This service begins the series of sermons based on the book The Five Invitations Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski. Rev. Laurel will introduce the first invitation: Don’t Wait. “Whatever we have done with our lives makes us what we are when we die. And everything, absolutely everything, counts.” … Continue reading Sunday October 20, 2024 – Don’t Wait
Invitation is the theme for September. Rev. Laurel will introduce a book called The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski, co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. Writer Anne Lamott wrote “I love this book and its gentle, radical, charming, wild, and comforting truths about … Continue reading Sunday Sept. 22, 2024 – The Practice of Invitation
Join us in person or on Zoom. A new church year begins with an opportunity for all us to come together, and to participate in our Water Communion service! Bring a small sample of water representing your summer experience to pour into a common bowl. Rev. Laurel Liefert has returned from her summer break and … Continue reading Sunday September 15, 2024 – Water Communion
Join the musicians of UUOakland in our Annual Music Service! Crescendo Choir, Joyful Noise Band and Pop-Up Choir will minister through music and words once again in this service dedicated to the power of music to heal, inspire, and lift up. Music can reach our hearts in ways words cannot. We invite you to come … Continue reading Sunday June 9, 2024 – Annual Music Service
This morning we will consider the question whether our lives are determined more by fate or free will. Rev. Laurel will describe an exercise that is part of the Adult Religious Education class called Building Your Own Theology. You will be invited to think of the important decisions you have made in your life, how … Continue reading Sunday May 26, 2024 – The Dance of Fate and Freedom
Along with our sibling Unitarian Universalist congregations, each spring we celebrate a ritual called the Flower Communion. It was initiated in Prague in 1923 by Norbert Capek, who was also the founder of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. He saw the need to unite the diverse congregants of his church, from varying Protestant, Catholic, and … Continue reading Sunday May 19, 2024 – Flower Communion
Initially, Unitarian Universalists may scoff at the idea of prayer – “I don’t believe in prayer! To ask God for what you want is like asking Santa Claus to bring toys at Christmas!” This is not the kind of prayer we will be talking about. “If the only prayer you ever say in your life … Continue reading Sunday May 12, 2024 – Prayer: The Path of Turning to What Matters Most
The heart of this service will feature an essay by Rabbi Brous, founding and senior rabbi of Ikar, a Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and author of “The Amen Effect.” The essay describes an ancient Jewish pilgrimage ritual that embodies the healing power of showing up for one another in a world of pain. … Continue reading Sunday April 28, 2024 – Train Yourself to Always Show Up
Most of us are probably familiar with the song “Amazing Grace.” After telling about the story behind the song, Rev. Laurel will share an experience she had as a chaplain at Highland Hospital that led her to believe it is a kind of conceit not to open our hearts to the gift of grace. Committee … Continue reading Sunday April 14, 2024 – Amazing Grace
Easter is one of those tricky holidays for Unitarian Universalists. For Christians, Easter celebrates salvation through the grace of God. UUs reject this theology to embrace of a theology of universal salvation, all souls are of worth. The good news of this UU Easter service is that all beings are capable of bringing more beauty … Continue reading Sunday March 31, 2024 – Reclaiming Grace
