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 ...

Let’s Go Caroling! The one thing that I’ve missed more than anything else during this Covid time is singing together as a congregation. Christmastime isn’t Christmastime without carols, and caroling is all about singing together. We can still make Christmas caroling happen, though, by using a website! I’ve started learning a new website called Easy Virtual Choir, ...

Sep 24, 2021 It was a lot of fun getting together to celebrate and share music and desserts last Saturday even in the rain and the dark! Thanks to all of the musicians and storytellers. All of the bakers and folks who helped with setup and cleanup! And thanks especially to Bev Lawson who was the ...

What a joy it was to be with so many of you in person last Sunday at High Rock Park to celebrate our annual water communion ritual and kick off the liturgical year! I knew that I had missed being with you all in that way, but it was almost overwhelming to be with you ...