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February 2010
February 7, 10:00 a.m.
Save The Males!
On Super Bowl Sunday, I want to share the core of my commitment to creating a world of greater gender justice and joy. As a founding member of the UU Men's Network I'm dedicated to promoting mature masculinity.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
Download MP3
January 2010
January 24
Self-Care: Our Greatest Resource
Ours is a religion that reminds us to nurture our spirit even as we serve the world. Sometimes we forget to take sufficient care of ourselves, thereby burning out and forfeiting our destiny.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
January 17
An Inconvenient Hero
If we’re to properly celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday every year, then we can’t let his message be caged or his revolutionary image be "whitewashed," American-style. Our challenge is to preserve King's heritage without losing his troubling dream.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
January 10
Saying Yes, Yes, Yes To Life!
To be sure, there are moments to say a clear-cut No or a Maybe to life's challenges, but Tapestry represents an unabashedly life-affirming religion. It’s our primary mission to shout Yes to life, to create a good earth rather than waiting around for a perfect heaven. What might this mean for Tapestrians, personally and congregationally? L'Chaim!
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
January 3
Hopeful, Not Optimistic!
I will share the core of my life-philosophy, as we launch another wondrous yet challenging year of shared ministry in our corner of the universe.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
December 2009
December 27
Signals Through The Glass
Lauren Schmid, a Tapestry member, will offer a reflective end-of-year service about Endings. Lauren's first exposure to Unitarian Universalism was as a teenager. Early frequent exposure to a variety of performing arts provided her with many rich experiences. As an adult, her personal credo was formed and/or informed by numerous moves (including three other states in addition to her native California), parenthood and marriage. Though a family consisting of four amazing children, ages 11-22, and her wonderful husband are her primary focus, creative forces find their way out in the form of photography and various crafts, music and dancing.
December 20, 10:00 a.m.
The Birth Stories
The four earliest recorded accounts of Jesus’ birth are markedly different, thus illustrating our bedrock diversity as religious progressive. In revisiting the nativity scene let’s see what we discover.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
December 13
Staying Joyful During The HoliDAZE
Folks often get depressed during the dank December daze, pressed way down in spirit and body. I have some working hunches on how we can find and spread enduring joy during the holiday madness.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
December 6
The Blessings of Darkness
It's tempting to get swallowed up in a light-binge during the December swirl. The mature religious pilgrim aspires to salute life's many, subtle, and cherished gifts of darkness.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
November 2009
November 29
A Tapestry Journey : How I came to Tapestry and why I am still here
Charlotte Clarke has been an active member of Tapestry for over ten years. She was chair of the first Caring Committee, a member of Ways and Means for several years, the representative for the Women’s Wisdom Circle and most recently, Snack Coordinator. Charlotte received a BA from Rutgers and an MSW from CSU Long Beach.
Charlotte Clarke and Alan Hull
November 22
Thanksgiving: The Greatest American Holiday
Thanksgiving is perhaps the greatest of all American holidays because it honors not military prowess but spiritual freedom, recognizing that religion is truly born and lives in a state of thankfulness. Jan Meslin will assist us in launching our annual UUSC "Guest-At-Your-Table" program.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
November 15
Let's Quit Hiding Our Good News!
I’m tired of our Unitarian Universalist gospel—our "good news"—being hidden, misinterpreted, and trivialized. And I bet most Tapestrians are as well. This is my full-bore sermon on low-key-evangelism, so it would be a good Sunday to bring one of your buddies who’s curious about who we are and what we’re up to!
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
November 8
What Makes America Good?
On Veteran’s Day weekend, in an era when America seems roundly critiqued, hither and yon, I want to salute the bedrock qualities our country embodies when we’re on our truest behavior.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
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November 1
Truly A Faith For All Souls!
Some wag wrote that certain faiths focus on all saints, while Unitarian Universalists salute all sorts. I’d rather say all souls, but I understand the humorous sentiment. Why are more of our congregations named All Souls than any other moniker?
