First UU Church of San Diego
  • Home
  • Worship
    • Messages
    • Online Worship
    • Participate in a Service
    • Principles & Sources
  • Connections
    • Welcome Newcomers! > >
      • Visiting First UU
      • What is UUism?
      • Become a Member
    • Groups from A-Z > >
      • Affinity Groups
      • Archives
      • Art Guild
      • Looking Glass Theatre
      • Meditation
      • Men's Fellowship >
        • UUMF Renewal Registration
      • Neighborhood Groups
      • UU Seniors
      • Wisdom Circles
    • Member Networking
    • Right Relations
    • Listening Circles
  • Music
    • Vocal Ensembles
    • Handbell Ensemble
  • Education
    • Children's RE > >
      • Family Ministry Library
      • Children's RE Registration
    • Adult Faith Formation
    • Family Ministry > >
      • All Church Camp
    • Youth Programs
    • Young Adult & Campus Ministry
    • Our Whole Lives (OWL)
    • SD Co-op Preschool
  • Programs
    • Front Street Productions
    • Caring
    • Food Pantry
    • Larger UU Connections > >
      • Denominational Relations
      • Friends of De Benneville Pines
      • Philippines Partner Church
      • Transylvania Partner Church
      • UU Service Committee
    • Leadership Development
    • Social Justice > >
      • Social Justice Executive Team
      • Climate Justice
      • Generosity Offerings
      • Organizing for Justice
      • Palestine-Israel Justice Group
      • Rainbow Action
      • Reproductive Justice
      • Sanctuary
      • SOLACE
      • Uptown Community Service Center
    • Ushering
  • Giving
    • Donations > >
      • Pledging
      • Planned Giving
      • Donate Your Vehicle
      • Donate Flowers
    • Dining for Dollars D4$
    • Shop and Support!
  • News
    • Blog
    • The Window - Weekly Bulletin
    • First Words Magazine
  • About
    • About First UU
    • For Members > >
      • Member's Login
      • Board Login
    • Hillcrest Campus
    • South Bay Campus
    • Our Ministers
    • Our Staff
    • Calendar
    • Our Sustainable Future
    • Facilities >
      • Facilities Overview
      • Ceremonies
      • Facilities Use Request Form
    • Forms
    • Governance > >
      • Article II
      • 8th Principle
      • Board Candidates
      • Journey Toward Wholeness >
        • Black History Month
      • Strategic Planning > >
        • Funding our Future
        • Visioning The Future
      • Our History
      • 150th Celebrationn
  • Contact
    • Ministers and Staff
    • Website Feedback Form
    • MAG Contact Form
    • Privacy and Terms

BLOG

Pantry Teams with Rady’s Children’s Hospital Health Stars

10/26/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureShirley Koch and Xochitl Cerda from Rady’s Children’s Hospital Health Stars Program.
By Maureen McNair
Here is a good reason to answer a telephone call from an unknown phone number, even in the weeks leading up the election: it could be actual good news! Shirley Koch works for Rady’s Children’s Hospital in a program called Health Stars. Health Stars provides early literacy intervention for low income and homeless parents with children up to age 8. It was Shirley on the phone calling to introduce herself and ask if she and her team could distribute books and literacy information at some of our Saturday food and Sunday diaper distributions.  I immediately agreed. Not only that, after Shirley explained her literacy mission in more detail, I let her know she had hit pay dirt to help her meet the goals of Health Stars. 


Read More
0 Comments

Journey Toward Wholeness: What Can I Do? Listen to "A Treaty Right for Cherokee Representation"

10/25/2020

0 Comments

 
  • Listen to the NPR podcast "A Treaty Right for Cherokee Representation" (27:25) about a 200 year old treaty Americans don't know much about, but should.
  • Learn more about Tone Policing. Read: "What is Tone Policing & Why Is It Wrong?" and "What is Tone Policing & What Are Some Examples of It?".
0 Comments

Nonpartisan Candidate Guides from Campus Election Engagement Project

10/21/2020

0 Comments

 
You can get a full list of our candidate guides here, and can link our stripped-down user-friendly map at guides.vote.
For a quick list:
  • Here’s the Presidential guide in English And in Spanish 
  • A guide to the impact of the election on the Supreme Court.
  • Guides to the 20 closest U.S. Senate and all major gubernatorial races
  • National Congressional guide.
  • Our guide to Detecting Disinformation.
Our 60 second animation on early voting is also available on YouTube or Instagram versions. Plus our three others at mailvote.org
We also have a 60-second animated early voting video.
0 Comments

Day of the Dead

10/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Day of the Dead vespers by Rev. Tania Marquez
Day of the Dead has been an important celebration for so many of us for the last few years. I have felt grateful for the opportunity to share with this congregation this holiday during worship. And I know this is a meaningful service for so many of our Mexican, Mexican-American, and Latinx members. An affirmation of our culture and an opportunity to honor our beloved dead in community. The pandemic has already prevented us from gathering and celebrating so many occasions together: Easter, Pride, Pachamama, and more. For our services and some rituals, we have tried new virtual ways to recreate them. But, leading a Day of the Dead service online didn’t feel right to me this year. 


Read More
0 Comments

Food Pantry Needs a Pick Up Truck and Driver Now!

10/20/2020

1 Comment

 
PictureA typical delivery van that pantries use to pick up food.
by Maureen McNair
​Food pantry volunteers Loren and Dana Tomlinson are moving to Arizona at the end of November. They own a huge Ford pick up truck and have been reliably and enormously generous with their time and energy picking up food for the pantry. In fact, they are the only congregant volunteers the pantry has who have ever picked up food in a truck for the pantry. The pantry needs transportation in place no later than November 27. If you, or someone you know, owns a pick up truck or delivery van, now is a great time to volunteer!


Read More
1 Comment

Take Action for Indigenous Peoples' Day!

10/11/2020

2 Comments

 
SURJ is excited to participate in Indigenous Peoples’ Day, on Monday, October 12th as part of our commitment to fighting settler colonialism and respecting Indigenous sovereignty. Dismantling settler colonialism is a key part of undermining white supremacy, racial capitalism, and the continued theft of Native land and genocide of Native people. Let’s rise together for Indigenous sovereignty, for Black lives & liberation and to get Trump out of office in November. Join us in taking powerful action on Indigenous Peoples’ Day when the NDN Collective launches LANDBACK--a campaign to return Native land to its rightful stewards.

Read More
2 Comments

News from Camp de Benneville Pines

10/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Janet James, Camp de Benneville Pines Executive Director
Hello from a smoky mountain top as I sit in my office pounding out this newsletter to you. We all could use some good news, so in this newsletter, we're focusing on the fantabulous summer we had full of creative Zoom camps! Our volunteer summer camp deans realized that the pandemic would impact our traditional camping season, and they jumped into gear to create a virtual camp experience for so many campers.


Read More
0 Comments

Ballot Proposition Discussion by League of Women Voters & First Unitarian Universalist Church

10/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Tuesday, October 13, 6 pm, Register here to get the link: http://bit.ly/LWVPropTalk. This year, we will be making decisions on 12 California ballot propositions and five more measures for San Diego city. Get the inside scoop on how to tackle your ballot this election season with the League of Women Voters & First Unitarian Universalist church.
0 Comments

Update from Your First UU Reopening Team

10/8/2020

4 Comments

 
Picture
The team is studying how and when we might safely come together again in person. The following is an example of the thinking we believe is worth sharing.  Here is the beginning of a recent article by Aaron E. Carroll, a physician in Indiana: "Stop Expecting Life to Go Back to Normal Next Year: Americans will need to take pandemic precautions well into 2021 — yes, even after a vaccine arrives by "Dr. Anthony Fauci warned us last week that Covid-19 is likely to be hanging over our lives well into 2021. He’s right, of course. We need to accept this reality and take steps to meet it rather than deny his message. Many Americans are resistant to this possibility. They’re hoping to restart postponed sports seasons, attend schools more easily, enjoy rescheduled vacations and participate in delayed parties and gatherings. It is completely understandable that many are tiring of restrictions due to Covid-19. Unfortunately, their resolve is weakening right when we need it to harden. This could cost us dearly".


