Complete Service-first Unitarian Universalist Society Of San Francisco

OPENING GIFTS It’s not just on Christmas morning that we open gifts. It’s every morning that we receive and open the gift of a new day. As we gather on Christmas morning, Worship Associate Dennis Adams (a.k.a. Poindexter the Clown) will help us greet one another with surprise and wonder. Our guest musicians will be Ted Rust and Viva Knight on oboe and piano. And we will sing some beloved carols. Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Dennis Adams, Worship Associate David Jones, Piano Dolci, piano and oboe Jim Valent, Welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER The hymn from which the sermon title is taken includes the words: “Once more child and mother weave their magic spell,/ Touching hearts with wonder words can never tell./ In the bleak mid-winter, in this world of pain,/ Where our hearts are open, love is born again.”

THE WONDER OF CHRISTMAS The hymn from which the sermon title is taken includes the words: “Once more child and mother weave their magic spell,/ Touching hearts with wonder words can never tell./ In the bleak mid-winter, in this world of pain,/ Where our hearts are open, love is born again.” Kat Liu will serve as Worship Associate and offer a reflection. Trumpeter Tom Dambly and soprano Kate Offer will lead our music in this more contemplative Christmas Eve service with sermon.

Wonders Still The World Shall Witness The world does not lack for wonders, said poet Muriel Rukeyser, only for a sense of wonder. John’s spiritual mentor, Dr. Jacob Trapp, wrote a hymn with the same title as his sermon. In the face of life’s inevitable changes, disappointments, and losses, how do we revive a sense of wonder? His text will come from a question the disciples of John posed to Jesus: Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another? wondering, In what sense must each of us answer that question? Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Rev. JD Benson, Assistant Minister Susan Anthony, Worship Associate Kathleen Quenneville, Moderator Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organist Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Wondrous Music In The Face of Wrongs Dr. Buehrens, homilist Dr. Mark Sumner directing the UUSF Choir and Soloists and the Jubilate Instrumental Ensemble and Reiko Oda Lane at the organ keyboard. Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast Bring your music loving friends! Our “Big Music Sunday” this year features works by J.S. Bach, centered on Cantata 79, his “Reformation Cantata” --a fitting prelude to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, 1517 to 2017. The cantata includes a chorale, “Nun danket alle Gott,” praising, in the face of enduring ills, the “wondrous things” already done to rectify many ancient wrongs. On the day after International Human Rights Day, we both celebrate and recommit ourselves – with the Human Rights Working Group bringing forth our UUSF “Black Lives Matter” banner. As part of the service at First Unitarian Universalist Church in SF, many members of the UC Alumni Chorus will join the Unitarian Universalist Choir. Directed by Mark Sumner Includes Jubilate/Magnificat O

A Rebirth of Wonder In a poem with a refrain about “awaiting a rebirth of wonder,” San Francisco’s own Lawrence Ferlinghetti once described how he got through the McCarthy era and the complacency of the ‘50s. That “rebirth of wonder” is what we most need in our own souls to keep our spirits alive and just grateful for life – and a good theme for the season of Advent, as we approach the wonder of the winter holidays. Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, choir director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Jim Valent, Welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Once Upon A Time . . .  Again We welcome back popular guest speaker Michael Eselun, who has come to us every autumn for several years. An Oncology Chaplain at UCLA Hospital, Michael will use very personal stories to illustrate how we can retell the story of our lives in ways that reconcile us to the past and allow us to face whatever may come with grace and courage. Michael Eselun, Guest Preacher Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Sister Sheila Flynn, O.P. Eric Hamilton, guitar Dr. Mark Sumner, Song Leader Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Kathleen Quenneville, Welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Good Grace: Stories of Thanksgiving and Reconciliation There is a good chance your Thanksgiving holiday will include some post-election reflection. Along with some side dishes, well come with our stories. In preparation, we will spend this Sunday with the Thanksgiving story, which will serve as our centerpiece, exploring the facts and the fiction, seeing what  it can teach us about reconciliation and grace. Our stories have power, they can bring us together or break us apart. As we prepare to gather at the common table, may our stories move us in a direction that leads to healing and hope.   Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Linda Harris, Chair of UUSC at UUSF Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Jim Valent, Welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Reconciling Opposing Views Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” This is true both in our relational lives – and in more profound forms of religious thought.   Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Richard Davis, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Gayle Reynolds, Welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Winners, Losers, and Reconciliation: An Election Day Sermon Winners hold parties; losers hold meetings. Only finite games divide the winners and losers. From a distance, life is more like an infinite game. The real goal then is to keep the play going. Which requires grace and reconciliation. Drawing on both the tradition of the Election Sermon and ideas of philosopher James Carse, John will try to put Election Day in spiritual perspective.   Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Jonah Berquist, Welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

