Welcome to Our Church
We are a warm and friendly congregation. We welcome all who seek to find meaning in our busy lives, make connections with others and search for answers to life's big questions.
Upcoming Events
Service: The Practice of Grateful Living
Day and Time
Sunday Nov 9, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMDetails
Carolyn Bjerke, minister & Alice Henderson, worship associate
Gratitude is not a feeling we wait for; it’s a practice we return to. This Sunday we explore how everyday blessings, morning light, shared meals, and the kindness of friends can become a spiritual discipline. Drawing from Jewish and Buddhist traditions, as well as the insights of contemporary teachers like Rabbi Shefa Gold and Brené Brown, we’ll reflect on how practicing gratitude can help us stay grounded and joyful, even in uncertain times.
Parking is available on the street in front of the church. In addition, there are a limited number of parking spaces behind the church in the alley-way. A handicap accessible entrance with an electric lift is available on the east side of the building next to the side entrance.
Service: Santa Paula Cinema Society presents Big Night
Day and Time
Friday Nov 14, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PMDetails
Chef Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and businessman Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are immigrant brothers from Italy who open their dream restaurant, Paradise, in New Jersey. However, Primo's authentic food is too unfamiliar for the local tastes, and the restaurant is struggling. When famous Italian-American bandleader Louis Prima is scheduled to appear at Paradise, the two brothers put all of their efforts into the important meal, which will likely decide the fate of their restaurant.
Parking is available on the street in front of the church. In addition, there are a limited number of parking spaces behind the church in the alley-way. A handicap accessible entrance with an electric lift is available on the east side of the building next to the side entrance.
Service: Otherwise: Remembering What Might Not Have Been
Day and Time
Sunday Nov 16, 10:30 AM - Friday Nov 28, 11:30 AMDetails
Our All-Generations service
Carolyn Bjerke, minister & MaryBeth East, worship associate
Inspired by Jane Kenyon’s poem Otherwise and recent reflections from psychologist Ozan Varol, this service turns gratitude on its side: what if we gave thanks not only for what we have, but for all that might never have been? What if gratitude included the roads we didn’t take, the sorrows that shaped us, and the resilience that carried us here? Together we’ll explore how this deeper gratitude, tender, honest, and hard-won can open us to compassion for ourselves and the world.
Parking is available on the street in front of the church. In addition, there are a limited number of parking spaces behind the church in the alley-way. A handicap accessible entrance with an electric lift is available on the east side of the building next to the side entrance.
Service: Gratitude, Grief, and the Circle of Remembrance
Day and Time
Sunday Nov 23, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMDetails
Carolyn Bjerke, minister & Ken Stock, worship associate
As Thanksgiving approaches and we prepare to honor Transgender Day of Remembrance, we gather to hold gratitude and grief together. We’ll remember those who came before us, ancestors, saints, and everyday companions whose courage and love sustain our lives today. In the spirit of Francis David’s enduring faith that “we need not think alike to love alike,” we’ll consider how gratitude becomes an act of solidarity, a way of belonging to one another and to the great circle of life.
Parking is available on the street in front of the church. In addition, there are a limited number of parking spaces behind the church in the alley-way. A handicap accessible entrance with an electric lift is available on the east side of the building next to the side entrance.
Service: The importance of purpose, optimism, and connection to the natural world
Day and Time
Sunday Nov 30, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMDetails
Guest Speaker, Keegan Fish & Ellen Deeb, worship associate
Over my time in college, I've been fortunate to lead volunteer restoration projects, conduct ecological research, and even co-author a scientific publication.
In this talk, I'll share how pursuing meaningful work has shaped my outlook on life. I will be focusing on the importance of purpose, optimism, and connection to the natural world.
I'll walk through some of the experiences that have challenged and inspired me, and how following my passions in restoration, conservation, and environmental leadership has helped me find direction both personally and professionally.
Biography:
My name is Keegan Fish and I'm a junior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo studying Forest and Fire Science with a concentration in Wildlife Biology and a minor in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS). Over the past two years, I've had the opportunity to work across several areas of environmental science within Cal Poly's Natural Resources Department and through extracurricular research programs.
Last summer I worked with the John Muir Trail Wilderness Conservancy, where I spent two months in the backcountry collecting ecological data for ongoing restoration and monitoring projects. Our team surveyed trail reroutes, campsite conditions and wildlife habitats across Kings Canyon National Part and the Sierra National Forest. The same data is now being used to guide watershed protection and restoration efforts throughout the Sierra Nevada.
Parking is available on the street in front of the church. In addition, there are a limited number of parking spaces behind the church in the alley-way. A handicap accessible entrance with an electric lift is available on the east side of the building next to the side entrance.
Our Congregation
Are you looking for a friendly home where you can explore the larger questions of life with those who bring many perspectives? Are you looking for a faith community that looks outward to the larger community to make a difference in the world? Are you looking for a place that you can share your gifts as well as your concerns and your interests? Would you like to find a place that has a Spiritual Growth Center so we can grow together in spirit and health? Would you like to be able to laugh and cry together, sing together and share our lives? We would love to welcome you to our small but mighty faith home.
About Unitarian Universalism
We are people of all ages, people of many backgrounds, and people of many beliefs. We are brave, curious and compassionate thinkers and doers. We create spirituality and community beyond boundaries, working for more justice and more love in our own lives and in the world.
Church of the Larger Fellowship
Unitarian Universalist Association
LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation
Pacific Western Region of the UUA
