Recent services

March 15
Celebration of Belonging: Crossing A New Threshold
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Our service will be dedicated to exploring the meaning and experiencing the joy of crossing the threshold into religious/ethical community. We will honor new members in a special ritual of welcome and recognition. Our affirmation of life as participants and members of a liberal religion committed to celebration, caring, challenge, centering and change will offer both the festive and the serious. Join us as we celebrate the important act of choosing to belong.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.

March 8
Can We Save Unitarian Universalism?
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

This religious community, the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, has joined in a deep dialogue with its two sister churches in the North East Bay (Kensington & Oakland) and with the Starr King Seminary. The future of this liberal religious/ethical faith is at stake. What are the values we must carry forward? What legacies from the past will embolden and support us? What role are we called to play out of the values we hold to help heal and transform a world alive with both pain and beauty?
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.

March 1
“This I Believe”
Judith Granada-Dewey and Richard Dewey
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

One of the ways to shift power from hierarchy to a “level playing field” is listening to each other’s life stories so that we can be seen and heard, thus appreciating the choices we’ve made and who we have become through the process. In our “This I Believe” series, initiated in the 1990s, two new Fellowship members will share their spiritual journeys.
Judith Granada-Dewey and Richard Dewey have been faithfully driving from Benicia for our Sunday morning services since early 2008. Max Ventura will provide music.

February 22
"Hope On A Tightrope"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

Dr. Cornell West, inspirational, prophetic, Socratic visionary, has
called us all to explore the way of hope in his recent book, Hope on a
Tightrope. He asks, "What must happen for us to stay awake permanently
and commit to critically engaging the public interest or expanding the
common good?" Join us as we explore these and other questions of this
good and dangerous man.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.


February 15
Everyday Spiritual Practice
Aline Prentice
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Aline will explore how we can bring spiritual practice into our
everyday lives. How can we connect with the Source of Love as fuel for
our way of being and our actions in the world? What is the quality of
deep listening that brings us closer to this Source? What is the
Presence that carries us through the difficulties�and the paradoxical
grace or kindness we can find even in the darkest of moments? How can
we bring sacredness into the everyday�particularly in our close
relationships, communities, organizations, and social justice work?
Aline works on socially engaged spiritually programs with Donald
Rothberg, author of The Engaged Spiritual Life. She is Member/Guest
Relations Coordinator at BFUU, where she also conducts young adult
programs with Lena Richardson. Max Ventura will provide music.

February 8
Where Is the Stranger?
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Aline Prentice

The practice of hospitality is a grace to which all cultures devote
abundant energy. What deep spiritual and ethical truths within the
human lead us to such a practice? Is anyone a stranger? What are the
key elements of authentic hospitality?
Join our Sunday Service and add your heart to the mix.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.

February 1
African American Participation in Ending World War II
Burl Smith, Robert Edwards, and Lillian Edwards
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

Burl Smith thought it would be fun to fly a plane, so when his buddy was selected to train as a pilot for the Tuskegee Airmen, he decided to apply. He was surprised to be selected for what he considered to be a rather prestigious group even though they were not recognized by their white peers.

Robert Edwards was a navy yeoman in 1944 when the service was
segregated. He wants to explain the facts of what happened when some
of the African-American men stationed at Port Chicago in Concord
refused to load munitions onto the ship. Lillian Edwards, Bob's wife,
has been a community activist since moving here from Chicago in 1992
where she had been active. She has been a member of Stagebridge and
chair of Healthy Living Committee at North Oakland Senior Center. BFUU
member Dolores Helman will engage the presenters in conversation about
their experiences.
Music by Marianne Robinson and Marty Rosman

January 25
Joys & Sorrows of Living in the Modern Age
Wes "Scoop" Nisker
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

Wes Nisker explores the foolish human condition and the joys and
sorrows of living in the modern age. He places today's headlines in
the context of biological evolution and all of human history, and
thereby offers us the relief and laughter that only vast perspectives
can bring.

Wes is a well-known author, radio commentator, and Buddhist meditation
teacher at Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre. His books include The Big
Bang, The Buddha, The Baby Boom, and his national bestseller,
Essential Crazy Wisdom. Editor and cofounder of the international
Buddhist journal Inquiring Mind, his latest book is The Best of
Inquiring Mind. He will provide music as well.

January 18
By Our Blood & Tears
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

On the weekend that celebrates one of America's most courageous
prophets, Martin Luther King, Jr., we will explore the meaning of
being white in the 21st Century United States. The costs of racism for
Whites and for People of Color is beyond reckoning, but with the
swearing in of the first President of color for this country, there
may be new fruit on the tree of our national collective. Join us as we
step onto an old yet new path of reconciliation and rebirth.
Evelie Delfino S�les Posch will provide music.

