Recent Services
"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.