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In This Issue
Sunday Worship Service
Contemplative Service
UUCM Office Closed
New to UU
Toiletries for the homeless
House of Hope Discussion Group
UUCM Congregational Retreat
Basket Share Ideas Needed!
Adult Education classes
Book Group January 16
Social Justice Luncheons
PCD January Leadership Workshop
Social Justice Items
Upcoming Dates

Dec. 24-Jan. 1
UUCM Office Closed

January 6
New to UU class

Jan 13, 20
Our American Roots

February 16
Crab Feed

   

 Monthly List of Church Meetings/Events   

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Chip's Clips 

 

Religious Education Connection     

Pacific Central District UUA

PCD Currents

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UU Legislative Ministry, California (UULMCA)

Standing on the Side of Love - UUA Advocacy to Stop Oppression

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Buy Fair Trade Coffee 

 

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)   

Visitor's Box

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We cherish
diversity and
welcome among us
people of all races,
cultures, ages,
abilities, sexual
identities/
orientations, and
faith perspectives.

 
GUESTS are always welcome.
Sunday worship is a time for
inspiration, renewal, and connection.
 

   

CHILDREN AND YOUTH  Join adults during the first part of the service, and then attend Religious Education classes. Nursery and toddler care is provided during the 10:30 service. 

 

REFRESHMENT HOUR  in the Courtyard or
Fireside Room follows the services.

 

 There are 4 "Sunday First Time Visitor" parking spots at the top of the parking lot.  

Come, join us! 

Staff Links
Rev. Chip Wright
415-479-4131

 

Administrator: Janette Morrow
[email protected]  
  

 

Pianist: Milton Wong  [email protected]  
Pastoral Care:  

Chair:  Carol Littrell 883-9676
 Partial Resource List 

Minister's Schedule
Minister:
 Rev. Chip Wright

Office Hours:

Tues., Wed., Thurs.
10am to 3pm
 or
[email protected]
or
phone: 415-479-4131
or email
Rev. Chip: [email protected] 
MRE's Schedule
 Director of Religious Education
Rev. Dara Olandt

Office Hours:
Wed.,Thurs.
10am-3pm

[email protected]
Intern's Schedule
 Ministerial Intern
Irene Stefanko

Office Hours:
Tues., Wed., Thurs
9am-2pm

[email protected]

December 27, 2012

Issue #197

Happy New Year!  

Sunday Worship Service chalice

Dec. 30, 10:30 am: The Power of the U[nitary] U[niversal]) Mind
Joan Nelson with Worship Associate Karen Auroy

Systems that are no longer sustainable are breaking down. Slowly at first. Then ever faster toward collapse at the end. The sense of chaos comes from a dualistic (self-other) way of thinking that is no longer sustainable.
Thousands of "believers" (in the power of a shared U[nitary] U[niversal]) mind) have coalesced in worldwide Solstice rituals designed to break the collective trance of separate selfhood. Will they save humanity from itself? Or are they nuts?
Either way, in this era of immense change, a new year means far more than another self-absorbed stab at making resolutions and trying to get it right.
 

Past services    

               

View future service information online        

Contemplative Service

Our Lay led Contemplative Service is from 9:00-10:00 am on Sundays in the Fireside Room.        

The  Contemplative Service is a small circle gathering that includes short readings and time for discussion and sharing of joys and concerns. Leadership for the remainder of the year is as follows:
         
Sunday 12/30/12 Carol Kerr  

All are welcome to join us.  

UUCM Office Closed
Logo
The office will be closed Dec. 24-Jan. 1.
New to UU, January 6
chalice blue New to Unitarian Universalism with Rev. Chip - Fireside Room, 12 noon

If you have questions or are curious about Unitarian Universalism or liberal religion in general, this class, the first in a series of three Pathway to Membership classes, is for you! Please RSVP to Janette at [email protected] or 415-479-4131.
Toiletries for the homeless
Please drop small or travel size toiletry items in the "Toiletry for Homeless People" box in the UUCM foyer no later than January 6 for our annual RE toiletry kit making for the homeless.
House of Hope Discussion Group

I would like to invite you to join a discussion group that will start in February. In this discussion group we'll explore liberal theology and engage in Unitarian Universalism's "free and responsible search for truth and meaning" by engaging our own, and each other's, theological understandings. We'll structure our discussions around the book A House for Hope, by John Buehrens and Rebecca Ann Parker available on Amazon. I also have a few of these books to lend out.

