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To give you an idea of what our previous services have looked like, here is the full list in reverse order: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 24 "Christmas Eve with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa": We will join with our neighbors to the north at their church to celebrate Christmas Eve. (No service scheduled for Sunday, December 25. Have a joyous celebration!) |
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| December 18 "Solstice Drum Circle": Tony Blake, worship associate, lead drummer. Join the fabulous Mr. Blake as he once again leads us in a circle of drumming in honor of the Winter Solstice, and the celebration of the returning light. |
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| December 11 "A Lifetime of Dreaming": Guest minister, Rev. Jeremy Taylor "When I was a child I spake as a child," did I dream as a child? "When I got old I spoke of meaningful things," what about my dreams? Is there a progression? How do our dream change as we age? Join us for Rev. Taylor's second visit to UUP! |
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| December 4 "Tarot, I Ching, and the WooWoo Sisterhood": Regular guest minister, Leland Bond-Upson. I am a hard rationalist, but I don't dismiss the ancient avenues to knowledge. There is much wisdom in those words and traditions. Yet believing in the supernatural, if only for a while, is almost necessary if one is to feel the full force and pleasure of the mystical, prophesying arts. |
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| November 27 "Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice: A Participatory Service": Gratitude as a spiritual practice only requires that we open ourselves to a sense of appreciation for all that surrounds us and walk on the earth with gratitude in every step. When we know we are part of this incredible creation/evolution, we know we are not alone and can then support the world with our love, compassion, and strength. On Thanksgiving weekend, we welcome you to come to UUP and share your thoughts and feelings about what fills you with gratitude and thankfulness. |
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| November 20 "At The Table": Guest speaker, Ron Hersom. In this time of people coming together and sharing a meal called - Thanksgiving, how do we create The Table? What is it for and for whom? |
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| November 13 Sacred Words: A participation service wherein members of the congregation are invited and encouraged to bring a short reading, story, or song that they find inspirational. Your poems or your own stories are especially appreciated. |
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| November 6 "The Purpose of Life." Regular guest minister, Leland Bond-Upson. I do believe I know. Or rather, I believe I have at least as good an idea as any astrophysicist or philosopher, and a better idea than most theologians. As the Buddhists believe, and perhaps intuition suggests, it’s quite simple. But ah! --the implications! And hey --what about the meaning of life? Is that the same as the purpose, or different? After the service, Leland will meet with anyone who would like to gain further insight into the basics of Unitarian Universalism. |
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| October 30 Un Baile con la Muerta-A Dance with Death: Guest speaker, Kim Bateman. Psychologist and story teller, Dr. Kimberly Bateman, will discuss how worldwide mythologies inform our understanding of the life/death/life nature of reality with an emphasis on personal applications. |
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| October 23 "Rachel Carson: Her Life and Work": Guest speaker, Lilith Rogers. There is more need than ever before for the people of our world to wake up and start protecting our air, water and soil. Rachel Carson (1907-1964), one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the 20th century, is widely regarded as the founding mother of the modern environmental movement. Her best-selling book, Silent Spring (1962), alerted the American public to the dangers posed by the widespread and careless use of pesticides other chlorinated hydrocarbons which came into widespread distribution during and immediately after WWII. Rogers tells Carson’s story in the first person, revealing the many personal challenges Carson faced in her life. Rogers inspires others to realize that, through perseverance and dedication, one can achieve one’s goals, that one person can truly make an important difference. |
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| October 16 "This I Do": There are always discoveries when getting to know our members, so much below the surface. Hope Stewart, new member, and Adee Swanson, member and staff person, will share how they practice Unitarian Universalism. |
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| October 9 "Yom Kippur" Regular Guest Minister: Leland Bond-Upson |
