Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County

What's New

This page lists pages we added, deleted or changed in the last six months. If you are one of our regular visitors, this will tell you what's new*.

January 31, 2012: Added Minister's sermon What Am I Doing Here?:
How Rev. Joe came to question some of the tenets of Christianity, which was the start of a long journey that brought him to be our Interim Minister.
(Delivered January 29, 2012)

January 27, 2012: Updated Calendar, Sunday Services. Put new portraits in the heading.

January 19, 2012: Added guest sermon Living Ishfully Ever After
by William Dufford (Levwood). The ordinary moments of our lives have a splendor that is extraordinary. And our ordinary selves are extraordinary as well, just the way they are. Still, sometimes we lose sight of the wonder of the everyday and the uncommon grandeur of each ordinary being. "Living ishfully" is a way to recapture our lost sense of wonder, celebration, and engaged presence within each radiant moment.
(Delivered January 15, 2012)

December 24, 2011: Updated Calendar, Sunday Services. Put new portraits in the heading.

December 20, 2011: Updated many pages, notably Minister, to reflect Rev. Joseph Cherry's selection as Interim Minister.

November 27, 2011: Added guest sermon Things You'll Never See
By Ted Pack. Rick Childs, former lay leader for the UUF in Mendocino, wrote about a conversation he had with his contractor: "[He] told me something that's stayed with me for 22 years now: "There are things that you'll never see that are in your house." Things like more nails than required by the building code; stronger bracing where he thought it would help, should a bad earthquake hit ...
This struck a chord with Ted, who has put a lot of small things into the UUF of SC web site, at considerable expense; and it leads to a spiritual lesson.
(Delivered November 27, 2011)

November 12, 2011: Added guest sermon The Rest of the Story:
"The future of the liberal church is almost totally dependent on two factors; great congregations (whether large or small) and effective, dedicated ministers. The strangest feature of their relationship is that they create one another." (Rev. Jack Mendelsohn)
Rev. Jeanelyse Doran Adams took this as her text for her sermon on Rev. Grace Simons' last day of work.
(Delivered October 30, 2011)

November 1, 2011: Made more changes than you'd read if I listed them all, to reflect the fact that Rev. Grace Simons, who served us faithfully from August 2001, retired on October 30, 2011.

October 26, 2011: Added Minister's sermon Today and Tomorrow:
What can we say about our Fellowship and its place in our wider community? Now that we'll be taking separate paths and engaging in separate ministries, what do we need to hold close and what should be let go? What resources and supplies will serve us well on the journeys ahead?
(Delivered October 23, 2011)

>October 26, 2011: Added Minister's sermon Yesterday and Today:
It's been nearly 10 and a half years since I came to serve as minister of UUFSC, first arriving in early June, 2001. Let's look back at the way we were and how far we've come. We've shared laughter and tears, achievements and setbacks. We've worked on projects large and small. We've taken stands for love and justice. We've learned a lot about who we are and what we can be.
(Delivered October 16, 2011)

October 24, 2011: Updated Calendar, Grace Notes, Sunday Services. Put new portraits in the heading.

September 29, 2011: Added Minister's sermon The KJV is 400!:
That's the King James Version of the Bible, the most widely used and distributed book in the world. Some of us remember passages from the KJV with affection, comfort and honor. Some of us wish its importance would simply wither away. Since that's not likely any time soon, let's take a look at the KJV - its story and its influence. And what about all those other versions?
(Delivered September 25, 2011)

September 21, 2011: Updated Calendar, Grace Notes, Sunday Services. Put new portraits in the heading.

September 14, 2011: Added Minister's sermon Renewing Roots and Wings:
Our familiar hymn, Spirit of Life, reminds us of the importance of spiritual roots and wings - which we nurture here at UUFSC. What helped to root you? What gave your spirit wings?
(Delivered September 11, 2011)

September 4, 2011: Added Guest Sermon The Implications of a Human Shaped Biosphere
David Simons. Marks of humanity can be found in almost every part of the Interdependent Web of Life on Earth. As extinction follows extinction, and as humanity occupies an ever increasing share of the biosphere, what will life be like for our posterity? Can we hope to shape the world to provide for 10 billion people? What sort of world would it be? Dr. Simons peered toward the 22nd Century and the implication for his understanding of the meaning of life.
(Delivered August 28, 2011)

August 16, 2011: Updated Calendar, Grace Notes, Sunday Services. Put new portraits in the heading.

July 26, 2011: Updated Calendar, Grace Notes, Sunday Services. Put new portraits in the heading.

July 11, 2011: Added Guest Sermon All You Need Is Love
Lori Wong. The Dalai Lama says "My religion is simple. My religion is kindness." Lori talks about the practice of loving kindness and how it can be a simple, but radical act that can change the world.
(Delivered July 10, 2011)

* [Ed. Note 1: You are welcome to read the old pages again, of course. I read the complete Sherlock Holmes every couple of years, and I've listened to Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, which always reminds me of kingfishers darting along a river, hundreds of times. In both cases I know how the work ends, but I still enjoy it.]

[Ed. Note 2: This page has two other purposes. It lets me keep track of what I've done for my quarterly report to the board, and the steady, regular "updated Services, Calendar . . ." entries every month show the casual visitor how - dare I write it? Faithful this web master is to his task.]