Complete Service-first Unitarian Universalist Society Of San Francisco

"Gifts of God" 450 years ago the Edict of Torda proclaimed that faith is "the gift of God." That was the beginning of Unitarianism in Transylvania. What is the heritage given to us from our family, our faith, and our communities? Are we aware of all these? Let's find the gifts that connect us to each other. Rev. Emese Bodor, Guest Minister Sam King, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Amy Kelly, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Play's the Thing: Theater and Play Some of you may know that I grew up in the theater, at least when I was small. My dad was an actor and so theater was part of our life. Moreover, it doesn’t feel like an accident that what I loved about theater often resonates with what I love about worship — the two feel, at their best, very kindred to me. Places of wisdom, laughter, grappling with meaning. The play is the thing, after all, in which you do, sometimes, catch the conscience of the king. Curtain at 11AM. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Faithful Journeys Class Reiko Oda Lane, organ and bell choir director Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Chris Rodriguez, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Improv for Life One of the most lasting pieces of a ministry I served in Washington DC was an improv troupe we started. Actually, we just started with one workshop, but people fell in love. And I did too, in a way. The lessons of improv are more than a form of entertainment, they are lessons for life. Say, “yes” to coming to church this week and be prepared to color outside the lines a little. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, piano and song leader Nancy Hardies, membership Richard Davis, sermon play Margaret Hill, sermon play Galen Workman, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Pilgrimage Popular guest speaker and UCLA Oncology Chaplain, Michael Eselun will explore the idea of pilgrimage-- our pursuit of inspiration and enlightenment. Internal journeys and external ones-and some in between. Michael Eselun, guest preacher Sam King, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Gayle Reynolds, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Real Differences There are, despite our most fervent hopes, some differences about how we can choose to frame our understanding of society, of family, of individual identity that are very different, and form us to be different people and different cultures with different agendas. Let's look at one or two and what they teach us about our dance with difference. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Reflection on Kay Kat Liu, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Amy Kelly, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Construction of Difference What about those differences that we create or that are created in us? How does class background form us and how does it show up, not invisible but not stamped on our forehead in a way that separates us from one another? Or the idea of race, charted out with pseudo scientific semi-precision and then charted into law. Or gender differences, scripted at birth. To see is, maybe, to be liberated from them... from some. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director The Yale Spizzwinks, all-male a cappella group Carrie Steere-Salazar, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Beauty of Difference How and when is difference a gift, life enhancing, part of the beauty of the world and a joyful source of wisdom and delight. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Asher Davison, song leader Giacomo Fiore, guitar Marc Theobald, welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

A Legacy Worth Celebrating The end of one year and the starting of another is traditionally a time of remembering, planning, releasing, and (re)committing. As is always the case, as a community and as individuals, the past year has contained both sorrowful and joyous milestones. And, though we live in times that occur to many of us as more troubled than usual, 2017 has pushed us toward growth, revealed our hidden strengths, and inspired us to live into transformational possibilities. Through it all, we persevere, building a legacy worth celebrating. Millie Phillips, Guest Preacher Richard Davis, Worship Associate Mark Sumner, piano Asher Davison, song leader Annalisa Aitken & Gary Garrett, The Harmony People Elaine Pratt, welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Podcasting

The Alt Christmas This afternoon we will tell the story of Christmas with mangers and the star and the kings and shepherds. That about all the other stories of Christmas we might tell, our own, quirky and fun and lopsided. They get at the spirit of the season too. How? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Kat Liu, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, piano The Cello Street Quartet Asher Davison, song leader Peter Gross, trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Miracle Stories: The Lamp and the Sea This time of the year we are inundated with miracle stories -- old and new. Let's look at a few. The story of the lamp that stayed lit for 8 days, though there was only oil for one. Moses splitting the Sea of Reeds. Set aside the facts, what's the truth at the heart of the stories? That truth, after all, is why generations bother to retell them. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Alex Darr, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organist and bell choir director Choir Members, Quartet Wm. García Ganz, Guest Conductor and accompanist Galen Workman, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Memories of Home Why do people stay home? Why do they leave? What does "home" mean, anyway? What do we long for, when we long for home? And why is that longing so strong, this time of year? Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Asher Davison, clarinet Wm. García Ganz, Guest Conductor and accompanist Gayle Reynolds, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Waiting and Anticipation Waiting and anticipation are part of the season of Advent and the lead up to getting those Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza presents. They say that anticipating something fun like a vacation is a large part of the joy we get out of it. But it can also be the hardest part of life -- waiting to hear test results, watching and waiting for a loved one to let go and leave this life. What happens in times of waiting that make it a rich place for spiritual insight and growth? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, piano Reiko Oda Lane, organ Shannon Warto, soprano Scott Benbow, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

My Family and Other Animals We all have the sense of some ideal family, and with it the clarity of how far ours deviates from that norm. The lesson pressed into us at times like Thanksgiving, is how there are no ordinary families. But what fun to tell their stories... our stories! Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, piano Bill Ganz, piano Asher Davison, clarinet and song leader Amy Kelly, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Out of Control There are times in life when our well thought-out projects or plans do not materialize as hoped, and we are faced with the unknown. These can be times of great vulnerability, as we try to discern how to move forward with our lives. Sister Sheila Flynn lived in South Africa for many years. While there, she founded the women’s empowerment group called Kopanang. Sister Sheila spoke to women from the vast shack areas of Tskane and Langaville, south east of Johannesburg. Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Silindile Twala and Sister Sheila Flynn from 2015 She invited them to come to her religious community and learn ways to make a living for themselves, in order to feed their children. Rev. Margot Campbell Gross spent months of her sabbatical leave in 2001 with Sister Sheila and her community. She was there what Sister Sheila brought the women together for the first time, and she participated in the founding group of Kopanang. She will speak of her experiences of vulnerability, and transformation, durin

Enough? "Enough is as good as a feast," as the proverb says. But what if we have lost the notion of enough -- and not just in food, but in all categories of life? What happens then?   Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Stephanie Gowan, Stewardship Chair Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Picnic at the Graveyard What makes us more vulnerable than the ultimate loss, than death? Nothing, I think. Different cultures have different ways of putting us in relationship to death. Let’s look at some of those and see what the blessings and burdens of those ways are, what relationship we would choose, and how. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Judy Payne, Board Secretary Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Big Music Sunday: 500 Years Since Reformation Began! We've all found ourselves lost in the state of limbo at some point in our lives, caught between its borders of the known and the unknown, unsure which way to go or where to turn. When you are stuck in limbo, your resilience is compromised, limiting your capacity to act. How do you resist the abyss and move forward? Keep calm, no small thing; listen for that still voice within. Gather your wits and gather your tools, make a map. Watch for signs of hope and promise, follow them. And when borders seem insurmountable, dangerous even, build a circle of love with those around you, feel its collective power to withstand the forces pressing down. And trust that your faith will lead you through. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Jubilate Baroque Orchestra David Wilson, conductor Asher Davison, tenor Kate Offer, soprano Edward Betts, tenor Leandra Ramm, mezzo soprano UUSF Choir UC Berkeley Alumni, Chor

Sitting in Limbo We've all found ourselves lost in the state of limbo at some point in our lives, caught between its borders of the known and the unknown, unsure which way to go or where to turn. When you are stuck in limbo, your resilience is compromised, limiting your capacity to act. How do you resist the abyss and move forward? Keep calm, no small thing; listen for that still voice within. Gather your wits and gather your tools, make a map. Watch for signs of hope and promise, follow them. And when borders seem insurmountable, dangerous even, build a circle of love with those around you, feel its collective power to withstand the forces pressing down. And trust that your faith will lead you through. Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Bill Ganz, piano Amy Kelly, trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Resistance: Symbolic Acts To deal in symbols is complicated business. Religion and State have done it for millennia, literature too. But we do so because symbols have the power to unmake power. How can symbolic acts be transforming acts of resistance? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Susan Anthony, Worship Associate Brady Anderson, cello Jasmine Nagano, piano Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dolores Perez Priem, Animal Ministry Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Resistance: Making Lemonade or The 614th Commandment One way we act out of resistance to hurt or evil in the world is go make good of it. Why? And what can that look like? Here are some stories to prime the pump of your own thinking. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Peter Gross,Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting