Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church

Making Welcome

As we get ready to welcome Rev. Maria Cristina Vlassidis Burgoa to our pulpit and to our lives, many of us are wondering how to make her feel welcome and what our different relationships with her will be like. This service explores the fun and the challenges of building beloved community together, and of opening our hearts and spirits to this amazing adventure that is just beginning. The service will include 2 homilies, one by Dennis Rowcliffe of the Oakland UU Church, sharing some of his experiences in a mostly white congregation with a minister of color, and one by Rev. Maria Cristina.

One Wild and Precious Life

Join us today for a fun and unusual service inspired by the last line of the Mary Oliver poem The Summer Day: "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?". We will have speakers of every decade of life, from 7 to 84, telling us a bit about themselves, what life is like for them, and what they look forward to in the future. We did a similar service last year; everyone enjoyed it.

War and Peace, Reader's Theater

War and Peace, written by pulpit guest and member Al Murdach.  Have you ever seen fireworks at a UU General Assembly? Come back with us to 1917 when pro-war and anti-war Unitarians, played by our stellar Starr King players, were duking it out.  Who do you think won?  Join us on Sunday to find out.

Let There be Peace on Earth and Let it Begin with Me

In conjunction with the Eden Area Interfaith Council, and celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the United Nations Year of Peace, (1986) we will have an interfaith service with peace readings from a dozen major religions.

We have invited faith leaders from various traditions to be with us and voice the prayers.  We will have a reception and discussion period following the service.

Improvised Spirituality

Lay led service: Join us for a fun and unusual service. Many of the service elements will be chosen or made up on the spot, including some short improvised homilies. We did a similar service last year; everyone enjoyed it.

Joy's Moving Sale

This will be our interim minister’s (Rev. Joy Atkinson) last service. The sermon will sum up the work we have done together during this two-year transitional time, address issues regarding closure for minister and congregation, and gaze into the “crystal ball” to speculate on what the future might look like for this congregation.

Stepping Into The Fog

Have you ever experienced life as walking a path and being caught in a Tulle fog? Guest speaker Becky Leyser will be exploring this at her service.

Fathers's Day/Celebrating Ministry and Diversity

We will celebrate Father’s Day, and also celebrate the congregation’s calling of a new minister. This congregation has just done “a bold new thing,’ as UUA President Peter Morales has called it, by calling a minister of color. In my early years of ministry, it was a bold step to call a minister like me, a woman, to a pulpit, and now women in UU ministry are commonplace. Starr King Church was also on the cutting edge back in the 1980, when you called a gay minister, now much more common. The service will explore this “bold new step” you have taken, and look toward the future of ministry at SKUUC and in our UU movement.

How Flowers Changed the World

Flower Communion Service. We will gather near the date of the original Flower Ceremony in Prague, Czechoslovakia (June,1923) to celebrate a communion of flowers, with a  homily, readings and some of the original words from Rev. Norbert Capek, founder of the Flower Ceremony.

From Mozart to Motown, Bach to Blues

The service will celebrate music and explore its role in our lives.