This Week at UUP: March 8-14

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
An Oasis for Heart and Mind Every Sunday in Downtown Petaluma


For complete up-to-date info on the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma, see our website: www.uupetaluma.org

**************************************************************************
SUNDAY SERVICES

(Social time with refreshments begins at 10:00 am , at the Petaluma Woman's Club, 518 B Street. Worship service begins at 10:30 am. )

Sunday, March 11: "In Praise of Sweet Darkness"
Guest speaker: Shepherd Bliss
"In Praise of Sweet Darkness" titles Shepherd Bliss' guest presentation March 11. He will be accompanied throughout the talk by musicians from the Kokopelli Players, including award-winning art teacher and CD recording artist Larry Stefl on guitar and an indigenous flute called the huaca and by Peter Herbert of the UU Congregation in Marin on drums and other percussion.
Shepherd will focus on the benevolent aspects of darkness, such as chocolate. Rumi, Lao Tzu, Unitarian Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wendell Berry, David Whyte, Rilke and T.S. Eliot will be among the poets quoted. Mystics quoted will include St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas of Aquinas, Meister Eckhard, and St. John of the Cross' classic "Dark Night of the Soul." Psychologist Carl Jung's concept of the shadow will also be employed. Shepherd will refer to his work at Kokopelli Farm south of Sebastopol.
This is a Share-the-Plate Sunday. Please see the note below.
Spring forward: Note that Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday! Don't forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night!

Sunday, March 18: "Risking Joy: Finding Wholeness"
Guest speakers: ministerial students Wendy Bartel and Lynn Kelly.
Worship Associate: Elisabeth Hathaway
In a world filled with injustice, environmental degradation, war, poverty, and our own personal struggles, how do we connect to what is beautiful and precious? How might we dare, as individuals and in community, to be part of the transformation from brokenness to wholeness? Come risk joy with us through music, meditation, ritual, and spoken word.

*******************************************************************
Share-the-Plate

We will be sharing half of the non-pledge offering in our collection plate on Sunday with the Petaluma People Services Center. PPSC was started in 1974 by a handful of community people who were concerned that Petaluma and South County residents did not have ready access to county health and social services. Their mission is to help low income children, adults, families and seniors to empower themselves thereby reducing: poverty, abuse, chemical dependence, violence, ignorance, isolation and mental illness, while promoting socialization, health, education, independence, self reliance and self esteem. Thank you for your generosity.

***************************************************************************
Town Hall Meeting Update

Please join the UUP Board as we continue to discuss issues and concerns about our proposed grant request for the Weekend Minister Program. All discussion groups will take place from 9:30 to 10:15 am in the Fireside Room at the Woman's Club.

This Sunday, March 11: How will the Weekend Ministry Program affect worship? Come and explore this question and any others you may have about the Weekend Ministry program. Coffee and refreshments will be served!

Sunday, March 18: How will the Weekend Ministry Program affect our membership? Please join the board and the Membership and Hospitality Committee for this discussion.

Sign up sheets will be located at the UUP table in the back of the worship space. Thank you in advance for your participation.

***************************************************************************
Do You Love a Parade?

For three of the last four years, UUP has participated in Petaluma's quintessential small-town event, the annual Butter and Egg Days Parade (we won awards twice!). This year, as always, the parade will wind its way through downtown on the last Saturday in April (April 28). The parade theme will celebrate 150 years of the Petaluma Fire Department. If you'd like to be the point person for UUP's participation, the Membership, Outreach and Hospitality Committee would love to provide backup help in organizing our entry for the year. (Some ideas came up: Red T-Shirts with flaming chalices and a slogan along the lines of "You'll Never Put Out Our Fire!" or something like that...) The entry can be a simple walking group or a float.

Contact Elaine Ellsworth if you are interested! This is a great way to get to know people at UUP, and it gives our community a high profile in the larger community.

***************************************************************************
Regularly Scheduled Gatherings

- Love All (UUP Tennis Group): Friendly drop-in tennis game Sunday from 2-4 pm at the Petaluma High School courts.
- Larking About (UUP Choir): Rehearsal Tuesday at 8 pm at David and Diana's house.
- UUP Board of Trustees: Meeting Thursday, March 15 at 7 pm at Jean Conrad's house.

If you have changed your email address or would like to be added to or removed from the UUP list, please email us at uupetaluma at gmail dot com.