First Sermon:
August 21, 2022

Dear Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees I would like to thank the Interim Ministry Search Committee for their commitment and hours of diligent teamwork. Their dedication to our church moves our congregation on its path toward a more beloved community. They are: Chairperson Christina Mathers, Bonnie Burroughs Pierone, Jonathan Bjur, Reid Swanson, Babu Shankar and Luis Harbottle.

 It is with great Pride, hope and faith that I welcome Rev. Rick Hoyt-McDaniels as our new interim minister. He will be joining our congregation on August 15th and his first service with us will be August 21st. We will have a reception following the service to welcome him and his husband to our community. Please join us!

Barbara Allen (she/hers)
Board President

Mark your calendars, we're starting up again! Our RE committee is busy creating RE for the second and fourth Sundays of each month. If you want to help out, no parental experience needed, please email Barbara Allen at barbara@uustudiocity.org. If you have a younger person in your life who you want or wants to join in, email Karen: karenkungietorres@gmail.com.

Here are our dates: (2nd and 4th Sundays) 

April 24, May 8th, May 22, June 12, June 26, July 10, and July 24

Thursday,  June 2, 1:30 PM
In-person

Our June book selection is one suggested by Christina Mathers – Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.

According to a book review by Heller McAlpin of NPR, 

“With her eighth novel, O'Farrell brilliantly turns to historical fiction to confront a parent's worst nightmare: the death of a child. Set in Stratford, England, in the late 16th century, Hamnet imagines the emotional, domestic, and artistic repercussions after the world's most famous (though never named) playwright and his wife lose their only son, 11-year-old Hamnet, to the bubonic plague in 1596.”

If you’d like to get a headstart on the NEXT book, it will be Widowish by Melissa Gould. Ms. Gould will be a guest speaker at our June 26 worship service.

Please join us at our next discussion, which Judy Leslie will host at her home. Be prepared for a lively exchange of ideas and great snacks!For more information, contact Margery Pope, radlova@sbcglobal.net.

The Worship Team is planning the Father’s Day worship service for June 19. We are looking for 3-minute memories about any of the following: 

1. What it means to become a dad (biological dad; stepdad; foster dad, adoptive dad)
2. What it means to mentor a young person and become, in essence, a "father figure"
3. A fond memory of your own father

If you would like to share a memory, please contact Worship Team Chair, Terry Hassman-Paulin, tmhassman@aol.com.

Every 2nd Sunday of the month
7:00 PM, UUCSC Sanctuary

Calling all performers: UUCSC’s Second Sunday of the Month Open Mic is returning! Storytellers, poets, dancers, musicians, comedians--and more--are welcome. Sign-ups begin at 6:30 PM with the show beginning at 7:00 PM. If you aren’t a performer, come sit in the audience and support our local artists!  Performers may remove their masks, but they will need to show proof of vaccination. If you have any questions, feel free to email Anthony Concepcion at his new email address, ConcepTonesMusic@gmail.com.

The Interim Ministerial Search Committee is hard at work evaluating ministerial candidates for the next two weeks.  Luis Harbottle, Bonnie Burroughs, Reid Swanson, Jonathan Markowitz Bijur, and Christina Mathers are studying ministerial records and writings, arranging for background checks, speaking to references and UUA personnel, and have completed their interviews. They will submit their list of ranked choices for Interim Minister to the UUA on May 16.  

–Christina Mathers, Search Committee Chair

The HC Task Force submitted a progress report at the Board of Trustees meeting last Sunday, Mother’s Day. Here is a direct link to that report:

22-05-08 HC Report to Board of Trustees

We have also finalized our Group Covenant. Any committees or groups at the church are welcome to use it as a starting point to create their own covenant or even to adopt it in whole cloth. Here is a link to the covenant:

22-04-25 GROUP COVENANT: Final

Yours in service, 

Nicole Thibadeaux and Christina Mathers

Auditions: Friday, May 20, 2022, 5:00 to 9:00 PM, Sanctuary

Dress Rehearsal: Friday, June 17, 6:00 to 9:00 PM, Sanctuary

Show: Saturday, June 18, 7:00 to 9:00 PM, Sanctuary and via Zoom

We’re gearing up for Cabaret 2022. The theme: “Together Again.”

Are you a star waiting to shine? Do you have a hidden talent you’ve been wanting to reveal? Do you sing? Play an instrument? Dance? We’re looking for performances that relate to the theme “Together Again.”  Solos, duets, trios, and ensembles are all welcome.

You can audition in person on May 20,  or you can send John Bergquist a video of your performance by May 20.

We also need help with preparing appetizers, bartending, ushering, and other logistics. So if your talents are best represented offstage, we would love to include you. If interested, please reach out to John at jbergquist@uustudiocity.org or Marilyn Shield at marilynshield@gmail.com.

You might be wondering about the miracle of worship services continuing even when there is no minister at the helm. Well, we have a devoted, dedicated, and talented Worship and Tech Team that keeps everything moving ahead, week after week. 

BUT, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

If you'd like to participate in any part of the service--Chalice Lighting, Joys & Sorrows, Land Acknowledgement, Music, Flowers, Ushering, Benediction, and Tech Team, please speak up!

If you would like to  help out, please contact John Bergquist, jbergquist@uustudiocity.org (Tech Team) or Terry Hassman, terryhassmanpaulin@gmail.com (Worship). We welcome you and your talents!

The UUCSC Playground is available by reservation to families who are part of the UUCSC community. Families not part of the community may also schedule a reservation for the space with a recommendation from a community member. This is a great way to spend some time outside with your family!

Please send an email to playground@uustudiocity.org with your name and the date you'd like to reserve. Along with any questions you may have regarding access to the playground. You will receive a confirmation email once your request has been processed. We will try our best to respond within 24 hours, thank you for your patience.

Reservations are available on first come, first served basis.  Following COVID-19 safety measures, one reservation will be allowed access per day.