Complete Service-first Unitarian Universalist Society Of San Francisco

The Season of Waiting? (December 2, 2018) Sunday, December 2nd begins what in the Christian tradition is known as the season of Advent. It is a season of waiting, watchfulness, preparation. The preparation period probably feels appropriate, but how distinct is the waiting and watchfulness -- the quiet, still, attentive quality -- from flurry of Black-Friday-though-Monday, Giving Tuesday, and shop-til-you-drop madness of the next three weeks? Rare, perhaps, but the truth is that you and I need to know how to do advent times in our life. Life is full of them. And religion has found a way to help us be in them and get through them. Come Sunday. You deserve the break. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Alexander Rameses Taite, soloist UC Alumni and Men's and Women's Chorale Wm. Garcia Ganz, piano René Minneboo, soloist Amy Kelly, Trustee Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

What is True? (November 25, 2018) How can we know what, and who, to believe? With so much fake news—not to mention lies— from public figures, including some politicians and religious leaders, many people have to ask themselves, “How can I know what to believe?” Our focus will be what is truth in the spiritual dimension. Scientists tell us that everything is matter, there is no Transcendental Reality, no God, out there or in here. Yet, many of us have experienced a time when we felt as if we were opened to a new dimension of beauty or love, that changed us. These times of transformation— which can only be described in the language of poetry or religion—are they real? Are they true? The question we are posing is, what is spiritual truth for you. Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita Sister Sheila Flynn Reiko Oda Lane, Organist Asher Davison, song leader Gayle Reynolds, Trustee Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Jim Jones and the Nature of Cult (November 18, 2018) Forty years ago on November 18th, 1978, news spread around the world, but reverberated especially in the San Francisco Bay Area about the People's Temple, which had been located right in the heart of the Filmore, but relocated to Jonestown, Guyana, when over 900 residents took their lives. It raised the question about what happened there, and what are the signs and dangers of cults. We will honor the lost and reflect together on Sunday. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Shari Halliday-Quan, Ministerial Intern Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, Organist and Hand-Bell Choir Director Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Christopher Rodriguez, Trustee Linda Harris, UUSC Chair Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

The Soul of Genius (November 11, 2018) In remembrance of our recent musical programmes, evidenced by our Reformation concert last year and our observance on April 4th of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination, these times have provided our chorus with plenty of inspiration to lift up and honor these occasions through music. The theme for today's music is almost the same as my first Bay Area concert 22 years ago-----Hallowe'en. This time however, I am much more informed and grounded, thanks to the many observances of Dia de los Muertos witnessed in our communities and the recent and worldwide influence of the movie Coco. For me, our programme has become an opportunity to publicly and demonstratively honor loved ones who have passed. This occasion has also provided an opportunity to take another look at Mozart's unfinished Requiem. There are many reasons to make use of a requiem setting in a concert but for today's I thought it timely to feature a completion of Mozart's by one (Robert D.

Invitations Across the Veil (November 4, 2018) In pagan tradition around Samhain, Day of the Dead and All Souls' and All Saints' Days, this idea of a day when the veil is thin has persisted as an observance. A time to connect with ancestors, literally or in our hearts, a time to acknowledge loss and the what persists across loss. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Shari Halliday-Quan, Ministerial Intern Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Bill Ganz, piano Los Arribeños are Marilyn Merlino, Ron Cohen, Jim Letchworth, Ron Esparza, Jane English, Judith Berlowitz, Lorna Baird, Anna Boersma and Lance Beeson, music director Scott Benbow, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Foundations: Our Pagan Roots (October 28, 2018) As we approach October 31st it seems a great chance to turn to the Pagan wisdom and practices that both influenced the formation of the Christian tradition (and so Unitarian Universalism) and that deeply sustain some of our members still. What, for instance, does the Gaelic festival of Samhain say about the season that is upon us and what invitations does it offer? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Shari Halliday-Quan, Ministerial Intern Sam King, Worship Associate Carlowe Connelly, Message for all Ages Joe Dellert, Message for all Ages Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ and bell choir director Carrie Steere-Salazar, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Living Hope. Living Justice (October 21, 2018) Since UUSC’s founding, Unitarian Universalists have been fundamental to UUSC’s work to advance human rights. With our shared values under threat, there is an even louder call to collaborate and even more we can accomplish together. The Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, UUSC’s President and CEO, will share a sermon about the need for hope and justice in the face of some of today’s greatest human rights challenges. Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, UUSC President and CEO Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Shari Halliday-Quan, Ministerial Intern Christine Tulis, harp and vocals Dr. Mark Sumner, piano Asher Davison, song leader Linda Harris, UUSC Chair Welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound, drums

Enshrined in Walls and Windows (October 14, 2018) This Saturday just prior to service will have been the 50th anniversary since our Center -- the Brutalist-style addition that partners with our sanctuary/church -- was built. What are the stories of how it started, and what is the life it has given shelter to, and what does it say about us. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Lisanicole Sarkisian, Worship Associate Alex Darr, Lead Teacher Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Wm. García Ganz, piano Christopher Rodriguez, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Beloved Community (October 7, 2018) Unitarian Universalists are being called in this moment to live more powerfully and boldly into a vision of Beloved Community. What does this look like and how do we answer “Yes” to this calling in our lives and in our congregations? Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, Unitarian Universalist President Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Shari Halliday-Quan, Ministerial Intern Rochelle A. Fortier Nwadibia, Worship Associate Bill Ganz, piano and conductor Reiko Oda Lane, organ Gayle Reynolds, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound, drums

Loved Into Being (September 30, 2018) Each of us is the unique interweaving of the stories of the people who came before us, and who we are as people is born, at least in part, out of the dance of others into and out of our lives. One new dance partner for the year in the UUSF community is the ministerial intern, Shari Halliday-Quan, whose ministry will be shaped, will be loved into being, in part by the people here. As we reflect on the people who have shaped how we walk in the world, we too are invited to imagine how our love shapes the world to come. Shari Halliday-Quan, Ministerial Intern Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Lisanicole Sarkisian, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ and Bell Choir Director Rochelle A. Fortier Nwadibia, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Lost and Found in America (September 23, 2018) This month the Minister’s Book Group is discussing Jon Meacham’s “The Soul of America”. It is a timely dive into the challenging chapters in our history when we rose to reclaim our best self, and what those chapters have to say about hope and the sources of resilience that we can draw on in these days. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Shari Halliday-Quan, Intern Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Wm. García Ganz, piano Laurel Sprigg, soprano Shandra Steimert, obo Ariel Andrew, Song Leader Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Lay the Burden Down (September 16, 2018) Yom Kippur is the day in the Jewish Liturgical Year that the book of life is closed for the year, our deeds written in permanent celestial ink, and so the ten days before, The Days of Awe, we make amends (if we are wise) for our wrongs. The metaphor of death and new life is part of that ritual time. Why? What does it mean to lay our burden of wrong or hurt down? What does it make room for and how can we get there? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Shari Halliday-Quan. Intern Minister Richard Davis, Worship Associate UUSF Choir Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Bill Klingelhoffer, shofar Scott Benbow, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound and Drums

The Love Boat (September 9, 2018) It is a new year of church. Rosh Hashana is around the corner telling us also that the book of life is about to be opened on a new year of choices and actions. And we launch again, together. What metaphor shall we try on? I’ve got an idea…. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Dennis Adams, Worship Associate UUSF Choir Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Anish Johnson, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound and Drums

Rising Up (September 2, 2018) This Labor Day weekend, let's celebrate some good news about working people and its positive lessons for our faith. Millie Phillips, Guest Preacher Phil Marshall, Worship Associate The Labor Heritage/Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus Pat Wynne, music director Mark Sumner, piano Ariel Andrew, song leader Eric Shackleford, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Carried Through Time (August 26, 2018) Summer vacation took me to Blue Hill Maine to a cottage on the edge of Bagaduce River where we watched the tidal waters flow in and out to the Penobscot Bay. Tall stands of trees - Eastern Pine, Fir, Oak, and Birch – stood in quiet witness while birds fed on crustaceans buried deep in the pockets of the emptied mud flats. Time feels different on tidal waters, like a long, slow breath moving in and out, again and again. In these times, these uncertain and oh so busy times, let’s pause at the edge of the tidal river, breathe in the briny air, look deep into the forest, and feel ourselves carried through time, witnessing to the delicate beauty of life unfolding all around us. Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Laurel Sprigg, soprano Daniel Lockert, piano Reiko Oda Lane, organ Asher Davison, song leader Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Summer Stillness and Silence (August 19, 2018) Anne LeClaire hears the call to "Sit in Silence." What happens over the time she begins to do so is that the layers of life -- the ones noise and the necessity of speaking mask -- get peeled back. Let's talk about what she finds and the power and place of silence in our spiritual lives. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Ava Harmon, soprano Reiko Oda Lane, organ Mark Sumner, piano Asher Davison, song leader Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Pilgrimage (August 12, 2018) There is a long History across cultures of people taking pilgrimages, often to places of religious or spiritual significance. What is at the heart of the pilgrimage, and how can it be part of our every day life? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Worship Associate Larry Chinn, jazz pianist Asher Davison, song leader Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Awakenings (August 5, 2018) “...the great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and cherish the spiritual life.” So wrote the early nineteenth century Unitarian minister, William Ellery Channing, about the education of children, but I believe it holds true of many others of us too. In Small Group Ministry we try to make place and a process, for people to come together on a regular basis, to explore that it means to awaken the soul and cherish the spiritual life. In small groups people can develop the trust to explore their own, individual, spiritual paths. Through the sharing of our experiences and thoughts, we learn to listen deeply to one another, and see the holy in the ordinary of our daily lives. Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita Elaine Pratt, Small Group Ministry  co-chair Anish Johnson, Small Group Ministry  co-chair Laura Pedersen, Small Group Ministry Susan Gordon, Small Group Ministry Tristan Hembree, Small Group Ministry Alan Constant, Small Group Ministry Reiko O

We Are So Much More Connected Than We Think (July 29, 2018) Eleanor Piez spent two weeks in June in San Ysidro CA and Tijuana, Mexico, studying the U.S.-Mexico border through the lens of theology. Eleanor will reflect on the struggles, suffering and possibilities occurring there, and how we can participate now in the sixth UU principle, the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. Eleanor Piez, Guest Preacher Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Asher Davison, song Leader Jennifer Peringer, piano Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, flute Peter Gross, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

The Deep Song of Our Lives (July 22, 2018) What can we in our time and place learn from a mild-mannered poet who was the first martyr of the Spanish Civil War? Stories from the life and poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca.   Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister Sam King, Worship Associate Mark Sumner, piano Asher Davison, song Leader Radim Zenkl, mandolin, flute, vocals Judy Payne, welcome Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound