Minister's Page
Nancy and I were looking for a new adventure
This year I will be the Interim Minister
of the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Studio City, California.
Our address is:
11023 McCormick Street, #321
No. Hollywood, CA 91601
Or maybe we can Skype: "rev.mike.young".
Nancy's cell: (808) 389-2225 — salth2onancy@gmail.com
After 44 years of ministry as a Unitarian Universalist minister at churches in California, Florida and Hawaii, Nancy and I decided to become itinerate. Since it was a new adventure, we chose to make it really new and went off to be the Interim Minister of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville, ME. Yes, it was cold up there! But we had lived in sunny climes since finishing theological school in 1965, so what the heck.
We stayed there two years and were ready for our next adventure. Mike is still happy ministering and Nancy continues to blossom in all the things she does. So, where are we now? At one of the more exciting churches in the Los Angeles Area: Studio City! Yes, those studios.
We hit the ground running, as they say. We're living in NoHo—that's North Hollywood, the arts district. Live theatre, incredible restaurants, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and like that.
Rev. Mike Young was the Interim Minister for the Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville, Maine from Summer 2009 to Summer 2011. He has served Unitarian Universalist churches in Palo Alto, CA, West Los Angeles, CA, Tampa, Florida, and Honolulu, Hawai'i. A graduate of The University of Redlands and Andover Newton Theological School, Rev. Young was one of our earliest Community Ministers, serving as UU Campus Minister at Stanford University '65-69 and later working to develop innovative juvenile programs for the Los Angeles Juvenile Court. He has been very active in the communities he has served, and has received several awards for interfaith, inter-racial and social justice activities.
Rev. Young is the author of A Preachers Poems, a volume of poetry published by Praxis International, available on Amazon.com.
Mike and Nancy are chronic parents – 34 children in all, depending on who you let them count. Two biological kids, one adopted, a long string of foster kids, refugees and foreign exchange students now scattered all over the world. Nancy Young is a poet, artist, potter and sculptor. She is a docent at the Honolulu Academy of Art.
For a fuller biography go to Ministerial Record
—MORE—
A RECENT MINISTER'S COLUMN
They applauded!
I've never been applauded for an Invocation before, and I've delivered a lot of them at public events of all sorts. City Council meetings, legislatures, graduation ceremonies, etc. Snored at, ignored, occasionally complimented after; but applauded? Never in 46 years of UU ministry.
The occasion was the monthly delegate meeting of the L.A. County Labor Council, on the day of the announcement that the grocery workers and the grocery corporations had settled their contract dispute; i.e. we won! Several of you had demonstrated with me at our local Ralph's Market and I'd worked with C.L.U.E.-LA on the campaign. As some sort of “thank you,” I guess; I was invited to do the invocation after the BBQ and victory celebration.
And they applauded!
What does it mean? Your community is ready for Unitarian Universalism is what I think it means. And we need to get the word out that we're here.
Here's what they applauded:
“We come from different backgrounds, and are followers of differing faiths. We speak of those things of deep importance to us in differing ways. Recognizing this diversity as a part of the richness of the life this community shares together, I invite each of you to follow in your own way as I lead in prayer and invocation.
“We call into our awareness the highest, deepest, best that we know. Called by many names and no name, we acknowledge that we are always in that presence. We acknowledge that behind and beneath our differing images, languages and perceptions lies the experience of that common presence.
“In common is our respect for that presence in our lives that enables us to face the unknown with courage; that prods and beckons us to be more than we are or have been, and to embrace one another in all our rich diversity as brothers, sisters, neighbors, friends.
“We acknowledge the common interests and concerns that bring us together.
“We would call to awareness the rich heritage of common values which, even across our great diversity, we yet share: a respect for the worth and dignity of each individual; a commitment to democratic process; to justice, equity and compassion in human affairs; a respect for the human and natural environment we must all share together; a dream that all of the boundaries—real and imagined—that have separated us one from another might become bridges between us, and then bonds joining us together.
“These are some of the ways we have learned are wisest. We would have their wisdom inform our decisions, mediate our conflicts and inspire our imaginations.
“Let us pause, each of us, to open ourselves to that deepest presence in our lives. We would be worthy of it.”
Yep. They were Unitarian Universalists and they didn't know it.
—Rev. Mike Young
Up-Coming Adult Religious Exploration Opportunities:
Reading The Bible
In Historical, Cultural and Linguistic Context
A Discussion Led by Rev. Mike Young
TWO SESSIONS: Either/Or
Tuesday morning, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thursday evening, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Whether one believes in the Bible or not, it is indispensable for understanding the Western heritage. It often doesn't say what folk think it does. And, read in full historical, cultural and linguistic context, it is often a much more interesting literature.
I'll share what I know, from the best Biblical scholarship available.
Here's an MP3 of an Introduction to the Old Testament:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_GY_9cspOQ6NjM1MjQxOWUtZDRjYS00ZDA0LTkxNDktYTAxNzRmNTE5ZmEw
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Introduction to
Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage
Led by Rev. Mike Young
First Sunday of each month, 11:30 a.m. After the service
One of the best ways to understand our peculiar religious tradition is by looking at how we got this way. We'll take a lighthearted romp through the history and conflicts that shaped us and the values that have grown out of them.
Whether you're a long time UU looking for a refresher or a newbie considering joining us, you'll enjoy the history and theology of our living tradition.
Rev. Mike Young, Interim Minister
church: (818) 769-5911, cell: (207) 313-7232
e-mail: revmike@uustudiocity.org
My Office Hours are:
Tuesday mornings 9:00 a.m. To 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thursday afternoons 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Other times by appointment
Mondays are my day off and I belong to Nancy, but the rest of the week...
If I'm too busy to see YOU, then I'm TOO BUSY! Call or come by.
For more information about me, look here:
