Messages

A message from the monthly “Welcome.” Our New Ministerial Specialist for Religious Education and Community Life invites us to welcome wonder as we get to know her a little better and celebrate her new multigenerational ministry with us this morning.

A message from the monthly “Welcome.” We are greeted by the Days of Awe–the Jewish High Holy Days–with the arrival of Rosh HaShanah. This is a time for finding clarity within oneself and peace with one’s neighbor and the divine. Join us as we reflect on this sacred time and read the chapters we’ve each written in the Book of Life.

A message from the monthly “Welcome.” “Shall we gather by the river… the beautiful, beautiful river?” asks the hymn we sang at UUA General Assembly and will sing again this morning–a reflection upon all people gathering at the river of life. Like General Assembly, a time when congregations from all across the nation join together in worship, this annual service is a time for us to come together to inaugurate a new church year. We will pour libations of water and offer our hopes and dreams into the well of our common life. You may bring water that is sacred to you for the ceremony. We will also warmly welcome our newest members so be sure to join us on this special Sunday morning!

A message from the monthly “Welcome.” Misplaced Love destroys the balance of the universe and throws everything off track & out of whack, it inhibits us from loving our neighbor effectively!

A message from the monthly “Abundance.” We have been led to believe that only certain bodies are healthy and therefore valuable. We have been inundated with what “health” looks like. If we do not match the ideal, then we are called lazy, considered uneducated, and lacking self-care strategies. In addition, many of our Liberal folks still struggle with the unconscious bias of tattoos and piercings! Now our Trans folks, including children, are being attacked and denied medical care and acceptance. Let’s gently consider some of the bias of bodies we may encounter or we ourselves have.

A message from the monthly “Abundance.” In April James was officially designated a “Distinguished Alumn” at his seminary, the Pacific School of Religion. When he visited he witnessed some of the consequences of the steep decline in mainstream religions, especially Christianity. He also witnessed some things that gave him hope for a vital and useful spirituality in our perilous times.

A message from the monthly “Abundance.” Today’s sermon is presented in song … where selected song lyrics are incorporated into the sermon message itself. Feel free to sing along, as the inspirational lyrics will be projected above. Each song represents emotional / spiritual turning points in our lives when, in wisdom, hope and faith, we may collectively turn to embrace love as a personal centering act of caring and sharing, and serving and forgiving. Let’s enjoy this music together as one. Johnny Canales, MDiv, MTS Lay Community Minister. Patrick Meighan, worship associate.

A message from the monthly “Abundance.” Inspired by the lives of her oncology patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Bronwen explores the notion of legacy, that we create our legacy whether we want to or not. Every moment we are alive has the potential to be remembered by our loved ones and friends, our colleagues and peers. It is a subject rich for contemplation and creativity. We can harness our awareness of what is most important to us and have some potency in how we are remembered. Chaplain Bronwen Jones, MTheol bronwen90230@gmail.com Jo An Peters

A message from the monthly “Delight.” We gather once each year with Unitarian Universalists from across the country and around the world for the UUA General Assembly Sunday morning worship service. We will be streaming the service from Pittsburgh, PA, to our sanctuary for this special hybrid service. Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti will be this year’s GA Sunday worship leader. He serves as Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, MI. He is a co-editor of “Conversations with the Sacred: A Collection of Prayers” (2020) and the 2018-2019 UUA common read, “Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment.” Please note that there will be no UUSM livestream for this service. The UUA service can be viewed below.

A message from the monthly “Play.” “I’ll bring you hope, when hope is hard to find…” Poetry can offer words of encouragement for all the difficult times in our lives. Join Rima Snyder and Judith Martin-Straw for an exploration of poems that can help us find hope and reassurance.