Sunday Worship

Worship Leader: Dr. Mignonne Pollard
Worship Associate: Sarita Gonzales

The beloved community is a concept that Martin Luther King Jr popularized as the belief that justice, abundance, and peace is for all. The community is a global community. As we embody MLK’s dream, we recognize that one path to the beloved community is through racial healing. Racial healing asks each of us to investigate our own backgrounds for understanding and knowledge before we reach across the aisle to our neighbors. As we do this work of racial healing, we can consciously co-create our world. This week we will honor the MLK’s dream as well as meditate on the Unitarian Universalist’s 8th principle.

Worship Leaders: Laura and Annie Meeks
Worship Associate: Bryna Blum

We are all influenced by our parents and mentors as we grow up. They paint a picture of the world for us, and we go out into that world as young minds. All of us then find there are many worlds, many cultures, and many beliefs on how the world works. What happens when those worlds clash?
I followed the path I was told would work for me, a white male in America. At 31 I found out that I was much different and was faced with a choice. I could stay on my path and be unhappy with who I was or change my gender presentation with hopes of finding happiness. What did we choose and how did it work?
My wife of 36 years and I will share part of our story of challenge, love, and acceptance as together we make a Major Transformation.

Worship Leader: Rev. Ian W. Riddell
Worship Assistant: Tess Phillips
Our community thrives because we practice generosity. We bring our hearts and minds and hands to the work of nurturing our community and sharing our vision. Join us as we reflect on generosity and ponder how our own hearts and spirits grow as we give.



Worship Leader: Rev. Ian W. Riddell
Worship Associate: Ginger Hemingway
Sometimes when we’re working hard to change the way things are, we feel like we’re alone. We feel like making mistakes will be devastating. But we can choose to look around and notice that we are actually not alone, that others are there with us, others have walked our path before us and we can learn from their mistakes and the miracles and connections that made their journey possible. Join us as we explore this in our own lives and the life of our congregation as we kick off our reading of Mistakes and Miracles.

Worship Leader: Rev. Dr. Don Stouder
Worship Associate: Bob Rancourt
oin Rev. Don as he journeys back in time to explore the Universalist and liberatory message of early Christian mystics, who bucked the church doctrine of their day to preach an inclusive message of love and justice. They wrote of an early path that we have come to call Creation Spirituality, and Rev. Don will explore that path and how it connects to our historic and contemporary vision of Universalism.

Worship Leader: Rev. Ian W. Riddell
Worship Associate: Julia Alberg-Burbank
For so many of us, the non-human animals in our lives bring companionship, love, trust, and healing.

Worship Leader: Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh
Worship Associate: Joni Padduck
s we begin to consider a deeper, longer commitment with our minister Rev. Ian Riddell, our guest speaker Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh from the UUA Pacific Western Region staff leads us in reflecting on how we are always forming, and re-forming, ourselves and our communities. In these tumultuous times we are called to live differently than our consumerist, hyper-individualist society may have taught us. Together we are called to embrace a kind of spiritual salvage work: saving one another, our planet, and ourselves; living into a deep interdependence and joyful aliveness. Calling a minister at a time like this has a profound meaning for UUCOD, a congregation that Sarah has partnered with on its own healing journey of the past seven years. Let us celebrate all that we are and all that we are becoming, together.

Worship Leader: Rabbi Jules King
Worship Associate: Bryna Blum
Why do they hate us? Why is it always the Jews? Is there anything we can do? How to identify it and name it.

Worship Leader: Rabbi Mark Borovitz Worship Associate: Bryna Blum

Rabbi Mark will discuss the exodus of Egypt historically and in our time.

Worship Leaders :Rev. Ian W. Riddell and the Peet Family
Worship Associate: Julia Alberg-Burbank
Our Pacific Southwest area has been blessed with our own camp and retreat center in the San Bernadino National Forest. Since 1961 the camp has been a place for UUs (and others) to find retreat, renewal, and restoration among the trees. And to connect with and learn with other UUs. Join the Peet family today as we reflect on what camp has meant to them and what exploring our UU connections in the forest might mean for all of us.

Worship Leader: Rev. Ian W. Riddell
Worship Associate: Derek Moore
We’ve spent so much time and energy expecting and hoping for a “return to normal” after the years of pandemic. As the pandemic has been fading we’ve been trying to return to our old lives—and finding out that the world has shifted and “normal” isn’t what it used to be. Join us as we are inspired by the ancient story of life triumphing over death to ponder what a new life together might look like. Our choir will sing!

Worship Leader: Rev. Ian W. Riddell
Worship Associate: Ginger Hemingway
What do Unitarian Universalists believe? Why do you do things this way? What does it mean when you say that? Newcomers have lots of questions for us as they get to know our UU ways of being and thinking. Today, we’ll explore some of their questions. We might even answer a few!

Worship Leaders : Rev. Dr. Don Stouder
Worship Associate: Ginger Hemingway
"Now, faced as we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every person living on this planet." Did you know that Pope Francis wrote each of us a personal letter? In this sermon, Rev. Don will talk about the historical and unprecedented calls from mainstream religion to save our planet home. He will use the Pope's encyclical letter on climate change to discuss this trend as well as the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet.

Worship Leader: Rev. Ian W. Riddell
Worship Associate: Joni Padduck
Our General Assembly in June will be deciding if the UUA begins the process of adopting new ways of expressing what is at the core of our tradition, shifting from principles to shared values. Join us as we explore what the changes might mean for us and how we understand ourselves.

Worship Leader: Ian Challis
Worship Associate: Bob Rancourt
Shame is a challenging and gripping emotion that can hinder our spiritual growth and happiness. In this talk we’ll explore how to cultivate self-compassion and skillfully loosen the hold of shame with mindfulness and wisdom.