 

This book uses the metaphor of a house to explore what grounds us, what expands us, what shelters us, and what gives us hope.

    We'll consider questions such as:

     

  • What is the end and essence of life?
  • How can we come to terms with evil and what can protect life from harm?
  • Is it reasonable to believe in God?
  • What does it mean to be human, to be right with all that is?
  • What saves us and what are we called to do? What is the nature and purpose of religious community?

The length of the discussion group will depend on your interest - perhaps we'll meet twice or maybe we'll wish to continue for many sessions.  I would like to propose Sundays - February 10 and 17, March 3 and 17 from noon to 1:30 pm. Please let me know if these dates work for you and if you plan on attending (I'm trying to get a sense of how many will come as that will affect the way that I structure the discussions.) If you would like to attend or have thoughts about the timing of the series email Irene at [email protected].

 

Irene Stefanko, Ministerial Intern 

UUCM Congregational Retreat
May 3-5, 2013

WORKSHOP THEMES ARE NEEDED! artwork retreat

 

To start the process, Thomas Ervin, your Retreat Chairman, has agreed to hold a workshop on Climate Change. This workshop will present dramatic evidence of climate change based on changes in glaciers and ice caps and will be designed to promote lively discussion of this important issue. This workshop will be a followup to the popular Deep Green workshop held last year.

 

Look for more program themes in future eblasts. If you would like to see a particular workshop or activity, or would like to offer one, please email Thomas at [email protected].

 

The pricing/application sheet for the 2013 UUCM Congregational Retreat is linked below. Application and full payment is due on March 24, 2013. If you would like to join the Retreat Committee for this year, we would love to hear from you!

 

Pricing/application sheet

Release form for attendees under 18
Basket Share Ideas Needed!
basket share Put on your thinking caps: It's time to nominate great local nonprofits for our Basket Share program!  

Ideally, a nominee should be a Bay Area organization that a congregant is truly involved with (e.g. as a volunteer or client.)
By sharing our offering basket with a different local nonprofit for four Sundays this year, we live our UU principles while gaining valuable nonprofit partners that have similar goals. Our first Basket Share Sunday will be January 13. It will benefit our partner church.
 
We need three more nominations! Send suggestions to [email protected] 415-453-6221
Adult Education classes
flagchalice Sunday January 13, January 20
12:15 PM, Fireside Room


Adult Ed presents "Our American Roots" led by Rev. Chip and Ministerial Intern Irene Stefanko. Come and learn about Unitarian Universalism in the United States. Fascinating stories, video and lunch! As always with Rev. Chip's classes, there will be in depth information and time for sharing, dialogue, and questions.
Please sign up in advance by e-mailing Janette at [email protected]  or calling 415-479-4131.
Childcare provided if requested in advance.
Book Group January 16
book pile
As announced last month the Book Group will not be meeting in December.  Our next meeting is January 16 at 7:30 in the Clara Barton Room.  The book we will discuss is The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt.

There are about 30 copies in the library, in heavy use, so do get in line (also available in paperback.)  This is a bestseller, while also being an excellent scholarly book focused on the rediscovery of a 5th century Roman text ten centuries later.  Lucretius' De Rerum Natura ("a beautiful poem of the most dangerous ideas.") thus reappeared just in time for the Renaissance, the printing press, and the consequent reimagining of the world and humankind in humanistic terms.  All members and visitors are welcome.  Contact: Nani Ranken (898-8558.)
Social Justice Luncheons
Luncheon and speaker, 12 noon. A $6 donation is suggested,no one turned away.

February 17 - Cohousing
Joani Blank (UU─Oakland) has visited over 70 cohousing communities─urban, suburban and rural. She has lived in two of these practical, socially rich alternatives to apartments and single-family houses. She also ran an innovative San Francisco retail business as a worker-owned co-op.
 