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| October 2 "It's A Blessing We Were Born: Sacred Rounds and Chants" An all-ages service of easy rounds and chants, led by David Dodd and Elisabeth Hathaway. Join the circle to learn and sing together this selection of songs to enrich the spirit. |
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| September 25 "Learning From the Four Directions" Guest Speaker: Tony Blake The four cardinal directions, East, South, West and North, are rich with symbolism and teaching about our relationship to nature and the spirtual teachings of certain Native American tribes. Our speaker will talk about his own experience with how the four directions shaped his understanding of who he is and where he is headed in his life journey. |
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| September 18 "Affirmation and Condemation" Regular Guest Minister: Leland Bond-Upson Saying 'yes' has its power and its place, but so does 'no'. Affirmation seems to come naturally to religious liberals. Condemnation less so. It was not always this way. Our forebears thundered disapproval from the pulpit with the best of them - think abolitionists. Affirmation is easier - everyone ends up feeling good. What goes on that causes us to take a stand against, to risk unpleasantness, and find ourselves saying 'shame on you', and 'stop it!'? |
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| September 11 "Water and Stones Ingathering" Gather Ye Water and Stones! On your summer journeys near and far, don't forget to take time to gather a bit of water and a stone to share in our annual end-of-summer ingathering ritual on September 11. Virtual water and stones are welcome if you didn't pick up any physical ones! |
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| September 4 "Songs of Struggle" As Joan Baez sang about Joe Hill, the legendary songwriter of the international workers movement: "From San Diego up to Maine, in every mine and mill, where working-men defend there rights, it's there you find Joe Hill". Come hear and sing Joe Hill's songs for human rights and dignity as one earns one's daily bread. We shall also welcome our newest members at a ritual in-gathering. |
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| August 28 "Elder as Activist and Artist" Guest Speaker: Nina Tepedino Nina Tepedino will talk about how the events of her life as minister, musician, teacher, and pacifist have been influenced and enriched with song, art, dance and drama. The service will explore the arts and their relation to spirituality and politics, and will include a performance of two of her songs, one with her Cherokee flute. |
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| August 21 TBA Guest Speaker: Laurel Liefert, ministerial student Laurel will speak about a transformative experience she had that led to an awakening of spirit and a profound change of direction in life. Join us, and endeavor to discover your luminous eyes through which you can uncover new ways of "seeing" and find hidden joy and meaning. |
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| August 14 Black and White Guest Speaker: Blake Bond-Upson Blake Bond-Upson, the daughter of UUP's regular guest minister Leland Bond-Upson, will speak about her experience working in Uganda and the rigidity of thought she ecountered there concerning such subjects as race, tribal differences, and politics. "I was surprised that almost everyone I met had all-or-nothing attitudes about religion. Similarly, in my experience, most Ugandans view tribal differences as fixed, and view political differences in absolute terms. Then, of course, there was the subject of race: it was new to me to be the odd one out, and yet always part of the clan." |
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| August 7 Hiroshima 60th Anniversary For the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the UUP congregation will come together to affirm its commitment to peace and to take from the service a sign of our commitment. Various members of the congregation have helped to fold about 2000 peace cranes for use in the ceremony. David & Karen are performing "Crow on the Cradle" together. |
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| July 31 "Spiritual Leadership & Me Guest Speaker: Ron Hersom, ministerial student Join Ministerial Student and Guest Speaker Ron Hersom for a service addressing this question. In the everyday life of our church, what is Spiritual Leadership? How does it manifest itself in meeting needs? Am I doing it? |
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| July 24 "Sacred Words" A participation service wherein members of the congregation are invited and encouraged to bring a short reading, story, or song that they find inspirational. Your poems or your own stories are especially appreciated. |
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| July 17 "Accepting the Gifts of a Previous Faith Tradition" Guest Speaker: Myron Andes, ministerial student |
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| July 3 "This I Believe, To This I Belong" Members Terilynn Bench-Pennisi and Carol West are spiritual seekers. But they are also spiritual finders who belong to a particular community, denomination, and nation. Come hear how their beliefs have brought them to where they now belong. And along the way, let's acknowledge our nation's Independence Day, understanding that beliefs sometimes clash with belonging. |
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| July 10 "Creativity: The Fire of Commitment" Speaker: Elisabeth Hathaway Kierkegaard insisted that "Not to dare is to lose oneself." We often think in a limited way about creativity, that it is having artistic talent, scientific genius or entrepreneurial savvy. But what if creativity were about a passionate spiritual stance: taking risk, daring, truly being alive, living. We each live, and choose the manner in which we live. The question naturally naturally then arises, to what do you bring your fire of commitment? Join Worship Associate Elisabeth Hathaway in a service devoted to tending these concerns. |
| June 26 "Music to Inspire: A Service of Song" Worship Associates and Larking About will lead a service in the round inspired by the singing of the Annual Retreat, including rounds, chants and short, simple songs. Singing with a group can open up our most hidden voices: Come join us and be infused and enthused by the music among and within us all. Circle around and sing and be heard. |
| June 19 "Fathering Forth" Regular Guest Speaker: Leland Bond-Upson In many places, fathering is still the only thing that matters to a child's self-conception and place in the world. In America these days, mothering seems to hold a higher place in popular imagination. But one way or another, for good and ill, fathering is half the deal. On this day of official recognition, we honor good fathering. |
| June 12 "Is Humanity Growing Up? Envisioning a Promising Future" Guest Speaker: Duane Elgin Duane Elgin has a vision for humanity that balances the extraordinary collective capacities of our species with the sober reality of a potential ecological collapse of our own making. He views this impending crisis as an opportunity for evolution. Elgin is a noted speaker and author of the popular and influential book, Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich. |
| June 5 "On Sophia Fahs: Honoring Our Religious Education Teachers" Join us as we pay tribute to a great liberal religious educator and to the people of our own congregation whose energy and dedication make UUP's religious education program possible. |
| May 29 "Honoring the Warrior Without Glorifying War Guest Speaker: Theresa Novak, ministerial student (UUP Retreat at Four Springs Retreat and Study Center) |
| May 22 "Let's Advance Before We Retreat" David Dodd, UUP Board President David reflects on three years of progress at UUP, how far we've come, and where we might be going. |
| May 15 "A Flower Communion" Meghan Conrad, guest ministerial student (and daughter of UUP member Jean) This year marks the 82nd annual Flower Communion Celebration. This beautiful celebration of community is one of the very few (almost) universally practiced Unitarian traditions. Each person is asked to bring one flower for the ritual. |
| May 8 "Has Our Thinking Been Influenced by Indigenous Cultures?" Guest Speaker: Dal Burns In a search for how we should carry out our duties and responsibilities to each other in society, there are several questions we must ask of ourselves: How do we define social justice? Where did this concept come from? How does social justice operate today, in our society? Although unassailable answers are not available to us, perhaps an examination of these questions can help us define our own view of social justice and how we can work toward filling our responsibilities in this arena. |
| May 1 "May Day" Regular Guest Speaker: Leland Bond-Upson This year, our first service in the merry month of May happens to fall on the 1st. May Day, as the time of the Maypole and Queen of the May goes back to pagan antiquity. May Day, as an international working class holiday, goes back to the late 19th century. "Mayday!" as a call of distress from ships at sea, goes back to the 1920s. How are these traditions connected? Regardless, each has continued relevance in the 21st century. |
| April 24 "Pictures from the Unconscious: The Power of Our Nighttime Dreams" Guest Minister: Rev. Jeremy Taylor Dreams can be doorways into the realm of our deep shared common humanity and from that place comes our most authentic, creative and compassionate power. The Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.Min., has been teaching dream work (and other aspects of psychological exploration) in colleges, universities and seminaries for more than 30 years. He has authored 3 books on the subject. |
| April 17 "Global Consciousness Project" Guest speaker: Charles Ostman |
| April 10 "Sacred Words" A participation service wherein members of the congregation are invited to bring a very short section of sacred text that they find deeply meaningful to share with the congregation. |
| April 3 "This I Do" Part of our series of services where members of the congregation share their personal spiritual history and what brought them to Unitarian Universalism. This Sunday also marks the end of our pledge drive. |