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
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October 2009
October 25
Becoming The Beloved Community
Everything we say and do as Tapestrians assists in growing the Beloved Community right where we’re planted, in South Orange County. What might this vision of creating such a spiritual-social reality–that includes yet transcends each of us–truly require of Tapestry members and friends? Some notes from my heart and history.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
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October 18
The History of God
Karen Armstrong's Spiritual Journey
Jay Keithahn was born in Washington State and lived there until he was in Junior High School and then moved to Berkeley 1940. He has lived in California ever since except for twenty years in Houston Texas.
Jay was a Mechanical Engineer in the oil industry mostly in management. He was an Episcopalian at various levels of participation.
Jay married in 1950 and has two daughters and six grandchildren. In 1985, he moved to San Juan Capistrano. He faced up to his disagreements with various beliefs of the Episcopalians and joined All Souls UU in San Juan Capistrano, one of the two congregations which joined to form Tapestry. Jay is a widower; his wife, Adele, a former congregational member, died in 2001.
Jay Keithahn
October 11
The Deep Humanity Of Prayer
My goal is to connect Unitarian Universalism with the deep-down humanity undergirding prayer. To do so, I will distinguish between health and unhealthy forms of this spiritual discipline.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
October 4
Children of Heresy
Being a heretic means literally to be a "choice-maker," a descriptor that goes to the core of our Unitarian Universalist religion. Come and celebrate your chosen identity!
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
September 2009
September 27
I Don't Have A Suit
Returning guest speaker and hospital chaplain, Michael Eselun, will explore the experience of insiders and outsiders....our yearning to belong and the comfort we take in belonging versus our inner experience of being on the outside, often at the same time.
Michael Eselun, a Unitarian Universalist, is the chaplain for the Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. He works primarily with acute oncology, but also adult psychiatric patients at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. He's been invited many times to speak to undergraduate students at UCLA about his work as a chaplain, on death and dying, and the spiritual dimension of the cancer experience. He's also led workshops on integrating spirituality into an LGBT identity.
Michael is also a co-founder and co-chair of a non-profit, volunteer anti-homophobia speakers bureau called GLIDE, Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality. Over the last 15 years, Michael and his fellow speakers have talked to an audience of over 100,000 students, teachers, and other groups and agencies in the LA area about homophobia.
He shares his life with Scott, his partner of 31 years. He is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica and has been a popular guest speaker there and at over a dozen UU congregations in Southern California.
September 20
Jewish New Year—The Art Of Falling Forward!
As we celebrate the season of Rosh Hashanah, we would address the theme of spiritual renewal, especially rebounding from life's rough patches.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
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September 13
Staying Awake!
As your consulting minister, I offer one major piece of counsel: stay awake, stay awake, and stay awake to all the wondrous changes and possibilities that lie before us as stakeholders of the sacred enterprise called Tapestry.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
September 6
Shaking Hands With Our Dragons
By way of introducing myself, I will share portions of my ministerial philosophy, garnered from 42 years of serving the "second oldest" profession on record. I eagerly await our shared ministry, during this crucial period in the history of Tapestry.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle
August 2009
August 30
Readers' Theater: Romantic Poets
The Old Pros Theatre Group of Laguna Woods presents a reading of Romantic poetry. The focus is the Romantics’ love of nature and how the natural world influenced their thinking and their writing.
Poets included are Byron, Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth, and other prominent Romantic poets.
August 23
Just Another Right Answer
We often say, in my advisory group, that a particular idea is or might be just another right answer. It’s our way of stating that we don’t necessarily have the answer. We acknowledge that our way of resolving a personal or business issue or taking advantage of an opportunity may be one of many successful ways of approaching the challenge. So how do we make those decisions and choices?
Join us for "just another right answer" on how values, decisions and fundamental operating principle affect our everyday lives and the choices we make.
Dave Kinnear
August 16
Be Ours A Relevant Religion
Sundays are known as the most segregated day of the week. This Sunday, we will look at our own community and discover a hope that transcends communal divides rather than creates them.
Angela Henderson is pursuing ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister at Claremont School of Theology, where she served on the worship council for the last two years. She also serves as a worship associate at her home congregation in Costa Mesa, CA.
