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.
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 don’t need to have a Facebook or YouTube 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, available 24/7, on our Sermons page. So 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.
After the livestream service, 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.
UUSM has decided to reopen our historic sanctuary to vaccinated members and friends. Vaccinations, well-fitting masks, and social distancing are still required.
September 2022 Theme: Belonging
“Belonging is a fundamental human need. The pandemic has played havoc with our mental health, and a significant factor in our malaise is that we’re missing our people – terribly. We long for friends, family and colleagues. We are hardwired for connection, and with the need for social distancing and the reality of being away from the workplace – and everything else – for such a long period of time, we are struggling.” ~ Tracy Bower, sociologist
“We are all androgynous, not only because we are all born of a woman impregnated by the seed of a man but because each of us, helplessly and forever, contains the other – male in female, female in male, white in black and black in white. We are a part of each other. Many of my countrymen appear to find this fact exceedingly inconvenient and even unfair, and so very often do I. But none of us can do anything about it.” ~ James Baldwin
“{Since the 1970s,} the women with whom I circled were eager to sing, especially to sing songs that honored our experiences as women – words, images, values. Women loved to sing together. All that we had thought would change quickly, instead entrenched and bore down on us, and we found hope, sustenance, inspiration, tenacity, clarity in singing. We bore witness to our time through song. For nearly 30 years I have continued to circle with women singing our lives, living our song. I hope that we can engender beyond us the act of singing together as a profound power and heritage – singing as authentic community. To be a group of people is not enough. We need to know why we come together, how far down we must dig to come upon a common bedrock from which our lives are raised. We need to know how we differ and value this difference. This means understanding conflict as well as consensus. This means leaning into honest exchange, being willing to look at the ways we cause suffering and oppression in another’s life, and to let this change our own. … I now name myself simply a woman of faith seeking with others to touch what matters.” ~ Carolyn McDade, composer of several beloved songs in our UU hymnals.
Let’s explore in our worship, small groups, and personal reflection the theme of Belonging.
Sunday Worship: A Humble Heart
• Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
• Chela Metzger, Worship Associate
"Humility, like the darkness, reveals the heavenly lights." Join us as we explore how we might live with a greater awareness and deeper gratitude for the gifts of life.
Sunday Worship: An Invitation to Universal Love
• Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching
• Karen Hsu Patterson, Worship Associate
What might it mean to live with universal love? Our religious ancestors declared "God is Love!" but what might the embodiment of that mean for our lives?
Sunday Worship: Camp Songs
• Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri Robins, preaching
• Chela Metzger, Worship Associate
While some of our members are away at Camp, we will reminisce about the best and worst of camp life. Did you go to camp? What are some of your indelible memories?
Sunday Worship: Sounding the Shofar
The Yamim Noraʾim — the Days of Awe — arrive proclaiming the Jewish New Year and inviting all to take inventory of their lives. What forgiveness might you offer to another this year? What forgiveness do you seek? Join us as we reflect upon these important religious holidays and their transformative wisdom. • Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, preaching • JoAn Peters, Worship Associate.
September Generous Congregation Recipient: UUA Disaster Relief Fund
Our practice here at UUSM is to dedicate half of our non-pledge Sunday Offering 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 the UUA Disaster Relief Fund.
The UUA Disaster Relief Fund is part of a covenant between the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and members congregations like ours, between congregations who give generously and those in need, and with community partners. Through our aid, we are able to embody our faith and values. Disasters impact congregations and their communities with increasing rapidity. It may be natural disasters like wildfires that scorch everything in their path, hurricanes that bring destruction through winds and water, or human caused disasters like the collapsing infrastructure. Our donations allow the UUA to respond to disasters with flexibility on our behalf.
Thank you for your generous support of our beloved community and the UUA Disaster Relief Fund. 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.