January 11
Storytelling and Democracy
Lena Richardson
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Creating spaces for storytelling about our own lives and the lives of
our elders and ancestors can deepen and enrich our personal lives as
well as the social fabric of our communities. Storytelling and
art-making processes also have the potential to build more democratic
organizations and institutions that ultimately impact our political
future. In this service, R. Lena Richardson will draw on her work with
StoryCorps, the national oral history project; the Kitchen
Conversations Dialogue Program with the Lower East Side Tenement
Museum; and her work as a researcher with the Arts and Democracy
Project documenting arts-based dialogue civic engagement work around
the country.
Lena has a Master's in Adult Education. She is co-leading the dynamic
spirituality classes with Aline Prentice, and plans to offer a
four-part workshop related to today's presentation.

January 4
Entering the Century: Paying Our Hopes Forward
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald

Almost a full decade into the 21st Century, it has already taken more
than one wild turn. What are its true claims upon us and how can we
lay down a course that celebrates spirited renewal? The shape of
Unitarian Universalism in the East Bay is deeply affected by and
interwoven into this new time.
Rev. Kuhwald will share some of the work of the dialogue that is now
taking place between leaders from the Fellowship, Starr King School
for the Ministry (in Berkeley) and the UU Church of Berkeley (in
Kensington).
Evelie Delfino S�les Posch will provide music.

December 28
“The University, the Patriarchy, 9/11 and How I Recovered”
Batya Weinbaum, PhD
Coordinator: TBA

Batya Weinbaum is a Feminist who taught multicultural literature at
Cleveland State University from 1998-2003. Today she will speak of how
being a published feminist made her professorial career at Cleveland
State more difficult, and how she took her difficulty and created
literature about it. Ms. Weinbaum edits FemSpec, a journal discussing
and publishing feminist speculative fiction, and teaches at Eastern
Carolina University. After earning an MA from SUNY Buffalo, she
received her PhD from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is
also a visual artist. Yet another aspect of her creativity is her
daughter Ola.

December 21
Winter Solstice, Sweet Solstice
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

Join us as we return to the source of winter celebration in the
Northern Hemisphere. Winter Solstice, Sweet Solstice . . . the time
of turning, turning from the nurturing and protective times of dark to
the reemergence of light-lit days and the rekindling of steady summer
warmth. Let us lift up the ancient and the present as we celebrate
Earth's journey.

December 14

"St.George and the Dragon", a mummers' play
Presenters: Entanglement Sword and Amy Baldwin
Coordinator: Ardys DeLu
Mummers' plays have been performed in England, Scotland, Wales, and
Ireland for hundreds of years. Amy Baldwin and Entanglement Sword will perform a version of "St.George and the Dragon"a mummers'play, which will include music and dance. Amy Baldwin will also give a brief history of mumming.


December 7
Endless War No More
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley
On this anniversary of one of modern history's most infamous military
attacks, and at this time of hope for a new possibility in dismantling
the excesses of militarism, we will explore the meaning of peace and
war within the gentle and sacred crucible of our Sunday morning service.


November 30
Towards Freedon--Connecting the Dots
Elanne Kresser
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

How do we organize ourselves to meet a challenging world with fluidity and grace? What internal resources must we develop to experience an inner sense of stability amid the instability of our times? Feldenkrais, developed by the late Moshe Feldenkrais, is an approach to human development and learning through movement. Widely known for its ability to help people recover from pain and improve movement, its essence is a practical philosophy of freedom. Elanne Kresser is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner and student of Zen Buddhism.

November 23
Association Sunday
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

This Sunday, in the midst of the weekend dedicated to thanksgiving, we
will celebrate the Fellowship's vital relationship with the Unitarian
Universalist Association. All across North America, congregations have
been dedicating one Sunday during this fall period to remembering the
ties we hold to the Association, a relationship that gives us strength
and a wider, richer connection to UUs across the continent. Let us
celebrate the UU web of interconnection.

November 16
A New World
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Ardys DeLu

After the election . . . we will celebrate our commitment to
transformation, no matter who wins or loses, no matter what we gained
or lost. Sunday is the time to ritualize our deep connection with the
world, each other and our sense of personal journey--that spacious,
precious journey that continues no matter what windstorms, what
earthquakes rock our world. Join us as we celebrate and mourn.
Guaranteed: here will be material enough for all.


November 9
Elders Community and Wisdom
Barry Barkan
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

Barry Barkan, leader of the Elders' Guild, will speak about the Guild
and its work to energize those on the path to becoming elders to build
community, cultivate wisdom, and blend spirituality and activism as we
champion future generations. Particularly now, in these challenging
times, society needs its elders to stand up and become a force for
healing and renewal as we redeem our legacy to the grandchildren. It's
not too late to complete the work begun in the 1960s.
Barry will also describe the Elders' Guild workshop on "Championing
The Future"scheduled for November 16 at the North Berkeley Jewish
Community Center.

November 2
Election Un-spun
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Two days before the most important election of our lifetimes, perhaps
of the entire history of this country, we gather, as we always do on
Sundays: To lift up our spirits, to reconnect with those we care
deeply about, to ride the wild hour of "worship" deep into the
interiors of our hearts�-which is right where the political is most
vitally alive. Join us for a pre-election pump-up.

October 26
All Souls Celebration and Renewal
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

Egyptians, pre-Spanish Mexicans and Celts of the ancient British Isles celebrated summer's end (Samhain) as a moment in the great cyclical round of life. In the Celtic worldview, Samhain is the time when the natural order of the universe dissolves back into primordial chaos, preparatory to reestablishing itself in a new order. During that time the veil between the visible and invisible worlds is thinned, and passage between them, as well as sight-lines into the future, are most possible. Join us as we celebrate those who have passed and as we divine our future pathways.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch and Marty Rosman will provide music.

October 19
Learn to Live Together or Perish as Fools?
Max Elbaum
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Humanity today is even more inter-connected—and more in danger—than it was
40-plus years ago when Dr. Martin Luther King spoke those words. Finding ways to resolve conflict through dialogue instead of war is not only a moral and ethical
imperative, but a more urgent political one than ever before. So is the
challenge of cooperating with people across the planet to tackle global warming,
water and food shortages, rising inequality, and other humanity-threatening
crises. The moment holds great perils, but also new possibilities for peace and
human betterment. Join in this dialogue about danger, change, and hope.
Max Elbaum, an activist in peace and anti-racist movements since the 1960s, is
an editor of War Times/Tiempo de Guerras, an antiwar education project at
www.war-times.org

October 12
Indigenous People's Day: Heart Drum, World Drum
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

October 13 is Indigenous People's Day. Calling it so affirms the insight that, as Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Democracy Now!, “I'm convinced that indigenous peoples are the moral reserve of humanity.”
Join us as we recommit ourselves to honoring the First Peoples of this land, seeking to ground our work for justice, and for a deepening path of wisdom, in the pathways extending from the depths of ancient times.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch and Marty Rosman will provide music.

October 5
Proposition 8 – Anti-Marriage Initiative
Why Same-Sex Marriage Should NOT Be Abolished
Kristen & Emily Montan
Coordinator: Ardys DeLu

Today Kristen and Emily Montan will speak about Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that would change the California constitution so that same-sex couples would no longer be allowed to marry. They will discuss the advantages of their marriage, and why all couples deserve such an advantage.
Kristen and Emily Montan became domestic partners in 2003. They had a big church wedding in July 2008 at the First UU Church of Oakland. They are a couple wrestling with all the plans and legal ramifications of getting older.

September 28
Autumnal Balance, Autumnal Edge
Rev.Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

How can this season, when the sun reaches its mid-way point between summer and winter, strengthen our resolve to live compassionately, yet with courage? What teaching does this season offer to our hearts and minds with the shortening of days? What joy can there be in knowing that the dark (death?) is nearing? Join us as we engage questions at the quick of our fragile lives.

September 21
Jeremiah:Then and Now
Coordinator and Presenter: Dolores Helman and Gene B. Herman

The Prophet Jeremiah admonishes the people of Judea: "They refuse
justice to orphans and the rights of the poor...stop your wicked thoughts and deeds, be fair to others, stop exploiting orphans,widows, and foreigners. And stop your murdering."
"God damn America," railed Reverend Jeremiah Wright at his
congregation..."governments failed, the United States of America
failed at treating its Native American citizens, failed at treating
fairly its citizens of Japanese descent, failed its African American
citizens..."
How do these two Jeremiahs, one an Old Testament prophet, the other a
21st century preacher, relate to us today in Berkeley and to Jews and
Palestinians in Israel-Palestine? Is there hope for peace and justice
for our congregation and our Jewish, Muslim, and Christian brothers
and sisters?

September 14
The Haitian People's Stand for Democracy & Justice
Pierre LaBossiere
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

Two of our UU principles are about the dignity and worth of every human being and belief in the democratic process. We will explore with Haitian-American Pierre LaBossiere the spirit of the Haitian people in
their long, unrelenting embrace of freedom and dignity despite the
ruinous policies of the "neighbor to the North." We will examine the
inclusivity and strength of the spiritual tradition that sustains the
"poor" in Haiti.
Pierre is a dedicated justice and labor activist, a backbone of Haiti
solidarity across the country. With his wife Maria and children who
share his unique moral intensity, he has transformed the suffering of
many in his work with the Haiti Action Committee and the East Bay
Sanctuary Covenant.

September 7
"Liquid Like Life"
BFUU Annual Water Ritual of Welcome
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Joining waters from our summer sojourns is an old Fellowship and
Unitarian Universalist tradition. Bring some water from wherever you
traveled(around your neighborhood, across the planet) and we will
greet one another in this official ritual beginning of the new UU
year. Let the wonder of water reawaken visions of fluidity, clarity,
depth and life-giving mystery.

August 31
Labor Day
"Labor Activists Among Us"
Bill Balderston & Marianne Robinson
Coordinator: Marianne Robinson

We will honor departed Fellowship members Harold Rossman and Martha Roberts, who were lifelong activists in the Labor Movement. We will recall their lives as dedicated leaders in our congregation and in the significant workers’ struggles of the 20th century, and make links with today’s labor movement. Bill and Marianne will also touch on their participation in the labor movement.
Activist and musician Eliot Kenin will join us in singing well-known anthems of the Labor Movement.


August 24
“Qualities of the Contented Heart”
Eve Decker
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

The Buddha taught ten qualities that when engaged in as practices can lead to profound peace and transformation in individuals and communities. Buddhist practitioner and musician Eve Decker will invite us through word, poetry, and song to consider how we can deepen these qualities in our own lives.
Eve has practiced Buddhism in the Vipassana style since 1992. She is a member of the Berkeley radical folk trio Rebecca Riots, performs original “Dharma Music” for spiritual communities around the bay. She taught elementary school music and theater in the East Bay for more than 20 years.

August 17
"Information Warrior: Taking a Stand in an 'Anti-terrorist' Climate"
Josh Wolf
Coordinator: Ardys DeLu

Josh Wolf is an independent journalist and video blogger. He refused to comply with a federal grand jury subpoena demanding both his testimony and the footage he shot of an anarchist protest in July 2005. Josh was represented by lawyers from the National Lawyers Guild and the First Amendment Project. He was released in April 2007 after spending 226 days in a federal detention center—more time in jail for protecting source material in U.S. history than any other person. Today he will speak about taking a stand in our new “anti-terrorist” climate.

August 10th, 2008
"Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Nuclear Age"
Cynthia Johnson, Gene Herman, and Congregation
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

Today we will have a circle discussion on the effects of living in the
Nuclear Age. Do you remember seeing pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
and the destruction left after the bombings? The air raid drills here
at home? What can we do to help heal the wounds caused by such massive
violence and our society's acceptance of it?

August 3
"Strength for the Struggle"
Carole Holtz with Congregation
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

Today we will have a circle discussion on how we power up spiritually for activism. What practices have individuals in our community developed to stay centered and work from a place of joy and love as well as commitment?

July 27
"Sharing Our Words"
Fellowship Poets
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

Today some of the precious spirits of our community will share, through their poetry, life experiences that influenced their spiritual journeys.

July 20
"Winter Soldier"
Rev. Meg Whittaker-Greene
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

This past spring Iraq Veterans Against the War held profoundly significant hearings in Washington DC on their experiences of the Iraq war and occupation. They hoped that our elected officials would pay attention to their experiences, the reality on the ground, and the dehumanizing and brutalizing impact of war. Their transforming courage to speak reality rather than spin remind us that the strongest warriors are those who speak the truth.

Rev. Whittaker-Greene is associated with the Faith Fools Street Ministry, Interfaith Peace Witness and CodePINK, and a member of Veterans for Peace.

July 13
"The Sacred in Siberia"
Presenter: Aline Prentice
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

Aline Prentice will discuss how the sacred weaves into daily life in Siberia between Buddhist, shaman, and Eastern Orthodox traditions that have peacefully coexisted for over 300 years. Her reflections will tie together reverence for sacred sites, traditions of offering blessings, and lessons from living in the taiga forest: interdependence and connection with the earth, simplicity, acceptance, and a sense of wonder at the majestically vast expanses.

Aline spent the past four years living in the Lake Baikal region, working on environmental, youth, and non-profit development projects and going for several months on spiritual retreat in a remote Buddhist community.

June 29
"Pride! Pride! Pride!"
Speaker from the Pacific Center for Human Growth
Coordinator: TBA

Join us as we celebrate the pride in family. On this, the weekend of Gay Pride, we raise our banners high to affirm our commitment and our love for the Gay community. Our speaker comes from the Pacific Center for Human Growth, whose work has made an important difference in supporting all who “Stand on the Side of Love.”

June 22
"Navigating Towards Global Beloved Community—Reflections on True Development from Africa to America"
Sara Wolcott
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

How might we best navigate towards Global Beloved Community? How do we realize wholeness and justice as the dominant global paradigms? What is true human development? Quaker writer and speaker Sara Wolcott connects the dots from her journey of following these questions from East Africa to Memphis, Tennessee to Oakland, California, and offers her experience, strength, and hope in this growing global movement.

June 15
"Honoring the Legacy, Engaging the Present, Welcoming the Future"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

As Rev. Kuhwald leaves the Congregation for the summer (returning in September), the title of the sermon will guide our service: Honor what this mighty congregation has accomplished and survived. Engage our global/local/congregational moment with courage and zest. Offer a wide and wonderful Welcome to the future.

June 8
"Survival Through Community"
The Congregation
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

Today is the Flower Communion, when we each bring a flower that represents something about our self to add to a bouquet representing our Fellowship community. Then we each receive someone else’s flower in the spirit of unconditional acceptance. Thus we celebrate our unity in diversity, as necessary a lifeline today as it was to its creator, the Czech Unitarian minister Norbert F. Capek, when he led members of his congregation in standing up against the Nazis.
Music will be provided by our friend and folk-style singer, Max Ventura.

June 1
"The Serenity Prayer"
Presenters from 12-Step Programs
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

The Serenity prayer—"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference"—has been mostly associated with the 12-Step recovery programs. However, this timeless prayer not only has been a life-saver for survival; it is also a spiritual touchstone and anchor as many strive to deepen the spirituality of their entire lives and their communities.
Members from 12-Step groups will speak about how this prayer has affected their whole lives. Respecting their anonymity, we are not publishing their names.

