Upcoming Worship Services

From Retribution to Restoration

As Unitarian Universalists, we hold a belief that there is a spark of star dust, a holy divinity within all people. Please join us in this service to think about the spark within those among us that violate the norms and laws of society. Where is the spark in those who do great harm? Where is our spark as we choose to engage or not? BIOGRAPHY – Rev. Dr. Rodney Lemery currently serves as the Interim Minister of Prison Ministry at the Church of the Larger Fellowship as well as a volunteer chaplain at the Solano County Jail. He lives in Hercules, CA with his husband, a human-resources professional, and their fur-baby Basil. Rodney and his husband are members of the Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church in Walnut Creek, CA. Like lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson, Rodney believes that “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” His relational theology requires him to serve those in the margins of society where connection and love saves!

The Rebirth of Wonder

The San Francisco “beat” poet, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, wrote: “I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder.” Have we as a people lost the ability to experience wonder? Will it be reborn in us if we simply wait long enough? BIOGRAPHY – The Rev. Dr. Jeanne Foster is Professor Emerita, Saint Mary’s College of California, and former Minister of UU congregation in Modesto. She is also a poet, non-fiction writer, translator, and ballroom dancer. Her books include A Music of Grace: The Sacred in Contemporary American Poetry; Appetite: Food as Metaphor; A Blessing of Safe Travel; Goodbye, Silver Sister; The Living Theatre.

It’s Better Than You Think

We are bombarded by upsetting news every day. How can one cope with all this negativity? Presidential tweets aside, is there anything happening in this world that is positive? We are missing something. Come learn about the positive truth. It is real. BIOGRAPHY – Rev. Dr. Jane Ramsey is a community minister affiliated with UUCB. She is a retired nurse and hospice chaplain who maintains a private practice in Spiritual Direction, facilitates the chaplain after Sunday service as well as co-facilitates (along with Anne Greenwood) the “Aging With Grace” group for elders here at UUCB.

From the Burning Bush to Burning Man

Something about lighting a fire signifies: “now we choose actions with serious intent.” Our lighting a UU chalice is one of many types of fire ritual. Fire can symbolize creation and destruction; comfort and cruelty; the eternal and the ephemeral; the power of intense emotion and the illusory nature of all experience; the brightness of Heaven and the torments of Hell. How can a single phenomenon represent so many concepts? What makes fire such a versatile engine of ritual?

Water Is Life

Water connects us all in both beauty and challenge. We live in an area overflowing with the natural beauty of the Bay, yet our world’s oceans and other waterways are increasingly overflowing with plastic and other pollution. Join us for our annual Water Ceremony as we give thanks for how water sustains us and recommit ourselves to caring for Mother Earth. Please bring a small container of water with you this Sunday, whether you collected it along exotic summer travels or your kitchen faucet. Children and youth are also encouraged to bring their school backpacks to church for the Backpack Blessing!