August 2
How I Lost My Religion
William Lobdell is an award-winning journalist and author of the recently published book, Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting On Religion In America and Found Unexpected Peace.
He spent 18 years with the LA Times and is visiting faculty member at UC Irvine, where he teaches "Religion and the Media," and "The Internet, Blogs, and Politics."
William Lobdell
July 2009
July 12
An Accidental Life
How do we end up with the jobs, the lovers and the friends we have? Not likely by much careful analysis. We more often fall into situations than choose them. What would life be like if we had made some different, perhaps more well-planned choices? Not always different, not always better. But in some ways, it would be more exciting - and more strenuous.
The Rev. Robert Jordan Ross
Robert Jordan Ross, who lives with his wife Catharine in Newport Beach, is a former minister of this congregation. A New Yorker by birth and rearing, a New Englander by lineage, he's a graduate of the University of Chicago and Drew University School of Theology. He's been here in Orange County since 1972. An active Unitarian Universalist Christian, he's now writing materials for men: The Practicing Christian, on the many ways of living a Christian life.
Robert was minister here first with the Aliso Creek Church, Unitarian Universalist, for several years, and then when All Souls Church merged with it, as minister to the new church (now Tapestry) until he retired from congregational work in 1997.
Among other work, Robert served as District President here, and, as Director for Recruitment of Ministers for the Unitarian Universalist Association offices in Boston, was one of those who helped facilitate our soon-to-be-here consulting minister, Tom Owen-Towle, in his entry into ministry among us.
May 2009
May 31
Justice for the "Other"
Why, in spite of supposedly advancing civilization, have
discrimination and injustice occurred throughout human history? Today a reader's theater presentation will explore this question, using music and images as well as provocative readings. The author of this service is Mickey Jackson, creator of "Guns and Poets," which was adapted and presented at Tapestry a few years ago. Collaborating and participating in this new service are Rob Balmuth, David Dearing, Mickey, Susan Jagielko, Keith Jenkins, Gary Livesey, Connie Pursell, and David Salahi.
May 17, 2009
Gifts, Gratitude, and Flowers
It has been said that when you are in the middle of transition the first thing to do is to give thanks. Come and explore gratitude as a practice and celebrate how we share our lives. This Sunday we will hear reports on what the congregation did with the charge to give five dollars away. We will also celebrate our annual Flower Communion. As we affirm the Tapestry community we exchange flowers to show our willingness to walk together in our gratitude. Please bring a flower to share with the congregation.
Download Testimonies on Gratitude (Jagielko, Huff, & Kinnear) (4 MB)
May 3, 2009
How do our Unitarian Universalist principles guide us to respond to extreme poverty?
Extreme poverty affects 1.4 billion people—many of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America. Almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day. What emphasis should we give our role as global citizens when we’re seeing local poverty increase close-to-home as a result of the recession? How can we make our shrinking international donor-dollars as helpful as possible? How do our UU principles offer guidance and direction for us as we partner with people around the globe affected by extreme poverty?
Pamela Edwards is a New Zealander living in Irvine. She has a lifelong interest in global education and international development. When working as the Southwest Community Relations Coordinator for Heifer International, an international non-profit development organization, between 2004 – 2007 she visited Heifer projects in Honduras, Navajo Nations, Vietnam and Cambodia. She met many of Heifer's partners who are stepping onto the first rungs of what economist Jeffrey Sachs calls the "ladder of development."
Pamela recommends the following organizations to help people in developing countries "reach the first rung of the ladder of development:"
Fair Trade Gifts
Ten Thousand Villages
"Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing."
Servv
"Your purchases give you the chance to have a direct impact on our global market's great injustices: the inequality in income and quality of life for people living in developing countries. With your help, SERRV becomes a powerful tool for putting right the imbalance in the world."
Education
Room to Read
"We partner with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, and providing education to girls."
Honor Gifts
Oxfam America Unwrapped Gifts
"Oxfam America works in 100 countries around the world. This catalog contains gift items that symbolically represent our work. The items selected represent project goals from grants disbursed by our seven offices around the world. The purchase of each gift item is a contribution toward Oxfam America's many programs, not a donation to a specific project or goal."