| March 27 "Easter Sunday - Praise for the Morning" Regular Guest Minister: Leland Bond-Upson Easter and springtime arrive hand in hand, eyes alight. Rebirth in nature reminds and promises rebirth in spirit. Let us appreciate this recurring miracle. Let us honor and enjoy “God’s re-creation of the new day”. |
| March 20 "The 'I Ching' and Spring Renewal" Guest Speaker: Charles Tack The I Ching offers Westerners a glimpse into a Taoist approach to life. Also called The Book of Changes, it suggests how we might organically follow and work with the changes that naturally occur inside and around us. To mark Spring Equinox, we will note how the I Ching metaphorically describes times when fate suggests springing into action. |
| March 13 "The Fifth Principle" (part of the social justice series) The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large: this is the fifth principle affirmed and promoted by member congregations of the UUA. Worship associate Cat Woods will explore how we can apply this principle in a country with things like black box voting and an increasingly extreme concentration of wealth and power. Don't give up on democracy yet! You may get your buttons pushed, but you'll be freer for it afterward. |
| March 6 "In Praise of Women" Regular Guest Minister: Leland Bond-Upson As the dominion of brute force and social strictures weaken, the world is demonstrably blessed by the increasing influence of women. Half - more than half - the human race is coming into its own, at last. What is different about women that is making a difference? |
| February 27 "Global Climate Change: Raising our Prophetic Voices" Guest Speaker: Craig Scott The UUA's latest study action initiative is entitled "The Threat of Global Warming". What do we, as a community of faith, have to contribute to this issue. The prophetic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as Unitarians and Universalists might serve as a model for UUs in studying and acting on this issue. |
| February 20 "Stories from the East" Guest Speaker: Jan Seagrave, storyteller What is it that makes us identify a worldview as Eastern? Is it a feeling of circularity? Non judgmental acceptance? A concentration on the ordinary that somehow makes it transcendent? An ability to find humor in the most unlikely places? Or is it just an otherness foreign to Westerners? Some answers will present themselves in this program of folktales, myths and legends from the lands that gave birth to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, and Shinto. |
| February 13 "Standing on the Side of Love" This service will consist of the new member ingathering as well as an exploration of what love means and how we can stand for this in our lives. Come stand on the side of love and welcome our new members. |
| February 6 "Epiphany at the Borderline" Leland Bond-Upson, regular guest minister There's an 'ah' of happiness and peace contained in the 'aha' of sudden recognition and understanding. Many have experienced it, few can integrate it. I felt it full force, once. Must I become a monk to live in its embrace? Leland Bond-Upson will be hosting another in his series of informal discussions about Unitarian Universalism a few minutes after the service. Join Leland for some enlightening words about our way of faith. |
| January 30 "Zen Koans and the Sprirtual Life" Guest Speaker: John Tarrant, Pacific Zen Institute John Tarrant, author of the recently published book, "Bring me the Rhinoceros ( and other Zen Koans to Bring You Joy)", psychotherapist, and director of the Pacific Zen Center will speak about using zen koans to challenge and inspire your spiritual life. |
| January 23 "This I Believe" Two members of the UUP congregation, will speak about their spiritual beliefs and the paths that brought them here. |
| January 16 "Welcoming the Other, Welcoming the Self" Rev. Devorah Greenstein When we reflect on our faith community and our personal lives, we discover that we cannot genuinely welcome others until we genuinely welcome ourselves. So this service is about loving ourselves and about radical hospitality -- how we can welcome others into our lives and hearts. |
| January 9 "Jim Stoll, My Greatly Human Hometown Minister" Leland Bond Upson, regular guest minister When I was a Junior in high school, my church's new minister arrived and helped me rediscover happiness and hope. We would become friends for life. He had great strengths and talents, with weaknesses to match. He weighed at least 300 pounds. He was an early leader in the gay rights movement. He would become a marijuana addict. But come, listen, there's more. |
| January 2 "New Year's Reflections" Join us as we ring in the New Year UUP style. This is a great opportunity to start the year with both introspective reflection and a shared connection with our own community. Letters that congregation members wrote to themselves at the first service of 2004 will be mailed tomorrow (Dec. 27). How did the year differ from our expectations? |
UUP's services from 2004 are also available.
A list of sermons is available, delivered by some of UUP's guests.