Easter: We joyously celebrate Easter Sunday with communion for all ages. We explore Jesus as a person and symbol of rebirth, and redemption. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Pagan, or Atheist: What do Jesus’ life and teachings mean to you? Egg hunt provided for ages 2-12. There are two ways to attend this worship service: In … Continue reading Apr. 9, 2023 – Resurrection and Redemtion
From climate change to congregational change, we get a chance to practice spiritual engagement with the unknown while bringing forward what we need even as we move forward. Several reflections will ask us to hold multiple perspectives in the spirit of Sankofa, an ancient Ghanaian wisdom concept. Speakers: Jef Melcher, Laila Ibrahim, and Trevor Palacio, … Continue reading Feb. 26, 2023 – Looking Back While Going Forward
Change is afoot. We need to walk together this path of being human on this planet with tender care for each other and all inhabitants. Mother Earth herself is in need of our compassion and care. And still, we need to start in our homes. In our heart, our family, and our communities. What is next … Continue reading Feb. 19, 2023 – The Secret of Change
As we start 2023, we care for ourselves and support each other by taking time to honor those who have passed in 2022. Our annual Tolling of the Bells is a traditional Anglo-Saxon ritual of healing, both of memory and honor. We remember and celebrate those we have been blessed to know and love and … Continue reading Jan. 8, 2023 – Tolling of the Bells: Honoring Their Spirit
Embracing holidays of light. This service will explore the light after Longest Night and the Hanukkah story of light indomitable through difficulty. This service will include a Solstice ritual. Checking out First Unitarian Oakland? If you’re joining us for the first time, we would like to extend a full welcome! Please answer a few questions … Continue reading Singing Back the Light
It’s easy to put our Unitarian and Universalist forebears on pedestals, but how noble were they really? How do we simultaneously celebrate their wisdom, good works, and faults… and our own? And how do we hold the legends in tension with the realities of their – and our – stories? Checking out First Unitarian Oakland? … Continue reading Sages, Saints, and Scoundrels
Given the complexity of racial justice in our country, it’s possible than any mention of privilege would lead folks to think of white privilege and whether or not they think that is real. We won’t be specifically focusing on that, but rather, spend time considering privileges and responsibilities in community and how they connect with … Continue reading The Terrible Privilege (and not white privilege per se)
Enter into the New Year with a resetting of intentions to embrace gratitude, give ourselves and others spaciousness, and lean into appreciating our gifts. Jeffrey Melcher leads the service and we will receive a homily from UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray. If you’re joining us for the first time, we would like to extend a … Continue reading Leaning Into the Gifts
Shanah tovah! (Hebrew for Happy New Year!) We have a deep need to grieve and attone as we start a new cycle. This is the most powerful time in history for a global eco-consciousness for Western-Euro culture. WE must atone, grieve the loss of the planet we once knew, and enter a new cycle with … Continue reading Sharing the Mission: Ea, A Planet: Embracing Grief, Hope, and Active Change
