April’s Ministry Theme is Joy
Join us in-person and online on Sundays at 10:30 am. All are welcome! We as Unitarian Universalists in Santa Monica look forward to being with you.
Masks are optional, but always acceptable and welcome. If you or someone in your household is not feeling well or has tested positive for COVID, please stay home; you can still join us via our Facebook or YouTube live-stream worship.
Parking at the UCLA parking structure at 1311 16th St. is available to people attending Sunday services. The entrance is from 16th St. between Santa Monica Blvd. and Arizona Ave., on the SE corner of Arizona and 16th; ask the attendant for a UUSM parking permit to place on your dashboard. For those with a handicap parking tag, several spaces are also available onsite, via the alley west of 18th St., as well as in the UCLA structure.
Worship Online: We livestream our service from the sanctuary. Join us by clicking the WATCH NOW button above where the video is live every week beginning at 10:20 am, or watch on YouTube or Facebook. You don’t need to have a YouTube or Facebook account, or be logged in, to watch the service. You do have to be logged in to comment and chat with other members of the congregation.
Explore past services on our Sermons page, available 24/7. Tune in anytime to catch up and worship with your community. We encourage you to light a chalice or candle at home, meditate, and sing along.
Sunday Worship: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Stewardship Sunday
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesThe Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Chela Metzger, worship associate. Ministering to build just and sustainable communities that counter-oppressions is at the heart of Unitarian Universalism. Our liberal faith is put into practice through our intersectional anti-racism efforts, advocacy for LGBTIAQ+ people, disability activism, reproductive justice commitments, and in many other ways we strive to dismantle systems of oppression. The white supremacist able-bodied cis-heteropatriarchy in government, the media, the corporate world, and elsewhere is assaulting our society's commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion and threatening those involved in this liberatory work. Come join the resistance this Sunday morning as we launch our annual Stewardship Campaign to support the life of our congregation! Join us in-person or online.
Sunday Worship: Earth Day Green Celebration
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesThe Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Dr. Susan Hendricks, worship associate. Unitarian Universalism honors the interdependent web of all existence and with reverence and humility we acknowledge our place in it. We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships. Join us in-person for our annual Earth Day Celebration and Green Living Fair following this service.
Sunday Worship: Easter’s Rebirth
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesThe Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; The Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, worship associate. The celebration of Easter is one of the oldest holiday traditions of Unitarian Universalism. Join us as we consider the life and teachings of the poor Prophet from Galilee who lived and died challenging empire, wealth, power, and religious orthodoxy. Might the radical spirit of his wisdom and love put into action be reborn with us in our time? Join us in-person or online.
Sunday Worship: Deep Down in My Heart
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesThe Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching; Cassie Winters, worship associate. "I've got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart!" is the opening line of a song many of us learned in childhood. Is there joy in your heart today? What is deep down in there? There are many spiritual practices that help to explore, excavate, nourish the deep recesses of your being. This morning we will talk about some of them. Perhaps you will leave with something new to try. Join us in-person or online.
April Generous Congregation Recipient: Rainforest Action Network
Our practice here at UUSM is to dedicate half of our non-pledge Sunday offerings to support the life of our church and the other 50% to organizations doing work in the world that advances our Unitarian Universalist principles. This month we’ll share our Sunday Offering with Rainforest Action Network (RAN), “fighting for people and planet.” This environmental organization preserves forests, protects the climate, and upholds human rights by challenging corporate power and systemic injustice through frontline partnerships and strategic campaigns. RAN works toward a world where the rights and dignity of all communities are respected and where healthy forests, a stable climate, and wild biodiversity are protected and celebrated. Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community and Rainforest Action Network. To give $10 right now, text “$10 GCC” (or another amount) to 844-982-0209. (One-time-only credit card registration required.) Or visit uusm.org/donate.
April 2025 Theme: Joy
Our theme this month invites us to consider our world, our communities, and our lives in the light of the the Practice of Joy.
I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give ’em yours! ~ Dolly Parton
Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its joy. ~ Leo Buscaglia
I hadn’t considered noting the difference between pleasure and joy. I hadn’t considered pleasure as something you can have and that joy was something you could enter but have to let go. ~ Yolande Clark-Jackson, Reflection – Pleasure vs. Joy
Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift. ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, The Service Berry, and Gathering Moss
I’d argue that joy is probably the most difficult emotion to really feel…In a culture of deep scarcity—of never feeling safe, certain, and sure enough—joy can feel like a setup…We’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop… Scarcity and fear drive foreboding joy. We’re afraid that the feeling of joy won’t last, or that we won’t be enough, or that the transition to disappointment (or whatever is in store for us next) will be too difficult. We’ve learned that giving in to joy is, at best, setting ourselves up for disappointment and, at worst, inviting disaster. ~ Dr. Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
Swedish Proverb: Shared joy is double joy. Shared sorrow is half sorrow.
It would be wrong to think of this moment as one in which joy triumphed over despair… Such a view assumes that bad feelings need to be excised, or suppressed by stronger, better feelings. Peace or happiness or even survival are imagined to be accomplished by cutting something out or dominating some aspect of the self. Viewing the soul this way internalizes violence… I did not defeat negative feelings of anguish and despair because I saw something more lovely and good. Rather, I became able to feel more. My feeling broadened…. Pain, sadness, and despair were not eliminated and overcome. I embraced them with a larger heart…my consciousness had been broadened to embrace memories of the religious community, immediate experiences of the world’s beauty and the kindness of human beings, and a vivid sense of future possibility. ~ Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, from Proverbs of Ashes
Easter is the promise to everyone who journeys from the death of prejudice to the life of understanding. ~ Eugene B. Navias
Walk in kindness toward the Earth and every living being. Without kindness and compassion for all of Mother Nature’s creatures, there can be no true joy, no internal peace, no happiness. Happiness flows from caring for all sentient beings as if they were your own family, because in essence they area. ~ Sylvia Dolson, author of Joy of Bears
What if I said that you can help save the planet simply by focusing more on happiness and well-being? ~ Article on Earth Day 2025: Why Happiness Is Good for the Planet
Our service in the world continues.
