This congregation bears an important responsibility: to care for the historic building that serves not only as our home, but also as a popular meeting place for the community. Significant work has been accomplished this year, as was evidenced by the scaffolding that was up for months and now finally has come down. It is … Continue reading Sunday November 8, 2026: Celebrating Our Building
During this challenging time of transiton, what does it mean to be a people of courage? Can old unhealthy patterns and unresolved pain be transformed into health and restoration? Led by Rev. Laurel Liefert and Worship Associate Marilyn Schumacher, with music by Joyful Noise Band and Crescendo Choir. Followed by Coffee Hour and conversation! Please … Continue reading Sunday October 4, 2026: A People of Courage
This Easter Sunday our Sanctuary will have a table set with both matzah and bread – symbols of two ancient traditions that share a single heartbeat: the human longing for freedom and the perennial hope of new life. Drawing on the Passover story of liberation and the Easter promise of renewal, we will break bread … Continue reading Sunday April 5, 2026: Liberation and Renewal: One Table, Two Traditions
The First Unitarian Church of Oakland has a longstanding tradition of having a multigenerational “bread communion” on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. The ceremony is an open invitation to connect with one another by taking turns offering a basket of bread to a fellow congregant. The service will be lead by Rev. Laurel Liefert and … Continue reading Sunday November 23, 2025: Breaking Bread Together: A Service of Thanksgiving
Contrary to popular belief, slavery didn’t end suddenly with the Emancipation Proclamation. As early as 1780, Pennsylvania passed “An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery,” which among other things, established that all children born in the state were free. The story of Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who escaped from George and Martha Washington, … Continue reading Sunday May 4, 2025 – Imagining Joy: Lessons Environmentalists Can Take From the Anti-Slavery Movement
This Sunday is the Christian holiday of Easter, the last day of the Jewish celebration of Passover, and two days before Earth Day. Our multigenerational service this morning will include a story about an enchanted hare, a touch of Unitarian Universalist theology, and a Bread Communion. In addition, you will learn about the possibility of … Continue reading Sunday April 20, 2025 – Liberation, Rebirth, Reverence
Join us for the 2nd of a 3-part series on the foundational values of Unitarian Universalism. Our faith asks us to plant seeds of generosity and transformation with a spirit of gratitude and hope. We often say “revelation is not sealed” which means at its core we are a “Living Tradition” that is able to … Continue reading Sunday March 2, 2025 – Collective Liberation: Love as Generosity and Transformation
Have you ever wondered whether you were born with a purpose? We long to live in that place of wholeness and joy where our own “deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger.” What in our lives helps us tune into our own inner compass as we seek that place of wholeness and joy? Join Rev. … Continue reading Sunday October 6, 2024 – A Place in the World
