Have you noticed the link that says "(Message clipped) View entire message" near the bottom of these e-mails? We have so much news in here sometimes that it does not all show up when you open the email. Scroll down and click on the link to see more!

Hello, UUSS! I am delighted to be serving as your Ministerial Intern from August 2023-June 2024, getting to learn and grow while supported by this community. I grew up with the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma and love the redwood forests and rocky coast of California. I heard my calling to UU ministry at a young age in the UU youth communities here, and it grew while I was away in the Boston area for my undergraduate work at Wellesley College. In summer 2022, I did my Clinical Pastoral Education training with the Spiritual Care Department at Sacramento, and got a taste of this wonderful city. 

This May, I received my Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. At HDS, I was co-president of HUUMS, our UU ministry for students, and enjoyed coursework exploring topics as wide-ranging as the spiritual lives of abstract artists, contemporary paganism, and religion & healing. For my HDS thesis, I co-wrote a worship handbook for UU youth! I am an avid baker, crocheter, and sewist who loves dogs, art, color, and dinner with friends and family. I am looking forward to meeting many more of you in the weeks to come, and I can be reached at rosemary@uuss.org. 

Note! — Rosemary will lead the Exploring UUism class this Sunday (topic UUs & social justice) at 9:30 am in the Fahs Classroom. Child care is available.

Half of the Sunday morning offering donations made in August

support our local community partner:

International Rescue Committee

To donate now at the UUSS website, click here.

"May generosity bless our world, and may gratitude nourish our spirits."

Sunday, August 27, 10:30: The Pursuit of Happiness

Rev. Lucy Bunch, preaching, with Rev. Dr. Roger Jones, Ministerial Intern Rosemary Dodd, Worship Associate Dawn Huebner, Music Director Anthony Tavianini, Pianist Irina Tchantceva

Ritual of Commissioning of Ministerial Intern Rosemary Dodd in the service



What does it mean to pursue happiness?  Why are there so many unhappy people in a land of plenty? Rev. Lucy will explore some of the recent research and surveys on the levels of happiness in our world, and consider how we might re-think this idea of happiness to lead us to deeper satisfaction with life.  

Sunday, September 3, 10:30:

The Discipline (and Gift) of Setting Time Aside

Rev. Dr. Roger Jones, preaching, with Rev. Lucy Bunch, Ministerial Intern Rosemary Dodd, Worship Associate Karen Sparrow, Music Director Anthony Tavianini, Pianist Irina Tchantceva

Backpack Blessing Ritual for a New School Year

The gift of having time for rest, reflection, and renewal is a part of many traditions. In Judaism, keeping the Sabbath day is a Commandment! Time off is also a hard-won achievement of the American labor movement, which Labor Day celebrates. Rev. Roger will reflect on the gift of time and the challenge to set aside time. He will tell us his plans as we bid him farewell for a five-month sabbatical, a gift from this congregation to its ministers. 

• Bring your backpack, briefcase, or lunchbox as we bless all who are beginning a new school year as students, teachers, or staff members in education (and give you a UU token to carry this year).
• 9:30 a.m.: Labyrinth meditation in the meadow led by Rev. Lucy
• Before the service, light a candle and fill out a card of Joy, Sorrow, or Prayer. 

Sunday, September 10, 10:30:

Annual Ingathering Service: An Oasis of Welcome

A Circle Service for All Ages with Rev. Lucy Bunch, Ministerial Intern Rosemary Dodd, Worship Associates Courtney O’Neill and Kaley Calderon, the UUSS Choir, Music Director Anthony Tavianini, Pianist Irina Tchantceva

Come drink deep of the living waters of our community!  We will celebrate the beginning of a new church year

with our water communion, and rainmaking rituals.  

Have you wanted to invite a friend to our services? 

Our ritual and liturgy will focus on welcome, so this is a great time to bring a friend. 



Attend the Activities Fair after the service and learn about the wonderful program at UUSS.

Benefit Concert for UUSS

Tom Derthick (double bass) and Irina Tchanceva (piano) 

As the 20th century manifested a new era in arts and music, many composers had to leave the country due to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Many of those who stayed in the Soviet Union suffered the regime and were denounced and persecuted. Time has proved that their genius and the masterpieces they created changed the musical world forever.

Let us celebrate their great music with Tom and Irina!

This Sunday, August 27, at 2:00 pm

Tickets available at the door: cash or UUSS Text - (916) 619-0903

Adults: $20, Students: $10 and Children 12 and younger: free

Have you thought about inviting a friend to our services? Know someone who would appreciate our wonderful community? September 10 is our annual ingathering service with the theme "An Oasis of Welcome." We will celebrate the beginning of a new congregational year with our water communion, and rainmaking rituals.  Our ritual and liturgy will focus on welcome, so this is a great time to bring a friend. Plus the Activities Fair is after the service!  Don't be shy. 

Groups will begin the fourth week of September.

Registration closes on September 3.

* Register Online *

 Soul Matters groups will meet twice a month to build connections and provide a place where participants can share and discuss what matters most.  Group activities are structured around monthly themes that are also used in worship and religious education.

These facilitated groups of 8-10 people will meet twice a month starting in September and ending in May. We will take a break (late Dec. - late Jan).