Heifer International
"Heifer has learned over the years that a holistic approach is necessary in order to build sustainable communities. So we’ve developed a set of global initiatives – areas of emphasis that must be addressed if we’re to meet our mission of ending world hunger and poverty and caring for the earth."
March 2009
March 8
Finding Balance in the Divine Feminine
Traditionally, Monotheism focuses exclusively on a male God as the sole creator of existence. But what about the many traditions throughout history that have honored Goddesses in addition to (or sometimes in lieu of) male deities? Tapestry member Kristin Potter Ramirez explores the concept of the Divine Feminine, and how embracing it can help bring balance to our lives and our world.
Kristin Potter Ramirez has spent most of her life asking questions and poring over history, both ancient and modern. She would have majored in curiosity had it been an available degree but settled on dance instead, receiving her B.A. from Cal State Fullerton. She is an artist who likes to experiment with traditional and technical mediums, has been a been a member of Architexture Dance Company since July of 2007 and has been coming to Tapestry for the last four years. Kristin was recently initiated as a First-Degree Witch after completing her year and a day of study. She lives in Lake Forest with her husband and best friend Gil, their daughter Rhiannon and soon-to-be-born son, Marcus.
January 2009
January 25
The Gothic Heart: Finding Meaning Where You Will
Michael Eselun is a hospital chaplain at UCLA Medical Center and a well-received speaker here several times. He will share reflections on how we create meaning from our life experience. Is there such a thing as inherent meaning or is it all manufactured and does it matter?
Michael Eselun, a Unitarian Universalist, is a hospital chaplain at UCLA Medical Center. He works there primarily with acute oncology and adult psychiatric patients, and serves as the chaplain for the Palliative Care Team. Michael is also a co-founder and co-chair of a non-profit, volunteer anti-homophobia speakers bureau called GLIDE, Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality.
Michael shares his life with Scott, his partner of 30 years. He is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica and has been a popular guest speaker there and at over a dozen UU congregations in Southern California.
January 18
Finding Faith in Uncertain Times
Come find out what it means to have faith when you are a Unitarian Universalist how we might be willing to believe some things that we cannot prove. And even more important, how we find a way to keep our faith in the face of life's uncertainty.
The Rev. Karen Stoyanoff
December 2008
December 13
A Christmas Story
Traditional Christmas stories are just that, of course—stories. But could they be true anyway? Robin Mitchell will share why she thinks some of them are true, and how they challenge and inspire her not only as a Christian but also as a Buddhist and a UU.
Robin Mitchell is a long-time member of a UU Fellowship near San Diego as well as a member of a Methodist church and a practicing Buddhist, having taken formal vows and made a pilgrimage to India. She has spoken here twice before about how she came to practice and love all these religions and how they sustain and encourage her spiritual life.
December 7
Special Joint Service with Orange Coast Church!
To Build the Common Good
Yes, we are merging with the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Congregation to build a stable home and a vibrant progressive voice in Orange County! Let us celebrate. This week will be a joint service. We are incredibly fortunate to have as our guest speaker Gini Courter, the Unitarian Universalist Association Moderator.
November 2008
November 30
Living Simply
In 1936 Richard Gregg, a student of Gandhi, described the practice of voluntary simplicity in this way:
"It means singleness of purpose, sincerity and honesty within, as well as avoidance of exterior clutter, of many possessions irrelevant to the chief purpose of life."
In all ages, sages and spiritual seekers have embraced this notion. But what does it mean for us in 2008 here in Orange County, a capital of conspicuous consumption?
Although simple in its essence, voluntary simplicity has multiple dimensions including:
- our material posessions,
- the environmental impact of our consumption,
- our social relationships,
- social justice and
- spiritual concerns
In this talk, Dave Salahi explores these various dimensions to discover how simpler living can lead us to a more fulfilling life and greater equity for all.
Visit the Voluntary Simplicity web page for lots of resources on beginning or continuing along your path to a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle.
Dave Salahi has been a member of Tapestry for 8 years and in 2005 led a simplicity circle covenant group here. Dave has a B.S. degree in ecology from UCI. He is a software engineer and web designer by profession.
