Sermons-First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

“Trusting In Community”

Join us for this All-Ages Worship to hear a sweet story about how a cat helped calm a scary storm and brought a community together. Interactive opportunities to build trust in our community, both within our walls and outside our walls, will be part of the service.

Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Maria, Worship Associate; Sam Hamner, Miles Cunningham, Liam Hamner, Chantel Boshears and Eli Boshears, Stewardship Moments; Galen Workman, Moderator Board of Trustees; Rami Bar-Niv, pianist; Mark Sumner, songleader; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Eric Shackelford; Eli Boshears, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Kelvin Jones, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"Trust the Body"

What does it mean to live an embodied life, to treat the body as a shrine and as a source of wisdom? What happens when we don't? Maybe trust isn't just between two people or out in the world, but in one of the most fundamental relationships to ourselves?

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Gregory Stevens, Worship Associate; Linda Enger, Trustee; Kathleen Quenneville, Reflection; Lila Bailey, Reflection; Oriana Jooss Moren, Worship Associate; UUSF Bell Choir led by Reiko Oda Lane, organist; organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Eric Shackelford; Shulee Ong; Eli Boshears, Francisco Castellanos, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Kelvin Jones, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"Leaning In"

Anxiety and a feeling of ungroundedness can erode trust in ourselves and in our community. How do we lean into relationships during challenging times? Are there ways we can build trust instead of diminish it?

Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Emma Wakeling, Membership and Young Adult Manager; Gino Fortunato, Membership Chair; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Eric Shackelford; Shulee Ong; Eli Boshears, Francisco Castellanos, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Kelvin Jones, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

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"Safe Harbors in Stormy Times"

Someone teaches you about the ocean. Someone shows you how to swim for the joy of it, or maybe so you can be safe. Each of us will face storms, and what someone taught us about the water, about swimming, and about what will get us through is relevant now. And relevant to why generations have invested in the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, this port in the storm, for almost 175 years! 

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Mirjam and Harry Moren, Canvass Chairs; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Dr. Joachim Reinhuber, pianist

Eli Boshears, Camera Operator; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Kelvin Jones, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"Inclusion"

Who's in? Who's out? Belonging? Exclusion? Making room? Accommodations. Drawing the circle wider. Stretching beyond what we know, what and who is familiar. What does inclusion mean, and what does it ask, and why bother! 

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Galen Workman, Moderator, Board of Trustees; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Eric Shackelford; Shulee Ong; Eliot Boshears, Francisco Castellanos, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Jose Matias Pineda, Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"Story: Wine, Weddings, and a Coming Out"

The theme of January is “Story.” One of the things I love about a tradition—religious, cultural, or literary—is that the community starts to repeat and value certain stories as worth revisiting, as worth revising in light of the interpretations we bring to them based on where we are in our lives. I’ve long been fascinated and horrified by the story of the wedding in Cana, one scene in the life of Jesus. It takes place in the Gospel as told by John, Chapter 2, verses 1-12. It’s about wine. It’s about a wedding. It is about a moment of coming out and the frightening and powerful inevitabilities that can be part of a life too. 

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Galen Workman, Moderator, Board of Trustees; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Morgen Warner, Maggie McGrann soloists; Jon Silk, drummer; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Eric Shackelford; Eli Boshears, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Thomas Brown, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"MLK"

Jonathan Eig won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2024 for his biography King: A Life. People who previously refused to be interviewed told their stories, government documents that were newly released, and lots of research present a rich perspective on more of the layers of the story of Martin Luther King Jr., his gifts, theological commitments, and his struggles. In the full story of a life, we know the heroic for what it truly is. Let's unpack some more layers of the story of this hero.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Hanna Hart, Winter Shelter; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Eric Shackelford, soloist; Stephen Saxon, soloist; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Shulee Ong; Francisco Castellanos, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Thomas Brown, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"Build Strength Through Our Stories"

Stories are powerful and offer us lessons to help resource ourselves. By looking at historical figures, ancestors, and our own lives, we can remember the stories that have given us resilience and have helped us build community in challenging times. Let's come together to tell these stories and share the lessons we have learned.

Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Sam King, Worship Associate; Liz Strand, Trustee; Linda Harris, UUSC; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; Shannon Warto, Singer

Eric Shackelford; Francisco Castellanos, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Thomas Brown, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

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"The Stories We Tell"

Sunday, January 5, 2025, 10:50 am

Humans are storytellers, and stories have the power to influence us, for better or worse. Our affiliated community minister, Rev. Mille Phillips, will address what stories we tell ourselves or others. Do they empower us or hold us back? Which do we need to rewrite or retell? What stories do we need in 2025?

Rev. Millie Phillips, Affiliated Community Minister; Santana Gonzalez-Gomez, Worship Associate; Stephen Cox, pianist; Jon Silk, drummer; Akané Ota, songleader

Shulee Ong; Eric Shackelford; Francisco Castellanos; Eli Boshears, Camera Operators; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Thomas Brown, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

"Hanging of the Greens"

Join us for the annual Hanging of the Greens Service. This all-ages service has us begin together in the sanctuary and then move around the church, decorating garlands and wreaths and making pomanders, learning a winter song, and coming together at the end in that age-old ritual in pre-Christian Europe of bringing evergreens into the winter halls, a reminder that life continues through winter into spring. Come join the fun!

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Eli Boshears, Worship Participant; Oriana Moren, Worship Participant; Calder Law, Worship Participant; Reiko Oda Lane, organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, director; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera Operator; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Thomas Brown, Jose Matias Pineda, and Francisco Castellanos, Sextons; Linda Messner, Head Usher