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Our November Soul Matters Theme is

Change

Join our Drop-in Group on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. Join at uuss.org/online

For your family or personal reflection,

Here's the link to the November materials.

http://www.uuss.org/soulmatters/

Finding Our Way to the Future

2022-23 Sermon Series

Sunday November 6, 10:30 AM: Love for this World: Unitarian Universalism and the Opportunity for a Global Commonwealth of Humanity

in Balance with the Earth

Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme, guest preacher, with Rev. Lucy Bunch & Rev. Dr. Roger Jones, The UUSS Choir with Music Director Anthony Tavianini; Irina Tchantceva, piano; Tom Voigt, percussion

As humanity contends with continued climate breakdown and the mass migration of humans around the globe, we will have choices. We can build walls, defend borders with violence, lock people up, and let fear make us easy prey for fascist ideologies of all kinds, or we can create new ways of living together with one another and the Earth that honor the dignity and worth of all life, affirm self-determination with collective accountability, and creatively draw from the gifts of myriad humans to uplift us all.

What role can UU congregations play in empowering a generation of people with the spiritual and relational tools to meet this planetary moment? How can we develop the capacity to imagine and begin to create a global commonwealth of humanity living in just, compassionate, and sustainable communities in balance with the Earth?

Join us for this kickoff sermon of our yearlong series on the Future of UUism.

Forum with Guest Speaker from 11:50-12:50.

It’s a Soup Sunday! Tables will be in the sanctuary to eat your soup and participate.

About Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme

Dr. Prud’homme is assistant professor of religion and education at Starr King School for the Ministry and the parent of two teens. Her dissertation on eco-theology is focused on 19th century Unitarian minister Thomas Starr King’s use of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada as sacred texts. At our UU seminary, she teaches liberal theologies, liturgy, religious education ministry, and congregational administration. She's been the owner and director of a preschool and has served in religious education ministries for UU congregations in Oakland, Davis and Berkeley. She is a founder and co-director of Chalice Camp, a UU summer day camp that has been running for over 18 years in the Bay Area and replicated in sites across the country (including UUSS). 

Sunday November 13, 10:30 AM: Fairness

Rev Lucy Bunch, preaching, with Rev. Dr. Roger Jones, Worship Associate Dan Myers, Music Director Anthony Tavianini Special Guests the Sacramento Master Singers, with Director Ralph Hughes and Accompanist Heidi Regenmorter

No one ever said that life would be fair. And yet we strive for it, we clamor for it, and complain bitterly when we think that something is unfair. But it’s hard to solve the problem because there are many different ideas of what fairness means.  We will explore the idea of fairness through Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers and the research of contemporary psychologists. 

Newcomers' Orientation & Tour of UUSS after the Service.

Sunday October 20, 10:30 AM: A Celebration of Gratitude for Life

A Circle Service for all Ages with Rev. Dr. Roger Jones, Rev. Lucy Bunch, Worship Associates Karen Sparrow and Courtney O’Neil. Music Director Anthony Tavianini with the UUSS Choir and Irina Tchantceva, piano; Ann Haas, French horn; Tom Goff, trumpet. Altar design by Molly Stuart. 

This Circle Service will celebrate and express our thanks for the life that enfolds us and nourishes us. Our UUSS Choir will sing, and we’ll have a ritual to make this a special day. Join us to count our blessings — including the earth, other people, all creatures. We’ll have special music, a brief message, and a ritual for all ages, and Soup after the service!

November 27 10:30 AM: Lessons from Marine Mammals

Rev Lucy Bunch preaching, Worship Associate Celia Buckley, Music Director Anthony Tavianini, Pianist Irina Tchantceva.

Have you ever seen a whale breach or dolphins frolic? These creatures fill us with awe and delight and help connect us more deeply with the power of nature. Using ideas from the Black feminist author Alexis Pauline Gumbs, we will explore the lessons we can learn from these amazing creatures.

Exploring UU: “Faith” before the service at 9:30 in the Fahs Classroom. 

2022-23 Sermon & Workshop Series

Finding Our Way to the Future:

The Purpose and Promise

of Unitarian Universalism

In the post-pandemic world, what is a possible future for UUism? Given the current crises and looming challenges in the world, what is a role for us

as a liberal religious movement?

How do we find our way to it? 

What would keep us from living it out?

We will engage these questions in a year-long series on Unitarian Universalism in the future. This series coincides with the work of the Article II Commission of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which is reviewing and recasting the UUA Principles and Purposes and the Sources of our tradition.  In addition to sermons by Rev. Lucy and Rev. Roger, UUSS will welcome a series of UU ministers for a series of sermons and workshops. 

     November 6, Rev. Sheri Prud’homme, PhD

     January 29  Rev. Alex Da Silva Souto, UUs of the Sierra Foothills

     February 19 workshop and sermon with Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones

     April 9 Rev. Carlton Smith, UUA Congregational Life Staff, Pacific Lead

Join us as we come together to deepen our lives and be a force for healing in the world.

Thanks to the Program Council, funds for our guests will come from the Betty Ch’maj Events Fund. A UUSS lay leader and a professor, Dr. Betty Ch’maj was the founder of the American Studies Program at CSUS. After her untimely death in 1997, the fund was established to support programs of cultural, artistic, and societal understanding.

One could say, with great justification, that we live in puzzling times. What better way to distract oneself than putting together a jigsaw puzzle? There is a nice array of these - 20 at last count - in our bookstore. Your diversion might be to assemble a country scene, a space imagining, an array of quilt designs, or many others. They are available from 500 to 1,500 pieces, and there is no charge; the suggestion is to take two and return one. 

Then across our Bookstore room is an assortment of children’s books. Some are for the younger set, others include a shelf full of chapter books for elementary schoolers. These might be nice for holiday gifts, or just to let the child choose their own reading adventure. All for a nominal donation. Browse through the abundant adult selections while your youngster pokes among the kids’ choices. Every Sunday, before and after our service, next to the Welcome Hall.  

We have an abundant selection of gently used books, every genre, for bargain donations. Stop by after the service, on your way home or to the patio for coffee. The friendly bookstore volunteers are there to greet and help. (You know, you always have room for one more book.) Bags of Chalice Blend Coffee are also sold there for $13 a bag.

Parents & Guardians of kids in Grades 4-6! 



OWL Sexuality Education Program Information Session

Sunday, Nov. 13, 12:00-1:00 pm

An amazing team of trained UUSS volunteers will offer the acclaimed Our Whole Lives sexuality education program (OWL) for kids in grades 4-5-6 starting in January.  

Parents, grandparents and guardians are invited to an Info Session to learn about the Unitarian Universalist values and topics covered in OWL so you can decide whether to register your child for this special program. In addition to physiology and other facts, OWL helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. OWL is offered every 2-3 years at UUSS. A special OWL fee helps to cover training and curricula, but need-based fee reductions can be discussed with Rev. Roger

After an initial registration period only for UUSS families, any open spaces will be available for families in the larger community to register. NOTE: every family who registers must send at least one parent/guardian to a 2-hour Parent Orientation session in December.

Join us at noon for the Info Session after the service on Sunday, Nov. 13.  

 Child care will be provided by Yvette and Leticia; please let Rev. Roger know if you will make use of it. Read more about OWL at this link: uuss.org/re/owl/

Renee Dall Parker, Catherine Desberg, Dan Myers, Alicia Taylor & Rev. Roger.

The nursery will be open 9:15-12:15 most Sundays, but for the Oct. 30 Circle Service they will be helping at the Crafts Table, which opens at 10:15. Parents, please enter the Main Building and sign in at the RE Family Welcome Table and then escort your kids through to the nursery.  Please register your nursery age children at this link.

We send our condolences and love to Elinor Anklin and her family at the death of her brother Richard "Pinky" Anklin. He lived in Alturas and was a cattle rancher all is his life.

We extend our condolences and love to Doris Simonis on the death of her sister Louise Gober Smith, who died Oct. 21 at her home in Houston.

We extend our condolences to Stephenie Moczydlowski on the death of her father, Robert Lemmon, in Orange County, on Oct. 26. He was a chemist and an elementary school teacher. His wife of 68 years, Ann Sun Lemmon, died April 24 of this year.

This Sunday is Soup Sunday. Enjoy a hearty bowl of soup, bread, and a cookie. A free will donation of $5 is suggested. After you get your soup, join the Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme in the sanctuary for a forum from 11:50 to 12:50 on how we can create new ways of living together with one another and the Earth that honor the dignity and worth of all life. Tables will be in the sanctuary to eat your soup and participate.

It’s time to start staking your claim to a seat at (for instance) that Inspired Authentic Italian meal prepared by UUSS amateur chefs trained in Tuscany! For the travelers among us, two vacation home-stays are offered in the online silent auction, with another in the live auction! Armchair travelers can check out the Galapagos Islands and Ecuadorian Andes in a local home.

Events or services offered in this auction take place from this month until September 2023.  Explore for yourself the nearly 90 items generously offered by your fellow UUs. You can also see a few items listed as Fund-a-Need, and see which ones inspire you to make a donation toward them; we've already received $1,000 in donations through the Fund-a-Need listings!

All donations and sales support the mission and programs of UUSS.

Bidding for the online auction is open until 11:59 p.m. Nov. 13, one day after the live auction event. Be sure to check your calendar before bidding, and write down the dates of the events you bid on! Sadly, you will be responsible for paying for any item you win. More instructions are available under the "Bidding Information" choice on the Auction homepage. Click this link to go to the Auction site: uuss.com/auction

Our Auction Committee table will be out after the service this Sunday to answer questions, accept Raffle Baskets, and give you one more opportunity to volunteer your helping hands in the run up to the dinner and live auction event on the 12th.

Thank you for voting! We have successfully selected our community partners for next year. The schedule for when each partner will be highlighted will be determined sometime in December. Each month one community partner will receive half of our Sunday offering.

The community partners for next year are:

1. International Rescue Committee
2. Family Promise
3. Planned Parenthood of Sacramento
4. National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI)
5. Mustard Seed School
6. River City Food Bank
7. Loaves and Fishes
8. Mercy Pedalers
9. Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services
10. Sacramento Native American Health Center
11. Effie Yaw Nature Center
12. Black Child Legacy Campaign

Family Promise workday volunteers. We will meet at UUSS tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 5 at 9:00 am to carpool for a workday. Tasks include: cleaning (kitchen, bathroom); OUTDOORS: mulching, staining a fence; raking, clipping, putting out fall decorations. Please bring outdoor gloves, and rubber gloves if you're working inside. (I will be part of INSIDE crew). Hot soup lunch will be served at 12:15pm and we have invited the families.   If you want to carpool, please come to UUSS by 9:00 am; if you're meeting us over at the tiny homes, the address is: 712 Williams (off I-80 and Norwood). Use your GPS. Thanks. See you Saturday - Sally Wilkins, familypromise@uuss.org, or see UUSS directory for phone

The Racial Justice team is proposing a land acknowledgement for use at UUSS and we'd like your feedback. Here is a link to the draft and a place to make comments: http://www.uuss.org/racialjustice/draft-land-acknowledgement/

Acknowledging the indigenous people of the land where UUSS is located is a powerful way of giving respect and honor, and a way to resist the erasure of indigenous histories. 

All are invited to the CUUPS Samhain celebration Saturday, Nov. 5, 5pm-7pm.

Potluck in the Fahs Room/patio area. Come celebrate a new turn of the year!

Contact: CUUPS@uuss.org

Lectio Divina Monday, November 7 via Zoom, at 10:00 AM  

Tuesday November 8 at 7:00 PM via Zoom

Join us by going to uuss.org/online

Two Lectio Divina Sessions:   

This coming week, we will have both morning and evening Lectio Divina sessions for reading and reflecting on poetry.  

Monday, November 7, our 10:00 AM gathering will feature Morning Poem, by Todd Davis. The poet considers the last bounty of summer and the imminence of autumn, then winter. Very timely. You can find it online at: https://gratefulness.org/resource/morning-poem/.

Our session the next evening, Tuesday, November 8, is at 7:00 PM and should be a nice diversion from awaiting the election results. Ode to Teachers, by Pat Mora, celebrates the impact one teacher’s caring attitude can have on an insecure student. Most of us have been on one side or another of that equation. Check it out at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58830/ode-to-teachers

As usual, you can join our friendly discussions by going to our UUSS website and entering the same way you would attend a Zoom Sunday service. 

Depression Peer Support Group 

Are you living with depression? You are not alone. Our confidential, in-person is for adults with depression.

Next session: Tuesday, November 8, 6:00pm in the Fahs Classroom. Email peersupport@uuss.org or contact Rev. Roger or Rev. Lucy for more information.

Mah Jongg - Tuesday, November 8, 7:00pm. 

This drop-in activity meets on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month at 7:00pm in Classroom 6.  We play "American-style" Mah Jongg using the current years card of the National Mah Jongg League. For more info contact: mahjongg@uuss.org

Interplay with Rev. Lucy and Friends In-Person!

New Day and Time - Tuesday November 15 at 7 PM in the Welcome Hall 

We're back! We've moved to the third Tuesday of the month in person at UUSS! Join us for movement, storytelling, laughter, and fun via  More info here. 

Ukulele Strum-Along on Monday, November 14, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. in the Fahs Room. Everyone is welcome. The UU Beginning Ukers meet on the 2nd Monday of each month. Beginners are encouraged to come at 1:30 for help getting started. We welcome brand-new players, and we supply the music and have ukes to lend. Contact: ukes@uuss.org

"A Matter of Balance" Over 60? Worried about falling? Save the dates for a free course on Wednesdays 10 to noon, January 11 - March 1. Information and signups at the Connections Table.