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Love is the Spirit of this Church, and Service is its Prayer.
WORSHIP SERVICE
"Story: Wine, Weddings, and a Coming Out"
Sunday, January 26, 2025, 10:50 am
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister, preaching
The theme of January is “Story.” One of the things I love about a tradition—religious, cultural, or literary—is that the community starts to repeat and value certain stories as worth revisiting, as worth revising in light of the interpretations we bring to them based on where we are in our lives. I’ve long been fascinated and horrified by the story of the wedding in Cana, one scene in the life of Jesus. It takes place in the Gospel as told by John, Chapter 2, verses 1-12. It’s about wine. It’s about a wedding. It is about a moment of coming out and the frightening and powerful inevitabilities that can be part of a life too.
Watch This Week's Service Here
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THE FLAME
UUSF Weekly Newsletter
January 22, 2025
The Flame, our weekly newsletter, is published every Wednesday! We cover Sunday services as well as recent UUSF news and upcoming events. On Fridays, we also send a brief email outlining the weekend's events. If you send us an email at flame@uusf.org The Flame will be sent directly to your inbox.
January: Story
Story is our theme for January. We human beings are so many things: tool makers (though not the only tool-making species); language users (though not the only species to communicate in sounds); and also one of the only story-telling species we know—at least so far. Stories are how we make sense of the world. They can tell the hero's journey, teach moral lessons, make us laugh, hold a mirror up to some piece of our world so we can see it clearly, and even show us the shadow side of the human spirit. History is just journalism, Joseph Campbell once said, and not very reliable. “Myth is much more important and true than history.” Myth and story, at their best, capture something deep and powerful, ground us in a narrative, and invite us to throw our life up against or through that narrative. Nothing is more powerful than learning to tell a story about the world that makes sense, a new story to lead the world forward to a new way of being. Come reflect with us on story and what stories are most important to you.
-- Soul Matters (www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com)
What Would Thomas Starr King Do?
Social Justice Town Hall
Sunday, January 26, 12:30 pm, TSK Room/Zoom
Special Voting Meeting
Sunday, February 2, 12:30 pm, TSK Room/Zoom
More importantly, what do YOU think we should do as a new president takes office promising to take actions that go against the tenets of Unitarian Universalism?
Join in community, Sunday after service, for a Social Justice Town Hall. We will discuss two resolutions of Immediate Witness whose adoption will be voted on by the Membership on February 2nd. One resolution is “Resolution of Immediate Witness Regarding the New Federal Administration” (see current draft), and the other is “UUSF—An Apartheid-Free Congregation” (see current draft).
You are invited to comment on the resolutions and suggest possible changes. The Human Rights Working Group will also offer information on the importance of the apartheid-free congregation statement. They also invite you to send questions and comments before the meeting to humanrights@uusf.org.
At least as important as recording our positions on topics will be Members coming together to see where there is energy to plan, protest, and recharge ourselves during these stressful times. People have put their names on posters and online sign-ups declaring their interest in particular social justice areas. Sunday we will help people get together and start organizing their vigilance and actions.
Please come to the Town Hall this Sunday, and please participate in the Special Voting Meeting of the Membership on February 2nd after the service.
Links to Zoom for the Social Justice Town Hall on January 26 can be found here, and to the Special Voting Meeting of the Membership on February 2nd can be located here.
Small is Beautiful: A Thought-Provoking Screening and Discussion on Development and Conservation
Sensible Cinema Presents: A Screening and Discussion of 'Small is Beautiful,' a Movie by Carolyn M. Scott on Sunday, February 9, 12:30 pm, TSK Room
Lunch will be available for a nominal cost. After the screening there will be a discussion and Q&A with Carolyn Scott, director/writer, and Dennis Richards, former VP of the San Francisco Planning Commission.
This short documentary, SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, delves into the contentious proposal surrounding the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), a state-owned property situated in a rural area encompassing the towns of Eldridge and Glen Ellen. This region, nestled at the base of Sonoma Mountain, serves as a crucial wildlife corridor, which will be destroyed by this development. Also, this area is in a high fire zone area that has already experienced extreme fires, putting lives at risk during an evacuation.
The proposed development plans to add nearly 930 homes, 400,000 square feet of commercial space, and a luxury resort hotel with a conference center. Concerns include insufficient infrastructure improvements, particularly water scarcity and narrow roads that may hinder wildfire evacuations. Additionally, a documentary highlights other major developments in the Valley of the Moon, driven by new laws and housing mandates that override local zoning and environmental regulations under the guise of "affordable housing," which is often not truly affordable.
