Summer travel and "stay-cations" may be over but the journey of life continues unabated, with or without us.

Are there really ways to navigate this world that promote a more satisfying life? After all, contentment is the mark of true happiness.

Sunday we'll look at some practical applications of our liberal religious faith that can make a tangible, quantifiable difference in the quality of our lives as we move forward into the future. We'll also be realistic about what we can and cannot change -- perhaps the first requirement of safe travel.

Joining me on the Chancel will be Ministerial Intern Peter Olandt, Acting Director of Religious Education Betty Skwarek, Worship Associate Sue Anthony and acolyte Allen Stewart. Our choir and Bell Choir will minister in music.

This Sunday, invite someone you know to your church!

The Religious Education program for children and youth hits its stride with the "Third Sunday of the Month" schedule this week.

The early childhood program begins earliest, at 9:45, with play activities. Then at 10, youth 6 and older are invited to gather in the Chapel for the Children's Choir. Also at 10, the First Unitarian Universalist Nonsense Society (FUUNS) meets somewhere in the Thomas Starr King Room. Look for the people playing board games.

Children and youth will join their families in the 11 am worship service in the Sanctuary, and at 11:15 they will leave the for their age-level classes. This is the last day of open attendance at the High School Our Whole Lives (OWL) class, so check it out if you haven't already. Youths sixth grade and older who are not in OWL or Coming of Age are invited to participate in a Neighboring Faiths seminar.

At coffee hour members and friends can sign up for food for the All Church Picnic which will be in Crissy Field on Sunday, September 28. You can also call or email your food order ($6 for a sandwich and 2 sides, or $3 for a half order) to the Religious Education office by Wednesday (September 24). Stop by the table on Sunday for more information and to sign-up.

Adult Religious Education

Two classes targeted at older learners begin this week:

• Sunday 9/21, 1:00 pm - Gems from General Assembly (GA).Maric Munn will share some of the best presentations from this year's GA on a CD. The session will give you a capsule view of what you can experience at GA and a picture of why so many people see that gathering as the highlight of their year. There is no charge for this class.
• Wednesday 9/24, 7:00 pm - European Roots of Unitarian Universalism. Jim Barnett, John Klopacz, Dina Claussen, and Karen Melander-Magoon will each present part of the fascinating Unitarian Universalist history which begins with early Christian thought and never dies despite the efforts of the religious establishment. The fee is $20 for all six classes or $5 per class.

Rosalind Peterson of the Agriculture Defense Coalition will talk to the Forum about "Climate Change and the Footprint of Humanity on our Air and Skies".

She spoke at the United Nations last September on climate change, human-made clouds, the decline in honey bee pollination, and related issues.

This picture above from the California Skywatch website shows parallel lingering contrails lines in Calpella, CA. These parallel contrail lines have widened over time and have been a common sight in Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma Counties in the past few months.

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

from Liz Breger

Come to the Annual Unitarian Universalist Members and Friends Group Show and check out the variety of skills and talents among us: botanical realism, mystical symbolism, abstraction, political angst, and masterful photography!

Enjoy refreshments and meet the artists.

And, come schmooze with the Art Committee members at the reception. They'll be on hand to invite you to spend some more time with your fellow artists and art lovers. If you love art this is a good opportunity to check out the possibilities for getting involved.

Friends, we need your help with the educational ministry of our church. Specifically, we need teachers for our religious education program for children and youth on Sunday morning. Many of our families are experiencing economic hardships, finding it necessary to return to work, take a second, or even a third job, or return to school for more training. They have little time to volunteer. Simply put, our families are hurting.

Do you have some time to give to the spiritual formation of our youngest Unitarian Universalists? Your assistance and guidance is needed.

We need one teacher for the Kindergarten - 2nd grade class, three for the 3rd - 5th grade class, and one for grades 8 - 9. These kids will change your life as together you explore what it means to be a liberal religious youth in a culture bent on conservatism.

Please consider my request and then contact Acting Director of Religious Education Betty Skwarek. She's at 776-4580 x 16 and at bskwarek@uusf.org.

Please remember, children are not the future of this church, they are the church, right now! Let's show them we believe in them.

from Dolores Perez Priem and the Unitarian Universalists for Peace

Your invited to join peace activists in an afternoon of socializing and sharing ideas on how to promote peace initiatives locally and nationally.

Key discussions will explore:

• Local ballot initiatives:
  • Proposition U to terminate funding for the Iraq War
  • Proposition V to restore JROTC to SF Schools
• Clarifying the truth in military recruitment
• Peace dividend/tax credit to benefit low and middle incomes.

Drink liberal lattes and nosh healthy snacks at this free program. Come watch Camilo Mejia and Aidan Delgado in the premier of the new documentary Soldiers of Conscience which will be shown on PBS stations on October 16. The documentary is co-produced by Ian Slattery of the Society's Young Adult group.

You can contact Dolores for more information, or just show up Sunday afternoon. The Peacework afternoon is co-sponsored by the Iraq Moratorium Campaign and United for Peace and Justice.

Sounds like an Obama email of late? It isn't.

However, if you want REAL change -- change that guarantees a delicious day, a wonderful week, a better life for yourself -- then take those steps up and down to join the choir. The church year begins anew NOW and the choir is a vital part of its community. Being connected as a singer will revitalize you as well. Ponder the benefits.

If conjuring some of those benefits was easy to do, no audition is necessary. You are fit for those stairs and to join in the voice-raising. If imaging the benefits was not so easy, come sit in on a rehearsal and try a taste test. We gather Thursday nights September through May at 7:15pm DOWN stairs in Macondray Hall. Sunday mornings (about 3 per month) we move-on UP stairs by 10 am to prepare for the 11am service.

"But can we deliver? More empty promises?" you ask.

All the negative campaigning flies straight out the door as soon as we gather to sing. As a choir we are quite a happy lot -- but we are ready for the change that awaits US if you join, and we will all be the happier for it. We are even thinking of choir t-shirts. You can have one for free if you join the choir.

Contact Mark at 776-4580 for more information, or show up at practice at 7:15 tonight!

Up On Top fall campaign contributions top $6,000 in first two weeks!

Our Society enthusiastically supports the enrichment and education of our neighborhood children provided by Up On Top.

Special donation envelopes are in the mail, in the pews, and in the office.

Thank you for your support!

The national Unitarian Universalist - United Nations Office (UU-UNO) in New York City is organizing its annual spring seminar for 2009. It will take place from April 15-18, 2009, and will focus on the role of religion in our global struggle for human rights.

The event includes camping out in the All Souls church, attending workshops in United Nations (UN) plaza, performing community service, meeting with UN delegates, and touring the UN.

The Society's chapter of the UU-UNO has just started looking for interested youth ages 14-19 to attend the spring seminar.

Please contact John at 235-0378 or Liz at 221-3092 if you would like more information. Talk to them now so that the community can begin to work on travel arrangements and pursue possible funding opportunities.

Assistant Moderator Matt Fuller (at left) and Brian Brantner were married last month by The Rev. Alyson Jacks.

The photos are back, and the Fuller-Brantners share them online at the links below.

The before-service mediation series has changed location to the Dutton Study on the second floor above the reception desk.

You're invited to drop in any Sunday from 10 to 10:30 for meditation before services. Each week another form of meditation from one of the world's wisdom traditions will be introduced. After a brief explanation, participants will be invited to either practice the technique demonstrated or meditate in a way that they themselves find helpful.

The meditation itself will last about 20 minutes and is meant to set the mood before the main Sunday worship.

In the wake of Hurricane Ike, reports are beginning to come in regarding damage to the Texas Gulf Coast and to Unitarian Universalist congregations and members.

The UUA is posting regular updates on the status of the Unitarian Universalist communities on its website.

On Sunday, November 2 the Society is sharing our values in public and powerful ways, witnessing to the world our religious commitment to one of the most compelling social justice causes in a generation.

Reverend Gregory Stewart and Stillman Stewart will be married as the 11 am worship service. California State Assembly Member Mark Leno will officiate at the wedding, and the community will gather in celebration of the couple and for the cause of marriage equality.

Starting that night at 8 pm, a 48-hour Marriage Vigil will begin. The building will be open and clergy will be available to marry all loving couples who come to church with a marriage license.

The Marriage Vigil will end at 8 pm Tuesday when the polls close and the votes will be counted on Proposition 8, the attempt to amend the constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

This year, we celebrate the marriage equality in the California constitution and we fight to keep that civil right.

Plan on celebrating with the Stewarts and your other friends in the morning. Join us in the 48-hour marriage vigil. And, vote.

Did you know that for the whole time they have lived in San Francisco, our Senior Minister and his family have not been able to sit down to dinner together or even watch TV as a family? The family's furniture was designed for larger, non-San Francisco spaces so an over-sized armchair and other rural fittings have been crowding out people in their urban home.

Worst of all, their round Fusion table only accommodates four people, so Stillman and the boys have had to eat in shifts.

As a wedding gift, Members have contributed a home design plan and labor to help the Stewarts get their start as a San Francisco married couple. The Society for Community Work has generously given $1,000 for a dinner table and chairs, and another Member has donated a lovely armchair.

But, there are lots of moderately-priced accouterments and many labors of love still needing a sponsor. You're invited to join in. Among the things we need are:

• Donations of money, materials and labor to construct a window seat
• A seamstress who can cut down curtains, making them into a smaller shelf curtain and a seat cover for a new wooden chair
• The purchase or creation of pillows for the window seat
• Shelving materials to hold Greg's ministerial books and antique radio collection
• Labor to put up the shelves
• Someone to help the Stillman boys construct the table purchased by SCW - which will be in need of "some assembly"

If you'd like to give a personal gift to the Stewarts, please contact Nicolette by email or at 970-9714 on the weekends.