You are my inspiration! The creativity, vitality, commitment, and love of our beloved community open possibilities, bring healing, deepen justice, and exalt awe, wonder, and joy! It is a great privilege to serve with you as one of the ministers in the long lineage of the ministry of this historic congregation. Together we cherish its noble history, embrace the radiant present, and move towards the dawning future.
I am continually inspired by the many ways this congregation has healed, grown, and transformed itself, serving the needs of its members and friends — though sometimes imperfectly — while holding grace, forgiveness, and gratitude at the heart of it all. We’re a ship that’s crossed seas that are sometimes calm, and we’ve ventured beneath foreboding skies. Still, we manage to sail on towards the ever-receding horizon on this journey of life together! What a blessing it is to have such companions, kindred spirits, beloveds, so that we are not alone or supported only by a few through life.
In just the last congregational year, we’ve had to steer our ship through unexpected and disruptive changes in our wider culture. Dreams went unrealized, and our worst fears were sometimes made all too real. Devastating fires caused terror, destruction, and loss that was once unimaginable. This has been a congregational year like no other, and despite it all, this community is spiritually alive! We’re flourishing and we continue to meet the moment — day by day, week by week, month by month — with a fierce love, a gentle compassion, and open hearts, unassailed and unafraid. We are mounting a resistance to the forces in this world that threaten life and liberty, and continuing to minister to each other and our badly hurting world. I hope you will find inspiration in that many accomplishments of this congregational year and that you will feel pride in this community, in yourself, in each other, and a deepening gratitude for all of the blessings of life which are ours to claim as members, leaders, volunteers, and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Monica.
It is here on Sunday morning — the revered hour honored for millennia — that we “gather the spirit and harvest the power” and “our separate fires kindle one flame.” Worship is the beating heart of our religious communities, where we uplift that which we hold in highest regard: beloved community, the quest for truth, the work of justice, acceptance and understanding, the spirit of life, and the many values and sources of inspiration that nourish us. Our Sunday services this year have continued to comfort and encourage, remember and explore, catalyze and awaken. We continue to utilize theme-based ministry to build community each month across the life of the congregation, and we’ve made the most changes to the liturgical structure of the services in many years to better suit our religious education programming and refine our weekly service offerings.
We have a profound team of professional musicians, an exceptional choir, an extremely talented director of multigenerational religious education, a dedicated family ministry, a large and capable team of Worship Associates, a small but excellent tech team, and so many greeters, ushers, membership and coffee team folks, in addition to those who work in communications and behind the scenes to create slides, and publications, and promotions for all that we do. Of course, I cannot fail to mention our beloved Consulting Minister and all those guests who have helped to offer the amazing 52 services of this year, from the High Holy Days and Day of the Dead to Christmas Eve and the Flower Communion. If you’ve served in some capacity that contributed to our amazing Sunday services, please rise in body or spirit and be recognized by our community!
We have so many ministries, committees, and programs of the congregation that are active and making a difference in our community and in the larger world. I wish I could name them all, but that’s why we have an Annual Report of the Congregation that will hopefully capture more than what I have time to share this morning. Our Pastoral Care Team continues to meet monthly to practice the skills of ministry and attend to the needs of our community. They led the efforts to reach out to everyone in the community when the wildfires upended our lives and coordinated resources for our members and friends looking for temporary housing and resources. When rumors circulated of ICE threatening to raid the SaMoHi graduation, they were there at the doors offering their loving support of our students. Our Children and Youth Family Ministry has grown this year, and wonderful things are happening in our sanctuary and in the cottage and even during the week to support our multigenerational life and our commitments to radical inclusion.
We’ve grown in the number of age-specific cohorts we’re serving, and we’ve hosted many special events like the Climate Justice Revival, the Holiday Pageant, Soulful Sundowns, and a special Art Wall exhibit. Adult Program and Religious Education has likewise had fantastic offerings this year, which engage hearts and minds in our mission of supporting personal and spiritual growth. Faith in Action and Peace and Social Justice have had us out in the street more times and in greater numbers than any time since well before the pandemic. We’ve said, “Hands Off,” “No Kings,” “Science is Real,” and “Happy Queer Pride,” in many parades and marches this year.
The Green Committee and our new Animal Ministry are helping us to live better into our commitments to living in harmony with nature and caring for all beings with whom we share our planet home. Our Art Wall celebrated its longtime leadership, and more leaders stepped forward to continue this ministry of beauty and inspiration. Our “This is the Moment” Stewardship Campaign did a wonderful job of engaging our practice of generosity even amidst the chaos in financial markets being created by this new administration.
