Welcome Without Exception

Ellen Deeb, Lay Speaker and Ruth Ricards, worship associate
Based on United Nations statistics, it is estimated that there are over 117 million refugees worldwide, as of mid-2025. Numerous causes, natural and man-made, have contributed to this growing global phenomenon. Reflecting on her years as an ESOL teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, Ellen Deeb will offer insights into the myriad experiences of her refugee student population. She hopes that this will bring greater understanding to this pressing and unrelenting issue.

Carolyn Bjerke, minister and Ruth Ricards, worship associate

Judgment is quick. It tells us we already know. But what if we don’t?

So much of our suffering, within ourselves and between us, comes from the stories we assume are true. The moment we decide we understand, we often stop listening. We close the door.
This Sunday, we explore the possibility that curiosity is a more faithful guide than certainty. Drawing on wisdom that invites us to question the stories we tell, we’ll consider what it means to loosen our grip on judgment, of others, of the world, and even of ourselves.

What might become possible if, instead of deciding, we wondered?

We’ll continue our First Wednesday meditation with Vibay Weisbecker, creating space for reflection and grounding in the middle of the week. This will be in person and online

Carolyn Bjerke, minister and Alice Henderson, worship associate Mother’s Day holds many truths at once.

For some, it is a day of gratitude and love. For others, it carries grief, distance, or complexity. And beyond the personal, it points us toward a larger story, about care, responsibility, and the unseen labor that sustains our lives.

This Sunday, we approach Mother’s Day with curiosity and compassion. We widen the lens to honor all who nurture, all who have longed to be nurtured, and all whose stories don’t fit easily into a single narrative.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 3:30 to 5:00 P.M., Zoom
Spirit Talk’s has selected two books for our monthly discussion group. The first is The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills. The second is a delightful short story, The Bat-Poet, by Randall Jarrell (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator), which you can watch and listen to on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsoQrUI4WNs

In The Four Agreements, a perennial bestseller published in dozens of languages worldwide, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.
“Don Miguel Ruiz’s book is a roadmap to enlightenment and freedom.”—Deepak Chopra, Author, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

The Bat-Poet is the story of a little brown bat who couldn’t sleep days-he kept waking up and looking at the world. Before long he began to see things differently from the other bats, who from dawn to sunset never opened their eyes. The Bat-Poet is the story of how he tried to make the other bats see the world his way. Here in The Bat-Poet are the bat’s own poems and the bat’s own world: the owl who almost eats him; the mockingbird whose irritable genius almost overpowers him; the chipmunk who loves his poems, and the bats who can’t make heads or tails of them; the cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, and sparrows who fly in and out of Randall Jarrell’s funny, lovable, truthful fabl

Before screens and earbuds, people often gathered in living rooms and around tables to share music, not as an audience, but as participants. In many ways, we’ve lost something in the shift from making art together to mostly consuming it.

A Song Circle is communal singing in its simplest form: we sit in a circle and share songs that are easy to learn and remember, and sing them together, sometimes adding harmonies or layered parts as we go. You do not need to be trained, confident, or even particularly comfortable. You can lead a song, request one, pass, or simply listen until you’re ready. All genres are welcome. You are welcome and invited to bring an instrument!

We also practice a couple norms that help everyone feel safe: this is not a performance space; it’s a shared practice. There is room for all voices.

Song Circle: May 13 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Snacks and beverages are welcome.
If you’ve been waiting for a low-pressure way to “try your voice,” this is it. Come as you are and let the circle hold the song with you.

Carolyn Bjerke, minister and Ken Stock, worship associate

Through our lives we learn. We gain experience. We become more certain of how things work, who we are, what we believe, what to expect. And without noticing, our world can begin to narrow. Beginner’s mind invites something radically different.

It asks us to meet life not as experts, but as learners. To remember that there is always more to see, more to understand, more to discover, even in the most familiar places, even in the people we think we know best. This Sunday, we explore what it means to approach our lives with fresh eyes. What might change if we loosen our grip on being right, and open ourselves again to curiosity, wonder, and surprise?

On Sunday, May 17th, we’ll gather for our monthly Soul Explorers all-generation service.

If you have grandchildren, neighbors, or families in your life who are looking for a spiritual home, this is a wonderful Sunday to invite them. We’re building something intentional and joyful for our children, and for you.
We hope you’ll join us and bring someone with you.

Wednesday, May 20th 3:00 pm

The Social Concerns Action Committee (SCAC) is committed to educating ourselves and our UUCSP Community about social issues that impact Santa Paula, our neighbors in greater Ventura County, our state, and our country We have set a goal of educating our UUCSP community more as this year progresses. We are currently updating our Mission Statement that will reflect our updated commitment to social justice. Join us at our next meeting on zoom. Our meetings are interesting, inspiring, and quite revealing!

Carolyn Bjerke, minister and Ellen Deeb, worship associate

What if curiosity begins not with thinking—but with noticing?

This Sunday, we celebrate in an Animal Blessing Service, welcoming the joyful, the unpredictable, and the beloved companions who share our lives. Whether furry, feathered, scaled, or remembered in story, these creatures draw us into a different rhythm. one of presence, joy, attention, and connection. Animals don’t worry about being right. They don’t rush to judgment. They meet the world as it is.
Together, we’ll explore what our animal companions might teach us about curiosity, and we’ll offer a blessing for the lives, human and non-human, that are woven together in this shared web.

You are invited to bring a beloved animal (on leash or in a carrier), a photo, or simply a story to share.

Wednesday, May 27 6:00 PM
We’ll gather in the Parish Hall for a quiet evening of meditation, poetry, and silence. This is a space to set down what has been heavy, breathe more deeply, and be held in shared stillness. A chance to rest together and remember that none of us carries life, or the work of healing and resistance alone.