Download PDF of sermon (178 KB)
November 9
This I Believe
Our popular lay-led service returns. Keith Tuominen-Lenney, a Minnesota native who has lived in California for 13 years, Keith has been a member of Tapestry for 7 years. He is a husband to Kathy and a proud father of Emma and Ryan. He has recently finished his doctorate in education and continued his journey as an educator by becoming the principal at a middle school in the Irvine school district. Keith enjoys singing and running triathlons in his spare time.
Connie Pursell also presents.
October 2008
October 12
Living Our Values: Finding: the Path We Are Most Proud to Walk
Dr. Ron Koons is a semi-retired physician who practiced medical and radiation oncology. Now he is Clinical Professor of Medicine (Ethics) at Univ. of California, Irvine. He is a member of the Medical Staff Ethics Committee at the UCI Medical Center, and facilitates the Ethics Journal Club meetings.
Dr. Ron Koons
August 2008
August 31
Celebrating Peter, Paul, & Mary
Peter Yarrow (Rob Balmuth), Noel Paul Stookey (Keith Toumenin), and Mary Travers (Wendy Washington) come in spirit to Tapestry to help us celebrate the music recorded by the trio whose name is synonymous with social consciousness. For four generations, Peter, Paul, & Mary have awakened the sleepy into awareness, inspired the concerned into action, and moved many complacent to compassion. Rob, Keith, and Wendy will perform various songs recorded by the folk trio and lead us in a celebration of the marvelous dream of Peter, Paul, & Mary in leading many of us to work for a better world, a better life.
"Peter, Paul & Mary"
August 24
General Assembly Redux: What Can We Do?
Did you miss the streaming video from the events at the UUA’s General Assembly in Ft. Lauderdale In June? No worries. Lynn Cowan, who served as Tapestry’s delegate, will give you the highlights, the hot topics, and the challenges set for UU congregations for the coming year and beyond. If you are interested in what lies ahead for our denomination in our wider world, you won’t want to miss this.
Lynn Cowan
August 17
The Interplay of Politics and Religion
Today's sermon is a retired minister's foray into another important world. Rev. Carol Hilton came to the ministry as a second career in mid-life. She has served as far east as Indiana and Iowa and at the Palomar UU Fellowship for 11 1/2 years.
Rev. Carol Hilton
August 3
On Becoming a Change Agent
Rev. Pipes will talk about the need for social and cultural change and, to bring that about, the requirement of personal growth and development across many areas. In a nutshell: we must become the change we want to see!
A graduate of Harvard Divinity School he served as minister of the First Unitarian Church of Albany, New York, 1952 -56, and of the UU Community Church of Santa Monica, CA, 1956-1991.
The Rev. Ernie Pipes
Worship Associate: Susan Dearing
July 2008
July 27.
Getting Open
Tom Graham, and his daughter, Rachel Graham Cody, co authored a book, "Getting Open", the Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball."
"Indiana was an unlikely place for a civil rights breakthrough. It was stone- cold isolationist, widely segregated and hostile to change. But in the late 1940s, Indiana had: a leader of the largest YMCA in the world, who viewed sports as a wedge for broader integration; a visionary university president, who believed his institution belonged to all citizens; a passion for high school and college basketball; and a teenager who was, as nearly as any civil rights pioneer has ever been, the perfect person for his time and role. This is the story of how they came together to move the country toward getting open."
Although Tom Graham grew up in Bill Garrett's hometown, he now lives in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Indiana University and Harvard Law School. Tom is a retired lawyer, who taught in Venezuela, worked at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, and in International trade law in D.C.
There is a Tapestry connection here: member Susan Jagielko grew up in the same town as Tom and Bill.
July 20
Religious Myth Conceptions
Traditional religions may indeed be myths, but does that make them wrong? Instead, is it the heart of their value?
This sermon explores the paradoxical truth of mythical stories, and the way they inspire our own creativity and participation in the quest for deep meaning.
Robin Mitchell has been a member of her Unitarian Universalist fellowship near san diego for over seventeen years, a faithful member of a methodist church for over ten. In addition, she's currently a practicing Buddhist, having taken formal vows and made a pilgrimage to india. She spoke at Tapestry last summer, describing how she came to practice and love all these religions. She continues to be as interested in the idea of religion itself, as she is in her own religions.
