October 2026 – Courage

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.

Masks are optional, but always acceptable and welcome. If you or someone in your household is not feeling well or has 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 free 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, meditate, and sing along. 

October 2026 Generous Congregation Recipient: Church of the Larger Fellowship

Our practice here at UUSM is to dedicate half of our non-pledge Sunday offerings to support the life of our church and the other 50% to organizations doing work in the world that advances our Unitarian Universalist principles. This month we’ll share our Sunday Offering with the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF).

CLF is a partner in extending Unitarian Universalism beyond walls and borders. Congregations can connect with the CLF through shared worship, collaborative learning, and justice-centered ministries that deepen faith and expand care. Together, we live into our shared values of love, inclusion, and spiritual growth — creating a global network of UU connection and support. 

The CLF community comes from every walk of life and from more than 49 countries. Together, we create a faith community that celebrates diversity, honors many paths to truth, and offers connection wherever you are in the world. Your generosity supports worship, learning, and the Worthy Now Prison Ministry — ensuring that no one seeking Unitarian Universalist connection is ever turned away. Visit the Church of the Larger Fellowship websire for more information.

Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community and the Church of the Larger Fellowship. 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.

Courage

Courage involves making choices to meet pain, danger, or difficulties. And it can mean protection, safety, or upholding principles — by taking action despite fear. All of us have read and heard about people’s courage in facing terrible events and circumstances. Where can we see courage in each other and ourselves, in the moment and across the years? How do we support others in such hard times, whether it’s in the moment or over the long run? How do we seek the support we need for ourselves when we are fearful or very ill or threatened in some other way? And how can this UU community continue to nurture courageousness?

Many readings, exploration topics, quotes, music, and other resources come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a group of more than 150 Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations across the country in exploring a monthly theme through resources from Soul Matters. The group also arranges for copyright permissions, as needed, for these materials. UUSM continues the practice of highlighting a theme each month from September to June. Here’s a link to a page about how these monthly themes pair with our UU values. The theme for October is Courage.

Out of the Flames

Out of the flames of fear
We rise with courage of our deepest convictions
to stand for justice, inclusion and peace. 

Out of the flames of scrutiny
We rise to proclaim our faith
With hope to heal a fractured and hurting world

Out of the flames of doubt
We rise to embrace the mystery, wonder and awe
of all there is and all that is yet to be

Out of the flames of hate
We rise with the force of love
Love that celebrates our shared humanity

Out of the flames we rise. ~ Rev. Sara LaWall

Map of the Journey in Progress
Here is where I found my voice and chose to be brave…
This is the place where I said no, more loudly than I’d thought I ever could…
Here’s a time, and here’s another, when I laid down my fear and walked right on into it…
Here is where I began to look with my own eyes and listen with my ears and sing my own song, shaky as it is… ~ Rev. Victoria Safford, Full text

At the Poetry Slam Championship in Kansas
…This, too, the gift we most need—
to dare to turn toward
what makes each other bleed.
This, too, transforms wound into generous bloom,
the gift of hearing and hailing,
honoring each other’s humanness,
saying yes, I see you, I see you. ~ Rosemerry Wahlola Trommer, Full poem

The Color of Courage – Guided Meditation [excerpts]
And now, I invite you to imagine the color of your courage.
There is no right answer.
Perhaps your courage is a brilliant gold that glows like the morning sun.
Perhaps it is a deep blue, steady and calm like the ocean.
Maybe it is a vibrant red that burns with passion.
Or a rich green that grows quietly and persistently.
Maybe it is a color you’ve never seen before.
Whatever color comes to you… trust it.

Carry that color with you today.
May it remind you to speak when your voice matters.
To listen when another shares their truth.
To be gentle with yourself.
And to be brave enough – not to become someone new -but to become more fully yourself. ~ April Rosario

Our service in the world continues.