I have invited the Rev. JD Benson to speak from our pulpit this Sunday. JD completed her ministerial internship at this church almost ten years ago. She will tackle a tough issue for many of us, one that is brought to the forefront Memorial Day weekend: Is it possible to be against the U.S. invasion of Iraq and still support the war's participants?

This will be the Rev. Benson's final sermon in the Bay Area before she moves to Virginia to be with her partner.

Joining JD on the Chancel are Worship Associate Branduin Stroud and guitarist Chris Waltz. This will be service for all ages. (There will be no Sunday school.)

About the sermon JD writes:

What does it mean to support the troops regardless of whether or not you support the war? This Memorial Day we reflect upon this question in recognition of the complexity involved as we dream of a world without war even as we live in a world of many.

Nancy Mancias, assistant to the co-founder of CODEPINK, will talk at the Forum about that women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement which is working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect resources into health care, education and other life-affirming activities.

Nancy is a key organizer in the San Francisco anti-war community and supports war resisters in the US and Canada. She is a theater arts professional and is on the Board of Directors for Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco's oldest alternative art space.

The free program will start at 9:45. Come at 9:30 for conversation, coffee, and (for a slight charge) a light breakfast.

You're invited to join with Senior Minister, Rev. Gregory Stewart, and Betty Skwarek, Acting Director of Religious Education, to talk about religious education programs for both adults and children - what we've done, what we want to keep, what we want to add, and how we are going to bring this all together.

The Religious Education brainstorming session will be Saturday, May 31, 9 am to 3 pm at the church. Registration for lunch and childcare may be made by calling Betty at 776-4580 by Wednesday.

This Sunday, Religious Education will offer childcare for ages 0 to 5. Because of the All-Church retreat, there will be no Sunday school classes.

The photograph above is one that Sonnie Willis took at last week's Religious Education brunch and Rite of Passage service. Thank you, Sonnie!

Society Member Denis Paul and 18 other students will receive Master of Divinity degrees from the Starr King School for the Ministry at a ceremony held in the Sanctuary at 7 pm tonight (May 22). Members and friends are invited to this free celebration.

Author and well known Unitarian Universalist minister, Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, will also receive an honorary doctorate from the school.

You are welcome to help honor the graduates by attending the ceremony -- no reservations are required.

Alex (on the left) was one of the first 400 finishers in the 2008 Bay to Breakers race. Congratulations, Alex!

• A bigger Chron photo.

Michael Walker has completed his second year at Starr King School for Ministry and also his year assisting at our front desk on Sunday and weekday mornings. In a few days, he will move to Medford, OR for his summer chaplaincy, and this fall he will begin his ministerial internship in San Diego.

Michael is a member of the Society and a Small Group Ministry facilitator. We will miss his presence in many ways, but are delighted that he is continuing to follow his calling, and we wish him every success.

We were delighted by the visit of Deborah Grande, our former front desk angel. She is doing well, challenged and inspired by her first year in the Master of Social Work program at Smith, and is excited about her upcoming internship in Boston.

The Congregation unanimously approved the 2008-9 budget recommended by the Board of Trustees at last Sunday's voting meeting of the Membership. Members also approved a one-year waiver of the audit requirement, provided a financial review is conducted.

Thank you to Rob Packenham for editing this newsletter for the last four weeks! Rob did a terrific job with the email templates, photo editing, HTML tweakings, and article editing.

Would-be Rupert Murdochs: if you're interested in taking a turn producing The Flame for a week or more, please give Executive Director Nancy Evans a call at 776-4580. We want to share editing among several volunteers.

Or, send a note to the editors and we'll tell you more about the process and answer your questions.

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