Download a flyer for the whole week. 
​​Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy-nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director and vocal activist. She facilitates vocal and stick pounding workshops for professional choirs and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations. We are thrilled to welcome Melanie DeMore for a whole week of music and YOU are heartily invited to her Song as Worship Workshop, Community Sing Concert AND our Music of the Heart Sunday service - all FREE. Read on for the weeklong schedule.

Second Thursdays Spring dates are May 12, 5 pm - 6:15 pm. Black, Indigenous and People of Color Leaders rooted in the Unitarian Universalist congregations are invited to take part in this monthly, virtual gathering. This space is created by the UUA explicitly for people identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). Register online at uua.org/leadership/events/taproot-feb-2022.

When a BBIPoC person shares that they've been harmed by racism, please learn to listen and respond with compassion. It may seem that we hear about racism in our church more often than in our other spaces. This is not because racism is not happening elsewhere, it is because we have members who trust us with their truth because our principles say that we will hear them. How to Respond with Compassion when Someone is Hurt by Racism.

California has a history of anti-Black racism and the unjust seizure of Bruce's Beach in Manhattan Beach tells the story of one example. "In April, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to make amends for a massive land grab rooted in white supremacy, though this remedy came almost a century too late (MSN). In the early twentieth century, Charles and Willa Bruce opened a Manhattan Beach resort that offered other Black families the opportunity to vacation under the Southern California sun. The white residents of Manhattan Beach were not pleased. The Bruce’s neighbors slashed their tires. The Ku Klux Klan set fire to the resort’s deck. These horrifying acts of white vigilantism weren’t what forced Charles and Willa to leave. In actuality, it was Manhattan Beach itself. The city government condemned the entire neighborhood around Bruce’s Beach. They then seized the resort through eminent domain. Though the city said that they did this to construct a park, this park never materialized. The Bruce family, forced from the city, was compensated only one-fifth of their asking price for the land they were forced to give up."  Read the full article and see steps you can take to support the ongoing campaign.

​For Black History Month we're re-sharing resources from our Journey Toward Wholeness initiative. From videos and sermons to articles and stories, these first appeared in the ongoing series "What Can I Do?" which runs in The Window, our weekly church newsletter. Each presents a simple, daily action. If you've been thinking "What can I do about racism?" these are a great place to start. Visit our Celebrating Black History Month page. 

Recent events have exposed the extent of white privilege in our society. Working to dismantle white supremacy and institutional racism is messy, uncomfortable work.
Read slowly, reflect, and wonder at adrienne maree brown's "a word for white people, in two parts"
Listen to Aly Halpert's "Loosen Loosen" song/prayer.