Robin Mitchell
July 13
Imagine…
Human beings are imagining beings. We have the capacity to form an image or idea of something in our minds and to conceive of possibilities for ourselves, our community, and our world. This service will explore the power of imagination to create fresh options and opportunities to change and grow and flourish.
The Rev. Dr. Beth A. Johnson
Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
July 6
Living Positively with HIV
Scott Harrison will discuss his own personal journey and the role that shame, depression and other issues have played as well as the importance of a "life recovery process," as he calls it. Scott will also offer some personal insights on the need for universal healthcare as it relates to people living with HIV/AIDS.
Scott Harrison
Scott is a gay man who has been living with HIV for several years. He grew up in a conservative evangelical Christian background and spent eight years in the ex-gay/reparative therapy movement, in which he tried to change his sexual orientation.
June 2008
June 22
Carrying the Song
Rev. John’s last Sunday in the pulpit as Tapestry’s settled minister will include a special presentation from the choir. Rev. John will give us a minister’s perspective on the upcoming interim year, on the pending UUnion with Orange Coast UU Church, and on what it means to “set down the music, and carry the song.” Today’s one service will be followed by 1) the annual meeting, and 2) a feast in celebration of Rev. John’s ministry with us.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
June 15
Sankofa: Looking Behind to Move Forward
Some cultures share their symbol systems with the world in order to bless it. The Adinkra symbol set from Ghana includes one particularly eloquent pictogram: the Sankofa, a bird with its head turned backward to take an egg off its back. Sankofa represents taking from the past what is good and bringing it into the present, in order to make positive progress through the benevolent use of knowledge. Today, in Rev. John’s second-to-last Sunday in the pulpit as Tapestry’s settled minister, we’ll look back over our past six years together, to equip ourselves for what is to come.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
June 8
Question Box Sunday
We approach the end of the congregational year, and the end of John’s six years of ministry at Tapestry, still with ground to cover. Some of us still have profound theological, ethical, socio/political, or personal questions we’ve never heard addressed in a sermon. This is our opportunity to get some answers!
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
June 1
One Human Family
We have more in common with our fellow humans than differences. There is only ONE race on planet earth; the human race. Once we learn and begin to act from this perspective, we can achieve love, peace and understanding in our world.
Guest Speaker Dr. Steve Gabrielson completed six years of ministerial training in 1998. He and his wife Lynn co-founded the Pacific Center for Spiritual Living in 1999 in Lake Forest. He serves as First Vice President for Religious Science International and was recognized by Religious Science International as "Minister of the Year."
May 2008
May 25
Walking Toward Morning
Victoria Safford writes: “Every morning we go out blinking into the glare of our freedom” deciding what we’ll take with us—not just our keys or our lunchboxes, but “how much faith and hope, how much love and gratitude.” Join us for this reflection on packing all the essentials for our daily, and our lifelong, journeys. This was Rev. Sarah’s final sermon as our Affiliated Community Minister.
The Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh, Affiliated Community Minister
May 18
Islam's Holy Peace
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
May 4
Pilgrimage of Faith
Our second UU Principle includes the words, "encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations." That is another way to talk about personal faith development. We are in process. "The Pilgrimage of Faith" is a sermon about that process from searching faith to liberating faith. Returning to our pulpit is The Rev. Jim Grant.
April 2008
April 27
Breathing into the Map
As our beloved Interim Minister for one year before Rev. John began serving us, Rev. Anne Felton Hines talked about the journey this congregation had been taking, and how we might keep it vital. Today she'll share a bit about where her journey has taken her, and reflect on what she witnesses about ours from a distance.