There will be a table on the patio every Sunday in August where you can get your questions answered and fill out a registration form. Or go to our website: uuss.org/soulmatters.

Rev. Roger's last Sunday with us before starting his sabbatical will be Sept. 3rd when the service includes the Backpack Blessings for folks starting the school year. We want to present Rev Roger with his own backpack, stuffed with our blessings for his sabbatical.  We hope he will be surprised, so don't spill the beans. You can send your blessings to Anara Guard president@uuss.org. 

Please send them no later than September 1.  

Childcare--available from 9:15 to 12:15 most Sundays in Room 11 (Nursery). Room and resources for feeding/nursing infants are accessible in the nursery. Please enter campus via the main doors.

Please contact Crystal with questions.

All ages of children and youth are invited to our last installment of Summer Skills this Sunday, August 27, during service, to conclude with our community quilt project and to use our artistic skills to make cards for use by the Caring Committee. Please start in service!

The regular RE schedule starts September 3, after the Backpack Blessing, with Soul Kids and SHYG meeting that week. Consult this week's RE/Family Ministry Outreach email for more details.

Please fill out the 2023-2024 RE Registration Form for all ages of children and youth participating in Religious Education programs at UUSS!

The Meadow behind the covered patio is waiting for pollinator plants! Choose your plant from lists and pictures and make a donation to make it a reality. 59 plants are available for you to contribute to the pollinator garden. Prices include covering the cost of irrigation and soil amendments. See John and Glory’s display at UUSS on Sundays until September 3 or contact Glory Wicklund during the week.

ACTIVITY FAIR after the Sunday service Sept. 10--

The Activity Fair promotes many different ways to get involved at UUSS and it encourages you to join in. If you are the leader of a UUSS Group or Committee and would like to have a table there, please email activityfair@uuss.org. The Program Council would also appreciate volunteers who want to help with the event itself!

It’s Soup!

Soup Sundays start in October

Cooler fall weather is only a couple of months away, bringing with it the delicious smells of soup. We will bring back Soup Sundays from October and through February. Members and friends can enjoy a hearty bowl of soup, bread and a cookie the first and third Sunday of the month after the service. 

We are not charging for soup, asking only for free-will donations — by cash, check or text. Proceeds go to the UUSS General Fund to support our mission, people, and programs.

We are looking for groups at UUSS who would be willing to sponsor a Sunday to contribute 8 soups. If you aren’t a large enough group for eight, 2 or 3 smaller groups can be assigned together. Each group is responsible for making and serving the soups. The Soup Sunday team will help with the logistics of set-up, clean-up, and other supplies.

Not a Soup maker? Making a cash donation is a way to reduce the out-of-pocket costs and support UUSS. Soup Sunday is also a great opportunity for getting to know each other better over a bowl of soup. We are also recruiting volunteers to help out on a rotating basis with set up and clean up during those 5 months. No experience necessary!

If your group can sponsor a meal, please contact SoupSunday@UUSS.org. You will receive instructions for preparing and serving the soup. Eric Ross's intrepid American River Parkway clean-up crew has already signed up for October 1…will your group be next?

KEEP MOVING - GET FIT Every Thursday, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. on the Patio. Sitting, standing exercises for seniors: strength—balance—flexibility. $10/drop-in. With instructor Shelley Burns.

Questions? email adultenrichment@uuss.org.

UUSS Mah Jongg Club Monday, August 28, 7pm in room 6.

Contact: Patty Innes at mahjongg@uuss.org

Saturday Stitchers - Sept. 2, 10am in the Fahs Room

All are welcome! Contact: Karen Sparrow stitchers@uuss.org

Reading & Responding to Poetry with JoAnn Anglin Monday, September 4, 10:00 am, Zoom Enter via www.uuss.org/online, as you would attend a service. We meet the first and third Monday mornings. All are welcome to reflect together on a poem.

This practice is called Lectio Divina.

Artist Reception with Minoo S. Amini Sept. 7 from 5:30 to 7:00pm in the Main Hall. Contact: art@uuss.org for more info. 

Crone Connection: A group for wise older women September 8, 10 a.m. We meet once a month to explore our strengths and wisdom as elders, share our stories, support and inspire each other, and laugh. Structured workshop format with monthly topics of interest. This group is open to any woman who identifies as an elder.

Group is open and new members are welcome. Meets the second Friday of every month in the library at UUSS.

Contact Marla Jensen at croneconnection@uuss.org for more information.

Save the Date-- October 15, 4:00 PM! Loaves and Fishes, one of our long-term community partners, is celebrating 40 years of serving our poor and homeless neighbors in Sacramento. UUSS will be a co-sponsor of this event and we invite you to join the celebration at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 2391 St. Marks Way, Sacramento, near Watt and Butano. Look for details in a future Weekly Message and on the UUSS Facebook page.

Our ministers will both be gone on sabbatical, but not at the same time. Rev. Roger will be away from UUSS from Labor Day through Jan. 31, 2024. Rev. Lucy will be away from UUSS from early February through May, 2024. The congregation grants this periodic type of leave to its ministers for a time of rest, renewal, study, and projects chosen to enhance their ministry. The UUSS office and program staff will provide continuity during this time, as will Rosemary Dodd, our Ministerial Intern for 2023-24.