The Week Ahead at UUCB

Reading Sign
Rev. Marcus Liefert
Sunday September 27 Worship Service 11 am

Trackers learn to “read sign”—a bent blade of grass, a snapped twig—a script of the movement of creatures written on the world. An honest search for salvation asks us to pay the same kind of careful attention. How do we attune well enough to the soul’s subtle signals to be aware of our own capacity for harm before it’s already a trail?

In Person, Facebook Live and YouTube
Wanna watch last week’s sermon? Replay it here.
Listen to a recording of our sermons wherever you get your podcasts

Sunday September 27, 2026

9:30 am Bridging Meeting
Safir Room (North) – All are most welcome to join Brigitte Marshall, who will facilitate a Community Building Circle on listening across difference. Community Building Circles are foundational to restorative practices – they build affinity and position us to feel empathy for each other when we are at odds. 

9:30 am Caring For Aging Parents
Chrysalis Room – Are you caring for an aging parent? Join us for a supportive Discussion Circle where we’ll explore the challenges and emotions of this journey together. Through readings, reflection, and deep sharing, we’ll cover themes including grief and loss, complex emotions and changing roles, self-care and boundaries, and community support. Drop-ins welcome, no sign-up needed. 

9:30 am Hospicing Modernity
Fireside Room – Join Marcus, writer Courtney Martin, and friends for an exploration of the theme of “hospicing modernity,” drawn from a book of the same name by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira. So much is breaking down right now in our personal and political lives, but there is also potential for real breakthrough. Our consciousness, our communities, and our climate need us to grow up! We will explore questions of growth together over the course of six weeks. No need to read the book, but you can learn more about the themes here. Drop ins welcome. Limited series, meeting Sundays through the end of October. 

10 am Childcare
In Person – Located in the Childcare Building. Parents must sign out latest after service. All ages welcome.

10 am Youth and Children’s Choir Rehearsal
Meditation Room (below the Sanctuary) – Open to all children and youth, ages 5½ and up. Prior musical experience is not required. Email Teacher Katie for questions.

10 am Coffee and Community 
Atrium – Coffee, tea, and light refreshments

11 am Religious Education
In Person – Join us for Religious Exploration (RE). We have activities for children from kindergarten through 12th grade. Together, we will talk about building the common good. For more information, please email Kathryn Jay, Minister of Congregational Life. 

11 am Worship Service
In Person, Facebook Live and YouTube – Reading Sign. Rev. Marcus Liefert, preaching.

12 pm Light Lunch
Social Hall – Be our guest for a light lunch in the Social Hall after the service. Helpers to prepare food and clean up are always welcome! For information on how to volunteer, please email Rev. Kathryn Jay.

1 pm Humanist Connections
Zoom and Safir Room (North) – Kathy Rai ”Ice Detention Centers- How do we end this Ice Age? followed by a group discussion. The Humanist Connections group meets weekly to discuss topics relating to our humanity, values, ideas. “A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” (4th principle of Unitarian Universalism.) For more information, contact Harold Ogren.

The Week

Monday, September 28

9 am Write for Your Life
Zoom – “Write For Your Life” is a meditative sharing practice for people who like to write. Please email Kit Hewitt for Zoom link and details.

5 pm Climate Justice Committee
Zoom – The Climate Justice Committee, a project of the Social Justice Council, meets once a month to plan and carry out projects and actions that address local and global climate and environmental crises. We are also working to earn Green Sanctuary recognition from UUCB from the Uniitarian Universalist Association’s Green Sanctuary program. We are an action-oriented group. Contact SocialJustice@uucb.org for more information.

7 pm HEBREW BIBLE: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals
Zoom – Join Rev. Dr. John Buehrens, former UUA President and author of Understanding the Bible: An Introduction, for an eleven-week evening journey through the Hebrew Bible — built for skeptics, seekers, and religious liberals alike. Meeting Monday evenings via Zoom from September 21 through December 14, this course moves from Genesis through the Prophets, exploring the Bible not as dogma but as a library of human wisdom, struggle, and hope worth wrestling with on our own terms. More info and registration here. 

Tuesday, September 29

9:30 am Improving Your Balance Through Tai Chi 
In Person – Tai Chi reduces stress, improves cognitive functions, increases your body awareness, enhance your stability, and build strong muscles. Share in quiet community with Neil, a seasoned practitioner and patient teacher. Sessions are donation based. Email Neil Clark for more information.

12:15 pm Applied UU Buddhist Sangha
Zoom – A weekly discussion group with time for meditation. Contact Lynnette Delgado for more info.

9:30 – 11:30 am Immigration Courtroom Vigils
In Person – Come show solidarity with people going to immigration court in Concord at 1855 Gateway Blvd. We’ll be on the sidewalk in front of the building’s driveway. We hold signs, offer food and blessings, and side with Love. Bring sun protection & water — a chair if you need one. Register to volunteer here: Interest Form. Contact Karen (510-219-5544) for details.

Wednesday, September 30

10 am Walk & Talk Group
A small group meets for a vigorous one-hour walk. All are welcome. We are building loving community while supporting our physical and mental well-being. On 1st Wednesdays, meet at Pt. Isabel (dog park) parking lot. On 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, meet at the UUCB front parking lot and we will walk from there. On 3rd and 5th Wednesdays, contact Ann Harlow or Lisa Maynard for meeting location.

