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, November 1, 2020
“Our Beloved Dead”
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Vilma Ortiz, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
Setting our clocks back
Sunday, November 8, 2020
“We Hold These Truths…”
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Kikanza Nuri-Robins, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
We gather following the election to reflect upon our liberal religious principles as strong moral guides in times of tumult and change. We are a prophetic tradition that has helped to lead social progress in our country throughout its history. Today we explore the application of our principles to this new era and envision a future of justice and equality for all.
Sunday, November 15, 2020
“Slinky, Silly Putty, and Rubber Bands”
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching
JoAn Peters, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
If Life is one trauma after another, how do we heal? As a species we are very resilient, always adapting to a changing environment. We can see this when we take a long view, but when we are in it, we can easily feel overwhelmed. The truth is that everyone has a sack of rocks. Sometimes, we carry our sack of wounds and worries alone, sometimes we have someone to help us carry it, sometimes we just leave it by the side of the road so that we can use both hands for wiping our tears. Most of the time, we ultimately carry on.
How do you do it? Resilience. Kintsugi is a Japanese art form of repairing pottery with gold. The pottery is made functional again, and the cracks and breaks are highly visible, shining with the gold that seals them. Kintsugi (金継ぎ, “golden joinery”) is also known as Kintsukuroi (金繕い, “golden repair”). What keeps you going? What helps you move through the pain and disappointments of life? What is your metaphor for resilience?
Sunday, November 22, 2020
“For All That Is Our Life”
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Charles Haskell, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
Thanksgiving/Thanksgrieving is a time for appreciating the bounty of our lives and grieving the harm done to Indigenous peoples by settler colonialism. It is in our capacities to hold both gratitude and grief that we can resist a dominate culture that brutalizes BIPOC and enter into great solidarity with counter-cultural movements that are striving to protect our planet home and all of her people.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
“As-Sabur: The Most Patient”
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
Robbert Schalekamp, Worship Associate
ONE SERVICE AT 10:00 am online
Sheikh Najm ad-Dīn Kubrà is called the “saint-making Sufi” because of the profound influence his early teachings had on so many Sufis, including the father of poet Jalaluddin Rumi. One of the essential character dispositions of the spiritual path according to Hz. Kubrà is the cultivation of patience. As-Sabur or The Most Patient is one of the 99 Beautiful Names of the Divine in Islam. This morning we will explore Sufi teachings on the spiritual path, learning to practice and appreciate patience in these challenging times.
Generous Congregation Recipient: Lakota People’s Law Project
We come together for more than ourselves. This month 50% of the Sunday offering will be donated to the Lakota People’s Law Project (LPLP). In 2004, a group of grandmothers in Lakota country — an area comprised of nine Indian reservations in North and South Dakota — asked to investigate and help prevent South Dakota’s Department of Social Services from removing their grandchildren from their families. The investigation uncovered that drugging and routine patterns of physical and mental abuse of Native children in foster care were leading to high levels of youth suicide. These atrocities, a direct violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) — a federal law enacted in 1978 — inspired the formation of the Lakota People’s Law Project (lakotalaw.org). Your donations will help to put a stop to the cycles of injustice leading to the slow genocide of the Lakota. Thank you for your generous support.
