Advent, the Christian holiday of preparation, begins this week, but it is not for shopping, but of awakening. Advent calls us to a gentle kind of revolution — to imagine systems built on care instead of control, and belonging instead of fear. Before the light of celebration comes the courage to dream of justice. Listen to our weekly sermons anytime, anywhere on your favorite podcast platform – Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Just search for OCUUC and hit “Follow” to…
What if gratitude isn’t about counting our blessings—but imagining life without them? This Sunday, we’ll explore how reflecting on the absence of what we cherish can awaken a deeper, more enduring sense of appreciation for the lives we already have.
Hope has always been a difficult to explain. But I think Victoria Safford has it right: The Gates of Hope by Victoria Safford Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of Hope—Not the prudent gates of Optimism,Which are somewhat narrower.Not the stalwart, boring gates of Common Sense;Nor the strident gates of Self-Righteousness,Which creak on shrill and angry hinges(People cannot hear us there; they cannot pass through)Nor the cheerful, flimsy garden gate of“Everything is gonna’ be all right.”But a…
Greetings from Steve Morihiro and Susan Shaw, Co-Directors of Music at OCUUC. We thought you might be interested in how we choose new music for our services to recommend to Reverend Sian Wiltshire and our Intern Minister, Kellie Kinsman. Here is our general process:We look through the new songs in the virtual hymnal “Sing Out Love”. Some of these “New” songs have been in our “Singing the Living Tradition” and “Singing the Journey” hymnals but they are new to us.…
Hello Friends, The OCUUC Religious Education Program invites you to join us for our upcoming events for the month of December! If you are interested in sharing your talents with the RE classes such as creating a class art project, game ideas, or would like to volunteer in the middle school or elementary classes as an assistant teacher, please see Danielle on how you can help! December 21 the RE classes will be combining together to have a holiday party…
Racism has a long history in our society, and is still having major consequences despite years of effort to combat it. We must continue to work together to dismantle the systems that perpetuate injustice and inequity.