The Rev. Anne Felton Hines
Download MP3 (9 MB)
April 20
Soul Work
Earth Day weekend is a time to celebrate our planetary diversity-including human diversity. But Unitarian Universalists are only beginning to understand what it means to live as engaged anti-racist allies in a multicultural setting. Despite our goodhearted intent to welcome folks of all races and ethnicities, our congregations are disproportionately white. We know the racist history of our country, but are only beginning to grasp the challenges that race presents in its current forms. Join us as we explore the knotty issues of race and Unitarian Universalism…and talk about "one more step" that each of us can take.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
Download MP3 (10 MB)
April 13
An Intermediate Student of Flying
When I met my friend Mandy a decade ago, we butted heads. She was a pierced, no-nonsense, highly energetic DRE of a UU congregation, standing in the way of me, the equally no-nonsense (but not equally pierced) Assistant to the UUA President. As you might guess, she’s taught me a lot over the years I’ve known her—all the more so now that she’s becoming expert in the art of the flying trapeze. This is what I’ve learned from Mandy about the wisdom that can be learned from the flying trapeze.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
April 6
What Endures
Rev. John announces his resignation as Tapestry's minister, and provides information about his decision and the road ahead for our congregation.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
March 2008
March 30
Choosing Life
Who do you think you are? Sages and psychologists alike would assure you that you’re probably mistaken. Jungian anal yst James Hollis says that we all “walk in shoes too small.” Continuing this month’s theme of “Identity,” we re-examine identity, and explore the work it takes to embrace new life.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
March 23
Easter
UU ministers at Easter time often speak of renewal and resurrection as a natural parts of earth’s cycles. True. But I think that the most important resurrections must be chosen, risked, dared. One poet writes of being “threatened with resurrection.” What meaning does Easter have for us as UUs? Special Music.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
February 2008
February 24
What Do I Know?
Unitarian Universalists
are sometimes
suspicious of religion because
we see its “truth claims,” based
on subjective faith, as less reliable
than scientific truth claims,
made on objective facts. The
deeper truth is that our claim for
knowing anything is pretty thin.
Rev. Ricky Hoyt, a perennial
Tapestry favorite, currently
serves the Unitarian Universalist
congregation in Santa Clarita,
CA
Download MP3 (19 MB)
February 10
Valentine’s Day
for All of Us
As Tapestry celebrates Valentine's
Day, we are pleased to
welcome two guest speakers,
Toby and Annie. Their personal
stories will shed light on some of
the issues surrounding marriage
equality.
Toby, a native of Los Angeles, worked for 33 years in special education and was twice honored as teacher of the year. Annie, a native of England, recently joined the ranks of the retired, following a career as a paralegal and health inspector.
They met in 1983, had their commitment ceremony on Kauai, and now live between Laguna Beach and Palm Springs with their dog, Shayna. Come hear their remarkable personal stories as a celebration of love this Valentine’s Day Sunday.
February 3, 2008
SPECIAL EVENT: Joint Worship Service with OCUUC The Times They Are A’Changin
In a musical, celebratory service, our own Rev. John Millspaugh, along with the UUA’s Vice President Terry Sweetser and Orange Coast UU Church’s Rev. Karen Stoyanoff will reflect on change. Nationally known worship theorist Rev. John Tolley, professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School, will lead in the dramatic telling of a story for all ages. After the story the children will go to a separate room for programming designed specifically for them. Music will be performed by a large combined choir and SEVERAL instrumental ensembles.
January 2008
January 27, 2008
The State of the UUnion: A Minister’s Perspective
For six months now, we’ve been in conversation with the Orange Coast UU Church about possibilities for collaboration up to and including union, or as I like to think of it, UUnion. I’ve been pondering the pros and cons for our vision and mission as a community, and I’ll share my particular perspective before our democratic vote regarding whether to move forward.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
January 13, 2008
An Unprincipled New Year
When I first read the UU principles, I thought they were a strange group of statements to stand at the center of a religious movement. Too vague, too smacking of the pledge of allegiance, too anthropocentric. I have come to see them as profound…but still see things to change. So does our national movement, which is about to change them. Come hear about, and be part of, the revision of our seven principles… in worship, and in the workshop following the second service (page 10).
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
January 6, 2008
Two Reflections from the Roadside
Rev. John and Rev. Sarah share a sermon on principles core to our faith: justice and compassion. As our collective journey takes a new turn into 2008, how can these age-old concepts take on new meaning…and what can be learned from the side of the road?