May 25
"Blessed Unrest"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

There is a powerful movement, underneath the radar of the major media and the national governmental bureaucracy, a movement for sanity, environmental integrity, and human equity that Paul Hawken (entrepreneur, international speaker and writer) reveals in his latest book. Blessed Unrest holds out powerful reasons for hope in our times that will be the basis for Rev. Kuhwald’s sermon.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will perform.

May 18
"Reflections on the ‘Stuff’ in Our Lives"
Ann Leonard

Today we will explore the fascinating hidden environmental and social impacts of the ways we make, use, and throw away all the stuff of daily life. Over the past 20 years, Ann Leonard has traveled to 40 countries investigating the factories where our stuff is made and the dumps where it is dumped, talking with communities and activists along the way. She will reflect on her own spiritual journey, which resulted in “The Story of Stuff,” the film that is becoming an internet phenomenon, generating over two million viewers in its four months.
Ann Leonard grew up in a UU household in Seattle and now lives in Berkeley with her daughter.
Cantor and Peace Troubadour Daniel Zwickel will provide music.

May 11
"In Such a Time as This"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

How are you being called to be present at this time on the Earth? How may we, in the words of the great minister/theologian/activist Howard Thurman, keep fresh before us the moments of our high resolve? In honor of his mother, and mothers everywhere, Rev. Kuhwald will deliver this sermon he offered to the students and faculty at the Starr King Chapel this year.

May 4
"May Day/Beltane"
Greg Harder
Coordinator: Nancy Feinberg

May Day/Beltane was an important holiday to many of our ancestors, and it is still important. Our speaker Greg Harder, with his wife Rachael, will give us some background about the holiday’s history and relevance today.
Greg Harder is a pagan priest.

April 27
"Walking Together"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

Join us for a celebration of long-time and elder members, as well as those who have recently thrown in their lot with this band of creative, non-conforming, loving, and intelligent folk of the Berkeley Fellowship. What does it mean to "walk together" in this time of planetary peril and possibility? Share this Sunday with us as we walk together in celebration and inquiry.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.

April 20
"Gratitude for Father Earth and Mother Sky"
Earl W. Koteen, Intern Minister
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

In Egyptian mythology, Earth is the god Geb, black as the mud of the Nile and green as the plants that grow from him. He is the brother and husband of Nut, the goddess of the sky, whose blue skin is covered with stars.
In this his last sermon as Intern Minister, Earl will express his gratitude for mother and father earth, father and mother sky, and for the hospitality of Fellowship.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.

April 13
"I'll Pass"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Nancy Louise Feinberg

As we enter the great Jewish Passover season, what depths of tradition can Unitarian Universalists plumb? And what might it mean to put our faith in a sense of natural blessedness and integrity? How are our lives woven with both the present and the past so that we face the future with vitality, courage, and care?

April 6
"Jesus: Friends and Enemies"
Rev. Lee Williamson
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

If one cares about the way of Jesus, how will that shape engagement with both friends and enemies? If Jesus really is about love what should his enemies expect from/of him? What about his friends?

We will explore some of the ways Christians have, and have not, gotten it right. We will ask, in the context of war and terror, how we might respond to enemies in ways that are consistent with the gospel.

Rev. Lee Williamson is a United Methodist pastor (retired) and a graduate of the Pacific School of Religion. He has lived and worked in the SF Bay Area for more than 30 years as a pastor and a peace activist. In retirement he strives to "seek justice, love, and kindness, and to walk humbly with God." (Micah 6:8)

Maxina Ventura will provide music.

March 30
"Headache Spells and High Resolve"
Pamela Gehrke
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

Many people in our American culture would say that belief in reward and punishment after death is necessary in maintaining morality. In contrast, Howard Thurman's heart whispers, "Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve." Beginning with a story of a Chinese folk hero, the Monkey King, we will consider how religious tradition can guide us in making moral choices.

Pamela Gehrke is a third-year student at Starr King School for the Ministry, formerly a teacher of freshman English, literature, and mythology at UC Berkeley and SF State. She is a member of the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo and lives in Burlingame.

March 23
"Arcing Sunwise"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer
Gliding 'cross the intersection of up and down (the Vernal Equinox), we will begin the first of a series on spiritual/ethical practice. What does it take to live our life intentionally, arcing toward light, toward goodness, toward compassion and love? Join us as we delve into the meaning of Personal Practice.
Gael Alcock and the Cello Posse will perform.

March 16
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Poor People's Campaign
Rev. Dr. Gabriella Lettini
Coordinator: Tom McAninley
40 years ago the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. announced the Poor People's Campaign--a movement of poor Blacks, Whites, Native Americans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and others who came together to end poverty and to secure economic justice and human rights in the United States. After MLK's assassination, 7,000 protesters went to reflect on the present conditions of the poor in the US and globally.
Gabriella Lettini is Director of Studies in Public Ministries and Associate Professor of Theological Ethics at Starr King School for the Ministry--GTU. She is organizing a Bay Area Poverty Truth Commission at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, April 10, 2008.

March 9
"Spells and Resolve on the Yogic Path"
Alexandra McGee
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson
Today we will reflect on surrender and knowledge on the Yogic Path and living in our bodies. Alexandra McGee will offer insight on embodiment, spiritual practice, and origins of deep yogic philosophy. Ms. McGee is a third-year student at Starr King School for the Ministry, soon to complete her Master of Divinity with a focus on Sanskrit, chaplaincy, and Hindu theology.
Alex has practiced Yoga since 1989 and taught yoga in prison, corporations, churches, schools, and eco-villages since 1994.

March 2
"You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard
What is grief? What is mourning? What does the death of a loved one mean for the living? How can we, how shall we grieve? Let us explore the experience of loss and the human ways of responding when "Now there is a hole in the universe."
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will perform.

February 24
"Dear Madame/Mr. President"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

After the major primaries for President this month, Rev. Kuhwald will offer words to the candidates. Seeking a vision to guide us in the post-Bush era, Rev. Kurt will directly address the powers that might be through a personal appeal, in letter form: Whither democracy? What will sustain us? Who is in control? What leadership is needed?

Join us as we search for truth amidst the detritus of a dying patriarchy.
Hali Hammer will provide music.

February 17

"Remembering Japanese Americans during the Internment"
Shizue Seigel
Coordinator: Nancy Feinberg

After Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States of America was gripped by fear, anger and racial prejudice. In the name of national security, 120,000 Japanese Americans--innocent men, women and children, citizens and non-citizens alike--were incarcerated in American concentration camps. Not a single one was ever found guilty of espionage or sabotage.

Author Shizue Seigel sketches vivid portraits of two dozen teachers, ministers, and just plain folks who advocated for the Japanese Americans in the media, worked in internment camps, safeguarded their property, or helped them start new lives afterwards.

February 10
"Being, Consciousness, Bliss, & Death"
Earl Koteen
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer
Asian Indian philosophy states that the nature of the Absolute is "being, consciousness, bliss" and that the personal Self and the Absolute are one. This philosophy powerfully helped to guide Emerson, Thoreau, and other Unitarian fore-bearers to develop Transcendentalism. Earl, our intern minister and a chaplain resident, will speak about how knowledge of our true Self prepares us to be present both in life and to death.
Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will provide music.

February 3
"Cultivating the Eye, the Ear, and the Heart"
Karina Epperlein
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

Filmmaker and teacher Karina Epperlein will speak about her lifelong personal and artistic journey to explore that which is invisible or shrouded in darkness, labeled as "other," or excluded by mainstream society. With the eyes and ears of a poet, her work is always finding light and beauty, addressing the themes of transformation and healing. She will share her insights about witnessing and curiosity as a way of being.

A native of Germany, Karina Epperlein has worked in Europe and the U.S. for the past 30 years as a filmmaker, theater artist and teacher. She lives in Berkeley and has a Tai Chi studio in Oakland. Karina has made documentaries on women in prison and their children; survivors of genocide; Anna Halperin's expressive Art Therapy; young people's growth; and the award-winning "Phoenix Dance" on an imperfect body doing graceful movement.

January 27
"Teach the Children"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer

At this critical moment in the life of the Earth what is it that we should teach the children? What will cultivate a sense of purpose, love for life, and a consciousness attuned to the deepest sources of creativity? What transformation must we undertake to live the maturity we seek to encourage in our children? What does the child that still lives within us need to feel safe, loved, and challenged?
Rev. Kuhwald will attempt to walk through some possible answers.
Maxina Ventura will offer her music.

January 20
"The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & The Longest Walk 1978 - 2008"
Wounded Knee De Ocampo
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson

As we remember the profound legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we are called to remember the indigenous holocaust, which, together with the slave trade, formed the basis of the 13 Colonies economy. Today we will be led by Miwok elder Wounded Knee De Ocampo, who works in the spirit of MLK Jr., Gandhi, and other great nonviolent leaders. Come hear Wounded Knee’s spiritual, nonviolent understanding of Protecting the Earth, including the whole human family and all our relations.
Wounded’s nonviolent practice includes spiritual peace walks: the Longest Walk in 1978 and the Sacred Sites Shell Mound Peace walks, praying at Bay Area burial sites of the Ohlone and Miwok peoples with Vallejo Intertribal Council and Indian People Organizing for Change. Wounded’s other practice with these groups is to preserve the ancient (1500 BCE) Miwok burial ground at Glen Cove Sogoratea in Vallejo against the powers that be.

January 13
"Holding On, and Letting Go"
Peter Olandt
Coordinator: Tom McAninley

By looking to the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, Peter Olandt explores how we might weather the storms in our lives.
Peter Olandt is a third-year seminarian at the Starr King School for the Ministry and is preparing for a career in parish ministry. He has a background in molecular biology and organic farming that he is combining with a commitment to UU principles and sources to build a dynamic ministry.

January 6
"Great 2008 New Year's Ritual"
Led by Evelie Delfino Sales Posch
Coordinator: Nancy Louise Feinberg

Join us for a celebration of the New Year, letting go of the Old, bringing in Freshness, Healing, Good Will, and Peace through music and ritual.