March 17 - Bridge of Understanding
Jes Richardson, creator of the ten foot tall Gandhi Puppet, is building a "bridge of hearts" between the people of the United States, Israel, and Iran.  The Dear Iran Project, established after his second trip to Iran in 2010, cuts through politics by creating direct people-to-people connections.  Find out how you can participate by joining Jes on March 17.
 Big Faith * No Borders
 CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
 
Proposals are requested for Regional Assembly 2013 workshops, to be held at the Doubletree by Hilton in San Jose, CA April 26-28, 2013.
 
The theme is:  BIG FAITH * NO BORDERS
 
Join our four western UUA Districts in making history this spring as we come together in full community in a Regional Assembly to explore and celebrate BIG FAITH * NO BORDERS! Application DEADLINE is January 2, 2013.

Read more
Compassionate Communication (NVC)

"Four First Saturdays" Compassionate Communication (NVC) Practice Group  artchalice

Jan. 5 ~ Feb. 2 ~ Mar. 2 ~ April 6   

9:00 -12:00

UU Church of Berkeley  

(Meditation Room)

 

What is "Compassionate Communication"?

Compassionate Communication (aka Non Violent Communication) is both a spiritual practice and a very concrete set of tools for staying positively engaged and creating mutually satisfying connections in challenging situations.  NVC holds the promise for everyone's needs - including yours - to be held with care when issues and potential conflicts arise, opening the way to solutions that work for all.

 

Registration is limited. Requested sliding fee scale: $240-$360 for the 4 month series (12 workshop hours).

Contact Rev. Cat for more information:
[email protected]  or 707 853-0009. Rev. Cat is a former member of UUCM and was ordained here. 

 

PCD January Leadership Workshop
Registration is now open for the January 2013 Leadership Workshop, "The Power of Language to Create Reality."  
 
We will be gathering at the UU Church of Berkeley on Saturday, January 26, 2013 with workshop leaders Rev. Robert Latham and Rev. Jeanelyse Doran Adams.
 
For religions confronting a cultural revolution and the decline of the influence of organized religion, their future lies in the hands of those willing to use language as a tool of personal and social transformation.

Get More Information & Register Now! 
Social Justice Education/Action Activities
Homeless Outreach  
All year long, UUCM's Social Justice Committee enlists volunteers to provide meals for the Marin Street Chaplaincy dinners, also for the permanent Mill Street Shelter.
 
Each year, with the approach of the holiday season, we dig a little deeper into our congregational heart to find extra volunteers to provide Sunday dinners for the Women's Winter Shelter. This year's sign-up board, with a full set of instructions, is in the foyer. Confirm with Joan Nelson 453-6221. 

Heart warming meals.
It mattered not that the homeless ladies were late and the food was cool. The heartwarming gestures of our volunteers is all they really need. This week we thank Marianne & Jerry, and Jan & John for contributions. And Edna & Carl, Carol & Walter, Kristen and Valerie for their nurturing presence.

Volunteers are encouraged to serve and dine with our homeless guests. Otherwise contributions may be left in church kitchen in the morning.
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The UUCM Social Justice Committee has reinstalled a Food Donation Barrel where you can just drop in a food item on your way into the building. As you shop for the holidays this year, please pick up extra non-perishable packaged food items for the UUCM Food Bank barrel.  Also WHITE SOCKS for the white sock basket.
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Mill Street shelter, a branch of New Beginnings, provides housing for about 60 people per night.
UUCM provides dinner on the first Sunday of each month. If you would like to be a once a month cook, please contact [email protected]. Food should be brought to church - it will be taken to Mill Street.
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If you care about an issue or cause that you want UUCM members to know about, please bring it to our attention at the Social Justice information table at refreshment time.  To reserve a date: [email protected]
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UUCM encourages anyone and everyone to reach out and advocate for social justice (economic, environmental, civil) in the wider community. Please invite others to join you, and send photos of your action to the Social Justice Committee.

I appreciate any feedback on this weekly.   [email protected]

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