Join us Sundays in Person or Online as we celebrate and worship as a community.
We as Unitarian Universalists look forward to being with you in person or in spirit on Sunday mornings. We continue to develop our new hybrid spiritual practice of co-creating beloved community together in person and online in the midst of a global pandemic. Here’s further details. 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.
Come to the Sanctuary or join our live online worship service broadcast on the church’s Facebook or YouTube pages on Sunday mornings and be part of the conversation. You can also watch the service live on the UUSM website on the main page (uusm.org). You don’t need to have a Facebook or YouTube account or be logged in to watch on any of the websites. You do have to be logged in to comment and chat with other members of the congregation. The video will also be archived on our YouTube channel and website after the end of the service, so tune in anytime to catch up and worship with your community.
Please join us for a Zoom Coffee Hour Check-In and Conversation after the service, from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. Email zoomcoffee@uusm.org for the Zoom link or find it in our private UU Santa Monica Facebook Group. Ask to join.
After careful consideration of the UUA’s most recent guidance and the practices of our neighboring congregations, our COVID Steering Committee has decided to reopen our historic sanctuary to vaccinated members and friends. Vaccinations, well-fitting masks, and social distancing are still required, but at this time reservations are not.
For May, our theme is Nurturing Beauty, and we’ll explore it in worship, small group discussion, and personal reflection. Theologian Robert McAfee Brown wrote: “Where beauty is apparent, we are to enjoy it. Where there is beauty hidden, we are to unveil it. Where there is beauty defaced, we are to restore it. Where there is no beauty at all, we are to create it.” Activist and songwriter Phil Ochs observed: “In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty.” UU minister the Rev. Mary Katherine Morn says: “Beauty awakens and admonishes us… We are here, in religious community, not to hide from the anguished cries or the tender lullabies. We are here, in religious community, not to protect our hearts from breaking. We are here together to borrow courage for the task of coming alive. We are here so that together we might heed the admonitions of beauty. Answer the call to create, protect, and preserve.”
Sunday, May 1, 2022
Self-Compassion
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching
Sue Bickford, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:30 am
If you loved yourself well, what would your life look like? What language would you use to describe yourself, to ask for what you want, to protect your boundaries? Who in your life mothered you the way you most wanted to be mothered? What would be different about your walk in the world if you treated yourself with that same love and compassion? This morning we will talk about compassionate love and why it is sometimes so hard to give to oneself.
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Our Living Tradition
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Charles Haskell, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:30 am
Our Unitarian Universalist tradition is alive in that it may evolve with the times through democratic processes. We follow a congregational polity which means we are a self-governing church. Our Bylaws Refresh Task Force has recently drafted proposed Bylaws to be considered for adoption. Come learn more about this work and the importance of democratic process to our movement.
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Aging Beauty
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching
ONE SERVICE AT 10:30 am
As we age, we have more opportunity to let our inner beauty radiate outward. Surface beauty mellows or fades, and we are invited to refine or redefine our perceptions of beauty – and aging. What does “old” mean to you? What is the relationship of aging and beauty to your understanding of our UU principles of acceptance and spiritual growth?
Sunday, May 22, 2022
The Flaming Chalice
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Amy Brunell, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:30 am
We open our worship services like most Unitarian Universalist congregations with the lighting of our flaming chalice. This beloved tradition has deep liberal religious roots with multireligious significance. Join us as we reflect upon this tradition and sacred stories of light in religious history.
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Volunteer and Staff Celebration Sunday
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins. Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:30 am
Our is a shared ministry that is only possible with the generous gifts of time, talent, and resources from our many congregational leaders, members, friends, and staff. Join us as we celebrate our many volunteers and staff and explore what opportunities for volunteer service and leadership are emerging in this time of renewal and rebirth.
May Generous Congregation Recipient:
Sojourn Domestic Violence Services
Our practice here at UUSM is to dedicate half of our non-pledge Sunday offerings to organizations doing work in the world that advances our Unitarian Universalist principles; the other 50% of the offering is used to support the life of our church. This month, half of our Sunday Offering will go to a familiar local group, Sojourn. Your donations will help Sojourn continue its work in our area.
Since 1977, Sojourn, The People Concern’s domestic violence program, has been meeting the emergency and long-term needs of thousands of domestic violence victims each year. The People Concern believes no one should have to live on the street or in a violent household.
Sojourn’s mission is to: provide, without prejudice, shelter and support services to adult and child victims of domestic violence; prevent violence through non-dominant child-rearing and the re-envisioning of gender stereotypes using a philosophy of nonviolence and individual empowerment; and work toward advancing social justice, locally, and globally.
Through shelter, support groups, workshops, hotline calls, children’s empowerment programming, legal services, and service referrals, Sojourn brings safety, connection, and hope to individuals and families. Sojourn also works to educate the broader community and to advance public policy that affirms the rights of oppressed populations.
Last year, Sojourn added in-house counsel to expand the capacity of its legal services programs and better serve the complex needs of this population. The staff attorney provides much needed legal assistance, including various direct services to clients and training and consultation for staff and volunteers.
Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community and Sojourn. 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/make-a-donation.
Our service in the world continues.
