Join us each Sunday ONLINE as we celebrate and worship as a community.
We as Unitarian Universalists look forward to being with you virtually and in spirit on Sunday morning. We continue to develop our new spiritual practice of co-creating beloved community together in the midst of a global pandemic. We’re finding ways to spiritually prepare and fortify ourselves and to support others in uncertain times. If you need help getting to the online services, please contact board member Eileen McCormack for assistance.
Join our online Sunday service broadcast on the church’s Facebook page @UUSantaMonica on Sunday mornings and join the conversation on Facebook. You can also watch it live here on the UUSM Newsletter site on the main page (news.uusm.org). You don’t need to have a Facebook account or be logged in to watch on Facebook or here. The video will also be available on our YouTube channel shortly after the end of the service, so tune in anytime to catch up and worship with your community.
Sunday, February 7, 2021
“Enter, Rejoice, and Come In!”
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Alison Kendall, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
Join us as we explore our ministerial priorities, new church offerings, and developmental progress this church year. We will also honor the arrival of the Lunar New Year as we celebrate and deepen our commitments to multiculturalism as a congregation.
Many will recognize today’s topic from a hymn, by Louise Ruspini, whose verses we have sung many times:
Enter, rejoice, and come in. Enter, rejoice, and come in.
Today will be a joyful day. Enter, rejoice, and come in.
Open your ears to the song… Open your hearts ev’ryone… Don’t be afraid of some change… Enter, rejoice, and come in!
Sunday, February 14, 2021
“The Beloved Canopy”
Rev. Judith Meyer, preaching
Charles Haskell, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
One of the consolations for the loneliness and monotony of the past year has been the companionship of nature. Forest, desert, river, ocean all remind us that we are not as alone as we thought. We just have to listen.
Following her years in our pulpit (from 1993 to her 2008 retirement), the congregation voted the Rev. Dr. Judith Meyer our Minister Emerita. She now lives in Knoxville, TN, with her husband, David Denton. In 2006, Rev. Meyer was asked to present the sermon at the Service of the Living Tradition during the General Assembly in St. Louis, MO. Choosing the topic “To Live in This World,” she used Mary Oliver’s poem “In Blackwater Woods” as her text. And she described that growing up in our denomination meant constantly explaining what Unitarian Universalism meant, but at the same time, “the sense of justice and common sense that my church imparted to me have stayed with me all my life.” She returns again to the theme of nature in her virtual visit with us this morning.
Sunday, February 21, 2021
“What Is Anti-Oppression Spiritual Life and Practice?”
Patricia Mushim Ikeda, preaching
Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
Our guest writes, “This sermon will invite listeners to spend some time contemplating how they understand and embody anti-oppression work in their spiritual lives and practices. You’ll learn a bit more about me and my path, and together we’ll encourage one another to clarify and embody our commitment to liberatory insights and actions in 2021, Year Two of a global pandemic, continuing economic and political polarization and distress, and climate crisis.”
We are honored to welcome Mushim Ikeda to our pulpit. Raised in the 1950’s in rural Ohio, in the only Japanese American family in the community, she experienced threads of oppression, assimilation, and resistance. After receiving her MFA in English from the University of Iowa Graduate Writers Workshop, she turned to an urgent spiritual quest and moved to help organize a Zen Buddhist Temple in Michigan. She’s traveled widely, written a column on Buddhist family practice, and been featured in noted documentary films Between the Lines: Asian American Women’s Poetry and Acting on Faith: Women’s New Religious Activism in America. She teaches at the East Bay Meditation Center in downtown Oakland and works as the community coordinator. In 2015 she received an honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology from Starr King School for the Ministry.
Sunday, February 28, 2021
“Be Ours a Religion”
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
JoAn Peters, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
Be ours a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere… Sharing the good news of Unitarian Universalism is an important way to grow our liberal religious movement and increase its impact on our world. Our religious tradition has a long and complex relationship with reaching out to spread our faith and we will explore the challenges and opportunities of such endeavors this morning. The sermon topic this morning was chosen by church leader Larry Weiner after winning this opportunity at our winter church auction.
Generous Congregation Recipient: The People Concern
We come together for more than ourselves. Our congregation has long supported this organization, beginning when we knew it as the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC). The People Concern empowers the most vulnerable among us to rebuild their lives. One of Los Angeles County’s largest social services agencies, The People Concern was formed in 2016 in a merger of two trusted social service organizations based in LA County, OPCC and Lamp Community. Informed by more than 57 years of work in the community, The People Concern is a leading provider of, and advocate for, evidence-based solutions to the multi-faceted challenges inherent in homelessness and domestic violence.
“With compassion and profound respect for those we serve, we provide a fully integrated system of care – including outreach, interim housing, mental and medical health care, substance abuse services, domestic violence services, life skills & wellness programs, and permanent supportive housing – tailored to the unique needs of homeless individuals, survivors of domestic violence, challenged youth, and others who have nowhere else to turn. The People Concern’s model of integrated and comprehensive care empowers our participants to navigate the multi-faceted obstacles in their lives, become their best selves, and ultimately, connect with and contribute to their communities.” Thank you for your generous support.
