Archives: Services

In-Gathering and Water Communion

We honor our annual Water Communion service as a ritual of resistance and radical community building.  We gather to find some soulful sustenance in our UU tradition and to recommit ourselves to nurturing the Beloved Community. Worship leaders: Rev. Darcy Baxter, Sharon Arpoika, and Magdalene Myint. 

Ceasefire Now! Collective Liberation means none of us are free until all of us are free!

As global wars fueled by the U.S. war machine rage onward, how do we lean into our Unitarian Universalist values of justice, equity, transformation, pluralism, interdependence, generosity, with love at the center to build a future of collective liberation where all of us are free, where Palestine is free! How can our liberal and liberating … Continue reading Ceasefire Now! Collective Liberation means none of us are free until all of us are free!

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Join us for another poetic Sunday where Gillian Wegener discusses life in the Central Valley through her poetry and personal reflections. Gillian is the founding president of the Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center, a former poet laureate of Modesto, and a lifelong educator, as well as a good friend to several UU members! Worship Leaders: Dee Hawksworth, … Continue reading Stand in the Place Where You Live

Sailing Your Boat Well

Is the rudder of the ship of your life on autopilot, moving with the currents?  If there is a captain, who is it?  What is it?  We live in a time when there are many currents at play. Sailing mindfully can be important.  Come join Rev. Erin in exploring stories, songs, slogans, and more that … Continue reading Sailing Your Boat Well

Diyos sa Gugma (God of Love):Building Bridges with the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines (UUCP)

There are over 2,500 Unitarian Universalists in the Philippines in 25 congregations and 10 newly forming fellowships. Most of the churches are located in remote rural farming and fishing villages. What can UUs from the Philippines teach us about their unique expression of our shared global liberal religious faith? How can building bridges of mutuality … Continue reading Diyos sa Gugma (God of Love):Building Bridges with the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines (UUCP)

Small is Powerful

Who can measure the value and worth of an acorn or a mustard seed; yet inside they hold a mystery that bursts and brings life.  Thus it is with the small groups of a Church. Each holds a hologram, a piece of the whole to replenish and nourish, expand and deepen with unique functions and … Continue reading Small is Powerful

Creativity – Special Music Sunday

We live a lot of our lives in boxes, coloring inside the lines and following the rules. We all need moments of creativity and imagination, though. In fact, we are more truly living in those creative moments than in the serious and efficient “working hard” moments. There’s value in doing our work and chores well, … Continue reading Creativity – Special Music Sunday

Which Comes First?

Many have pondered or joked over the years, “which comes first … the chicken or the egg“? Which should come first, work or rest? Cindy Lee, spiritual director, urban explorer, PhD in practical theology and spiritual formation, DMin in transformational leadership, and adjunct faculty at Fuller Theological challenges us to look at the ways we orient our … Continue reading Which Comes First?

Shame, Power, and Celebration

Shame, that deep feeling of badness and unworthiness, holds hostage the energy we need to be our most loving and powerful.  What if we understood shame as pointing us to where we are called to bring our UU radical love and compassion? What if shame points us in the direction of celebration?  Worship leaders:  Rev. … Continue reading Shame, Power, and Celebration