Previous Services
Recent Services | 2024 Service Recordings | 2023 | 2022 | 2021
"Loneliness and Connection"
Lay-Led, with Jackie Davis
05/19/2024
Last year, the US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared that our country is facing a public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection. The treatment for this is to increase social connection. How can we as a congregation foster a culture of connection?
"You're Perfect, Now Change"
Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
05/12/2024
Mothering, whether performed by a mother or someone else, requires accepting a child as they are, while also encouraging and supporting growth. The necessity of loving what is and working for change is the core and the challenge of spiritual work.
"UU Democracy"
Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
05/05/2024
Our planet, our home, our community, our church. We mark Earth Day by asking, "Do the shared things we call "ours" belong to us, or do we belong to them? Shared ownership sets up an exploitive principle known as "the tragedy of the commons." But if we see ourselves as nodes on an interdependent web, parts of a shared whole, citizens of an ecological system, then we invite respect and care.
"Face the Music and Dance"
Michael Eselun
04/28/2024
Popular guest speaker, and UCLA oncology chaplain, Michael Eselun will explore the dance we do between acceptance and self-compassion. If we reach for acceptance of our circumstances as a pathway to inner peace, what part does self-compassion play?
"Ours"
Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
04/21/2024
Our planet, our home, our community, our church. We mark Earth Day by asking, "Do the shared things we call "ours" belong to us, or do we belong to them? Shared ownership sets up an exploitive principle known as "the tragedy of the commons." But if we see ourselves as nodes on an interdependent web, parts of a shared whole, citizens of an ecological system, then we invite respect and care.
"All In"
Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
04/14/2024
Four years ago, our church partnered with the North Hollywood Home Alliance to provide a once-a-week hospitality program to persons experiencing homelessness in our neighborhood. Our Tuesday Drop-In Program succeeds because it’s a program founded on relationships characterized by justice, equity and compassion.
"Let them Speak"
Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
04/07/2024
The defining feature of a liberal religion like Unitarian Universalism is our belief that we get closest to the truth when we allow all voices to speak. Rather than rely on an outside authority, a guru, or a scripture, we trust our own experience, then refine our individual thoughts through discussion and debate with others to approach a shared truth. If we exclude persons from our conversation, we will arrive, at best, at a partial truth.
"Eight Blessings"
Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
03/31/2024
Unitarian Universalists revere a Jesus who serves as a mentor and model, not a supernatural savior. His saving act is not death and resurrection, but a helpful, hopeful message summed up in a list. Like the Jewish Ten Commandments, or the Unitarian Universalist Seven Principles, Jesus gave us Eight Blessings, called the Beatitudes, as a guide to living.
"The Joy Deep Within"
Angeline C. Jackson
03/24/2024
How do we ensure joy remains an unwavering companion in a world that calls on us to live out our faith through justice-making? We will explore the interconnectedness of joy and justice and delve into the essence of joy as a wellspring for our justice work. Together, we'll consider ways to nurture joy so that it not only sustains but propels us forward, even when faced with the most daunting challenges.
"All Her People One"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
03/17/2024
Because we love this faith, which has done such good for us, we wish to share our faith with others. We wish to grow our own church membership, of course, but the motivation for growth must be deeper than simply wanting a bigger congregation. If we truly think our faith is the means toward better lives and a better world, is it wrong to hope that the whole world would be UU?
"Where Justice Rolls Down"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
03/10/2024
The mission of our faith has both a personal and a public dimension. We look to both refashion ourselves as just persons and transform the world as agents of justice. But in our outward directed work, we must remember that we seek to help people who have their own inner work to do. The question becomes, “from where does justice come?”
"Giving Meaning to the Chaos"
The Venerable Rev. Kusala Bhikshu
03/03/2024
In early Buddhism there are five reasons things happen: geology, biology, karma, dharma and mind. I hope to tie them together as a way to understand 2024 and in the end, give meaning to the chaos. It's all “connected.” The talk will be filled with stories, observations and opinions.
"What Wondrous Love"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
02/25/2024
We are a church, a congregation, a spiritual community. We strive to be a beloved community. Sometimes we describe our church as a community of “like-minded” people. Wouldn’t it be better, and more true to our pluralistic faith if we strove to become and maintain a caring community of “like-hearted” people?
"Let it Be a Dance"
Revered Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
02/18/2024
Life is tough. Life is challenging. The world around us feels uncertain. Our church asks much of us. In the midst of this anxiety, to experience spiritual qualities such as peace, serenity, or joy, is not to wait for a change in our outward circumstances but to claim a response now within ourselves.
"Riding the Waves of Relationships"
Lay-Led, Jackie Davis
02/11/2024
On Sunday, February 11, which is just before St. Valentine’s Day, we will hear from a few couples – members of our church community – about what makes their relationships work. Like catching waves, relationships take work. Like gnarly waves, life’s surprises throw relationships off balance. Some folks even crash on the shore. How can we navigate the ups and downs so we maximize our bliss and gratification, like a skilled surfer riding an epic wave?
"The Unending Quest"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
02/04/2024
Because our Unitarian Universalist faith is "reality-based" and reality is constantly changing, there will always be something new, and something more requested of us. Our work of religious education is not merely to prepare our children for adulthood, but to equip all of us, at every age, to take the next step on a continually unfolding journey.
"This Quiet Hour"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
01/28/2024
When we think of the mission of the church, what comes to mind first is work we do (or ought to be doing) outside the church. But the work we do inside the church is just as worthy, if not more so. It is in worship that we connect with that ground that supports every other expression of our faith.
"The Work of the Church is not to Do, but to Be"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
01/21/2024
Because a congregation is a voluntary association of free individuals, with different needs and passions, living in diverse contexts, with varied skills and resources, the mission of a church must be broad. Our core mission, then, is not to do any one particular thing, but rather to be an institution equipped to do many things for many people.
"Who's Calling?"
Reverend Rick Hoyt-McDaniels
01/14/2024
Mission, whether a personal mission or the mission of an institution like a church, lies at the intersection of self-identity and social need. Sometimes the call to act comes from an urge to express our inner self. Other times the call to act comes from a need of the world outside ourselves demanding our response. The life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. models both the inner and outer call.
"Everyday Leaders"
Lay Led, Guest Speakers Brad Golberg and Talia Inbar
01/07/2024
Brad Golberg and One-LA Organizer, Talia Inbar, will describe One LA’s philosophy of finding and developing leaders within its member institutions. By using a bottom- up approach, One LA finds the issues that are important to its members and is able to grow, strengthen, and sustain itself by giving the institutions and their constituents control over the actions we take.