This Week at UUP: July 6-11, 2007

The Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma
Room For Different Beliefs--Yours


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

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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, July 8: "Spiritual Independence"
Worship Associate: Tony Blake
Independence Day, a distinctly American holiday, celebrates a time in our nation's history, when we declared our independence from Great Britain. We will explore the ideas of freedom and liberty and have the opportunity to share our spiritual independence with one another.

Sunday, July 15: "This I Believe"
Two UUP members will share the story of their faith journey.

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This Weekend is a Share-the-Plate Sunday

In keeping with our commitment to supporting our community, on Sunday UUP will share its non-pledge offering collected during the Sunday service with the Petaluma Educational Foundation. PEF is a broadly based community foundation which secures and distributes contributions from the private sector (local businesses, parents, individuals, service clubs and private foundations) to benefit the educational program in Petaluma area schools. PEF provides grants to teachers, offers scholarships to graduating seniors and manages designated funds for school programs and activities. Founded in 1982, PEF serves 10 school districts incorporating 31 public and non-profit private schools in our community.

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New Adult Book Discussion Group after Service on Sunday--You are welcome to join!

Led by Earl Cruser and other volunteers, the book selected for this discussion group is "The Left Hand of God: Healing America's Political and Spiritual Crisis" by Rabbi Michael Lerner. It could be the most important book of the decade in that it sets forth a credible, if ambitious, plan for providing a spiritual alternative to the unholy alliance of fundamentalist religion and neo-conservative, unfettered capitalism that has held sway in our country increasingly since the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Lerner proposes no less that to change America's "bottom line" from money and power to love and caring.

An outgrowth of his Tikkun community and magazine, the Network of Spiritual Progressives motivates the liberal religious community to put a new face on spirituality and politics. Our study group will consider such topics as: the spiritual crisis of our time, a new Bottom Line for America, the true nature of spirituality and its relationship to social justice, the environment, peace and civil rights. Heavy stuff! But we're going to have an exciting time exploring important issues. The discussion group is underway, but new members are welcome to join at any time.

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Second Summer Chant Evening

Please join other singers for our second summer evening of chants, rounds, songs and meditation on Wednesday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Diana Spaulding and David Dodd. Our first evening on the Solstice was fun, and we learned some wonderful, easy pieces. No experience necessary. Bring a song to share if you like!

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Regularly Scheduled Gatherings

- UUP Board of Trustees Meeting: Sunday, 8:30 am at the Petaluma Woman's Club.
- Love All (UUP Tennis Group): Friendly drop-in tennis game Sunday from 1:30-3:30 pm at the Petaluma High School courts.

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.