Charla Weiss, church manager. This month's theme is: Divinity

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1 of 6 6/10/2010 3:30 PM May 27, 2010 In This Issue Summer Service & Celebration Partner Church Visit Empathy Web of Live Calling All Dancers Rev. Kathy & Alice on PBS EVERY MEMBER MINISTRY Join the GRACE Team Tennessee UUs need help Empty Bowls Fundraiser Donate to Church Pantry Musicopia Fundraiser Diversity in Ministry Job Description for DCFM on web Julie Cockroft Grant Office Transitions Greetings! There's a lot going on in the life of the church. Please take a moment to fill in your calendar so that you won't miss a thing! Sincerely, Charla Weiss, church manager This month's theme is: Divinity Our religion is by its very definition an intentionally diverse and inclusive religious enterpise. Our congregation is filled with people with many and varied beliefs. Some, if not all, of us are quite passionate about what we do or do not believe about God. Here are a few quotes to consider this month as we explore our own and others conceptions and experiences of the "Divine." God enters by a private door into every individual. - Ralph Waldo Emerson To believe in God is impossible. To not believe in God is absurd. - Voltaire The goal of human life is to meet God face to face. If we look deeply into the face of all created things, we will find God. Therefore, savor the world, the body. Open it, explore it, look into it. worship it. - Ramakrishna

2 2 of 6 6/10/2010 3:30 PM You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season. - Chuang Tzu I'm always reluctant to use the word, God, because everybody seems to carry around their own stagnant images and definitions that totally cloud the ability to step outside a narrow, individual frame of reference. If we have any conception of what God is, certainly it should be changing and expanding as we ourselves grown and change. - Bernadette Roberts God, I can push the grass apart, and lay my finger on thy heart! - Edna St. Vincent Millay Tell me, what is God? God is the breath inside the breath. - Kabir If triangles made a god, they would give God three sides. - Charles de Montesquieu God is not a person. God is a force. Truth is God. - Mahatma Gandhi In music, in the sea, in the flower, in a leaf, in an act of kindness, I see what people call God in all these things. - Pablo Casals Our concept of God must be extended as the dimensions of our world are extended. - Teihard de Chardin The atheist staring from an attic window is often nearer to God than the believer caught up in their own false image of God.- Martin Buber Reflection Questions: How do you speak of the Divine? What does the word God mean to you? How open are you to others who do not believe as you do? What are the opportunities you see for your own learning and growing in relationship to the Divine? Spiritual Practices: If you are an atheist, try spending the day as a believer. If you are a believer try spending the day as an atheist. If you are neither, chose one and live by it for a day. Observe your inner and outer experiences. Write, reflect, and share your insights. Spend a day (or at least an hour) in prayer. Go on an interfaith journey, suspend critique and approach your visit as a seeker of spiritual truth. Look at multiple images of the divine found around the world and allow those images to expand or cast new insight into your understanding of God.

3 3 of 6 6/10/2010 3:30 PM Books for Adults (A) and Children (C) and Youth (Y): The History of God by Karen Armstrong; Science and the Search for God by Gary Kowalski; How Do You Spell God by Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman (A,Y); Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (Y) Hide and Seek with God by Mary Anne Moore (C); In God's Name by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (C). Sun. May 30 10:30am (one service only) We begin our summer service schedule with Worship for All Ages. It is Flower Communion so please bring flowers to share. We'll also celebrate our Teaching and Learning Community during worship and acknowledge the many gifts and share fond farewells with Melissa James and Matt Wolka, so please bring some love too. Worship is followed by an All Church Potluck and celebration of our 40 day pledges to benefit the earth. Please bring your favorite food to share. Cake and beverages provided. Don't like to cook? Bring paper plates or drinks! If you can bring a dish, help with clean-up or set-up, contact Laila Ibrahim at or ldibrahim@gmail.com Partner Church Visit Sun., May 30, 12:30 PM Cathy Rion recently returned from a month of visiting with Unitarian ministers in Transylvania. Come hear stories, see pictures, learn history, and talk theology in the Starr King Room. Cathy was the first Starr King Immersion Fellow with the Balazs Scholarship program that also brings Transylvanian ministers to study at Starr King each year. Cathy bought many wonderful embroideries, pillows,pillowcases,table cloths,coasters while she recently visited our Partner Village in Okland, Transylvania. The embroideries are done in the traditional designs of each village. We will be selling them at coffee hour as well as during Cathy's talk in the Starr King Room. Come see these historical and beautiful pieces of embroidery from Transylvania. The Healing Magic of Empathy: Sundays 10:30 AM to 12:30 pm This ongoing class meets today in the 3rd floor Crompton Library and continues through May 30. Web of Life

4 4 of 6 6/10/2010 3:30 PM Congratulations to member Laura Bogle who graduated from Pacific School of Religion this week. She represented UUs well at PSR by receiving one of three Koinonia Awards which are given "to students who embrace the school's sense of community, actively participate in campus life, and demonstrate academic excellence". Calling All Dancers! There is a new All-Ages Dance Choir that is forming! Do you like to move? Join Tara Miller on the 2nd and 4th Sundays in May and June, from 8:45-9:30 a.m., in the Starr King Room. Enjoy expressive movement, music, and dance. The group will have the opportunity to participate in future worship services. All ages, all abilities welcome and encouraged. Questions? contact Tara, Rev. Kathy and Alice Featured in PBS TV Special Rev. Kathy Huff and her daughter Alice are featured in the June PBS episode of IN THE LIFE exploring Intersections of Church and State. To find out when it airs in your local area, visit It will begin airing nationally on June 1, 2010 and available on their website June 2. Every Member Ministry Opportunities GRACE Team (Grateful Recognition and Community Embrace) We are looking for a few good souls to support and enable personal and congregational transformation through gratitude practices. The team also makes decisions about where our Sunday "share the plate" financial contributions will go in the wider community. Contact Rev. Dan Kane revdankane@gmail.com for more info. Help UUs in Tennessee and Kentucky recover The UUA has created a Tennessee and Kentucky Flood Relief Fund. Several UUs have lost their homes and belongings and need our help. Please visit Empty Bowls Fundraiser Thurs. June 3, 6-8 PM Join the Alameda County Community Food Bank for a family-centered event at the Food Bank. The warehouse will be transformed for an evening of art, entertainment, nourishment, and service to help fill Empty Bowls in Alameda County. Visit for more info. Pantry Food Donations Help respond to our neighborhood's homeless and hungry with your donations of food. Currently, we are focusing the food pantry on "immediate need"--food that can be consumed on-the-spot, with no preparation (pop the top, tear the wrapper).

5 indows Live Hotmail Print Message Items with protein (tuna & crackers, vienna sausage, etc) are especially welcome, but so are individual sized cans of fruit, energy/protein bars and such. Vocal Fundraiser for Musicopia Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 4pm, Wendte Hall Beautiful voices performing an array of wonderful selections from The Magic Flute & Cosi fan tutte by Mozart, Menotti's Old Maid and the Thief, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel and many other beauties. Please come and support the Musicopia Fund for First Church UU Oakland. Tickets will be $10 in advance, $15 at the door, sliding scale or contact Dan Wright about bringing baked goodies for the reception table instead. Diversity in Ministry Update Our congregation has received a grant of $25,000 from the Diversity of Ministry Initiative over the next three years to establish a part-time ministry for community engagement. The Executive Team has established a Designated Fund for Diversity of Ministry to support this important ministry. Please contact the Executive Team if you'd like to know more. Director of Children and Family Ministries The job description for our new DCFM is available on our website: /pdfs/2010/job_opening_-_director_of_children_and_family_ministries.pdf RFP: JULIE COCKROFT GRANT Julie O'Keeffe Cockroft ( ) was an active leader in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, American Association of University Women, and the Peninsula Interfaith Action advocating for fair housing. The Julie Cockcroft bequest to the PCD will fund a one-time grant opportunity for innovative programs to support women's issues within Congregations of the PCD and other UU organizations, schools, or women's groups. Grants of $500 to $2000 are available, with the possibility of a larger sum for an exceptional proposal. For more information and applications, please contact karen@aftonranch.net and mackay@pobox.com Office Transitions Note: Effective May 5, 2010 Wendy Bartel will be serving as our interim administrative assistant. Thank you for your support and patience during this time of transition, it's greatly appreciated.