“Love without truth can become sentimentality. Truth without love can become cruelty. But where love and truth meet, something holy happens. To tell the truth in love is not to soften it until it disappears, nor to sharpen it until it wounds. It is to speak with the intention of connection rather than victory. It is to believe that the other person is worthy of honesty — and worthy of care. Love says, ‘You matter to me.’ Truth says, ‘This matters.’ Together they say, ‘Our relationship is strong enough to hold what is real.’”
“As it is said every Sunday, "When we gather together as a community, we bring the gifts of ourselves, our hearts and spirits, our time and energy, our talents and skills, to support the work of this church here within our walls and out in the larger community." By our very nature we gather together in community and give of ourselves. This weekend is about recognizing all of you who do in the many ways that you have. It is also about opening the circle to our new friends and members to help them find their way of folding their hearts and spirits and skills and energy in with the wonderful work we do to nurture this community! With soup and sweets and fellowship and fund we will celebrate each other and the get ready for the wonderful work that lies ahead!”
“This week we will shine our light by celebrating Imbolc and honoring Brigid, Celtic Goddess of fertility and Irish Saint. In our cozy Parish Hall, we will hear Brigid's story and our youth will help facilitate a ritual that involves honoring the elements and getting ready for spring. It is not to be missed!”
“We are a faith community, even if we come from different faiths or no faith. We walk together and support one another on our own individual spiritual journeys. Faith without action is incomplete. Spiritual journey without witness is vacant. It is important to practice our spirituality in the ways that nourish ourselves and our community. And our spirituality also requires we look outward. Our spiritual call in this moment is to stay awake. To support affected communities and individuals where possible.”
“I still have a dream,” Dr. King said—not as a naïve hope but as a courageous act of resistance, a reminder that dreams are blueprints for building the Beloved Community.
“This Sunday offers us sacred time together to reflect on our fore people. Of course I will frame this theologically, and communally. Referencing the founders and shapers of our tradition and UUCSB. In thinking about them and sharing sacred space while doing so, we join ourselves in covenant with them and with one another to embody the values and principles people worked for and towards.”
“January is the month we recognize Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, Roe versus Wade, and the signing of the emancipation proclamation. Practicing Resistance in honor of these very dear remembrances is not only timely but hugely important. We need to regularly consider how we keep the meaning and messages of these occurrences in the forefront as we navigate. How do we prepare for this month and prepare ourselves to practice resistance? I believe it starts with considering what resistance means to us given our faith and our place in the world, literally and figuratively. ”
“Here we are in liminal space again! The space between our celebrations of Hanukah, Christmas, Solstice and our celebration of Janus coming up on Sunday. Time to take a breath from all of the busyness of the season and prepare to inventory and let go of the baggage of 2025. And where to begin with that…am I right? ”
“This week’s advent candle is the peace candle. Drawing on the peace of the dark winter stillness and the peace that is promised by the coming sun/son and the peace that comes from the faith in the oil that burned for 8 nights, we join together spiritually to focus our eyes on the peace that comes even when there is darkness. Not all peace comes in sunlight and joy and mirth. Peace comes in the darkness of solstice. When the world grows quiet and the light pauses, we remember that nothing needs to be forced. Even the sun knows when to wait. Even hope begins in stillness.”
“In this month of hope with our advent candles of joy, love, peace, community and hope, this is a reminder that not all stories have readily available happy endings. There is sadness and brokenness that is highlighted and that may not ever have resolution. In this instance, it is not our place or character as a community to look away. We are obligated as UUs and people of faith to provide compassion, seek justice, and care for people. We are obligated to be a people of hope. We are also obligated to be in constant conversation about what our chalice and beacon is calling us to do. What is love calling us to do in this moment?”
“Hope connects us to one another. It reminds us that we do not walk alone, and that shared burdens become lighter when held in community. Choosing hope is choosing relationship—trusting that others will show up, that love will meet us again, and that the future is shaped not only by outcomes but by the spirit with which we meet the journey. In choosing hope, we commit ourselves to tending sparks of possibility wherever they appear, and in doing so, we become part of the light we long to see.”
“As Unitarian Universalists it is our practice to adapt traditions to reflect our principles and values. The Worship Ministry has done that for the advent season this year. We will be lighting a candle each week. Our candles are: Joy, Hope, Faith/Comunity, Peace and Love on Christmas Eve. Different folks from our community will light the candle each week with a reflection on the significance of the candle.
This week we light the candle of joy. Our service this week is about approaching joy. Approaching joy is the soft glow on the horizon, the knowing that even in difficult times, possibilities are unfolding.”
“We will join together to appreciate the hymn in its many variations, learn closely the underlying tone poem, and explore UU theology. That may sound boring but it won’t be. (I hope) One of the greatest tools for teaching theology is hymnody or music. Music has a pathway into the soul not access by other paths. It buries things deep within us that is accessed differently. It brings us comfort when we can’t remember who we are in the chaos of life. It unites us in ways through harmonies that are unparalleled. The words affirm our believes while the music feeds and fills our souls.”
“ In this liminal time of year, this time of the thin veil, may we find our rest and our inspiration in the gift and love of and for community and continue to pay it forward so beautifully.”
“So often in my personal life and for my work at the church I begin with the question, “What would love have me do in this situations?” Applying that theology to the theme of gratitude, I land at this reflectionI. Gratitude begins and ends with love.”
“It being November, with the backdrop of Thanksgiving, it is fitting that Soul Matters chose Gratitude for the theme this month. Gratitude is not just a feeling—it’s a flow. When we recognize the gifts we’ve received, something inside us opens. We see how our lives are woven together with the kindness of others and the abundance of the world. True gratitude doesn’t stop at saying “thank you”; it ripples outward.”
“We are celebrating in word and ritual this week, the pagan holiday of Samhain. Samhain is the ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, a time to honor ancestors, reflect on cycles of life and death, and embrace the mystery of transformation as the veil between worlds grows thin. This intergenerational service will include elements from our young folks religious exploration program as well as a ritual to mark the festival. “
Reflecting this week with Rev Niki on the lessons of Compassion that shaped our understanding of holding others with kindness and care.
Rev Lori will introduce us to this month’s theme of compassion in the context of addiction.