Come, celebrate our connection to Unitarian Universalists far beyond UUCM in this embodied, engaging, multi-gen on-line worship service focusing on a parable of interdependence and unity. We joined congregations all over the western third of the United States, plus Alaska and Hawaii.
Until the current COVID surge, a consultant was scheduled to engage members of the congregation this weekend as part of figuring out next steps regarding UUCM’s facilities. Though that weekend was postponed, we still focus on the promises at the heart of creating community such as this, and at the heart of finding our way forward as a community.
All month long we’ve been inviting you to consider your word for the new year – a word to travel with, to put under your pillow, to eat breakfast with, to dance, wrestle, and cavort with. A word to keep near your heart all year long. This Sunday, we ask you to choose and share your word as part of your own effort to live with intention.
Living With Intention: We Have a Dream
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
January 16, 2022
Gail Johnson Vaughan and Cheryl Morris, co-worship associates,
with Special Guest Tracy Pepper, Color Me Human executive director
Inequality and injustice hurts us all. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls would be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. There is still so much work to do. Join us as we give voice to the dream we ourselves hold that our nation must and will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
(Access music videos via the links below)
Lighting of the Chalice What is The Promise and the Practice? By Rebekah Savage, read by Cheryl Morris
Land Acknowledgement Lindsay Dunckel
Musical Opening Why Not Every Man? (Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel), traditional Spiritual, arr. Adam Podd, featuring the First Unitarian Brooklyn Quartet, produced and edited by Adam Podd for First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn (see the music video HERE)
Wisdom for All Ages Seeding the Love by Geneva Keyes, retold by Tracy Pepper
Joys & Sorrows Beth Karow
Prayer & Meditation Elijah by Bill Harley and arranged by Peter Amidon, featuring the First Unitarian Brooklyn Choir & The Westerlies (see the music video HERE)
Reading Battle Hymn of the Republic by Heather Cox Richardson, read by Gail
Music Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe, Jordan Thomas-Rose, guitar and voice
Conversation Dr King’s Work is Not Done, Tracy Pepper and Gail Johnson Vaughan
Offering Cheryl Morris and Gail Johnson Vaughan
25% of our offering this month will support: Sierra Roots, whose members take a relationship-based approach in their work with homeless people. They are dedicated to listening to homeless people and collaborating with them to make progress in their health, self-reliance, and action plans for secure, safe homes.
Offertory Spiritual Medley, Samuel Tolbert (see the music video HERE)
Dedication Cheryl Morris and Gail Johnson Vaughan
Thank you Gail Johnson Vaughan
Closing Song Let Justice Roll Down, words & music ©Aileen Vance/Avenida Music, recorded and produced by Lea Morris (see the music video HERE)
Closing Words A Spark of Hope by Melanie Davis, read by Gail Johnson Vaughan and Tracy Pepper
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
Music for Going Forth
Opening to Joy: Letting Go to Peace
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
December 12, 2021
Rev. Kevin Tarsa, with Rev. Karyn Packard and Jeff Stone, Worship Associate
Even in these more cautious times, the pace and energy of the holiday season picks up, with challenges, joys, and sadness all amplified. In this annual service inviting embodied peacefulness, we’ll draw on silence, sound, breath, and movement as the words spoken invite us to let go of our striving in order to arrive where we are.
Song for Gathering I’ve Got Peace Like a River #100 by Marvin V. Frey, Rev. Karyn Packard, piano
Land Acknowledgement read by Renee Weilmann
Welcome Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Lighting of the Chalice Promise of Peace by Hal Walker, Jordan Thomas-Rose, Julie Tillinghast, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Opening Movement Circle of Joy Grace Kendrick
Breathing
Wisdom for All Ages The Tiger and the Strawberry, as told by Lea Morris, with Joy is Free by Lea Morris
Joys & Sorrows
Song Filled with Loving Kindness #1031, Buddhist meditation, music by Ian W. Riddel, Rev. Karyn Packard, piano
Holding Silence
Prayer Rev. Karyn Packard
Homily Opening to Joy: Letting Go to Peace, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Offering George Dunstan
25% of our offering this month will support: Hospitality House whose mission is “to bring homeless people in Nevada County into a circle of community caring that offers shelter, sustenance, medical care, advocacy, opportunity, dignity, and hope as we assist them in transitioning from homelessness to housing.”
Since we are not passing a plate in person, giving in other ways is vital to our ability to sustain the work of our community. Thank you for your generosity. See the insert for ways to give by text, PayPal, UUCM’s website or by mail.
Offertory Karyn Packard, piano
Dedication George Dunstan
Thank you
Closing Song There is More Love Somewhere #95, African American Spiritual
Closing Words
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
Music for Going Forth
Opening to Joy: Odes to Hope
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
December 5, 2021
Rev. Kevin Tarsa and Gail Johnson Vaughan, Worship Associate
This service introduces the December theme: Opening to Joy. Let’s face it, we are dealing with a lot of impediments to joy – an ongoing pandemic, steady escalation of extremism in our country with frightening assaults to freedom and democracy coming ever closer to home, and of course wildfires.
