August notes
To transform our lives and communities by living our Principles. We have a new mission statement! At our June annual meeting, the congregation approved a new Mission Statement as shown above. It may seem kind of awkward to see it at first glance – after all, what does it mean? How do we do this? What communities? What part of our lives? Great questions! The Worship Committee and I are going to be exploring those questions all year…
We Are Blessed
This summer I am having a different kind of experience than any previous summer trip or vacation. I am working as a chaplain intern at one of our local hospitals. My respect for our health care professionals has been expanded beyond bounds. Day and night, we have people trained and on-duty in our hospitals to take care of our bodies when illness or accident strike. Chaplains and Spiritual Care volunteers tend to our deeper selves during these times of duress.…
June notes
Summer is here! Here at church, it’s going to be a wonderful summer. We are continuing two services to keep momentum going and although the choir is taking a break, we’ve got planned some wonderful musicians and music for you! Summer is a fun time to experiment with worship and try new ideas. For example, Rayna, our Director of Religious Education, is going to be hosting Dr. Who classes for our youth and any adults who would like to join…
May Notes
Our worship theme this month is Transcendence. It’s not a very easy word to define. Yet, we all have felt it: Sometimes it’s felt as a sense of awe or wonder – like when you are in the Grand Canyon or looking at the night sky; or when we feel a deep sense of gratitude for all those around us and feel a sense of deep connection; and other times it comes when we use our imagination to transport us…
Share Our Selves – SOS in Orange County
Our children in our religious education program select one service project each year, and we all contribute to this project from September through June. This year OCUUC RE is very pleased to be providing hands-on assistance to the homeless by creating ‘sock-kits.’ Each pair of new men’s socks is stuffed so it contains shampoo, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, and perhaps a razor or other toiletry items. Our SOS representative, Melody Daigle, will hand these out to those who have lost…
April Notes
If you’ve ever been around a young child, you know about Transformers, the toys. When my nephew Max turned 5, he loved them. Only he was 5 years old and thus had a hard time transforming them himself. So with tears of frustration after trying, he would turn to his patient mother and father who got very good at transforming the toy back and forth between the car and the robot. He would watch in fascination and expectation as it…
New Beginnings for Spring 2014!
What a difference a year makes! We are comfortably settled into our new church home and have our new settled minister, Rev. Sian Wiltshire, installed and serving our OCUUC community. Please join us on a Sunday and see our new Religious Education Rooms and our lovely new nursery. If you are new to our community, please make an appointment to speak with me about our program for children and youth and to tour our building. For those who have been…
OWL Classes 4th-6th
Our Whole Lives for 4th-6th graders is now forming for Spring 2014! About OWL, “Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.” Tell your friends and neighbors! Contact Rayna Hamre dre@ocuuc.org
February Notes
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ― Maya Angelou I love stories! I love doing the “Time For All Ages” on Sunday morning and you might have noticed that most of my sermons start with a story. Or that I’ll tell at least one story in the sermon. Whether it is my own or that of another person, I just know that stories are powerful. Stories take us to another place and time, they…
December Notes 2013
Minister’s Message My Committee On Ministry (COM) recently asked me to evaluate how I think things are going in the first 100 days of my ministry here. It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, reminiscent of analysis the media likes to do of our political leaders. But it did get me thinking. Most ministers take their first year just listening, getting to know people and settling into the position. We haven’t had that luxury due to our current financial situation. Instead, we’ve been…
Changes at Orange Coast UU Church
Our Religious Education for Children and Youth (RECY) class times have changed this fall, and we are adding some new opportunities for children and youth to participate on Sundays! Here’s a list of details: RE classes for our Pre-K, 1st-3rd grades, and 4th-6th grades will be held during the 9:30am service. The Youth Group for grades 7th – 12th will continue to meet during 2nd service time at 11:15am The pulpit cam will be available in the conference room at…
Worship Changes
My thanks to everyone who showed up for our wonderful worship retreat on Saturday! With 16 people showing up and 6 others who want to be involved, it’s shaping up to be a great year for worship. I can’t wait! I’ll say more in the Casual Comments section of our website, but we are going to be making some changes starting in September to parts of Worship, experimenting as needed. Everyone was gracious and patient on Sunday as we began…