We continue to have a free pulpit and fundamental rights of religious belief, expression, protest, and assembly because we don’t rely on any government for support, but sustain ourselves through our own giving, We are all deeply grateful for everyone’s contributions, whether they be large or small, monetary or spiritual. We matched and exceeded our Spirit Level Grant, which helped us to staff for abundance in religious education. If you’ve been involved in Pastoral Care, Religious Education, Faith in Action and Peace and Social Justice, Green or Animal Ministries, the Art Wall, or our Stewardship Team, please rise in body or spirit and be recognized by your beloved community.
Our professional staff and our board of directors and leadership development and nominating committees continue to work diligently and faithfully to provide vision, leadership, and service to our beloved community. We welcomed our new Director of Multigenerational Religious Education, Jessica TenHave-Place, and our new Congregational Administrator Alfie Wilkerson this year and we celebrated the legacy and retirement of our longtime Church Administrator Nurit Gordon. Saunder continues to lead our nationally-known music program with Kion, Olivia, Thalia, David, Ryan, and our amazing choir throughout the year. Our office has been supported by Esther and Christina this year, and our buildings and grounds have been tended to with loving care by Tom and Kevin. Our Personnel, Finance, and Communications Committees have worked closely with staff and leadership to share the ministry of the church.
We expanded our board at our last congregational meeting to practice greater inclusion, and we’ve been well served by the 11 members who manage the month-to-month business of the church with insight, skill, and grace. Thank you, Vilma, Norm, Rebecca, Barbara, Shanna, Trish, Audrey, Cassie, Linda, and Larry! Your leadership and service have been indispensable.
Of course, I also want to honor and celebrate our outgoing President Eileen McCormack, who I am told is the first person to serve for three terms in quite a long time! We are grateful for your love and commitment to this congregation! We know it isn’t an easy job, and the rewards are few!
We are also thankful for all those who have stood for election in our community. Our Leadership Development and Nominating Committee has been extremely busy working with our board and membership team to canvas the congregation to nominate a slate of candidates for our Ministerial Search Team and the Board. I’d like to thank Erik, John, Hayjo, Wendi, and Robbert for your leadership and all those who have stood for election or been elected at the Special Meeting of the Congregation or who may be elected shortly at this Annual Meeting. If you have served on our professional staff, on our board of directors, the leadership development and nominating committee, the personnel, finance, or communications committees, or stood for election to our Ministerial Search Committee or our Board of Directors in the past congregational year, please rise in body or spirit and be recognized by your beloved community.
We’ve made substantial progress towards realizing our developmental ministry goals not only through the ongoing work of ministry of worship and pastoral care but also through the work of the Intersectional Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Commission, the Listening Circles, the Congregational Policies Task Force, and the Mission and Vision Refresh Team. Of course, our developmental ministry goals touch upon most areas of congregational life — from institutionalizing stewardship to strengthening pastoral systems — but these groups engaged us in focused work throughout the year. If you’ve served on the IARAO, as Listening Circle Facilitator, the Policies Task Force, or on the Mission and Vision Team this congregational year, please rise in body or spirit and be recognized by this community.
I want to celebrate our many interfaith and community partners with whom we’ve worked or supported this year. This was our first year living with our new neighbors and friends at the Santa Monica Synagogue, and I think this has been a rewarding relationship for all. We even built our first Sukkah together in the autumn. We also continue to play a leadership role in the Santa Monica Area Interfaith Council and once again hosted the Annual Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance service here in our sanctuary.
In addition to serving as a Vice President of the Council, I’ve also continued to serve on the Ethics Committee of the UCLA Medical Center. We continue to organize with workers out on the streets with CLUE — Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice — and we’ve supported the following organizations with our Sunday morning generosity: the United Nations’ Children’s Fund, the Westside Food Bank, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, the United American Indian Involvement, the Rainforest Action Network, Camp deBenneville Pines, Homeboy Industries, and Advocates for Trans Equality–to name a few. We’re making a difference within these walls and beyond our sanctuary in the community with our neighbors and friends in so many ways. This is all possible because of you. Thank you.
I conclude with the reading of the names of those beloved members of this community — past and present — who died in this past congregational year:
Tom Foretich
Alan Cranis
SJ Guidotti
Because they are remembered, they live.
With roots holding us close, and wings to set us free, let us sail onwards, towards parting clouds with hope alive in our hearts.
May the blessings of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation be yours now and always.
Amin and Blessed Be.
Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Monica
June 29, 2025
