As we wrap up this month of exploring generosity, I invite each of us to be inspired by the profound lessons we've absorbed. Let's channel this inspiration into tangible actions by generously giving our time and talents. Embracing the principles of "creative altruism" advocated by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and aligning with the theme "Love Is at the Center," let us contribute meaningfully to our community and embody the spirit of service that defines our shared values I am reaching out to ask you to consider offering your time and talents to support our community at First Unitarian…

I hope that all of you are safe, warm, and dry. If you aren’t in that situation, please reach out to let us know, so we can be of assistance. A storm is a reminder that we all have need of one another at one point or another. Our church community is a place where we have opportunities to practice asking for help when we need it and offering help when we are able. This practice of mutuality, of self-care and care for others, matters a great deal. Relationships of giving and receiving are the basis of human existence. They…

I hope that all of you are safe, warm, and dry. If you aren’t in that situation, please reach out to let us know so we can be of assistance. A storm is a reminder that we all have need of one another at one point or another. Our church community is a place where we have opportunities to practice asking for help when we need it and offering help when we are able. This practice of mutuality, of self-care, and care for others matters a great deal. Relationships of giving and receiving are the basis of human existence. They…

One source of inspiration for Unitarian Universalists is human experience, including listening to the wisdom found in the stories of our fellow congregants’ lives. The Community Circles we are launching in January provide one way to engage this practice. You can sign up to join a preview session coming up in person this Sunday at noon, on Zoom this Sunday at 4:30 p.m., or on Zoom this Tuesday at 7 p.m. While it is wonderful to feel the energy of hundreds of people online and together in person on a Sunday morning, it is harder to get to know each…

On Celebration Sunday earlier this month, we invited you – the children and adults of all ages – to join the King Center’s BE LOVE pledge as one pathway deepening around our theme of the year, “Love is at the Center of our Faith.” In our Time for All Ages, we shared a book that centers this pledge written by Dr. Bernice King and Dr. Kimberly Johnson: It Starts with ME! We received many cards that day from members and friends who shared ways they will make love visible in their lives and in the world. In the children’s book,…

Dear Members, Friends, and Newcomers, If you were not able to join us for Celebration Sunday, it was a joyous day to be in the Sanctuary! We have been hard at work tallying our pledge results since that day and want to share that we made it to 80% of our goal within a month. What this means is that we have more work to do if we are going to be able to fund our current program and staffing levels next year. So, if you haven’t given yet, you can help us with these efforts by making your pledge…

We are excited to announce that we have hired a new Acting Director of Lifespan Faith Formation & Family Ministries. Her name is Rev. Leah Ongiri.  Rev. Leah is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister who has served in religious education in four congregations. She served as the Consulting Director of Religious Education at the UU Fellowship of Durango, the Minister of Faith Development at the UU Fellowship of Gainesville, the Director of Religious Exploration at Starr King UU Church (Hayward, CA), and the Membership and Education Assistant at the UU Church of Oakland.  Rev. Leah served as the Associate Minister…

Dana Buhl, Director of Social Justice The war in Israel and Palestine is personal to many in our circles. Family and loved ones killed, displaced, taken hostage, or living in terror are especially in the minds and nervous systems of people in the Jewish and Palestinian diasporas, including Unitarian Universalists from these communities. Though I do not have Jewish or Arab identity, I do have friends whose family members are directly affected by the recent atrocities of Hamas’s terror attack on Israel and that nation’s immediate and broadscale violent response, both acts arising from generations of trauma and oppression. The…

Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli civilians and awakened war once again. My heart is breaking. My guess is yours may be as well. Israel and Palestine are interlocked in a seemingly ceaseless war where the losers keep mounting over time. For those of us who are Jews and Muslims, and for those who are Unitarian Universalists with Jewish or Muslim identity, the unfolding of these events can be particularly painful.  Today, counting the losses of human life moves my spirit toward the practice of lamentation.   When O Lord* will the fighting cease? How many departed souls, How many injured,How many displaced and homeless…

Unitarian Universalists tend to be lifelong learners. We have a holy curiosity about us that begins as small children, and this yearning is never extinguished. It is a frequent trait among us. However, many of our religious education programs or exploration programs used to end after eighth grade or at the end of high school. We even called the ceremony at the end of either of those time periods “graduation,” as if our children were done with the big questions about the meaning of everything.  But the good news is that more and more of our communities are imagining and…