Rather than asking “Is that true or is it a story?” let us ask: How is what is true a story? How do stories lead us to truth? OOS Jan 12 2025.docx Attend in person at 624 N Broadway or via Zoom at <http://bit.ly/uusaratoga-worship>. True Story Rev. Joe Cleveland January 12, 2025 Imagine that you … Continue reading True Story
We explore beginnings, famous and not-so-famous first sentences and paragraphs, as a way of beginning to explore story and story-telling as a spiritual practice. Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed. –from “Elegy in Joy” by Muriel … Continue reading Beginning a Story
Our annual poetry service is a celebration of the power of words to uplift, inspire, and engage. Congregants share poems that resonate with presence. This worship service will be a tapestry of voices and verses, reflecting the diverse spirit of our community. Attend in person at 624 N Broadway or via Zoom at <http://bit.ly/uusaratoga-worship>. OOS … Continue reading Annual Poetry Service: Words That Inspire
Our annual Christmas Eve worship service celebrates, in the light of the story of the birth of Jesus, the re-birth of hope. The service will include readings from Christian and Muslim traditions and more. We’ll hear the prophetic words of Maya Angelou and Howard Thurman. And, of course, we will light candles and sing “Silent … Continue reading Annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
In honor of the Winter Solstice, we explore the gifts of the dark even as we turn toward the returning sun. OOS Dec 22, 2024.docx The Presence and Presents of the Dark Rev. Joe Cleveland December 22, 2024 UU Saratoga Imagine this: It is a holiday gathering. It’s a small family. All of them … Continue reading Winter Solstice: The Presence and Presents of the Dark
The Christian season of Advent is a month-long meditation on the practice of waiting. As a spiritual practice, waiting is the practice of acknowledging the presence of what isn’t present yet. Can—or should?—we let go of what we imagine is to come to be more present now? OOS Dec 15, 2024 The Presence of What … Continue reading The Presence of What Isn’t Yet
Presence as a spiritual practice is challenging, perhaps more challenging than we might expect. As soon as we focus on presence as a practice, as something we do, we become aware of a fundamental truth: it is impossible to be present alone. And when much of what is around us is difficult, when much of … Continue reading Being Present to What Is Present
“The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence,” wrote Trappist monk and peace activist Thomas Merton. “The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace…. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes … Continue reading “The Peace of Trees” with Rev. Fred Small
Today’s multigenerational service explores the discovery of abundance through sharing, using a stoneless variation on the stone soup story. Following the service, all are invited to join in a potluck lunch. Please bring your own place settings, if you can, in addition to whatever you feel you can bring to share. If you can’t contribute … Continue reading Thanksgiving Soup Communion
Order of Service for November 17, 2024 Bayo Akomolafe, a Nigerian writer and professor of psychology, shares as an African saying: “The times are urgent; let us slow down.” Today we explore the wisdom of that saying and how we might lean into–and lean on–our values as we navigate a complicated, confusing, and difficult time. … Continue reading Urgent Slowing