We have Come This Far By Faith The Rev. Darrick Jackson is the Director of Contextual Ministry at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Darrick is involved denominationally as Treasurer of DRUUMM (the UU ministry for people of color) and as co-chair of the UU Ministers Association CENTER Committee and Institute for Ministerial Excellence. He is also the treasurer and Workshop Leader for Healing Moments (a ministry for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's). In his free time, Darrick likes to knit and to be involved in theater. He is married to James Olson, a United Church of Christ minister and lives with their two cats, Merlin and Morgana. Rev. Darrick Jackson, Guest Preacher Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Kat Liu, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Asher Davison, solo HyeJin Yu, solo Jim Valent, Welcom Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Authoritarians, Then and Now   On the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the United Nations here in the City of St. Francis, some reflections on why, despite the growing strength of the international human rights movement, authoritarian tendencies are again growing ñ and what people of faith should remember in facing them. Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Alex Darr, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, piano Andres David Vera , cello Randy Adams, piano Kate Offer, solo Christopher Rodriguez, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Fine Tuning Your Moral Compass What is the source of your authority to act--in word or deed--in the world? What external influences and what innate origins are there to one's personal sense of right and wrong and for mustering the courage to live by (or close as one can to) one's moral compass? What are the micro-corrections we might make? Rev. JD Benson, Assistant Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Wm. GarcÌa Ganz, pianist Tim Salaver, solo Kate Offer, solo Peter Gross, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

The (Limited) Authority of Tradition What can we learn from traditions of the Jewish High Holidays? Especially from those associated with Yom Kippur, the solemn Day of Atonement? Martin Buber, who took traditional religion to have only limited authority, said that the purpose of tradition is to teach us “to hallow this life” – to make of its moments days of awe and holy. Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Richard Davis, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Bill Klingelhoffer, horn and shofar Maria Solis, soprano Tim Salaver, solo Asher Davison, solo Jim Valent, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Power, Authority, and Spirituality When I was UUA President, I co-led a couple of retreats for Unitarian Universalist CEOs under this title.  To use what power we have (which is often greater than we care to acknowledge) for the common good; to exercise authority with moral responsibility; these are signs of authentic spirituality – at work, at home, and in our common life. Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister Susan Anthony, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ and Bell Choir Director Kathleen Quenneville, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Faith: The Verb We welcome to our pulpit the newly-called Co-Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley. Christian shares the ministry there with his wife, the Rev. Kirstin Schmidt. They are the parents of two boys, ages 4 and 18 months. John Buehren s supervised Christian as an Intern Minister at First Parish in Needham, MA. He was a journalist and UU lay leader in Texas before entering ministry studies. Rev. Christian Schmidt, Guest Minister Rev. John Buehrens,Senior Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, song leader Bill Klingelhoffer, french horn Jennifer Peringer, piano Tammy Hall, piano Kathleen Quenneville, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Are There Two Types Of Faith? The great Jewish sage Martin Buber once wrote an influential book called Two Types of Faith, suggesting as much. One type emphasizes relationship. In Hebrew, the key word for faith is enumah – meaning trust, or loyalty. The other type he saw typified in the Christian emphasis on what is called in Greek pistis, as in the word epistle, or letter, which leads to literal, faithful belief in a formulaic creed. While we Unitarian Universalists are clearly closer to an enumah form of faith than to a required creed, is it also possible that there are other forms of faith?  Our Story for All Ages will come from Buddhist tradition. Rev. John Buehrens,Senior Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Gayle Reynolds, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Faith of the Free We gather for a new church year of learning, caring, and serving at UUSF on the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001. The following months and years were the best of times and the worst of times. Free people gathered to help one another. Free people also became manipulated by fear-mongering. Developments over the past summer have mirrored that tension. We are all clearly afraid and anxious. What shall we do with all our fears? Where do we dare to invest our finite faith, our hope, our love? Could we ever trust one another enough, in the here and now, to sort out what is worthy of our faith? Rev. John Buehrens,Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Rev. JD Benson, Assistant Minister Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Christopher Rodriguez, trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

What Does It Mean To Have Faith In The Collective Power Of Working People? At a time when the U.S. labor movement is struggling to survive and so many people lack secure employment and living wages, can the fight for justice on the job be source of spiritual strength, as it was for many of our ancestors? Our preacher will be our own Millie Phillips, a long-time labor activist, member of UUSF, recent graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry, and now Intern Minister for the UU Congregation of Santa Rosa. Millie Phillips , M.Div. Rev. John Buehrens,Senior Minister The Labor Heritage/Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus Pat Wynne, Choir Director Dr. Mark Sumner, piano Kate Offer, song leader Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast

Friendship, Why Bother? A collaborative service of voices from Small Group Ministry, reflecting ways in which we can deepen our relationships; and learn from our differences. Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita Alessandro Gagliardi, Small Group Ministry Co-ordinator Judith Stoddard, Small Group Ministry   Megan Lehmer, Small Group Ministry Tristan Hembree, Small Group Ministry Stanley Hartzell, Small Group Ministry Julia Wald, Small Group Ministry Jiun-Chyi Yew, soprano Dr. Mark Sumner, piano & song leading Larry Chinn, jazz pianist Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast