Complete Service-first Unitarian Universalist Society Of San Francisco

What Still Connects Us Twenty years ago, a small group set out walking from this church, down the hill and into the Tenderloin. From that founding act of the Faithful Fools Street Ministry, thousands have come to reflect on the disparities of wealth and power that become visible at street level.The Faithful Fools share some of what can be learned from placing one foot in front of the other. Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister Carmen Barsody, Faithful Fools Alex Darr, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Jim Rebhan, accordion Linda Robertshaw, djembe Asher Davison, soloist   Kersten Jordan, soloist Ariel Andrew, soloist Elaine Pratt, Small Group Ministry Chair Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Small Group Ministry Peter Gross, welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Fifty Years Later It is a privilege to present the rarely performed, Pulitzer Prize nominated oratorio Scenes from the Life of a Martyr composed by the esteemed African American female composer and educator Undine Smith Moore. Last performed by the Oakland Symphony and Chorus in 1986 with the composer in attendance, the work reflects on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. who will have passed 50 years and 4 days prior to our performance. Bay Area luminary  Noah Griffin  will narrate and soloists,  Michele Kennedy ,  Crystal Philippi  and  Alex Taite  will be accompanied by a full orchestra and chorus numbering 150 strong. Dr. Mark Sumner, Music Director Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Reiko Oda Lane, Organ Noah Griffin, Narrator Michele Kennedy, Soprano Crystal Philippi, Soprano Alex Taite, Tenor Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Radical Act of Hoping Easter cannot be understood without Good Friday, though liberals love to skip right over the one, straight into the other. To get why hope is radical -- maybe the most radical act there is, next to love -- is to dive deep into what happens just before the dawn breaks this morning. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Lisanicole Sarkisian, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Reiko Oda Lane, organ Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Liberation, Again and Again Some messages endure, are worthy of revisiting, because they are forever relevant in new ways. Passover's core message of liberation is one of them. It wasn't just the Israelite's, long ago, who found themselves in bondage and needing to be free. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Richard Davis, Worship Associate Sharon Weld, Reflection Betsy Darr, EJWG Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Linda Robertshaw, percussion Jason Ditzian, clarinet Max Baloian, guitar Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Every other year our 8th and 9th graders have their Coming of Age when they dare to state what they believe, as they will this year in April. And each time they do so it raises the question of why our adults are not asked to do the same -- to write and speak their "Credos". Today our worship associates will engage with their beliefs and inspire us to do the same. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Sam King, Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Richard Davis, Worship Associate Lisanicole Sarkisian, Worship Associate Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Asher Davison, song leader Saira Malik, Director of Finance & Administration Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Rev. Kay Jorgensen Memorial Service January 9, 1932 - January 15, 2018

What the World Needs Now I've been thinking a lot lately about justice, but also mercy, its cousin (or fraternal twin). And about what the world needs now. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Gino Fortunato, Smiling Dishwasher Coming of Age Class, Message for All Ages Reiko Oda Lane, organ and bell choir director Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Tim Salaver, tenor Judy Payne, welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Beams in the Great Hall Alfred North Whitehead talks of the "law of expenditure". "There are tides in the ocean of life, and what comes in depends upon what goes out," he writes. But what does he mean and how is this relevant to our lives? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Marty Vanderlaan, AOF Chair Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Neighboring Faiths Class, Message for All Ages Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Galen Workman, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