Carolyn M. Scott is the director, producer, and writer of the film SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, with over 25 years in education, environmental advocacy, and filmmaking. An Emmy-nominated visual storyteller, she has received the National Women’s History Project’s “Women Taking the Lead To Save The Planet!” award. Dennis Richards, a neighborhood activist with over 25 years of experience, has been involved in successful rezoning projects and served six years on the San Francisco Planning Commission, including three as Vice President. He raised awareness about upzoning issues in the film and co-initiated the “Our Neighborhood Voices” project with late Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand to empower local zoning decisions in California.
Starr King Way Performance Series (SKWPS) 2025
SUNDAYS, 1:30PM, UUSF SANCTUARY
$20 SUGGESTED DONATION FOR ALL EVENTS
*SKWPS IN-HOUSE PERFORMANCE
**SATURDAY 6PM WITH CATERED DINNER OPTION ($30)
MLK/TSK ROOMS
GET INVOLVED!
“… and Service is our Prayer.”
UUSF relies on all of us to offer our time and ideas in order to build the church that we all know and love! To see a list of volunteer opportunities, classes, and ministries, visit the "Finding Your Ministry" form below. For additional questions, or if you are interested in finding other ways to get involved at UUSF, feel free to contact the UUSF Nominating Committee HERE.
NEWCOMER ORIENTATION
NEWCOMER ORIENTATION
Sunday February 2, 2025: Fireside Room
12:30pm
New to this community? New to Unitarian Universalism?
Newcomers are welcome to join us after the service to meet some of our members and learn more about our congregation and Unitarian Universalism.
It's a great chance to meet other folks in the community, ask any questions you might have, and find out how to get involved in our programs and ministries.
We look forward to meeting you!
Upcoming! & Watch Now
"Looking Back, Looking Ahead"
Sunday, December 29, 10:50 am, 2024
"The Stories We Tell"
Sunday, January 5, 10:50 am, 2025
Exploring The Fillmore's Deep History with Immersive Stories
Sunday, January 12, 9:30 am, 2025
"Build Strength Through Our Stories"
Sunday, January 12, 10:50 am, 2025
January Sensible Cinema "Separated"
Friday, January 17, 6:30 pm, 2025
"MLK"
Sunday, January 19, 10:50 am, 2025
What the New Administration Can and Can’t Do to Immigrants with David Bacon
Sunday, January 19, 9:30 am, 2025
Prospects for Restraining Militarism in U.S. Foreign Policy with Norman Solomon
Sunday, January 26, 9:30 am, 2025
"Story: Wine, Weddings, and a Coming Out"
Sunday, January 26, 10:50 am, 2025
Social Justice Town Hall
Sunday, January 26, 12:30 pm, 2025
The Long and Bitter, but Beautiful, Struggle for a New World with Nell Myhand
Sunday, February 2, 9:30 am, 2025
"Inclusion"
Sunday, February 2, 10:50 am, 2025
Special Voting Meeting
Sunday, February 2, 12:30 pm, 2025
How Animal Cruelty Helps Fund the MAGA Movement with Wayne Hsiung
Sunday, February 9, 9:30 am, 2025
FAMILY MINISTRY
Stay up to date with what is happening for our families and Sunday School program by subscribing to the Thursday weekly emails. To be put on the email list, please contact Rev. Laura Shennum at lshennum@uusf.org.
FROM THE COVID ADVISORY GROUP
Recommendation for close contacts of cases.
If you have new COVID-19 symptoms, you should test and mask right away.
If you do not have symptoms, and are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection and would benefit from treatment, you should test within 5 days.
If you do not have symptoms and have contact with people who are at higher risk for severe infection, you should mask indoors when around such people for 10 days. Consider testing within 5 days after the last exposure date (Day 0) and before contact with higher-risk people. For further details, see CDPH COVID-19 testing guidance.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you have questions, suggestions, resources or want/need clarification, please reach out to our Covid Advisory Team Here.
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WATCH & LISTEN
While we meet live every Sunday morning at 10:50 am PT, worship certainly isn’t restricted to those moments! Anytime you need a comforting word, a song that will help you with your life, visit our video archives or listen to one of our podcasts.
