Past Services

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.  

What Is Remembered, Lives
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
October 31, 2021
Beth Karow, with Rev. Kevin Tarsa

All Hallows Eve, Día de Muertos, All Souls, and All Saints days invite us each autumn to remember our ancestors and our beloveds who have died. These tender days on the way to winter even open a window to working on our relationships with those who have gone before us.

In a service steeped in ritual and music, we will remember with honesty, gratitude, and hope.

Music for Gathering Jordan Thomas-Rose, with UUCM musicians 

Ringing of the Chimes 

Land Acknowledgement   

Welcome/Casting of the Circle Beth Karow, Worship Associate 

Lighting of the Chalice Rev. Kevin Tarsa and Beth Karow 

Opening Music/Opening Words Bright Morning Stars are Rising #357, sung by Jordan Thomas-Rose and Rev. Kevin, with spoken words by Beth Karow 

Wisdom for All Ages Beth Karow 

Remembering 

UUCM Ancestors
Those Who Died in the Past Year
Our Beloved Dead
Ritual of the Forgotten

Music All My Memories of Love #336, text by Anna Akhmatova, translated by Mark Belletini, sung by Jordan Thomas-Rose 

Litany We Remember Them by Sylvan Kamens and Jack Riemer 

Closing Words and Blessing   

Release of the Directions 

Thank you! 

Community Benediction 
        Let us carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.  

Music For Going Forth 

Getting to Know One Another
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
October 24, 2021
Chuck Champlin, Rev. Kevin Tarsa, and You!

Our fourth in a series focused on cultivating relationship, this interactive, café style service offered people a chance to connect several times in small groups for conversation. Envisioned and planned by Wendy Wernigg and Chuck Champlin, Rev. Kevin joins Chuck to facilitate the service itself.

Greeting Rev. Kevin Tarsa 

Song for Gathering Enter, Rejoice, and Come In #361, by Louise Ruspini, Jordan Thomas-Rose, Director of Music

Welcome Chuck Champlin, Worship Associate 

Lighting of the Chalice by Mark Morrison-Reed, read by Lesley Champlin 

Land Acknowledgement read by Elizabeth Bloom 

Opening Words The Heart of Our Faith by Monica Jacobson-Tennessen, read by Susan Merrill 

Wisdom for All Ages Stories for each other 

Your nameA comfort food for youA game you played or an activity you enjoyed happily as a child

Joys & Sorrows Rev. Kevin Tarsa   

Prayer & Meditation In Gatherings by Marta I Valentín, read by Rev. Kevin Tarsa 

Song Come Sing a Song With Me #346, by Carolyn McDade, Jordan Thomas-Rose

Getting to Know One Another 

Introduction  Rev. Kevin Tarsa and Chuck Champlin

Where were you born?What is one thing on your bucket list, something you would yet like to do in your lifetime?Metaphoraging (Without thinking too much, find an object nearby, perhaps within reach. Any object. Note its qualities. Reflect on how that object is like you or vice versa.)What is one of your favorite treats for yourself?

Closing– Rev. Kevin Tarsa

Offering Chuck Champlin 

25% of our offering this month will support: Habitat for Humanity, which brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Habitat for Humanity envisions a community where everyone has the opportunity to have a safe, decent, affordable place to live. 

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 Jordan Thomas-Rose 

Dedication Chuck Champlin 

Thank you 

Closing Song The Hokey Pokey (Yes, THE Hokey Pokey. Well, part of it, anyway.) Jordan Thomas-Rose

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  

Me, Myself, and I: Cultivating a Relationship with Ourselves
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
October 17, 202
Dawn Bateman, Janet Bullock, Stu Matthews and Jordan Thomas-Rose, Rev. Kevin Tarsa,
Jeff Stone, Worship Associate

How does living through a pandemic influence our relationship with ourselves. And how does that work in the context of living in relationship or not. A tapestry of members and friends reflect on this most intimate of journeys.  

Greeting Rev. Kevin

Song for Gathering There’s a River Flowin’ in My Soul by Faya Ora Rose Touré #1007 

Welcome Jeff Stone, Worship Associate 

Lighting of the Chalice Until We Draw Together by A. Powell Davies, read by Bob Branstrom 

Land Acknowledgement read by Penny Harlan 

Opening Words Woven Anew by Rev. Scott Tayler, read by Jim Bair 

Wisdom for All Ages The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, read by Jeff Stone (We do not have permission to post our reading of this book. You may watch and listen to an online reading of it HERE.)

Joys & Sorrows 

Prayer & Meditation Know You are Not Alone and Discover the Way Our Voices Rise by Rev. Gretchen Haley, read by Rev. Kevin  

Song Voice Still and Small by John Corrado #391 

Reading My brain and heart divorced by John Roedel, read by Jeff Stone 

Cultivating Relationships with Oneself: a Tapestry of Sharing Dawn Bateman, Janet Bullock, Stu Matthews, and Jordan Thomas-Rose 

Offering Jeff Stone, with Jim Phelps, Development Director of Nevada County Habitat for Humanity 

25% of our offering this month will support: Habitat for Humanity, which brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Habitat for Humanity envisions a community where everyone has the opportunity to have a safe, decent, affordable place to live. 

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 Jordan Thomas-Rose 

Dedication Jeff Stone 

Thank you 

Closing Song This Little Light of Mine #118

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  

In Respectful and Right Relationship: Beyond the Words
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
October 10, 2021
Shelly Covert, Spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, with Frank Lawrence, Rev. Kevin Tarsa, and Jeff Stone, Worship Associate

UUCM members have chosen to include in UUCM’s budget a contribution to the Ancestral Homelands Reciprocity Program, a community generated initiative to support and uplift the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, the original peoples of this land, through their tribally guided 501(c)(3) nonprofit CHIRP (California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project).

This Sunday, with guest Shelly Covert, tribal spokesperson, and UUCM member Frank Lawrence, whose career has focused on Indian law, we as a community invest ourselves in and seek to live a respectful and right relationship with the people whose ancestors knew this land as “home” long before any of the rest of us arrived. We do so by our presence, our willingness to hear, and our willingness to take what we hear to heart.

Within our October theme of “cultivating relationship” theme, this Sunday we focus on cultivating this relationship between two groups of people.

Greeting Rev. Kevin Tarsa and Shelly Covert, Spokesperson, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe 

Land Acknowledgement read by Carmen Riley  

Song for Gathering We Would Be One #318, words by Samuel A. Wright, music by Jean Sibelius 

Welcome Jeff Stone, Worship Associate 

Lighting of the Chalice This Is Our Home, But Not Just Ours by Laura Bogle (adapted slightly), read by Holly Rice

Opening Words “First Death: Coyote is crying for the loss of his son”, a cry song sung by Shelly Covert’s great uncle, Dan Rose

Wisdom for All Ages Shelly Covert 

Joys & Sorrows Rev. Kevin Tarsa 

Prayer & Meditation  

Song Spirit of Life by Carolyn McDade #123, Frank Lawrence, guitar, sung by Jordan Thomas-Rose  

Reflection Frank Lawrence 

Message Cultivating Relationship, Shelly Covert, Spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, with Frank Lawrence of UUCM’s Nisenan Task Force 

Offering Jeff Stone

25% of our offering this month will support: Habitat for Humanity, which brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Habitat for Humanity envisions a community where everyone has the opportunity to have a safe, decent, affordable place to live. 

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 Jordan Thomas-Rose 

Dedication Jeff Stone 

Thank you 

Closing Song We Shall Be Known by MaMuse, sung by Shelly Covert, Rev. Kevin Tarsa, and Jordan Thomas-Rose 

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  

We Get There Side by Side
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
October 3, 2021
Rev. Kevin Tarsa, with Worship Associate, Jeff Stone

We introduce and enter our October theme of “cultivating relationship,” with story, song, reflection and invitation. How in the world do we cultivate relationship now? 

Greeting Rev. Kevin Tarsa

Song for Gathering Enter, Rejoice and Come In by Louise Ruspini, Jordan Thomas-Rose, Director of Music

Welcome Jeff Stone, Worship Associate

Lighting of the Chalice Gathering in Our Own Spaces by Jeff May, read by Connie Wright

Land Acknowledgement read by Jenny Dewey

Opening Words Here Together (Part 1) by David Glasgow, Jordan Thomas–Rose

Wisdom for All Ages Parable of the Spoons, with “Side by Side” by Lea Morris

Joys & Sorrows

Prayer & Meditation by Sean Parker Dennison, Rev. Kevin Tarsa

Music The Lone Wild Bird lyrics by H. R. MacFayden, music from William Walker’s Southern Harmony, Julie Tillinghast, voice, Rev. Kev Tarsa, piano

Reading Community Means Strength by Starhawk, read by Reine Thibeault

Sermon We Get There Side by Side, Rev. Kevin Tarsa

Offering Jeff Stone

Offertory Jordan Thomas–Rose

Dedication Jeff Stone

Thank you

Closing Song Gather the Spirit #347 by Jim Scott

Closing Words Here Together (Part 2) by David Glasgow

Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice
           Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.

Music for Going Forth

Imagine My Surprise
Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains
September 26, 2021
Gail Johnson Vaughan and Cheryl Morris, Worship Associates

Nineteen months into the restrictions of the pandemic has been like climbing to the top of a high mountain – a climb most of us would have thought impossible. Now here, we can see unexpected possibilities in every direction. Join us this week as members of our congregation share the surprising possibilities that have been revealed to them during this difficult journey as we conclude our month of exploring the theme of what it means to be a people who embrace possibility.

Greeting Gail Johnson Vaughan, Worship Associate

Song for Gathering Open My Heart #1013, Henry Flurry, Jordan Thomas-Rose

Welcome Gail Johnson Vaughan

Lighting of the Chalice Holding Reality and Possibility Together by Samuel A Trumbore, read by Shannon Dooley Miller              

Land Acknowledgement read by Andy Dooley Miller

Opening Words by Rev. Scott Tayler, read by Cheryl Morris

Wisdom for All Ages The Dot by Peter J. Reynolds (permission to share granted by Candlewick Press), read by Gail Johnson Vaughan

Joys & Sorrows Beth Karow

Prayer & Meditation Meditation on Letting Go by Carol Allman-Morton, read by Beth Karow 

Song Comfort Me #1002, Mimi Bornstein, Jordan Thomas-Rose

Reading by Charles Eisenstein, read by Cheryl Morris

Option B What Makes Surviving the Pandemic Possible? Gail Johnson Vaughan, with photos from members and friends.

Tapestry Imagine My Surprise!

 Pam Kisor – Pandemic Surprises
 Tom Wernigg – Embracing Possibility  
 Grace Kendrick – What’s Possible       
 Jasper Waters – Embracing Possibility in a Time of Confinement 

Offering Gail Johnson Vaughan

25% of our offering this month will support Color Me Human, whose mission is to “Celebrate, Elevate, Educate, Advocate to create a safe, equitable world for Black, Indigenous, People of Color and LGBTQ folks.” 

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 Jordan Thomas-Rose

Dedication Gail Johnson Vaughan

Thank you

Closing Song How Can I Keep From Singing (My Life Flows On In Endless Song) #108 by Pauline T. and Doris Plenn, music by Robert Lowry

Closing Words An Ending, or Merely a Prelude to Glorious Beginnings? by Michael A. Schuler, read by Gail Johnson Vaughan

Community Benediction / Extinguishing of the Chalice  
                   Carry the flame of peace and love until we meet again.  

Music for Going Forth