Sunday Services

Sunday, October 1, 11:00 a.m. – Heritage – Margy Emerson

Ralph Ellison writes, “Some people are your relatives, but others are your ancestors, and you can choose the ones you want to have as ancestors. You create yourself out of [their] values.”

In small groups, using our deep listening guidelines, we will discuss heritage. These questions are offered as possible springboards for conversation: Whose shoulders are you standing on and how are you working to further their values? Is there a way in which you want to depart from your family heritage so you can pass on something more constructive to the next generation? What family memento has the deepest meaning for you? (If it’s light and portable, bring it with you for show-and-tell.)

As always with small groups, our underlying topic is deep listening. It’s a practice that takes practice.

Sunday, October 8, 11:00 a.m. – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Rev. Bryan Jessup

HUUF minister emeritus, the Rev. Bryan Jessup, will return to our pulpit for the first time since his retirement in 2019. He will share with us some stories about how life has changed for his wife Edie and him since they moved to Oregon.

He will also talk with us about living on the Earth in a time of change: The danger to our environment. The war-like ways of our country and the big powers in the world, that have us in a precarious place. The strained fabric of our relationships with one another as citizens of the United States. Even the dynamics of our own religious association, the UUA, cause stress as we come to terms with the limits of our past ways of being. How do we live with all this change? Whether we are ready or not, we are called to answer that question with our very lives. And, ready or not, we will answer.

Sunday, October 15, 11:00 a.m. – Stone Soup Sunday – Amy Day, Corazon Amada, and the Food and Fellowship Team

Join us on this Social Action Sunday as we put our hands to work in service of our values. In partnership with Arcata House, we will use a small portion of our time to prepare meals for those experiencing homelessness in our region. Our Food and Fellowship team will be serving up veggie pasta, bread and salad. If you can, bring a small dish to share.

Sunday, October 22, 11:00 a.m. – Report from General Assembly – Amy Day and Rebekah Paez

General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission and principles. Join us as our small panel of HUUF delegates shares highlights, lessons learned, and tools gained that we can bring back to our own congregation.

Stay for the Congregational Meeting to follow and see how you can lean more into the living tapestry of our faith.

Sunday, October 29 – 11:00 a.m. – Transforming Conflict – Laura Phelan-Shahin and Margy Emerson

“Lasting change, the kind that seeps into people’s hearts, has only ever come through a combination of pressure and good conflict,” writes journalist and conflict mediator Amanda Ripley.

Using Terasa Cooley’s book, Transforming Conflict, and other sources, Laura and Margy will explore ways to build intimacy while navigating conflict. Honing tools like deep listening and covenants, and cultivating a willingness to accept disagreement and the discomfort that comes with it, can make a community stronger and more cohesive.

There will also be a sign-up sheet for a book group on Transforming Conflict.