The Revs. John & Sarah Millspaugh
December 2007
December 30, The Ordinary as Mask of the Holy
Betty and I saw a play the other night, "Oscar and the Pink Lady," about a young boy in a cancer ward befriended by a "pink lady" volunteer. It is about spirituality, found in a desert: "...the lonely night under this starry sky was absolutely thrilling, a feeling of the Absolute."
Rev. Jim Grant, a retired UU Minister, Consulting or Interim Minister for eight UU Congregations in Southern California, PSWD Consulting Team, private consultant with congregations and non-profit organizations.
December 23, Saving the Best for Last
Are you saved? Me either. Or wait: maybe we both are. Many world religions include the concept of salvation, with different perspectives on what we need saving from, and what might save us. As Christians celebrate the arrival of their savior, what do other wisdom traditions have to say about what saves us, from what, and how? What would UU salvation look like…and could it be that we’re saved after all?
Rev. John Millspaugh
December 9, Song of Experience
According to the poet, William Blake, we all start out life singing “a song of innocence,” and then something along the way changes how we view the world and we sing “a song of experience.” Karen Stoyanoff will explore how this transformation in our lives affects us weaving together her own experience, Blake’s poetry, and a compelling story from mythology. Come join us and learn how we can regain our ability to face life with hope even after we know life’s destructive potential.
Orange Coast UU Church's Rev. Karen Stoyanoff
December 2 — The Dark Nights of the Soul
A recent study found that over 20 million Americans are in the clutches of depression; over 2 million are children. Worldwide, depression is the leading cause of disability for persons over age five, and accounts for more of the disease burden than anything but heart disease. This December, as light vanishes from the sky, we seek a spiritual perspective on depression, sadness, and grief, that might provide the means to keep a candle lit during the dark nights of the soul.
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
November 2007
November 25 — Where the Theology Meets the Road
We think we know what we believe and what we hold to be true, but when it comes to a crisis of illness or death, often all bets are off. Michael Eselun, a chaplain at UCLA Medical Center, (and a well-received guest speaker at Tapestry three times before) will share an exploration of the different ways patients' theologies intersect with such crises, and the common themes that seem to surface from the atheist or fundamentalist alike.
Michael Eselun, a Unitarian Universalist, is a hospital chaplain at UCLA Medical Center and as the chaplain for the Palliative Care Unit at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. Michael is also a co-founder and co-chair of a non-profit, volunteer anti-homophobia speakers bureau called GLIDE, Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality.
November 11 — Building a Humane Nation
Rev. John welcomes Wayne Pacelle, the President and CEO of the 10-million member Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Mr. Pacelle has helped pass more than a half dozen federal laws to protect animals, and has been the subject of profiles by The New York Times (2007), The Wall Street Journal (2006)and The Washington Post (2004). For his management of HSUS’s response to Hurricane Katrina, NonProfit Times named him “Executive of the Year.” Mr. Pacelle is an outstanding speaker.
November 4 — A New Religious Orange County
The Immigration Act of 1965 eliminated the quotas linking immigration to national origins. Since then, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Zoroastrians, and new varieties of Jews and Catholics have arrived from every part of the globe, radically altering the religious landscape of the United States…and Orange County. We’ll discuss how America is now the most religiously diverse nation in the world, and kick off our local “Neighboring Faiths” series for Adults (see page 10).
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
October 2007
October 21 — An Interdependent Web
Unitarian Universalist congregations are self-governing entities whose connections to one another sometimes seem tenuous. We can be part of changing that, to the benefit of each one of us, and our larger faith. In October 2007, Tapestry joins hundreds of congregations who are committing to common cause by joining in “Association Sunday.”
The Rev. John Gibb Millspaugh
October 14 — The Role of UUs in Immigration Reform
Dr. Norma Stoltz Chinchilla, member, Long Beach UU Church and Chair of their Immigration Task Force
Using a multi-media presentation, Norma and Eduarda Diaz-Schwarzbach will
provide us with a compassionate, in-depth look at the confusing and contentious debate
over immigration policy reform. The New Sanctuary Movement will be explained.
