Upcoming Worship Services - Soul Matters

Upcoming Worship Services

May 10th, 2026 "Good Advice" 

Rev. Rebecca Bijur

Why is good advice so hard to follow? Join Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur and worship associate Jennifer Lynch for a lively morning of story, song, and spirit on the theme of lessons learned the hard way.

May 17th, 2026 "Delight in Curiosity"

Rev. Dr. Megan Visser

Where are the delights in our lives begging for us to celebrate them? What small pleasures help us to flourish in this season? A life closely observed has a lot to teach us about the bonds that connect each to all. Bring your favorite summer reading book along with you to this service focused on Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights.

May 24th, 2026 "Grace Has No Waiting Period"

Robert Holley

Sometimes, upon reflection, we can look at a situation and see that we have narrowly missed “being in the wrong place at the wrong time” through no real effort on our own part. We might take a flight from LAX one day and arrive at our destination safely, and then a day later the same flight, same airline, same flight number ends in a terrible crash? It seems there’s something going on here. But what? How do we explain this? Or can we?

May 31st, 2026 "Stem by Stem, a Marvelous Joining"

Rev. Dr. Megan Visser

“This is what community looks like—

this vibrant jostle, stem by stem

declaring the marvelous joining.

This is the face of communion,

the incarnation once more

gracefully resurrected from winter.” Lynn Ungar

Originally created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Capek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Maya Capek, Norbert's widow. In this ceremony, everyone in the congregation brings a flower. Each person places a flower on the altar or in a shared vase. The congregation and minister bless the flowers, and they're redistributed. Each person brings home a different flower than the one they brought.

Bring with you a few flowers to join in our flower ceremony ritual and New Member Ceremony.

Launching Our Theme-Based Ministry, 2025-2026

Our church belongs to the Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations who commit to connecting with monthly spiritual themes. Beginning in September, our worship services and religious exploration program will becentered around the Soul Matters themes. You will also notice our themes popping up in other places -- the marquee sign out front will have monthly themed welcome statements connecting our neighborhood with what is inspiring us that month and via our newsletter, our minister Rev. Megan will invite you to explore spiritual practices connected to the themes.

Listed in the graphic below, these themes offer us an opportunity to go deeper into our practices of Unitarian Universalism as a whole UUCSC community. One goal of the Soul Matters themed ministry is “to get us out of our heads and into our lives.” Whether you are new to Unitarian Universalism or a long-time UU, these offerings provide a variety of paths to connect to our faith and one another from week-to-week.