Join us in-person and online on Sundays at 10:30 am. All are welcome! We as Unitarian Universalists look forward to being with you.
COVID Update January 2023: We are trying to keep our members and visitors as safe as possible while following new recommended information and guidelines. Vaccinations are required and masks are strongly recommended while attending services or events inside the Sanctuary, Forbes Hall, or the cottage. If you or someone in your household are not feeling well or have tested positive for COVID, please stay home; you can still join us via our Facebook or YouTube live-stream worship. Thank you for helping us keep our congregation safe. Safety Policy
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. For those with a handicap parking tag, several spaces are also available onsite, via the alley west of 18th St., as well at in the UCLA structure.
Worship Online: We live-stream our service from the sanctuary. Join us on YouTube, or join us on Facebook where the video is pinned to the top of the page starting at 10:20 am. You don’t need to have a Facebook or YouTube 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, mediate, and sing along.
Sunday Worship: Lessons from Gate A-4
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesPacific Western Region Staff Team (video); Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Worship Associate. The PWR Staff (Pacific Western Region Staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association) has created a video worship service based on the poem "Gate A-4" by Arab-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
Sunday Worship: Finding Your Light
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Sara LaWall, preaching; Chela Metzger, Worship Associate. In a culture valuing effortless perfection, self love can be a difficult practice. We welcome our guest, who serves as minister of the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She is active in her community, regularly advocating for justice and our liberal religious values in the Idaho state legislature. (Daylight Savings Time begins.)
Sunday Worship: Whirling with the Dervishes
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Worship Associate. "Oh heart, sit with someone who knows the heart; Go under the tree which has fresh blossoms," writes the Sultan of Love, Mevlânâ Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī. Join us for our annual service of poetry, music, dancing, and prayer honoring the Queen of Months—Ramazan—in the Islamic tradition.
Sunday Worship: Stewardship Sunday: Emerging into Our Abundance
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae, preaching; Johnny Canales, Worship Associate. Our congregation thrives with the generosity of our committed members and friends. Thank you so much for all that you've given of your time, talent, and resources. Your support is critical as we continue to emerge from the challenges of the pandemic and as we lean into our abundance to support our beloved community.
March Generous Congregation Recipient:
Westside Food Bank
Many people are turning to hunger-relief organizations to meet urgent needs, including thousands of unemployed and underemployed workers who face poverty and food insecurity. The Westside Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in our communities by providing access to free nutritious food through food acquisition and distribution, and by engaging the community and advocating for a strong food assistance network.
Our congregation has a decades-long relationship with the Westside Food Bank — volunteering, donating food, providing labor, and raising money. Most UUSM youth and young adults remember trekking over on a Sunday morning to sort food and learn more about hunger in our community. Thank you for your generous support of this beloved community and Westside Food Bank.
Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community, and the Westside Food Bank. 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.
March 2023 Theme: Vulnerability
We’ll explore in our worship, small groups, and personal reflection this month’s theme, The Path of Vulnerability. Life asks us to be vulnerable, as a “leap of faith”: When we seek friendship (the ability to say, “I like you.”); When we can’t do it on our own (the ability to say “I need help.”); When we hope (the ability to say “I trust it will happen. “); When we show our true selves (the ability to say “This is me.”).
I always say that pain and fear, when they show themselves, come out looking like anger. I think vulnerability is like pain and fear… We tie ourselves up in knots and get into a lot of trouble with what we cover vulnerability over with. Some people maybe get more aggressive because they’re [trying to] mask the vulnerability even from themselves. ~ Krista Tippett
Vulnerability is the gift life has given us to open us to the find connection with one another. ~ Rev. Tim House
Reinventing Organizations: What replaces fear? A capacity to trust the abundance of life. All wisdom traditions posit the profound truth that there are two fundamental ways to live life: from fear and scarcity or from trust and abundance…. We come to believe that even if something unexpected happens or if we make mistakes, things will turn out all right, and when they don’t, life will have given us an opportunity to learn and grow. ~ Frederic Laloux
One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone. ~ Shannon L. Alder
The Book of Life. Open the book of life… what do you see as you flip through the pages soaking it all up…. Where is the joy, the pain, the hope, the loss, the love? Now close it tight, place your hand over your heart, and Pause… Then open the book of life again…. Pause once more…. remember beloved be vulnerable and Begin Again In Love. Come let us worship together. ~ roddy bell-shelton biggs (they/them)
Faith minus vulnerability and mystery equals extremism. If you’ve got all the answers, then don’t call what you do “faith.” ~ Brené Brown
When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown up, we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability. To be alive is to be vulnerable. ~ Madeleine L’Engle
Our service in the world continues.
