members) have pledged $417k, which leaves us $123k short. For context, last year’s pledge drive ...
The Nominating Committee is pleased to present this year’s candidates for election to the Board of Trustees, to the Nominating Committee itself, and for delegates to the General Assembly. The congregation will vote on these nominations at the Annual Meeting on Sunday April 27.
For the Board of Trustees (May 2025 through April 2028 except as ...
Last year, Rev. Cat brought a group of teens to SF Pride, and when Rev. Amy met up with them afterwards they noted: there was only one faith- or spirituality-based organization in the whole parade, and it wasn’t Unitarian Universalist. They resolved to put the call out to Bay Area UU congregations and represent in ...
Dear UUCPA folks,
Thank you so much to all who have made their pledges for the coming year! We have received 97 pledges so far, and are waiting to hear from at least 50 more individuals or families. Many of those commitments are from people who didn’t pledge last year, which is exciting. If you have ...
Based on a previous congregational endorsement of public financing of election campaigns, on behalf of California Clean Money Campaign I (Nancy Neff) am asking the Board to approve the following at the March 26 Board meeting:
UUCPA endorses Senate Bill 42 (SB 42), the California Fair Elections Act of 2026, a state bill which will place ...
Our children and youth will be participating in a spring project, an immersive Judean Village experience starting in April and we’re still looking for shopkeepers/assistants to help bring our Roman era village to life. It takes a village to raise a child and this is your opportunity to be the whole village. Only one Sunday ...
If you have included UUCPA in your will, or if you are thinking about it and would like to learn more, please join us for a thank-you brunch in your honor.
Let us know via the 2025-2026 online pledge form, or online Legacy Society form or fill out the legacy card in your pledge packet and ...
This is a reminder that the nomination period for FY25-26 Justice Partners is open. Nominations will be accepted until end of day Wednesday, March 19. Please submit your nominations to actioncouncil@uucpa.org. The original request for nominations with more details can be found on our website here.
Thank you,
The Action Council
On January 22nd, Rev. Amy announced her plan to resign from her position as UUCPA Parish Minister in June. (Read her full announcement here.) While saddened by her decision to leave, the board acknowledges with deep gratitude Amy’s more than 22 years of service and will be working with her to plan a celebration worthy ...
Interfaith Iftar dinner, March 9
On November 24, 2024, we held a UUCPA congregational meeting where members overwhelmingly approved completing the Campus Vision project with a total budget of $2,855,000.
At that time, we were planning to submit our plans to the City of Palo Alto Building Department for permit approval on December 1. Unfortunately, the architectural pre-review took longer ...
Last year UUCPA agreed to co-sponsor St. Mark’s Episcopal Church’s speaker series on White Christian Nationalism and its threats to our communities. The final event in this series is coming up! It will be held on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 7 PM. The speaker is Stanford Professor Kathryn ...
The Forum meets from 8:30 to 10 am on Sunday mornings. Here are the Forum topics for March 2025:
3/2 Great Decisions: U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy – David Puryear
3/9 Surviving political turmoil – Dick Duda (facilitator)
3/16 A short poem you wrote yourself or that you love – Sarah Doxiadis and Trisha Suppes
3/23 ...
Would you like to suggest a non-profit organization to be a Justice Partner in the coming fiscal year? Each month UUCPA supports a social justice organization by donating one Sunday’s plate collection to that organization. You are invited to propose organizations for inclusion in the FY25-26 Justice Partner program.
The Action Council generally prefers organizations that are ...
Thanks to many of you, the Capital Campaign bank account is higher, anticipating the large invoices about to start rolling in for construction of our Campus Vision. Not only have donors been stepping up to fulfill their pledges to the halfway mark, now past on our timeline, but a strong cadre has agreed to pledge ...
This Sunday presents two opportunities to resist oligarchy and defend democracy. You can make protest signs in Room 4/5 right after the service, and/or join the protest against Elon Musk at Tesla, 1-3 pm.
For many other ways we’ve found to
stay informed without spiraling into despair
take action
take care of ourselves and not burn out,
see this ...
Dear ones, we’ve probably all had our fill of these over the past three months:
Tuning the news out entirely, or tuning in and then feeling completely overwhelmed
Getting together with a friend and both venting all our “Can you believe . . . ?”s, but not feeling any better afterwards
Being scared for people we care about, ...
An important announcement
Dear beloved UUCPA folks,
With a heavy heart, but knowing that the time is right, I have decided to resign from my position at UUCPA, and move into semi-retirement, effective June 30. We will have served together for 22 years. What a lucky, blessed person I am to have had these years with you ...
Judean Village Interest Meeting 2/2 11:30 AM Room A
Ever want to go back in time? Well now you can! For three weeks in April, UUCPA CYRE is putting on Judean Village. And it takes a village! Come share your passion, or help with crafts like making flutes or looming wool as UUCPA goes back to the biblical times of Jesus. ...
Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice (MVPJ), of which UUCPA is a member, recognizes that this is a stressful time for many in our community. As in 2017, MVPJ held pre-inauguration and MLK Day events this year to help bring people together and to celebrate our interconnections so that we can support each other in ...
The Stewardship Committee is planning a party for March 2 to kick off our Stewardship Week, and another celebration to wrap it up on March 9. If you like doing food prep, decorating, publicizing, or set-up / clean-up, please drop a line to Stewardship now.
And whether those are skills you like to share or you ...
