Event Series Sunday Worship

Sunday Worship: Our Liturgical Year

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching
Karen Hsu Patterson, Worship Associate
Just like the cycles of the seasons and of our lives, our liberal religious community moves through a liturgical year of annual celebrations and honorings and monthly themes. These help us to attune ourselves with nature, religious observances, and the ebb and flow of life as a community of fellow sojourners. Join us in person or online as we learn more about the liturgical year that has evolved over nearly a century and is our unique expression of our Unitarian Universalist faith.

Sunday Worship: Coming of Age Service

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

This worship service is designed to celebrate our students’ Coming of Age journey and allow them the chance to share about their discoveries. The CoA Youth have designed and will lead this service. The Coming of Age Class (Becoming/Soul Matters) is a crucial part of the Unitarian Universalist community web because it encapsulates the UU quest for spiritual growth and curiosity. It builds curiosity and compassion in young people as they embark on their own understanding of themselves and the world, while facilitating strong bonds with each other and their leaders. Join us for worship in-person and online. The Generous Congregation Recipient this morning will go to Camp de Benneville Pines, the UU retreat center in the San Bernardino Mountains that our youth love to experience together.

Sunday Worship: Our Better Angels

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching. Angels, boddhisattvas, and other heavenly beings appear in many of the world's diverse religions. From celestial helpers to enlightened beings, they appear again and again in different forms in the sacred stories and myths of humanity. What might we have to learn from these ancient narratives and wisdom? Join us as we explore these questions and others on this Mother's Day and in honor of the celebration of birth of the Buddha later in the week. Join us for worship in-person and online.

Sunday Worship: Is It Non-Binary, Or Not?

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching; Cassie Winters, Worship Associate. Life is complicated, and sometimes confusing. When we try to oversimplify things, we lose the nuances and subtleties that often make the biggest differences. In the Western World, we are taught to think rationally, logically and in a binary fashion. Often, however, the answer to the question, "Is it this or is it that?" is "Yes." Come and reflect on the value of resting in ambiguity. What might we learn from the Paradoxes of the East? Join us for worship in-person and online. Join us for Sunday worship in-person and online.

Sunday Worship: Flower Communion

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Karen Hsu Patterson, Worship Associate. We join with Unitarian Universalist congregations across the country and around the globe in honoring the annual Flower Communion ceremony. This ceremony, created by the Rev. Norbert Čapek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, and introduced to the United States by his partner Rev. Mája Čapek, helps us to celebrate beauty, nature, human uniqueness, diversity, and beloved community. Please bring a flower or two with you to share with the congregation this morning. Join us for worship in-person and online.

Sunday Worship: Queering Life

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Queering Life. Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Dr. Susan Hendricks Richman, worship associate. Our congregation made history when Rev. Ernie Pipes blessed a queer marriage in 1959! We've come a long way in the subsequent six decades with Unitarian Universalist congregations often leading the queer liberation movement while other religious traditions remained oppressive. There is still much to be accomplished in our time as we continue to queer life on our journey of collective liberation for all. Join us for worship in-person and online.

Sunday Worship: What’s Your Mission?

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

What's Your Mission? Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching; Cassie Winters, Worship Associate. Strategic planning is a process that most organizations use to clarify their values, affirm their mission, and align their work with their values. What if people did the same thing? Routinely? When was the last time you assessed the WHY of your existence? What might result from an intentional walk into your future? Join us for worship in-person and online.

Sunday Worship: We Are Grateful!

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, worship associate. Beloved Community in the liberal religious tradition is what we are all called to nurture with our time, talents, resources, and loving care. Join us for our annual service celebrating our volunteer leaders from across the life of the congregation and our professional staff. We have accomplished much and work remains as we live further into our ideal for ourselves, our congregation, and our world. Join us for worship in-person and online. Our Annual Meeting of the Congregation will follow the service and all are encouraged to attend. 

Sunday Worship: Weaving Our Lives

Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United States

Weaving Our Lives. Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae and Cassie Winters will welcome you in our Sanctuary. We are all tangled up together in a great web of life that is woven with beauty and hardship, love and loss, thriving and struggle. How do we tend well to the weaving so that all of us are held in care? Join us for this special annual service livestreamed from our national Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly. Join us for worship in-person and online. The UUA Office of the President, Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, is pleased to announce that Rev. Molly Housh Gordon, will lead the Sunday Service at General Assembly 2024. Rev. Molly is the minister of the UU Church of Columbia, Missouri, where she is currently suing the state of Missouri for their unconstitutional abortion ban alongside 13 other multi-faith clergy co-plaintiffs. She is passionate about red-state UU ministry, community organizing, and mutual aid.