Read More
4 Comments

USDA Food Boxes Delivery Chaos Continues On Busiest Pantry Day Yet

10/7/2020

1 Comment

 
PictureVolunteers Kate Collier and Laura Ball.
By Maureen McNair.
​Early food preparation last Friday for our Saturday food distribution went smoothly. Jared Blackwell, Kate Collier, Steve Gelb, Steve Howard, Andrea Travers, and I carried 3,350 pounds of food into the pantry and securely stored it. We even arranged the cantaloupes, potatoes, and apples in such a way that Saturday morning, we could create an easy assembly line to put the produce into bags. We worked hard, said our goodbyes, and went home. Then, my phone rang. It was a friend who operates a food pantry in San Ysidro. She was delivered 48 extra USDA boxes of perishable food, including eggs, cheese, meat, and a full gallon of milk. In total, it was nearly 1,600 pounds of food she could not distribute or store. “Can you take it?” She asked. 


Read More
1 Comment

New USDA Food Boxes for October

10/2/2020

0 Comments

 
PictureLoren Tomlinson helping unload combo boxes.
​ by Maureen McNair
​The combo box program arrives just as our food pantry clientele continues to explode. Last Saturday, we distributed food to 152 heads of household who waited in line while volunteers unloaded the delivery truck. The heads of household have families with a total of about 650 people for whom we provided food for meals for a few days. We received 132 combo boxes and distributed food to a total 152 households. So, one of the things I am working on this week is trying to obtain more boxes of food for October. ​


Read More
0 Comments

Discussing the UUA's Commission on Institutional Change (COIC) Report

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Widening the Circle
September's worship theme at our church was Change and the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA) Commission on Institutional Change report is an important reflection on various changes that must be made, if the UUA is going to live its values into practice. At the June 2017 General Assembly (GA), after the resignation of then UUA President Peter Morales and due to the entrenched hiring practices and harm created by the UUA, a Commission on Institutional Change was "established and charged by the UUA Board of Trustees to conduct an audit of white privilege and the structure of power within Unitarian Universalism, and to analyze structural racism and white supremacy culture within the UUA." The Commission worked for three years interviewing and listening to people's experiences within the UUA examining the current practices that have maintained the status quo. At the General Assembly in June of this year, the Commission presented its report, Widening the Circle of Concern: Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change.


Read More
0 Comments

Journey Toward Wholeness: What Can I Do? Learn about our work to become more inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
​First UU San Diego has worked hard to become more inclusive, anti-racist, & anti-oppressive and we have many upcoming actions and work ahead. To learn more, read:
  • "Centering Dismantling Systemic Racism: How We Got Here & Why We'll Continue" in the October 2020 First Words.
  • An 8th Principle has been proposed as an addition to the Unitarian Universalist 7 Principles. It is "We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions." Read about it at 8thprincipleuu.org/background.
0 Comments

Fighting Hunger and Climate Change Together

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Maureen McNair
Recently, during the same week, two adults visiting our South Bay Food Pantry told me they had not eaten in three days and I received an offer for 11,000 pounds of free apples. We all understand that people in our community go without food because they don't have the money to buy it. And, we know that many more than two people in our region went hungry that particular week. The produce wholesaler offered me the apples for free, if I would take them all. The transportation was our responsibility. The apples were harvested in Washington State and transported in a refrigerated semi-truck to the produce wholesaler's warehouse near the San Ysidro border crossing. But, the wholesaler couldn't find buyers for the apples. They were perishable and took up valuable warehouse space. If he didn't give away the apples, the company would have to pay the costs to transport the food to a landfill and pay the fee to use the landfill. That was more cash out of the business' pocket toward an investment that had already lost money. So, it made financial sense for the produce wholesaler to make a tax-deductible gift of the 11,000 pounds of apples.


Read More
0 Comments

Centering Dismantling Racism: How We Got Here and Why We'll Continue

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
​by Jan Garbosky
Have you heard, said, or thought:
  • "Why do we have to keep hearing about racism?" or
  • "Why in our service do I have to hear both English and Spanish"? or
  • "Why do I hear public apologies during services about things that aren no big deal?"
As UUs, we often refer to our covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Yet? just as often, we harm, in words and deeds(intended and not), thoseamong uswho areBlack, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). Many were surprised to learn this in the Summer 2018 Town Hall meeting where BIPOC shared the pain of their experiences at First UU and presented a document whose introduction states:

Read More
0 Comments

Reparations

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Rev. Kathleen Ownens
The fall is a favorite season of mine. I enjoy the changes fall brings: cooler weather, the turning of leaves, and the food of the season. This month will also bring the opportunity to practice living our values and principles, to learn about ballot initiatives and engage deeply in important questions about who we want to be and what direction we want our country to move in as we approach the November election. Our monthly worship theme of Reparations is timely. This topic is both straight forward and complex. This topic brings up all kinds of emotions and there's a lot to learn together. For me, one of the biggest values tied to the theme of Reparations is truth-telling- recognizing the fuller story of our country's history and how it continues to play out in our lives today. This theme asks us important questions that affect our future. I recommend this article for you to read: Floyd’s America — Introduction: The Post-Slavery State, Homicide, and the New Case for Reparations.​


Read More
0 Comments

Why A Place?

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Everett Eastman, from the "Once Upon a Pandemic" service on August 16, 2020 
​What drove me, scheduling a bouncing day of hospital, clinic, back again? Do As Much As I Can In One Day sometimes rings hollow in the CE, the Covid Era, new normal, pandemic. Bender of human ties, you have many names. Gazing at Our First Lot, familiar, lonely in being filled by not us. I parked early morning, donation to the church, to us, I think. Into the hospital. Processed, sanitized, checked-in, badged, sanitized, find the way, don't touch-oops, sanitized, wandered, don't touch-oops. Sanitized, checked-in, wait and wait, brought back, sanitized. Checked in, informed, injected, informed, instructed, sanitized, released, find the way, don't touch-oops, sanitized, walked out. Repeat again, hours later. It gets old for all of us.


Read More
0 Comments

"Late Summer, 2020" a poem by Jenner Daelyn

10/1/2020

0 Comments

 
​​From the "Once Upon a Pandemic" service on August 16, 2020
​Maybe there is a ghost of the year
that would have been
haunting this one
running parallel
an alternate universe
alien, but familiar
a shimmer on the horizon
near enough that in the night time quiet
we can hear the lives we should be
living
echoes in the next room
in a house that we know is empty

Time doesn't work well here in this year
not anymore
(time never works well in a nightmare)
days blur together
formless and sagging
and in the blurring of time
we can see snippets
of what this year could have been
a curtain blowing gently
when there isn't any wind

Maybe, in the ghost year, the world
As we know it
hasn't ended yet
maybe the people in that year
​still have the "old normal"
maybe they can still
gather, sing, hug,
talk, travel, worship,
shakehands,
go to school,
have brunch,
celebrate weddings,
and mourn together at funerals,
without risking
... everything
​In that year, maybe
hundreds of thousands of people
are alive
while they're dead in this one.
Maybe there, their graves remain
undug.
Maybe there, the living are unhaunted.
And in that ghost year,
maybe a version of me exists,
and maybe the grief I've carried since
March,
like a cold and heavy stone in my heart,
doesn't.
Jenner Daelyn finds inspiration for her art and poetry in liminal spaces - physical, emotional, and spiritual - looking for meaning by exploring the in-betweens.
0 Comments

    What's New?

    The First UU Church of San Diego blog is your resource for upcoming events and past event recaps. Leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

