We saved the worst sin for last. We conclude the sermon series, "Deadly Sins for Lively Liberals," with an exploration of Anger, the most destructive of the Deadly Seven, at a time when so many of us have so much about which to be angry.

Anger can ruin families, wreck one's health, destroy peace of mind and, at its worst, leads to murder, genocide, and war.

For antidotes to anger we turn to Buddhism, which describes anger as an evil to be borne, not overcome. I believe that the defeat of anger is within our reach. This may be the only thing worth doing during our life on earth, and this Sunday I'll explain why this is true.

Joining me on the Chancel will be Community Minister The Rev. Kay Jorgensen and Worship Associates Claire Weber and Whitman Donaldson. The acclaimed singer and songwriter Roy Zimmerman will minister in music with an eye toward justice. Be sure to invite a friend to join you in our Sunday worship experience at Franklin and Geary.

Because many children will be at the All-Church Retreat there will be no separate Sunday School. Children and youth are welcome to join their families in the Sanctuary. Religious Education will offer childcare from 9:45 to 12:30 in Classroom A.

The photograph at right is from last Sunday's service. See more Sonnie Willis photographs online.

Greta Snider presents videos from the class she teaches at San Francisco State University at Sunday's free Forum. The works focus on health and the pursuit of social justice.

Greta started making movies in 1989. Her special interests are exploring experimental nonfiction, and the boundaries between documentary and document. She has made nonfiction works in film, video, flash game, audio CD, slide show, and microfiche.

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

Joseph Charles Akzam was awarded the 2009 Anne Dillon Award in a ceremony that capped last week's 158th Annual Meeting of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco.

Joe has served the Society as an usher for over 25 years, and has participated in the Society for Community Work and in many other groups within our community.

He received the Award which honors Anne Dillon, a Member who quietly worked in many aspects of church life. She was the kind of volunteer who figured out what needed to be done and did it, all without fanfare.

The text of the Board's citation and additional photographs are posted online.

California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) wants The City to approve a plan to build a 555-bed hospital with a full range of services on Cathedral Hill and an 86 bed hospital with very limited services on the St. Luke's site South of Market.

If you think this plan should be rejected and a more equitable plan should be required, you have one more opportunity speak out at the final Health Commission hearing Tuesday (June 16) at 2 pm at 101 Grove Street, third floor.

For detailed information about CPMC's plans, a copy of their Institutional Master Plan is available in the church library.

Written comments may be sent by June 26 to Bill Wycko, Environmental Review Officer, San Francisco Planning Department, 1650 Mission Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Starting Friday (June 12), Members of the church community will be gathering at YMCA Camp Loma Mar for the annual retreat - a wonderful chance to get out of the city, make new friends, enjoy all that the camp has to offer, and try out a wide range of workshops and activities!

Sign-in for those people already registered will begin Friday evening at 4 pm, and dinner will be from 6 to 7. The camp won't allow us to accept walk-ins.

The camp is located at 9900 Pescadero Road in Loma Mar, CA. For two sets of detailed directions - a faster coastal route and a slightly slower mountain and forest route - please download the directions. The document also includes a list of what to bring to make your weekend more enjoyable.

We look forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions, please contact Lee Most by email or by phone at 706-6138.

At the Annual Meeting, Members of the Society elected Matt Fuller, Laura Gilmore, Stephen Schwichow, Judith Stoddard, and Claire Weber to two-year terms as Trustees. They also elected Otto O'Connor, Carrie Steere-Salazar, and Galen Workman to two-year stints on the Nominating Committee.

Members also voted to postpone to a later meeting a decision on adopting a resolution declaring the Society a "teaching church".

Following the meeting of the Membership, the in-coming Board held an organizational meeting to elect its officers. The Board of Trustees and officers effective July 1 will be:

Matt Fuller, Moderator
Claire Weber, Assistant Moderator
Thad Smith, Treasurer
Jane Park, Secretary
Ben Bear
Laura Gilmore
Stephen Schwichow
Judith Stoddard
Don Williams
Bill Wise

The Board would like to extend a special note of thanks to Trustees who will be leaving the Board at the end of June. In addition to preparing a wonderful lunch for the Annual Meeting, they have given the Society many hours of service as Trustees. Please take a moment to give the following people a personal thanks next time you see them around: Mike McGirr (6 years), Sonnie Willis (4 years), Carol Johnson (2 years), and Tara Hernandez (2 years).

from Dolores Priem

Members of the Society's Forum Committee demonstrated Monday for charges to be dropped against the "San Francisco 8".

The defendants are accused of staging an attack on San Francisco's Ingleside Police Station Aug. 29, 1971, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The prosecution alleges that the defendants killed Sgt. John Young with a shotgun blast and tried, but failed, to set off a bomb in the station.

The Society members felt compelled to join in protest against the prosecution following a May 31st Forum on human rights presented by the Black Panthers.

The defendants say that they were tortured and forced to sign confessions which they later repudiated when allowed to see defense attorneys. Courts in Louisiana and California rejected the confessions as coerced. Based upon alleged new evidence, the case is again before the courts.

Many supporters demand that these charges against the San Francisco 8 be dropped, including Bishop Desmond Tutu, the San Francisco Labor Council, the Center for Constitutional Rights and members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. On Monday, Supervisor Eric Mar joined the members of our congregation and many other supporters, calling for an end to the prosecution.

The UU World added an article on Prop 8 which included photographs of The Rev. Denis Paul and The Rev. Gregory Stewart at their acts of civil disobedience . (The UU World story.)

A letters and an opinion piece on the replacement of Rev. Starr King's statue with one of Ronald Reagan also appeared in:

• The New York Times
and
• The San Francisco Chronicle
  (5th letter down)

Are you General Assembly bound? Would you like to stay in touch with other First Churchers?

The Denominational Affairs Committee is compiling a list of all delegate and non-delegate attendees from the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco to the 2009 General Assembly in Salt Lake City. Once the list is compiled, you will receive a copy, via email, of all participants, to help you stay in touch with your friends and also to find out where and when we may be meeting as a group.

If you would like to be included in the list, please provide the following information:

• Your name
• The hotel where you are staying
• Your email address
and
• Your cell phone number

Please send the information to the Denominational Affairs Committee via Stephen Schwichow or call him at 680-0848.

New Members (including the one at right) gathered at church last Saturday to enjoy great food, including Middle East falafel, and great company. Hosted by the Membership Committee, the evening welcomed all those people who joined the Society during the 2008-9 church year.

Starting in July, The Flame will publish Friday mornings instead of on Thursdays, and the deadline for submissions will be noon on Wednesday. We hope this later schedule will let us provide even more information on what the community is doing, especially late-breaking plans for the weekends.

In addition to photographs, the most popular links in many editions are those to credos written by Worship Associates and other essays. So, we will be encouraging more opinion pieces in the months to come.

Want to join in telling the community what your group of activists is doing? Want to persuade others of the wisdom of your convictions?

Check out the publication guidelines (remember, the deadlines and publication day changes July 1st). And, contact the editor with your ideas and questions.