So, really, you want us to open to joy and hope. YES, and that’s what this service aims to do. Be ready for everything from a flash mob to a special embodiment of heart opening… and lots more.
Song for Gathering There Is More Love Somewhere #95, an African American Hymn, Jasper Waters, song leader; Delaney Sherr and Tom Wernigg, violin; Christy Sherr, cello; Rev. Kevin Tarsa, piano
Land Acknowledgement read by Gene Gilligan
Welcome Gail Johnson Vaughan, Worship Associate
Lighting of the Chalice Still So Much Good, and Beauty, and Joy… by Rev. Gretchen Haley, read by Melissa Ridgway
Opening Movement Circle of Joy, Grace Kendrick
Wisdom for All Ages Ode to Joy, from Beethoven’s Symphony No.9
Joys & Sorrows
Music Southwind played by Delaney Sherr, violin
Prayer & Meditation Witnessing the Miracle by Andrea Mason, read by Gene Gilligan, Gail Johnson Vaughan, Melissa Ridgway, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Song Sweet Surrender
Reflection Gail Johnson Vaughan
Music Out Beyond, text by Jalal al-Din Rumi, as translated by Coleman Barks, music by Joanne Hammil
Homily Opening to Joy: Letting Go to Hope, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Offering Gail Johnson Vaughan, with Hospitality House Development Director, Ashley Quadros
Offertory The Humours of Lissadell, Delaney Sherr, violin
Dedication Gail Johnson Vaughan
Thank you
Closing Song Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee #29, lyrics by Henry Van Dyke (adapted), music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Jasper Waters, song leader; Delaney Sherr and Tom Wernigg, violin; Rev. Kevin Tarsa, viola; Christy Sherr, cello
Closing Words Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
Music for Going Forth
Holding History: Gratitude
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
November 28, 2021
Rev. Kevin Tarsa, with Jeff Stone and Cheryl Morris, Worship Associates
A number of us have engaged in the spiritual practice of listing gratitudes – taking time to notice and write down a brief list of those things for which we are grateful, or for which we would feel grateful if we took the time to notice them.
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman scoured the latest research and discovered that there’s an even more effective way to cultivate gratitude. In this Thanksgiving weekend service Rev. Kevin shares the basics and invites us to cultivate gratitude with and within each other.
Song for Gathering Morning Has Come #1000 by Jason Shelton
Welcome Jeff Stone, Worship Associate
Lighting of the Chalice by Jeff Stone, read by Corrie Silva
Land Acknowledgement read by Carmen Riley
Opening Words Thank you for this Day
Wisdom for All Ages We Are Grateful Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac, Jeff Stone (we do not have permission to include this story in the video)
Joys & Sorrows
Prayer & Meditation A Thanksgiving Meditation by Naomi King, read by Gail Schulz
Song For the Beauty of the Earth #21, by Folliott Pierpoint and Conrad Kocher
Sermon Holding History: Gratitude, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Music Live Thanks by Lea Morris
Offering Jeff Stone
Offertory
Dedication Jeff Stone
Thank you
Closing Song/Closing Words Thankful Alleluia by Pachelbel/Tarsa
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
Music for Going Forth
Holding History: Meaning 3.0
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
November 21, 2021
Rev. Kevin Tarsa with Chuck Champlin, Worship Associate
Jamie Wheal claims that the world has entered a third stage in the human effort to make meaning: beyond the first, religious stage which linked meaning to salvation and exclusion, beyond the second stage, modern liberalism, which anchored meaning in inclusion at the expense of salvation, to a third stage, which Wheal says needs to integrate the first two in order to navigate the current collapse of our traditional anchors. How can history, the human story so far, help us move hopefully and courageously into what comes next?
Greeting Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Song for Gathering Shall We Gather at the River #1046 by Robert Lowry, adapted
Welcome Chuck Champlin, Worship Associate
Lighting of the Chalice For the Memory that Heals and Holds by Rev. Scott Tayler, read by Scottie Hart
Land Acknowledgement read by Jenny Dewey and Carmen Riley
Opening Words Invoking the Past, Present and Future by Katie Romano Griffin, read by Robin Hart
Wisdom for All Ages Back There Where the Past Was, read by Chuck Champlin
Joys & Sorrows
Prayer & Meditation Ever in Our Midst by Karen G. Johnston, read by Rev. Kevin
Music Székely Áldás (Székely Blessing) #1043, Traditional Transylvanian text, music by Beth Norton, Jordan Thomas-Rose, voice, and Tom Wernigg, violin, with Rev. Kevin Tarsa, piano
Where there is faith there is love;
where there is love there is peace.
Where there is peace there is blessing;
where there is blessing there is God.
Where there is God, there is no need.
Sermon Holding History: Meaning 3.0, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Offering Chuck Champlin
25% of our offering this month will support: Sammie’s Friends, which offers a safe and caring place for neglected, abandoned, and abused animals to be cared for and rehabilitated, when necessary, and adopted as quickly as possible into loving homes.
Since we are not passing a plate in person, giving in other ways is vital to our ability to sustain the work of our community. Thank you for your generosity. See the insert for ways to give by text, PayPal, UUCM’s website or by mail.
Offertory I Wish it Was Easy (But it Ain’t) by Tom Wernigg
Dedication Chuck Camplin
Thank you
Closing Song Life Calls Us On by Jason Shelton, Jordan Thomas-Rose
Closing Words
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
Music for Going Forth
Holding History: Rooted in the Rich Soil of our Theological Heritage
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
November 14, 2021
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme with Beth Karow and Cheryl Morris, Worship Associates
From where do we draw our religious authority? Part of the answer is from the theological heritage of Unitarian Universalism. Ours is an open and evolving faith, and we are stewards of its unfolding. Knowing our theological roots powerfully grounds our resistance to consumerism, militarism, and racism that widen the gap between rich and poor and dangerously disregards the earth’s ecosystems and her most vulnerable peoples.
UUCM welcomes via Zoom the Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme, who serves as Assistant Professor of Religion and Education at Starr King School for the Ministry. She has served as a minister of religious education in the Unitarian Universalist churches of Oakland, Davis, and Berkeley as well as the Pacific Central District. She is the co-creator and co-director of Chalice Camp, a Unitarian Universalist summer day camp that has been running for over 17 years in the Bay Area and replicated in sites across the country.
Greeting Beth Karow, Worship Associate
Song for Gathering Come, Come, Whoever You Are #188, sung by Taylor Carey and Kathryn Young
Welcome Cheryl Morris, Worship Associate
Lighting of the Chalice UU Heritage Chalice Lighting by Elizabeth M. Strong
Land Acknowledgement
Opening Words Let Us Be a People of Not-forgetting by Karen G. Johnston
Wisdom for All Ages Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Reading We Come to Love a Church by Andrew C. Kennedy
Joys & Sorrows Beth Karow
Prayer & Meditation Beth Karow
Song Child of Nature by Jack Traylor, sung by Taylor Carey and Kathryn Young
Reading The Church Has Left the Building by Margaret Weis
Sermon Rooted in the Rich Soil of our Theological Heritage, Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Offering Cheryl Morris
25% of our offering this month will support: Sammie’s Friends, which offers a safe and caring place for neglected, abandoned, and abused animals to be cared for and rehabilitated, when necessary, and adopted as quickly as possible into loving homes.
Since we are not passing a plate in person, giving in other ways is vital to our ability to sustain the work of our community. Thank you for your generosity. See the insert for ways to give by text, PayPal, UUCM’s website or by mail.
Offertory I Am written and sung by Taylor Carey and Kathryn Young
Dedication Cheryl Morris
Thank you Beth Karow
Closing Song The Fire of Commitment #1028, by Jason Shelton, sung by Taylor Carey and Kathryn Young
Closing Words Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
Music for Going Forth
Holding History: Body, Mind, and Spirit
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
November 7, 2021
Rev. Kevin Tarsa, with Cheryl Morris, Worship Associate
What does it mean to “hold our history” when history tells us so much more about how we see ourselves now than about what happened in the past? Or are those two things closer than we think? What history are you holding, and why, and how?
Greeting Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Song for Gathering Enter, Rejoice, and Come In #361, by Louise Ruspini
Welcome Cheryl Morris, Worship Associate
Lighting of the Chalice by Cheryl Morris, read by Theresa Houtman and Carol Kuczora
Land Acknowledgement read by Connie Wright and Carmen Riley
Opening Words Here We Re-member Ourselves by Rev. Gretchen Haley, read by Corrie Silva and Christy Barden
Wisdom for All Ages About our Stories, a wisdom tale by Elie Wiesel, as told by Lea Morris, with Your Story by Lea Morris
Joys & Sorrows
Prayer & Meditation
Music Speak for Me by Sullivan Pugh, sung by Claire Leve, Jordan Thomas-Rose and Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Sermon Holding History: Body, Mind and Spirit, Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Offering Cheryl Morris, with Cheryl Wicks, co-founder of Sammie’s Friends
25% of our offering this month will support: Sammie’s Friends, which offers a safe and caring place for neglected, abandoned, and abused animals to be cared for and rehabilitated, when necessary, and adopted as quickly as possible into loving homes.
Since we are not passing a plate in person, giving in other ways is vital to our ability to sustain the work of our community. Thank you for your generosity. See the insert for ways to give by text, PayPal, UUCM’s website or by mail.
Offertory
Dedication Cheryl Morris
Thank you
Closing Music Your Story by Lea Morris
Closing Words Rev. Kevin Tarsa
Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.
