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Sunday Service September 3, 2023

“An Immigrant’s Path to United in Kindness”
Moe Jabbari will share his experiences as an immigrant from Iran and discuss his work with United in Kindness, an organization founded to address increased hate crimes, discrimination, bullying, and injustice. The United in Kindness Campaign supports and encourages all Sonoma County government agencies and residents to find ways to foster, promote, and sustain acts of kindness on a daily basis throughout the community. UUCSR is a signer of the United in Kindness Declaration of Unity.
 
Service Leader/Guest: Mohammad Jabbari
Worship Associates: Linda Lampson
Music: Sally Jones and Alan Bell
Pianist: Roger Corman
The Basket: Our Own Religious Education Program
Guest Bio:

Mohammad Jabbari has a background in engineering and business. He has been a resident of Santa Rosa since 1982 where he and his wife of 35 years raised their three children.
He served on the Board of Directors and 3 years as the chairperson of the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern CA in Oakland and has been active in interfaith projects promoting open dialogs among different faith traditions in the Bay Area since 1995. Long active in social justice and human rights advocacy work, he co-founded the Interfaith Council of Sonoma County in 2005. And in 2019 he started “Sonoma County United in Kindness” Project and continues as its chair.

Sunday Service September 10, 2023

“In Gathering and Water Communion”
Let us celebrate together as we begin our church year. May we come with excitement for the spiritual awakening that awaits us this year. Bring water from a source meaningful to you to share in this annual ritual as a sign of hope and refreshment as we begin a new journey. Invite your friends, your family or just come so we can begin together in community.
 
Service Leader/Guest: Rev Dave Clements
Worship Associate: Veronica Jordan
Music: Gage Purdy & The Choir
Pianist: Roger Corman
Share The Basket: Our Own Saturday Breakfast

Sunday Service September 17, 2023

“Healing the Wounds of Colonization”
While researching my settler-ancestors and the land they took for their own in Northern California, I saw that colonization was far more violent than I had learned in school. Indigenous friends introduced me to the Native American idea of “the soul wound”–the deep and ongoing injury of colonization that affects not just the Original People but also perpetrators and the land itself. The soul wound is intergenerational and cumulative. I believe its effect on the perpetrators–where it is near-totally unrecognized–has led to the challenging environmental and social problems we face today. I have been awed and impressed with the healing underway in many Native communities, but we settler-descendants and beneficiaries of conquest are only beginning to see the painful work needed to heal with integrity from the wounds we also carry. Grief, apology, and repair must begin with the truth of what happened. Indigenous elders have said, “We don’t speak of these things without ceremony.” So, I am grateful for this sanctuary space with you–where we can begin to acknowledge the harm done in our name, reconnect with our true human goodness, and heal together.
 
Service Leaders/Guest: Louise Dunlap
Worship Associate: Judy Withee
Music: Gage Purdy and and Sally Jones
Pianist: Paul Gilger
Share the Basket: Saturday Breakfast for Our Neighbors
Guest Bio: Louise Dunlap – writer, educator, elder, and plant-lover – is descended from early settlers in Napa County, including Napa’s founder, Nathan Coombs. In addition to her book, “Inherited Silence: Listening to the Land, Healing the Colonizer Mind”, Louise has a rich and varied history as a teacher, facilitator, writer, and Buddhist activist. She is an ordained member of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing. Learn more about Louise at: https://louisedunlap.net/

Sunday Service September 24, 2023

“Queen Esther – The Israeli Liberator”
Introduction to the Men and Women of the Old Testament. For the next several weeks the sermons will be about the lives of exceptional Old Testament leaders and what history has recorded about them. We begin with Queen Esther who saved her people from death and came to be known as a Liberator of Israel.
 
Service Leader/Guest: Rev Dave Clements
Worship Associate: Jonathan Choe
Music: Gage Purdy & the Choir
Pianist: Roger Corman
Share the Basket: Local Santa Rosa Radio KBBF 89.1, the first bilingual public radio station in the US serving the North Bay since 1973 and streaming worldwide.

Sunday Service August 13, 2023

“NO BED OF ROSES: GARDENING AS A SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY”

Gardens provide life lessons. In them we find metaphors for life, death, change, persistence and much more. Today we explore the impact of gardens on one’s life journey.

Service Leader/Guest: Linda Lampson
Worship Associate: Eric Fischer
Music: Alan Bell & Sally Jones
Pianist: Roger Corman
Share The Basket: Russian Riverkeepers

Sunday Service August 20, 2023
“MUSIC OF THE SOUL”
We invite you to come experience music that will teach, inspire, and fill your soul.
 
Service Leaders/Guest: Rev Dave and Paul Gilger
Worship Associate: Richard Senghas
Music: Gage Purdy and The Choir
Pianist: Paul Gilger
Share the Basket: Saturday Breakfast for Our Neighbors

Sunday Service August 27, 2023

THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM:

“THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW”

The mid-century Civil Rights Movement grew out of the profound conviction, religious Faith, and courage of Black people in America. It was conceived, organized, and galvanized by and within Black churches and organizations in response to hundreds of years of oppression and injustice. In 1963, people of color challenged the power of dominant white people, structures, and attitudes against overwhelming odds. What gave them the courage to put their lives on the line in the name of justice and freedom? 60 years later, in 2023 is there any issue of injustice and oppression for which we are willing to risk our lives?.

Service Leader/Guest: Rev Bev Spears
Worship Associate: Susan Thollaug
Music: Gage Purdy
Pianist: Roger Corman
Share the Basket: Verity

Sunday Service August 6, 2023

“DIGNITY AND INHERENT WORTH- LIVING OUR FIRST PRICIPLE DAILY, THROUGH CONCRETE ACTION”
What are dignity and inherent worth, really?
As UUers, we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, but what can we practically do daily to live this first principle?
How can we foster dignity in ourselves? 
How do we give space, so others can experience dignity?
 
Service Leader/Guest: Meike Mandel
Worship Associates: Jonathan Choe
Music: Gage Purdy
Pianist: Roger Corman
Share the Basket: Saturday Breakfast for our Neighbors

Sunday Service July 30, 2023

“Lammas: Honoring the Harvest with the First Loaf”

Celebrate the first harvest on this midsummer holiday, with joyful guidance by CUUPS. We will share the First Loaf ceremoniously as a part of the Sunday service.

Service Leaders: Members of CUUPs
Worship Associate: Mark Sowers
Music: Sally Jones
Pianist: Paul Gilger
Share the Basket: Meals on Wheels

Sunday Service July 23, 2023

“How to Get to Heaven Through the Gates of Lodore”
Mix wilderness adventure and river rafting with contemplative silence and you have a powerful lesson in how to live life day to day. Together we will explore the Buddhist concepts of the divine abodes of equanimity, compassion, appreciative joy, and loving kindness.
 
Service Leader: Judy Withee
Worship Associate: Linda Lampson and Jonathan Choe
Music: Robert Howseman
Pianist: Roger Corman
Share the Basket: TransLife