Established in 1876, the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara is a free religious community, dedicated to the search for truth and the love of humankind. Although we have no creed or dogma, we support one another in the search for truth, knowing that there is no end to its revelation.
New service times begin this week at The Unitarian Society. Our two Sunday morning services are at 9:15 and 11:00 AM every Sunday. Our worship theme for September's is Vocation.
Please come join us for a cup of coffee during the community social hour between the services.
Sunday, September 5
The Guest House Service Host: Peter Hale Participants: John Warnock, Paul Freeman and Stuart Brandt
To paraphrase one of our speakers - We are a Guest House... every Sunday bringing new arrivals and members together in community. On July Fourth we welcomed three Unitarian women from the 19th century...Olympia Brown, Amy Lowell and Margaret Fuller.
Based on the success of this event, we are inviting three more Unitarian ancestors to talk about their lives. The Rev. James Freeman Clarke, who radically changed congregational life, Phineas P. Quimby, the founder of the New Thought Movement, who Emerson called "the most original American" and Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. What? Rumi was a Unitarian? Well, we invoke his name and reference his words so often, he might as well be. On Labor Day Sunday we will make Rumi an honorary UU and listen as he reads his poetry and tells of life in 12th-century Persia.
Please join us for wonderful stories, music, silence, conversation and fellowship.
Sunday, September 12
Where the Water Touches Sand Rev. Aaron McEmrys
In this, our annual multigenerational Ingathering service, we will begin our new “church year” with story, song and a very special “Blessing of the Waters.” Music and word will be woven together by musicians Ellen Rockne, Michael Guinn and all three of our choirs! Please bring a small container of water to share, preferably water from a place or time that is meaningful to you. See the accompanying article for details on our potluck community time between services.
Sunday, September 19
Sound the Shofar Rev. Aaron McEmrys
The Shofar is an ancient horn, often a ram’s horn. When sounded, it’s powerful notes resonate far beyond the musical. For thousands of years our Jewish brothers and sisters have blown the shofar in the weeks leading up to Yom Kippur as a way of jolting themselves awake, into a kind of vital alive-ness that makes them aware enough and ready enough to see themselves and all their relationships clearly – which is, of course, a precondition for restoring peace and harmony inside and out. We all need to be jolted awake sometimes; from our habits, our busyness, our assumptions and everything else that clouds our sight. Please join us as we celebrate Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and explore the many kinds of sacred jolting that can help us find integrity and wholeness within and between us.
Sunday, September 26
Calling Forth Voice Service Host: Shelley Noble
Thomas Merton wrote that silence is not broken by speech but by the anxiety to be heard. Vak, the Hindu goddess of speech, does not feel anxiety to be heard for she communicates as eloquently in silence as she does through speech. In "churning Her from the depths of the ocean", how might She awaken us, the listeners, to our vocation, our "calling?"