10:30 am Aging with Grace 
Zoom – A weekly gathering of people sharing ideas and encouragement as they age. Contact Anne Greenwood or Jane Ramsey.

6:30 pm Your Inner Compass Awaits: Find Grounding in Chaos (Session 1: Trusted Source Connection)
Fireside Room – Learn how to open a real, two-way connection between you and the deeper sacred presence that already knows you intimately. No dogma, no religion to believe in, just an open heart and the willingness to have a direct, personal dialogue with a trusted source of wisdom and guidance that you can return to every single day. Registration required. This is the third of three meetings for Session 1. More info. 

 

Thursday, October 1

9:30 am Women’s Meditation Group 
Zoom – This group meets weekly to practice “Mettā” (pr. METTT-tttah) or “loving kindness” meditation in the Southeast Asian Buddhist philosophy tradition.  Contact: Evelie Delfino Såles Posch.

5:30 pm Learn Javanese music at UUCB! 
In Person – Experience firsthand the meditative Javanese gamelan. All ages and levels of musical skill welcome. Contact Daniel Schmidt or Tom Tripp.

7:15 pm Choir Rehearsal
In Person – Luminescence, our choir of adults, joins to sing on Thursday nights in the Sanctuary.  New singers are most welcome! You don’t need choral experience, nor do you need to read music—though both help in learning the new music.

Friday, October 2

9:30 am Improving Your Balance Through Tai Chi 
In Person – Tai Chi reduces stress, improves cognitive functions, increases your body awareness, enhance your stability, and build strong muscles. Share in quiet community with Neil, a seasoned practitioner and patient teacher. Sessions are donation based. Email Neil Clark for more information.

Saturday, October 3

9:30 am Letter Writing to ICE Detainees
Meditation Room – Please join the Immigrant Solidarity Project and come write notes of encouragement to those in ICE prison in California. Join us any time on the first Saturdays of September, October, November and December. Donations of stamps, plain stationary and plain envelopes are welcome.

Upcoming Events

Oct 4: Bryan Baker & Friends: Love Triangle
Oct 11: Preparation for Aging that Brings Families Closer (Sponsored by Caring for Aging Parents)
Oct 14: Your Inner Compass Awaits: Find Grounding in Chaos (Session 2: True Purpose Workshop): requires registration to Session 1
Oct 25: Bridging
Oct 27: Coming of Age for Adults

Announcements & Resources

Fall Chalice Circles start soon! Chalice Circles are a fantastic way to really get to know other folks at UUCB.   Sign up quickly to get the spot of your choice. Check out this link to see your options. You can sign up in person in the atrium any Sunday during the month of September. Or contact Natalie Campbell at to let her know which Chalice Circle you prefer. To find out more about what Chalice Circles are all about, refer to our information page online or refer to one of the purple and white brochures in the back of the pews.

Good Neighbor for September


Through the Looking Glass
Their mission is: Through the Looking Glass supports low-income families with disabilities or medical conditions in a parent, infant/child, or caregiving grandparent, providing child development, mental health services, and parenting adaptations, as well as an inclusive Early Head Start center. 

UUCB Staff and Board Availability 

  • Board Listening Presence: Helen Toy. 
  • Rev. Marcus Liefert: Email
  • Rev. Kathryn Jay (Minister of Congregational Life): Email
  • Bryan Baker (Director of Music): Email
  • Janae Heard (Operations Director): Email
  • Peter Barnholdt (Facilities Manager): Email
  • Charis Domador (Manager of Membership and Engagement): Email
  • Eliza Cantwell (Office Administrator and Rentals Coordinator): Email.
  • Diana Steinbach (Finance Administrator): Email

Stay in Touch 

  • Pastoral Care Need? If you or a UUCB congregant you know is sick, hospitalized, recovering, grieving or otherwise in need of attention and support, please email us at pastoralcare@uucb.org. In case of a pastoral emergency, you may call Rev. Marcus Liefert at (510) 525-0302 ext. 303  He is always available for pastoral needs, as phone messages will be forwarded to him. 
  • Subscribe to our newsletters.
  • Social Justice email list: Email Sheldon Jones.

Submit items for The Week Ahead to weekahead@uucb.org by 8 am Wednesday. Please limit announcements to 325 characters (with spaces).

Submit items for the Beacon monthly newsletter to beacon@uucb.org by the 15th of the month.

Our Board of Trustees Widening the Circle Vision Statement:
“We, the trustees of UUCB commit ourselves to championing racial
justice, embodying anti-racist practices, and confronting and
dismantling white supremacy culture and all forms of oppression
(including but not limited to racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia,
transphobia, classism, ageism, xenophobia and religious oppression,
including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia) in everything we do.”


Donate

Mailing address: 1 Lawson Road, Kensington, CA 94707
Telephone: 510-525-0302
Email: info@uucb.org

Copyright © 2025 The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley. All rights reserved.

You subscribed to this list when you visited or joined UUCB.     

Want to change how you receive these emails? 
You can unsubscribe from this list.