Holiday Services Cup of Joe, December 2, 2022 I always look forward to our December holiday services. As the nights get longer, I think we need connection even more — connection to other people and connection to the sacred. We’re planning special services for both Winter Solstice and Christmas Eve. Our Celebration of Winter Solstice will be Wednesday, December ...

Principle(d) Revision Cup of Joe, November 11, 2022 The UU principles are changing, and not a moment too soon. Unitarian Universalism is a living faith, a faith tradition that prides itself on being always relevant to the times we are living in now. That means we UU’s make a commitment to change and to growth, even though change ...

October 28, 2022 Remember this Sunday to bring to the service a photo or memento of one who has died but who you still carry in your heart. All Saints’ Day and the Day of All Souls. Diá de los Muertos. Halloween. Samhain. We arrive again at that time of year when there is a confluence of holidays ...

To Our Dear Beloved Community, Emergence – the process of coming into view or becoming exposed after being concealed. That’s the definition I found online of our worship theme for this month. I certainly feel like that describes us as we take our safe, baby steps from the confines of COVID. Fortunately, we can now look ...

Sep 18 is Water Communion! & Celebrating 25-Year Members! & Sundae Sunday! & More! This congregation is something to celebrate! And celebrate we will on Sunday, September 18! On Sept. 18, we’ll celebrate water communion — this will be the first water communion service celebrated in our building in three years! Please bring a small vial of water ...

Oh, the Places We’ll Go! Cup of Joe, July 22, 2022 The Worship Team and I want to hear from you! Usually, every year the team and I participate with other teams from UU congregations across the country to choose the themes that the Soul Matters Themed Ministry Sharing Circle will focus on for that year. Budgets ...

Assembling with Rev Joe June 17, 2022 How’s this for a theme? Meet the Moment: Reimagining Radical Faith Community! That’s the theme of this year’s UUA General Assembly. I’ll be focusing on attending sessions that explore restorative practice and restorative justice. Using restorative practice as a frame for understanding what it means to be in community with others ...

Harmony from Accountability A Cup of Joe, June 3, 2022 Along with some members of the Board and others from the congregation, I am taking a course that introduces something called “restorative process” or “restorative justice.” Restorative Justice efforts are efforts in the legal system to shift from a practice that focuses on punishment to a practice ...

Celebrating Our First Mortgage   On the occasion of the congregation burning the mortgage on Sunday, Jan 16, I asked the Founding Minister of the congregation, Linda Hoddy, if she had any thoughts that she would like to share with UU Saratoga. (Rev. Hoddy was minister of the congregation from its founding in 1996 to 2011.) Read these ...

While you certainly know about the events that MLK Saratoga has organized for this weekend, I wanted to call your attention especially to two of the events with a UU connection. First, on Saturday at 10am, Philomena Moriarty is leading a 90-minute online workshop on Nonviolent Communication practice. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is based on the principles ...