In the middle of our congregational covenant is the phrase, “assume best intentions.” What does it really mean? How does it help us live out our UU values in community? How far beyond our walls does it extend? Join Rev. Sheri as she takes up the topic Corliss Smith gave to her after being the highest bidder at last year’s auction. Crescendo Choir will sing as will Joyful Noise!
This is a Time For All Ages Service.
Join us for a service and ritual honoring the Lunar New Year, one of the most celebrated holidays in the world. We will reflect together on some of the common themes of the holiday as it is celebrated in our Bay Area communities: family togetherness, unity, wholeness, and renewal. Join Daisy Quan, Wes Radez, Claudine Tong, the Chancel Choir and Joyful Noise for this Multigenerational Service.
There are many sacred stories about the spiritual nature of humanity that loom large in our souls during the month of December. Members, friends, and allies please bring your loved ones and join Pastor Jacqueline, Rev. Sheri and Sabbatical Minister Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae for an evening of story telling and sacred quiet. Let us be reminded of who we are as people of faith and fire our spirit for where we are going. On one of the most cherished nights of our lunar calendar, Crescendo Choir under the direction of Anna Lichtenberg will inspire us. Our choir will be joined by guest soprano Natalie John. Come and allow your being to be lifted and transformed by the magical warm glow of candlelight and community. All people and all faith traditions are welcomed. Please bring yummy treats to share during hospitality hour following the service.
With a spark of imagination and the willing participation of many children and youth, right before our eyes we will bring to life the Christmas Story as told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Come and let this ancient story warm your heart.
This is a Multigenerational Service.
Dancing in the Dark, A Winter Solstice Celebration – 9:20 and 11:20 services
In the depths of the winter, we recognize the holy in darkness and in what promises to emerge from its shimmering depths. As a community of all ages, we gather to celebrate the turning of the season. The service will end with the children and youth hunting for the sun.
This is a Multigenerational Service.
“Holy Lessons from OUR Mysterious Skies” Yes there is a divine mysterious nature to our shared cosmos.The holy appears in the humblest of places. Do you feel the “holy” in our cosmos? Do you see the “holy” everywhere? Please join Pastor Jacqueline, Worship Associates Kem Tetlow and Alessandro Gagliardi and Rev Sheri, as we grapple … Continue reading “Holy Lessons from OUR Mysterious Skies”, Worship at 9:20 and 11:20
As we break bread together so too do our hearts break open to the painful realities and abundant blessings of life. Join us in our annual bread communion service as we give thanks for the fruit of the earth and the radical interconnectedness of all existence of which we are a part. This is a Multigenerational Service and Crescendo Choir will sing.
“Look -There Goes & Here Comes Generosity”. Let us welcome the Reverend Maria Cristina Vlassidis, the guest preacher for our stewardship celebration Sunday. Rev. Cristina serves the Starr King UU Church in Hayward, CA. She states, “Now more than ever, we need to celebrate community, to be united, to show generosity, and support the transformative work of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. On Sunday, Nov 5, her sermon will call us to celebrate by being together and remembering those who came before us. To remember those who took risks to uphold our Unitarian Universalist values. Those whose generous contributions sustained our sanctuary so that it is open today. Open as a holy place to practice our values, to offer each other compassion, to conspire against hatred, to rekindle hope, and practice unconditional love. Please join Joyful Noise (acoustic praise & worship opening), Crescendo Choir, Pastor Jacqueline, Rev. Sheri and Worship Associate Kem Tetlow as we celebrate the bounty that is the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. During worship we will share in a ritual to receive our stewardship pledges.This is a Time For All Ages Service. Immediately following worship we will gather in community for a celebration brunch. All are welcomed to join us for brunch. Please RSVP on the church website.
Reverend María Cristina immigrated with her grandmother and her mother to the United States from Chile in the late 1970s. She holds a Law Degree from the City University of New York School of Law, where she specialized in Immigrants’ Rights. She holds a Master of Divinity and Doctoral degree in Theology from Harvard University.
Reverend María Cristina has more than three decades of work experience related to social justice, including working with mothers in prison, immigrants, survivors of domestic violence, people living with traumatic brain injury, and children with disabilities. Her volunteer work as advocate and community organizer includes working with the LGBTQ community.
She received her call to the ministry while working in an AIDS hospice as a legal advocate, was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist Ministry at at First Parish Unitarian Universalist church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and now serves Starr King UU Church in Hayward as their Settled Minister. She lives with her mother, Lily and their two cats Tobias and Rafiki.
Rev. Sheri and Worship Associate Dick Bailey will lead our community through a celebration of Day of the Dead. Our children and youth are with us for the entire worship service. Music will be offered by Geoff Ullerich. You are invited to bring your pictures of loved ones who have died and mementos to add to our community altar. Bring your neighbor and join in celebrating those who are now our ancestors. The Fitzhugh Family will offer a stewardship testimonial. We will also have a Halloween Costume Parade in the service and a Carnival at 12:45, so if the spirit moves you, come in costume!
Early in the 19th century Universalism swept across our young nation finding a popularity it never again achieved. It proclaimed a truly radical message. Is it time for us to return to the message that God’s love brooks no resistance? Universalism re-articulated for the 21st century. Join well-known Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed, the Crescendo Choir, and Joyful Noise for the one service first Sunday of October.
This is a service with a Time for All Ages for children and youth.
