Risking Our Lives
Sunday, June 22 at 11 am in the Church Sanctuary
service conducted by the Young Adult Group
The person who risks nothing, does
nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes
nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he
simply cannot learn and feel and change and
grow and love and live.
— Leo F.
Buscaglia
Come Join the Young Adults as they talk about
all they risk in their lives to live their
values.
Participating in the service will be
Heather Boshears, Laura Gilmore, Matthew
Tsou, BJ Scofield, Heather DeLong, Otto
O'Connor, Michaela Romano-Meade
with special music from Eric Hamilton.
Come and explore the role of risk.
Healthcare, Homelessness, and Homicide
Forum Sunday at 9:30 in the Martin Luther King Room
from Karen
Melander-Magoon
Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai will talk to the
Sunday Forum about the issues of health,
homelessness, and the despair of youth
homicide in San Francisco
Dr. Sumchai, a mayoral challenger in 2007, is
an accomplished San Francisco native with a
medical background. She ran for mayor on a
platform of environmental justice for
Bayview-Hunters Point and progressive
policies in housing and public transit.
The free program will start at 9:45. Come at
9:30 for conversation, coffee, and (for a
slight charge) a light breakfast.
Summer Arts Program Gears Up
Register Now for July 6 Start
from Betty Skwarek
Acting Director of Religious Education
This week and next, there will be no Religious
Education classes as we prepare for the
Summer Arts Program which begins July 6.
Each week, the Summer Arts will kick off at
10 with a walk
from the church to the Faithful Fools.
Working alongside adults and children from
the community, participants will create a
large mandala. The artists from ArtSeed will
provide creative direction.
Only 15 adults and 15 children can come each
week,
so registering early is important. You may
sign up for as many sessions as you want --
attending multiple sessions is
encouraged!
To join in, fill out the registration form
available below or in the church office.
Race to the Finish
from Executive Director Nancy Evans
We need your final pledges and gifts this
week. Our "church year" ends June 30, and we
have to pay a very large bill ($36,000) for
the repair of our beautiful skylight.
Please do everything you can to make a
contribution today. Thank you!
Good and Welfare
Congratulations
to Amy Moses and
Ricardo Largo who were wed in Yosemite by
Rev. Gregory Stewart this week. Our
best wishes for a happy
marriage.
Congratulations
to Jeff Byrne and
Bruce Deming who married at City Hall
Tuesday. The couple received the Society's
blue wrist band and good wishes, but couldn't
stay for a prolonged celebration because they
needed to return home and care for their
children.
Our condolences to Mark and Barbara
Allen on the death of Mark's mother
earlier this week. We extend our sympathy to
the entire family.
Over 100 friends of Don Williams and
David Jones witnessed Senior Minister
Rev. Gregory Stewart marry them
Tuesday at City Hall in a public ceremony
held in front of a bust of Harvey Milk.
The couple met 30 years ago, and had seen
their 2004 marriage annulled by a California
Supreme court ruling. Their June 17th
marriage was made possible by a ruling by
that same court.
Tuesday was a day of love and joy. Over
fifty volunteers came to the Unitarian
Universalist celebration central in the plaza
across from City Hall. The community
distributed over 750 donated wedding cupcakes
to the bridal parties and well-wishers at
Civic Center. Volunteers stepped forward to
take photographs of brides and grooms who
hadn't brought their cameras, and
newlyweds were given "something blue"
wristbands to commemorate the day. All of
the couples were loudly cheered.
Thanks to Mark Calvey's Business
Journal article, Lucy Smith's
call for cupcakes reached a Bay-Area audience
with donations coming from unexpected places
such as state court workers and East Bay
businesses. Little
Lover's Fine Cupcakes delivered 150
cupcakes and a pride-decorated wedding cake.
Michael Berg, husband of Judy
Nichols, performed weddings inside City
Hall as a volunteer marriage commissioner.
Thank you
to everyone!
Last Sunday's service was filmed by KTVU
Channel 2. That station began their 5 pm
newscast with an
interview with Don and David and video of
Sonnie Willis' invitation to the
Congregation to attend the couple's upcoming
wedding.
The Society's public witness for marriage
equality -- and its cupcakes -- were reported
on with a photo and caption in The
New York Times, a live interview on
92.7 FM, a Univision Channel 14 film report,
an Associated
Press dispatch, a
KQED radio sound-clip (listen for Nancy
Evans), a Bay
Guardian blog, and an NPR radio
interview.
Send links about additional coverage
to The
Flame and we'll post it to the Society's
Gay
and Lesbian marriage update page.
Flood Relief Efforts Launched
from Jeremy Nickel and the Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations
Ben Brandeis will be selling homemade
lemonade and cookies in the Starr King Room
after services Sunday to raise money to aid
the recovery efforts that will take place in
Iowa due to the massive flooding taking place
there. Stop by, enjoy some homemade sweets,
and help out a great cause!
In the aftermath of devastating floods that
have wreaked havoc on several Midwestern
states, the Unitarian Universalist
Association (UUA) Prairie Star and Heartland
Districts have announced the launch of
individual district relief funds to provide
assistance to Unitarian Universalists in
Indiana and Iowa whose homes have been
severely damaged or destroyed by flood waters.
General Assembly Goers Meet Up
Annual Events Starts Wednesday (June 25) at 7:30 am Pacific
from Stephen Schwichow and the Denominational
Affairs Committee
The Denominational Affairs Committee wants to
help you by compiling and distributing a list
of General Assembly (GA) participants to all
members who are going to GA.
If you want to be included, please send an email
with:- Your Name
- Email
Address
- Cell Phone
Number
- Name of Hotel where you'll be
staying
Prior to GA we will send
the list to all participants.
If you're unable to travel to GA next week,
you can listen and watch the highlights
on streaming media.
Want to Work for Marriage Equality?
Our Society's marriage equality activists met
last Saturday to plan for Tuesday's hugely
successful public witnessing and to outline
plans for summer and fall actions.
Announcements will be made in future
Flames about how this Congregation
will be standing on the side of love.
Do you have energy and ideas?
A moderated Yahoo! Group for UUs4ME started
last Saturday. If you are ready to commit
your time and mind, sign-up! You'll learn
the latest information, participate in online
discussions, and have access to the notes and
resource documents.
This online space is only for people
who pledge to work for marriage equality. If
you want to keep informed about public events
but do not have time to work yourself, don't
worry! The Flame and other
publications will keep you up to date.
Rob Packenham is the volunteer
moderator of the Yahoo! Group. When you sign
up, give Rob a day or so to process your
request to join.
Over 100 friends of Don Williams and
David Jones witnessed Senior Minister
Rev. Gregory Stewart marry them
Tuesday at City Hall in a public ceremony
held in front of a bust of Harvey Milk.
