You are invited to send pictures of their ancestors (blood relatives, mentors, or similar inspiring ancestral figures) to Circle of Oak for service this weekend.  Pictures will be part of a montage to honor our ancestors during service. Send pictures to circleofoak@uuoakland.org.

The winter quarter of Samhain brings restoration and renewal, as the cold weather closes in, so the soul is led to more reflective depths. It is traditionally associated with the remembrance of the ancestors, with the coming of death and the conception of new life. In the human growth cycle, Samhain corresponds to the period of old age when wisdom, freedom of spirit and clarity are experienced. Samhain is a good time to celebrate the lives of all wise elders, all those whose actions and ideas have brought resolution and peace, all holy ones whose sacrifice have brought new life and opened spiritual thresholds to all. -Caitlin Matthews