It happens to all of us sooner or later: we lose the person, place, or thing that matters most to us.

The tenets of a liberal religious faith are most applicable when we find ourselves at the extremes of life -- on the mountain top when things couldn't be better, and in the valleys wherein it is often a struggle just to get out of bed.

A religion that does not address these high and low points in life is no religion at all. Let's explore what Unitarian Universalism really says to us in the midst of loss.

The ministry of Up On Top, our congregation's after school program for neighborhood children, will be highlighted during worship.

The choir will sing the music of Mozart and Handel; joining me on the Chancel will be Pastoral Care Minister Rev. Fred Rabidoux, Community Minister Rev. Kay Jorgensen, Ministerial Intern Peter Olandt, and Worship Associates Millie Phillips and Antonia Porter.

If you have a friend who has experienced loss recently, please consider inviting them to church with you.

from Betty Skwarek
Acting Director of Religious Education

The Religious Education program is in full swing this week, and children and youth are invited to attend these "Second Sunday of the Month" learning activities:

• 10:00 to 10:45 Youth choir in the chapel, FUUNS in the Thomas Starr King room, and Parent Group in the Religious Education library.
  
  Youth choir, led by Carolyn Jayne, is for anyone between the ages of 6 and 18.
  
  FUUNS is for all ages - board games for children and adults organized by the Buffum/Dellert family.
  
  Winnie Porter is facilitating the parent group.


• 11:00 - Children and youth attend the beginning of the Sanctuary worship service with their families before going to class. The classes are:
  • K-2nd grades "Creating Home" in Emerson
  • 3rd -5th grades "Toolbox of Faith" in Thoreau
  • 6th -7th grades "Neighboring Faiths" in Kincaid
  • 8th - 9th grades "Coming of Age" in Murdock
  • 10th - 12th grades "Our Whole Lives" in Fireside
  
  Children from 0 to 5 are welcome in the Early Childhood program that meets in room 1.
  
  
• 12:30 - Parents of youth participating in the "Our Whole Lives" program will meet in Murdock

Adult Religious Education Programming

Interesting classes! Engaging instructors and facilitators! Lots is happening in Adult Religious Education. Classes starting in the next week are:

"Intermediate Mindfulness Meditation" begins Monday (September 15) 7 to 9 pm in the Chapel. The class lasts six weeks and includes a full Saturday session. The course fee is $60. It offers a deepening exploration of the practice of Insight Meditation emphasizing the four Foundations of Mindfulness. Will Kabat-Zinn, who has practiced Vipassana meditation intensively, is the instructor.

"Interplay" meets in the Chapel, 6:30 to 9 Thursdays beginning tonight (September 11). It is a drop-in class, with fee $15 per session. The leader, Dina Claussen, is an experienced, trained interplay teacher. Learn to be in community in a way that promotes ease, play, creativity, and fun using movement, stillness, voice, and silence plus storytelling in simple incremental forms.

Whenever possible you are encouraged to pre-register for the classes. Registration forms for these and other classes are available in the church office, in the religious education office, online (see links below), and in various places around the church.

Chris Rosenberg, Principal of San Francisco's Starr King Elementary School, kicks off this year's Breakfast Forum series with a discussion on education and social justice.

Starr King, located on Carolina Street half-way up the hill and across the freeway from San Francisco General Hospital, enrolls children from the nearby Potrero Terrace housing project, from the Tenderloin, and from the Mission District. Nearly all of the students qualify for free lunch.

"In college, I either wanted to become a teacher or join the Communist Party," Rosenberg is quoted as saying in a 2001 article in the San Francisco Chronicle. " I'm not going to go out and fight a bloody revolution. But I am going to work to give the least advantaged people in our society the most opportunities."

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

Members and friends will join together with Up On Top After School and Summer staff, families, and supporters to celebrate this growing ministry that was founded eight years ago by our Society.

Today Up On Top is an effective educational program for San Francisco's most disadvantaged Kindergartners to fifth graders, who live primarily in the Tenderloin and Western Addition districts. More than 55 children come to Up On Top's free after-school program at the church or at the Tenderloin Community Elementary School on Turk Street.

Up On Top also offers an 8-week summer camp where 30 children have morning academic classes and then have fun swimming and going on field trips. The program serves these children as well as their families and caregivers for a total of 250 individuals.

Following the church service there will be a delicious lunch for all, catered by our sexton, Thomas Brown. A $5 donation per person will be accepted, but no person will be turned away.

Happy Birthday to Laurie Southgate whose 101st birthday is Saturday (September 13). Congratulations!

Six years ago, I joined a Small Group, hoping to get to know some people, and maybe feel a stronger sense of connection to the community at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco. And that has certainly happened.

Through Small Groups, I have developed deep connections and begun lasting friendships with an ever-expanding group of people. Now when I come to church, I feel the sense of small-town connection and caring that I had struggled to find before.

But what I didn't expect, and have come to really value, is the discussions that we've had on a wide range of topics - "Finding Balance," "Eating Mindfully," and "Do We Need God," to name a few.

For me, the two hours twice a month away from everyday tasks and distractions is an incredible gift. In the safe, welcoming space of a Small Group, we get to examine how we live our lives and to explore important questions with a depth that I haven't found anywhere else.

These experiences and discussions have helped me grow spiritually, increased my introspection, broadened my perspective, and challenged me in ways that I couldn't even have imagined when I originally joined Small Group Ministry.

To join a group, apply online at www.uusfsgm.org or fill out a paper application in the church office by September 14. Please feel free to contact Carol Ruley, Chair Small Group Ministry, at 846-3986 or by email with any questions.

Set in cement? Have it all worked out? Don't much care what others think?

Small Group Ministry wants you! — as well as any of the rest of you who are satisfied without answers, curious about how others think, and eager to delve at deep levels.

Twice a month for two hours, eight or more explore and exchange ideas and watch together for those moments when elbows rub or hearts touch and reawaken each other to mystery and possibility.

Don't believe me? Come and see.

You are invited to join other Members and friends in the Kincaid Room for meditation before the 11 am Sanctuary worship service. The meditation will last about 20 minutes and is meant to set the mood before the main Sunday worship.

The session begins a regular series of free meditation teachings. Each Sunday participants will be introduced to another form of meditation from one of the world's wisdom traditions. After a brief introduction, participants will be welcome to either practice the technique demonstrated or meditate in a way that they themselves find helpful.

All ages are welcome at a community soup celebrating the full moon.

The Pagan Interest Circle service will be held in the Chapel Saturday (September 13) at 7pm.

To join in, just bring a chopped vegetable or your favorite herb or spice for the magical brew at the annual Community Soup ritual. Each person will put in what they want, take what they need, and build community by breaking bread together and sharing the bounty of the harvest.

Please contact Nancy or Joe Dellert at 242-1608 for more information.

The Denominational Affairs Committee is sponsoring a General Assembly (GA) report-back to the Congregation after the worship service.

Several of the elected delegates to the 2008 Unitarian Universalist GA held in July in Fort Lauderdale will speak about their experiences there and fill us in on decisions made at the convention.

All are welcome to attend this free discussion, and light refreshments will be provided.

The Congregation welcomed the newest members of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco during the worship service last Sunday.

Membership Chair David Dupree introduced those people who joined over the summer, and Rev. Alyson Jacks led the Congregation in welcoming them.

These Sonnie Willis photos show [most] of the bumper crop of religious liberals who are now part of the community.

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