Welcome Without Exception

Friday, March 13 7:00 pm

Carolyn Bjerke and Ken Stock

Children do not become who we tell them to be. They become who we show them how to be.

They are listening to how we speak about our neighbors. They are watching how we handle anger, difference, apology, and power. Long before they understand our beliefs, they are absorbing our patterns. This service reflects on the quiet moral formation happening all the time in homes, churches, and communities. What are we teaching about courage? About kindness? About who belongs?

Paying attention, in this case, is an act of responsibility. Our lives are speaking. The question is: what are they saying?

The SCAC continue to be actively involved in advocating for those in need in our community and beyond. We educate ourselves, volunteer, and strive to “move the needle” to make life better for those who lack resources and who need help. Ellen is our excellent convener. Please join us on Zoom at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, March 18th!

Saturday, March 21 1:00 – 2:30 pm

Carolyn Bjerke and Ellen Deeb

It is possible to be attentive to everyone else and still be estranged from yourself ? Many of us override our exhaustion. We dismiss our grief and postpone joy. We keep functioning long after something inside us has gone quiet. This service turns inward. What signals have you been ignoring? What part of you is waiting to be heard?
Paying attention to your own life may be the beginning of integrity. It may be the difference between surviving and actually being alive.

Wednesday, March 25 6:00 PM
We’ll hold a Taizé-style meditative service, an evening of simple singing, readings, silence, and candlelight, inspired by the contemplative tradition of the Taizé community. This service isn’t about learning something new or solving anything. It’s about resting the nervous system, sharing quiet, and remembering that we don’t carry life, or resistance, alone.

We are looking forward to our meeting on Thursday, March 26th at 11:00 am in the parish hall where Chris Espinosa will be our featured speaker. He is running for the seat currently occupied by Julia Brownley. “Everything I have done my entire career has been oriented toward helping my community,” said Espinosa. The Primary Elections will take place on June 2, 206. We will organize a potluck lunch and look forward to welcoming Chris! Contact Constancia for details and tell her what you would like to bring for lunch!

Alice Fulmer-Zelinka and Ellen Deeb

Drawing from personal experience, pop culture anecdotes, and the recent embrace of neurodiversity from across the UUA and progressive communities of faith, guest speaker Fulmer-Zelinka will illuminate on how ADHD functions in the life of someone seeking a free faith. This service will celebrate the joys and strengths of hyperactivity as well as the sorrows which afflict neurodivergent life.

Alice Fulmer-Zelinka is discerning her call to ministry and is a member of Live Oak UUC in Goleta, where she sits on the Social Justice Ministry’s committee. She is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at UCSB, poet, and podcaster.