Viktor Frankl said, "When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves." In this service we will contemplate that thought.

Sometimes our actions are tainted by ignorance or malice. Sometimes they result in great reward. Sometimes we receive rewards or punishments that have no apparent relationship to cause.

Even so, what we do, who we are, and how we react, matters. Even when we are unable to choose what life offers us, we still have the ability to choose our reactions.

Join us as we explore the role attitude plays in our lives and the world around us.

Music will be provided by Reiko Lane and Madeleine Gerlach, accompanied by her mother, Marci Karr.

Participants in Art for All Ages start painting the rocks which will be part of the volunteer recognition ceremony later this month. Join in the fun at 10 am. Then at 11, children will be invited to attend the worship service in the Sanctuary.

From now until the beginning of Summer Arts in July, Religious Education will have special Sunday morning activities including art classes that include a cork project and painting, two multi-generational services, and a funday Sunday which will feature paper airplanes and other flying objects.

The religious education planning retreat Saturday, May 30 is for both children's and adult religious education. If you want to have a say in the program, come on down! The brainstorming is from 9 to 3 at Home Away from Homelessness at Fort Mason. Lunch and childcare are provided.

Betty Skwarek, Acting Director of Religious Education, and Rev. Greg Stewart are co-facilitating the event. Brochures are available throughout the church building or you can call or email Betty Skwarek with your reservation.

Reservations for the Religious Education Planning retreat and the Religious Education Volunteer brunch are both due by Tuesday (May 26) so we can plan food and childcare.

Former Society members Henry and Jean Kroll (pictured at left) will be hosting the Annual National Cohousing Conference in 2010 in Boulder, CO. Sunday, they return to San Francisco to engage the Forum in a discussion about housing and community.

Cohousing villages are custom-built neighborhoods or villages designed and self-managed by an intentional group to best fit their needs and aspirations for a lifestyle responding to a vision centering on a healthy community experience. The communities often aim to live sustainably, with reduced environmental impact.

The cohousing communities in America feature a European-inspired housing model built around a common area and a social compact that all residents agree to. Residents have their own units yet agree to share regular community meals once or twice a week. Homes are often smaller by American standards, and this allows more space for the common house with guest rooms for visitors, dining, meeting rooms, dedicated exercise and meditation spaces, and outdoor gardens and patios.

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

The Faithful Fools invite you to an artist reception and poetry reading with and for Charles Curtis Blackwell this Saturday (May 23rd) at 2. Charles is one of the poets at Faithful Fools and a regular participant of the weekly Bible Study which members of the Society have attended.

The Fool's Court is alive with Charles' paintings and the Fools will also have their hearts and minds enlivened by his poetry as he will be the featured poet at the regular poetry reading beginning at 4 pm.

Please come and join in to honor Charles and his creative work. His work will be exhibited through June so if you are unable to come this Saturday, make a point of stopping by to view his work. Just call ahead, 474-0508, to make sure someone will be at Fools Court.

Congratulations to Karen Melander-Magoon, who has received a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS), part of the Graduate Theological Union.

The subject of her Doctoral Dissertation Project was Clara Barton (1812 - 1912), Universalist, Feminist, and Compassionate Activist. Karen created a musical drama, "Clara Barton, Angel of the Battlefield", which was performed at SFTS and numerous other venues. (Can you discern that the picture of "Clara" has a familiar face?)

Karen's degree will be officially recognized at the the 2009 Commencement Exercises Saturday (May 23) morning at the Stewart Memorial Chapel in San Anselmo.

The Adult Religious Education Program wants to hear your ideas and opinions in its quick and easy survey.

Your responses will be used at the Religious Education Retreat at the end of the month to plan future programs (see story above).

Three people who answer the survey will each win a $20 restaurant.com gift certificate and $20 in class credit. Click on the link below and share your opinions now! The deadline to answer the survey for a chance to win is Thursday, May 28th

The Annual Budget Drive committee must regretfully answer this question as "no." But there is stimulus money available to us!

Anyone who receives Social Security payments is receiving a $250 stimulus payment this month. This is an unexpected one-time payment that will not be repeated.

So the Budget Drive is asking all members and friends who receive Social Security to consider using the stimulus payment to increase your pledge to the Society.

Just take a pledge card at church and write "increase my pledge by $250." Or call the church office at 776-4580 and ask whoever answers to increase your pledge by $250 (or $500 for a couple.)

This is a great opportunity to spend government money for a faith-based program that we truly support.

Thank you!

The Society's Annual Retreat is just three weeks away -- from Friday, June 12 to Sunday, June 14! As always, there will be plenty of activities for all ages, including organized kids' games, a nature hike, the talent show, a campfire sing-along, and the outdoor worship service.

Do you have a favorite activity from previous retreats or a new activity that you'd like to try?

Consider helping to plan the activity or even just pitching in as needed at the retreat. As an added bonus, all activity volunteers and workshop leaders will get a 10% discount off of the registration price!

To sign up to help with an activity or to register for the retreat, please see Lee Most at the Retreat table after the Sunday Service. You can also contact him by email or by phone at 706-6138. You can also register online! The registration deadline is Monday, June 8.

Last Saturday the Internship Committee gave a special dinner honoring the Society's Internship program and Peter Olandt, the current Ministerial Intern (pictured at left).

The evening benefited the Castile Internship Fund whose purpose is to ensure the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco will be a teaching congregation for ministerial interns for generations to come.