December 30
"New Beginnings"
Poets of the Fellowship
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard

What changes are needed in these times of terror and hope? What is changing in our personal lives, and how can we make changes involve growth? Today some of the poets among us will share poems exploring these questions and celebrating new beginnings in their lives.

December 23
"Solstice: Holy Turning"
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer
Join us as we celebrate the turning of the Sun from its lowest point in the northern sky, toward its apogee in summer. Here at the beginning of Northern California’s winter, we honor and welcome light, love, hope and life itself. Evelie Delfino Sales Posch will grace us with her angelic voice and music.

December 16
Daniel Ellsberg
"Secrecy, Freedom, and the Spiritual Life"
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson



One of the most significant whistleblowers of the 20th Century joined us and reflected on his spiritual life and the role of conscience. Daniel Ellsberg changed the course of history by releasing the Pentagon Papers. He shed light on his personal transformation since committing his life to exposing the deceptions of U.S. leaders.

Dr. Ellsberg grew up in Detroit with dedicated Christian Scientist parents. After Harvard, he became a U.S. Marine Commander, a Rand Analyst, and a high-level civilian in the Pentagon. While writing critically acclaimed books Risk, Ambiguity and Decision and Secrets, he remains a tireless international and local activist. He lives in the East Bay with his wife, Patricia Marx Ellsberg, an engaged Buddhist.

PhoeBe ANNE sorgen sang "Qui Respexit" from Vivaldi's Magnificat, accompanied by Andy Jamieson.

December 9
The Grand Design
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley
Taken from the title track of a CD by singer songwriter Greg Tamblyn, our service will focus on the new sciences’ (and old wisdom’s) expansive vision of the universe. The new/old deeper vision affirms that all things are in some fundamental way alive. Join us as we get cosmic! Gael Alcock and the Cello Posse will perform.

December 2
Chanukah and Christmas
Rabbi David J. Cooper
Coordinator: Helene Goodwin
Chanukah, Christmas, and Winter Solstice share similar traditions. Each holiday reflects an ancient response to the time of darkness, winter.

Rabbi David J. Cooper offers the Jewish teachings of history and thought in a non-authoritarian way. As the Rabbi for Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont, he is part of a community that calls upon us to act tikkum olam, the healing and repair of our planet and our lives. He works to bring compassion, peace, and healing to our community and world.

November 25
Practicing Gratitude: Where Healing the Earth Begins
Esteban Myers with the Congregation
Coordinators: Frances Hillyard & Cynthia Johnson
Every great religion and spiritual tradition has the value of gratitude as a basic foundation on how to live. Our UU principles and practices direct us to the “paradise of this world,” as Rev. Rebecca Parker has eloquently stated. On Thanksgiving weekend we are called to reflect on the priceless gift of life we have all received. Joanna Macy says, “To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe—to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive, lungs that breathe, organs that draw nourishment from LIFE—is a wonder.”

Two members, Cynthia and Esteban, will reflect briefly on their feelings of gratitude of being alive at this moment on Planet Earth. Frances will then guide us in the small group experience to share our appreciation that “even in a dark time the eye can begin to see.”

November 18
Membership and Association Sunday
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Nancy Louise Feinberg
Join us as we celebrate belonging to this wonderful Fellowship and to the larger world of Unitarian Universalism, the Faith that aspires to put the power of the human heart, grounded in the Sacredness of the Earth, into a living, vital ethical/spiritual/activist practice. We will honor our new members, along with the Sages and Crones among us.

November 11
War, Veterans, and the Rule of Law
Paul Rockwell
Coordinator: Tom McAninley
More and more soldiers of conscience, like Lt. Ehren Watada, are refusing to obey orders to fight in Iraq. The growing GI resistance raises profound moral issues regarding the social contract which binds us together as a nation. Is it true that “in war the laws are silent”? National columnist Paul Rockwell will speak about war, veterans, and the rule of law.

November 4
Vote Your Way Out of Hell
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer
Rev. Kuhwald will provide some guidance from the pulpit on how to apply the power of our preciousness to the dirty ways of the world. It will be good to get in touch, once again, with the heart of democracy. We deserve it.

October 28
Dia De Los Muertos
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Helene Goodwin
Deep homage to those who have passed from our lives! It is good, it is necessary, it is one sweet way to strengthen our connection with the great flow of life. Join us as we build an altar of personal mementos and share the images and stories that touch the further reaches of authentic human relationship: how those who have died continue to live in the marrow of our bones, in the core of our hearts, in the ongoing pulse of our daily lives.

October 21
The 11th Hour: Practicing Sustainability
Babak Tondre
Coordinator: Cynthia Johnson
Today we will explore how we live greener lifestyles and create vibrant, urban sustainable communities. Can we be part of the shift from a globalized fossil fuel-based economy that enriches a few, to a localized green economy that strengthens all our communities?

Babak Tondre, a permaculture teacher at DIG cooperative and a curator of the exciting Green City Gallery at 1950 Shattuck @ Hearst, will guide us in making conservation, recycling and ecological design part of our lives.