"Gifts of God" 450 years ago the Edict of Torda proclaimed that faith is "the gift of God." That was the beginning of Unitarianism in Transylvania. What is the heritage given to us from our family, our faith, and our communities? Are we aware of all these? Let's find the gifts that connect us to each other. Rev. Emese Bodor, Guest Minister Sam King, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Amy Kelly, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Play's the Thing: Theater and Play Some of you may know that I grew up in the theater, at least when I was small. My dad was an actor and so theater was part of our life. Moreover, it doesn’t feel like an accident that what I loved about theater often resonates with what I love about worship — the two feel, at their best, very kindred to me. Places of wisdom, laughter, grappling with meaning. The play is the thing, after all, in which you do, sometimes, catch the conscience of the king. Curtain at 11AM. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Faithful Journeys Class Reiko Oda Lane, organ and bell choir director Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Chris Rodriguez, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Improv for Life One of the most lasting pieces of a ministry I served in Washington DC was an improv troupe we started. Actually, we just started with one workshop, but people fell in love. And I did too, in a way. The lessons of improv are more than a form of entertainment, they are lessons for life. Say, “yes” to coming to church this week and be prepared to color outside the lines a little. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister Lucy Smith, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, piano and song leader Nancy Hardies, membership Richard Davis, sermon play Margaret Hill, sermon play Galen Workman, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Pilgrimage Popular guest speaker and UCLA Oncology Chaplain, Michael Eselun will explore the idea of pilgrimage-- our pursuit of inspiration and enlightenment. Internal journeys and external ones-and some in between. Michael Eselun, guest preacher Sam King, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Gayle Reynolds, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Real Differences There are, despite our most fervent hopes, some differences about how we can choose to frame our understanding of society, of family, of individual identity that are very different, and form us to be different people and different cultures with different agendas. Let's look at one or two and what they teach us about our dance with difference. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Reflection on Kay Kat Liu, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director Amy Kelly, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Construction of Difference What about those differences that we create or that are created in us? How does class background form us and how does it show up, not invisible but not stamped on our forehead in a way that separates us from one another? Or the idea of race, charted out with pseudo scientific semi-precision and then charted into law. Or gender differences, scripted at birth. To see is, maybe, to be liberated from them... from some. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Dr. Mark Sumner, music director The Yale Spizzwinks, all-male a cappella group Carrie Steere-Salazar, Vice Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Beauty of Difference How and when is difference a gift, life enhancing, part of the beauty of the world and a joyful source of wisdom and delight. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Phil Marshall, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organ Asher Davison, song leader Giacomo Fiore, guitar Marc Theobald, welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

A Legacy Worth Celebrating The end of one year and the starting of another is traditionally a time of remembering, planning, releasing, and (re)committing. As is always the case, as a community and as individuals, the past year has contained both sorrowful and joyous milestones. And, though we live in times that occur to many of us as more troubled than usual, 2017 has pushed us toward growth, revealed our hidden strengths, and inspired us to live into transformational possibilities. Through it all, we persevere, building a legacy worth celebrating. Millie Phillips, Guest Preacher Richard Davis, Worship Associate Mark Sumner, piano Asher Davison, song leader Annalisa Aitken & Gary Garrett, The Harmony People Elaine Pratt, welcome Jonathan Silk, OOS, Podcasting

The Alt Christmas This afternoon we will tell the story of Christmas with mangers and the star and the kings and shepherds. That about all the other stories of Christmas we might tell, our own, quirky and fun and lopsided. They get at the spirit of the season too. How? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Kat Liu, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, piano The Cello Street Quartet Asher Davison, song leader Peter Gross, trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

The Miracle Stories: The Lamp and the Sea This time of the year we are inundated with miracle stories -- old and new. Let's look at a few. The story of the lamp that stayed lit for 8 days, though there was only oil for one. Moses splitting the Sea of Reeds. Set aside the facts, what's the truth at the heart of the stories? That truth, after all, is why generations bother to retell them. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Alex Darr, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organist and bell choir director Choir Members, Quartet Wm. García Ganz, Guest Conductor and accompanist Galen Workman, Moderator Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Memories of Home Why do people stay home? Why do they leave? What does "home" mean, anyway? What do we long for, when we long for home? And why is that longing so strong, this time of year? Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Asher Davison, clarinet Wm. García Ganz, Guest Conductor and accompanist Gayle Reynolds, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting

Waiting and Anticipation Waiting and anticipation are part of the season of Advent and the lead up to getting those Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza presents. They say that anticipating something fun like a vacation is a large part of the joy we get out of it. But it can also be the hardest part of life -- waiting to hear test results, watching and waiting for a loved one to let go and leave this life. What happens in times of waiting that make it a rich place for spiritual insight and growth? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate Dr. Mark Sumner, piano Reiko Oda Lane, organ Shannon Warto, soprano Scott Benbow, Trustee Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting