November’s Ministry Theme is Repair
Join us in-person and online on Sundays at 10:30 am. All are welcome! We as Unitarian Universalists in Santa Monica look forward to being with you.
COVID Update May 2023: The congregation’s Pandemic Policies and Protocols were adopted specifically in response to the pandemic. Given that the state of emergency has been lifted, they are no longer in effect. Masks are optional, but always acceptable and welcome. If you or someone in your household is 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.
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 to place on your dashboard. For those with a handicap parking tag, several spaces are also available onsite, via the alley west of 18th St., as well as in the UCLA structure.
Worship Online: We livestream our service from the sanctuary. Join us by clicking the WATCH NOW button above where the video is live every week beginning at 10:20 am, or watch on YouTube or Facebook. You don’t need to have a YouTube or Facebook 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: Singing for Democracy
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching; Judith Martin-Straw, Worship Associate. Let us lift our voices and our spirits in support of democracy and our progressive Unitarian Universalist Values this Sunday! Join us for a special participatory music-centered service as we celebrate our UU the Vote efforts and help keep the hope and joy alive in our world. Join us for worship in-person and online.
Sunday Worship: Keep Going
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, preaching; Dr. Susan Hendricks, Worship Associate. After a long race, whether one wins or loses, there is the desire for rest. Rest, however may not be what is needed. What is necessary in times of great stress and in the midst of jubilation is perseverance. Keep focused and keep going. There is much work to do. Join us for worship in-person and online.
Sunday Worship: Developmental Ministry Roadmap and Goals
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching; Karen Hsu Patterson, Worship Associate. We've accomplished a lot in our multi-year developmental ministry journey which has been guided by over 20 goals that address most areas of congregational functioning. We've had challenge and setbacks, which are to be expected, a global pandemic, and we've made substantial progress and grown in new and exciting ways. What have we learned? What work remains? How can we be intentional in our transition out of developmental ministry and into settled ministry at the end of the next congregational year? Join us for worship in-person and online.
Sunday Worship: Thanksgiving/Thanxgrieving + Bread and Wine Communion
Sanctuary 1260 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA, United StatesRev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching; Chela Metzger, Worship Associate. Join us for our annual holiday service in which we give thanks for the many blessings of our lives as we deepen our commitments to intersectional anti-racism and anti-oppression and grieve the painful history of this holiday. In addition to continuing our exploration of antidotes to white supremacy culture, we will share in a bread and wine (or juice) communion and reflect upon this practice as part of our Unitarian Universalist heritage. You're welcome for worship in-person and online.
November Generous Congregation Recipient: United American Indian Involvement
Our practice here at UUSM is to dedicate half of our non-pledge Sunday offering to support the life of our church and the other 50% to organizations doing work in the world that advances our Unitarian Universalist values. This month, half of our Sunday Offering will go to the United American Indian Involvement (UAII).
Celebrating five decades of commitment and resilience, the 50th anniversary of UAII stands as a testament to the organization’s profound impact on the Native American community. Over the years, the group has played a pivotal role in fostering empowerment, cultural preservation, and holistic well-being. The organization’s mission is to promote and support the physical, behavioral, and spiritual well-being of American Indian/Alaska Natives in the urban Los Angeles area by providing comprehensive, integrated services that focus on all age groups and incorporate American Indian/Alaska Native cultures and traditions.
Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community, and the United American Indian Involvement. 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.
November 2024 Theme: Repair
Our theme this month invites us to consider our world, our communities, and our lives in the light of Repair.
In today’s America, we tend to think of healing as something binary: either we’re broken, or we’ve healed from that brokenness. But that’s not how healing operates, and it’s almost never how human growth works. More often, healing and growth take place on a continuum, with innumerable points between utter brokenness and total health. ~ Resmaa Menakem
Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion. ~ bell hooks, All About Love
What She Taught Me about How to Meet Those Who Grieve
She taught me it is enough to sit with someone who is grieving — to sit and listen with your whole body as if eyes could hear as well as ears, as if a person’s silence is as essential as her words… ~ Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, full poem
Judgment-Free Zone
So that’s the first practice. You don’t know the whole story. Get curious. Once you know more, chances are, you will find so much compassion in yourself that you can’t help but start the process of repair… ~ Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig
Practice Repair
Bless generously, curse rarely; practice repair…. ~ Rev. Dave McFarland, full poem
Even This Is Enough
The world won’t stop spinning on her axis if you don’t rise to all occasions today. Love won’t cease to flow in your direction, your heart won’t stop beating, all hope won’t be lost… ~ Rev. Vanessa Southern, full meditation
On How Nature Repairs Us
The cure for anything is saltwater—sweat, tears, or the sea. ~ Isak Dinesen
On Rethinking How to Repair the Broken World
And this is of course a collective task. It involves all people who have ever been born, all people presently alive, all people yet to be born. We are all healers of the world. And that story opens a sense of possibility. It’s not about healing the world by making a huge difference. It’s about healing the world that touches you, that’s around you… ~ Rachel Naomi Remen, on tikkun olam
Our service in the world continues.