October 14

Social Justice and the 7th Principle

Séon O’Neill and Lauren Renée Hotchkiss
Coordinator: Lauren Renée Hotchkiss
The 7th Principle is an affirmation of our UU respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. To truly achieve social justice, perhaps we need to look not only at how we treat each other, but also at the way we treat the other species with whom we share the planet.

Séon O’Neill and Lauren Renée Hotchkiss are Cochairs of BFUU’s chapter of UFETA (Unitarian Universalists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Please join Lauren and Séon in the Courtyard after lunch for a Blessing of the Animals service at 1:30 pm. Bring your animal friends (in a carrier or on a leash to keep them safe) or pictures or mementos of them.

October 7
Deep Democracy and The Path to Earth Community
Reverend Kurt Kuhwald
Coordinator: Sylvia Scherzer
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald will lead us in an exploration of the meaning and practice of Deep Democracy and how it is the underpinning of building Another World, a world many name as Earth Community. The first eight words of BFUU's Vision Statement create a focus for our Sunday Celebration: "Living in a time of great planetary challenge. . . ." Join us as we share another joyous step toward claiming our true spiritual-activist home in the heart of Democracy.


September 30
Out of the Belly of the Beast
Earl Koteen,
BFUU Ministerial Intern 2007-2008
Coordinator: Rev. Kurt Kuhwald
Our new intern minister, Earl Koteen, will introduce himself to us in this sermon. A lifelong UU, a retired Federal Government employee and a recent graduate of the Starr King School for the Ministry, Earl will describe some of the beasts in which he's ridden and the implications of beast riding for our futures.

September 23
For the Earth Forever Turning
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
The words of a favorite UU hymn joyously turn our hearts to the great solar event of the season: the Autumnal Equinox. What "wisdom" can we draw from the Earth's relationship with the sun, wisdom that calls us into a fuller love for life and a stronger rebellion against the forces that exploit and degrade it?

September 16
From Fundamentalism to Freedom
Marc Adams
Coordinator: Lauren Renée Hotchkiss
Marc Adams describes his journey, from being raised as a fundamentalist Baptist preacher's son to his time as a student and employee of Jerry Falwell's university. In his presentation he will share his story of coming out, emerging from fundamentalism, and becoming a Unitarian Universalist. All of Marc's books and resources will be available at the service.

Marc Adams is from Seattle and is an award-winning author of nine books. His autobiography, The Preacher's Son, garnered him much critical acclaim.

September 9
Return Again: Annual Water Service
Rev. Kurt Kuhwald
Coordinator: Tom McAninley
BFUU lives by many calendars--board, fiscal, seasonal. One of the most visible is the "beginning" of the Sunday Service/Liturgical year. One Sunday after the Labor Day weekend, we Return Again. We celebrate this returning by holding a special Unitarian Universalist service in which we add water gathered from our summer journeys (whether far away, or to our kitchen sink!) into a common vessel. It is a joyous service celebrating one of the primary elements of life, giving us rich symbols of our common life.

September 2
Sweatshops on Wheels: Chaos at the Port of Oakland
Speaker: Zachary Goldman
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard
The East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice is taking on the chaos at the Port of Oakland with a powerful coalition of unions, non-profits, clergy, and citizens. Zachary a researcher at the ICWJ. The Port of Oakland creates $300 million in annual revenue, but the port trucking system is filled with inequities: Most truckers are immigrants who are forced to work as contractors. They are barely paid minimum wages, have no benefits, must provide their own trucks, carry their own insurance, and are lucky if they net $30K a year. The surrounding community is polluted by diesel, and the driver turnover is 130% each year! We celebrate Labor Day by re-visioning what it means to honor labor and human dignity.

August 26
Another World IS Possible!!!
Rev. Kurt A. Kuhwald
Coordinator: Frances Hillyard
In August, Rev. Kuhwald attended the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia. This regional version of the World Social Forum is a grassroots gathering that began with the “Battle for Seattle” back in 1999. Join us as we explore the great movements for global change that are sweeping humankind into wonderful new creations of social transformation . . . all largely below the corporate media radar.

August 19
Songs Without Words
BFUU Composers
Coordinator: Lauren Renée Hotchkiss
We are all familiar with the feelings that can be communicated through song lyrics, but what of instrumental music where there are no words to convey emotions and tell a story? Lauren Renée Hotchkiss, Nicole Milner and Marty Rosman speak about communicating through music, and what they themselves receive. Lauren Renée Hotchkiss is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter and composer. Nicole Milner is composer/pianist. Marty Rosman has been playing his beautiful piano music at the Fellowship for over 30 years.

August 12
The State of Democracy
Suzanne Marsh
Coordinator: Tom McAninley
Many of us are concerned about the state of democracy in our country. We have heard quite a bit in the last few years about the idea that we must “Reclaim Democracy.” In this service we will explore what that might really mean and consider what effective actions we might be able to take to move us towards that goal. Suzanne helped us look at other periods in history where similar concepts have been discussed, and how to draw on the work of historical and contemporary thinkers such as Theodore Parker, Abraham Lincoln, Cornell West, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Bellah. Suzanne Marsh, a Candidate for the Ministry and the Intern Minister for the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry, is working with Bay Area congregations on Social Justice issues.