    Categories

    All
    150th Celebration
    Aging
    Announcements
    Art & Collectibles Auction
    Black Lives Matter
    Board Of Trustees
    Camp De Benneville Pines
    Careers
    Climate Change
    Climate Justice
    COVID Caring
    Democracy In Action
    Dining For Dollar$
    Events
    First UU History
    First Words Stories
    Food Pantry
    Free Family Friendly Events
    Front Street Productions
    General Assembly
    Gun Violence
    Holiday Events
    Holiday Greetings
    Immigrants Rights
    Intercultural Workshops
    International Women's Day
    Journey Towards Wholeness
    JTW
    Kids Activities
    LGBTQIA
    Marriage Equality
    Meditation Mondays
    Meet A Volunteer
    Minister Letters
    On The Side Of Love
    OSF
    Partner Churches
    Pledge Drive
    Press Releases
    Racial Justice
    Religious Education
    Reopening Team
    Rev. Alix Klingenberg
    Rev. Carolyn Owen Towle
    Rev. Carolyn Owen-Towle
    Rev. Everett Howe
    Rev. Ian Riddell
    Rev. Jennifer Channin
    Rev. Justine Sullivan
    Rev. Kathleen Owens
    Rev. Omega Burckhardt
    Rev. Tania Marquez
    Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
    Sabbatical Notes
    Sanctuary
    Social Justice Actions
    South Bay Campus
    Staying Connected
    Stevie Carmody
    Unitarian Universalism 101
    UU Parenting
    UUs In Action
    UU Women
    Visioning The Future
    Volunteer Opportunities

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    July 2024
    May 2024
    March 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    August 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    October 2014
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    March 2011
    October 2010
    September 2008
    June 2002

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
(619) 298-9978  |  Staff Directory
We have two campuses:
Hillcrest campus: 4190 Front Street, San Diego, CA. 92103  |  South Bay campus: 970 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA. 91911
  For GPS to our Hillcrest Campus, please use 298 W Arbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92103
For detailed directions, parking and more see our Contact page.
Picture
©First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego. All rights reserved. Admin.
  • Home
  • Worship
    • Messages
    • Online Worship
    • Participate in a Service
    • Principles & Sources
  • Connections
    • Welcome Newcomers! > >
      • Visiting First UU
      • What is UUism?
      • Become a Member
    • Groups from A-Z > >
      • Affinity Groups
      • Archives
      • Art Guild
      • Looking Glass Theatre
      • Meditation
      • Men's Fellowship >
        • UUMF Renewal Registration
      • Neighborhood Groups
      • UU Seniors
      • Wisdom Circles
    • Member Networking
    • Right Relations
    • Listening Circles
  • Music
    • Vocal Ensembles
    • Handbell Ensemble
  • Education
    • Children's RE > >
      • Family Ministry Library
      • Children's RE Registration
    • Adult Faith Formation
    • Family Ministry > >
      • All Church Camp
    • Youth Programs
    • Young Adult & Campus Ministry
    • Our Whole Lives (OWL)
    • SD Co-op Preschool
  • Programs
    • Front Street Productions
    • Caring
    • Food Pantry
    • Larger UU Connections > >
      • Denominational Relations
      • Friends of De Benneville Pines
      • Philippines Partner Church
      • Transylvania Partner Church
      • UU Service Committee
    • Leadership Development
    • Social Justice > >
      • Social Justice Executive Team
      • Climate Justice
      • Generosity Offerings
      • Organizing for Justice
      • Palestine-Israel Justice Group
      • Rainbow Action
      • Reproductive Justice
      • Sanctuary
      • SOLACE
      • Uptown Community Service Center
    • Ushering
  • Giving
    • Donations > >
      • Pledging
      • Planned Giving
      • Donate Your Vehicle
      • Donate Flowers
    • Dining for Dollars D4$
    • Shop and Support!
  • News
    • Blog
    • The Window - Weekly Bulletin
    • First Words Magazine
  • About
    • About First UU
    • For Members > >
      • Member's Login
      • Board Login
    • Hillcrest Campus
    • South Bay Campus
    • Our Ministers
    • Our Staff
    • Calendar
    • Our Sustainable Future
    • Facilities >
      • Facilities Overview
      • Ceremonies
      • Facilities Use Request Form
    • Forms
    • Governance > >
      • Article II
      • 8th Principle
      • Board Candidates
      • Journey Toward Wholeness >
        • Black History Month
      • Strategic Planning > >
        • Funding our Future
        • Visioning The Future
      • Our History
      • 150th Celebrationn
  • Contact
    • Ministers and Staff
    • Website Feedback Form
    • MAG Contact Form
    • Privacy and Terms