August Observances

Playfulness and humor are essential to renewal.  Below is a list of celebrations for each day of August.  May the list encourage you to find joy, love, and outreach within "ordinary living" which is how the Holy One radiates through us!

Some August Observances

• August 1: National Mountain Climbing Day, Homemade Pie Day, National Water Balloon Day

• August 2: Dinosaurs Day, Sandcastle Day 

• August 3: National Watermelon Day, National Friendship Day

• August 4: National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, Assistance Dog Day, 

• August 5: Blogger Day

• August 6: National Root Beer Float Day, Wiggle Your Toes Day, Farmworker Appreciation Day

• August 7: National Lighthouse Day, National Raspberries and Cream Day

• August 8: International Cat Day, International Infinity Day, National Pickleball Day

• August 9: Book Lovers Day, International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Garage Sale Day

• August 10: Smithsonian Day, National S’mores Day, World Lion Day

• August 11: Play in the Sand Day, National Face Mask Day, National Hip Hop Day

• August 12: International Youth Day, National Middle Child Day, National Vinyl Record Day, World Elephant Day

• August 13: International Left-Handers Day, World Calligraphy Day

• August 14: Love Your Bookshop Day, World Lizard Day

• August 15: National Failures Day, Chant at the Moon Day, National Relaxation Day, National Lemon Meringue Pie Day, National Back to School Prep Day,

• August 16: Tell a Joke Day, National Roller Coaster Day, National Authenticity Day, National Hawaiian Shirt Day, National Bratwurst Day, World Honey Bee Day* (third Saturday)

• August 17: National Black Cat Appreciation Day, National Nonprofit Day, National Thrift Shop Day

• August 18: Helium Discovery Day, National Couple's Day, National Fajita Day,

  National Ice Cream Pie Day

• August 19: World Photography Day, Orville Wright's Birthday, National Aviation Day, World Humanitarian Day, International Orangutan Day

• August 20: Virtual Worlds Day, National Lemonade Day, National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day

• August 21: Poet's Day, National Spumoni Day, National Senior Citizens Day

• August 22: National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day, National Tooth Fairy Day 

• August 23: Ride the Wind Day, National Sponge Cake Day, Buttered Corn Day,  Hug Your Sweetheart Day, National Cuban Sandwich Day

• August 24: Strange Music Day, National Waffle Day, National Peach Pie Day

• August 25: National Banana Split Day, National Park Service Day, National Secondhand Wardrobe Day

• August 26: National Dog Day, National Women's Equality Day

• August 27: National Just Because Day, World Rock Paper Scissors Day

• August 28: National Red Wine Day, National Bow Tie Day, National Cherry Turnover Day

• August 29: Individual Rights Day, National Chop Suey Day, More Herbs, Less Salt Day

• August 30: National Beach Day, National Toasted Marshmallow Day, International Whale Shark Day

• August 31: National Trail Mix Day, Eat Outside Day, World Distance Learning 

This Being Human

by Rev. Kathy Cramer

I spent a few of my early childhood years in Hazelwood, Missouri.  We moved to California when I was 9 and one of the things that I remembered about being from Missouri was that it was the “show me State.” I took great pride in this—it was a way of saying “you can’t fool me.”  I was probably reacting to being the “new kid in the class.”  But it was something that stuck with me—I never wanted to be gullible or be fooled or taken advantage of.  I am sure that we all feel that way.  I thought that as I got older and wiser, it would be easier, but these days it is a challenge to find accurate information, especially with the sophistication that artificial intelligence brings to the table.  It can even create a video that claims not to be AI.

There are many concerns about AI:  the jobs it will eliminate; the impact of data centers on a community’s water supply; the reliability of the information it provides—these are just a few.  A few months ago, I was in a restaurant and the people at the table next to me were talking about using one of the AI programs.  It provided some information that the person knew was inaccurate, so they typed that into the program and the response—“I was just fooling you to see if you would notice.”  “Yikes” was what I was thinking—how can you trust that?  It is a question that we will be grappling with for quite a while.

I have been wanting to write about AI, but it is overwhelming, so here are a few things to begin the conversation.

In May, Pope Leo issued his first Papal encyclical which was focused on safeguarding humanity in the age of artificial intelligence.  It is titled “Magnifica Humanitas” or “Magnificent Humanity.”  I have only read about it, but it outlines many of the concerns and impacts that AI will have on people.  He makes several specific recommendations and talks about the need for us to retain our humanity, in the best sense of that word.  He said:

“Humanity— in all its grandeur and woundedness— must never be replaced or surpassed. We can embrace the technological progress that alleviates suffering and unlocks new possibilities, provided that we do not abandon the very essence of our humanity, namely the capacity for relationship and love.”

A couple days ago I saw a post from Krista Tippet, the host of On Being.  She had recently attended a conference entitled, “Trust in the Age of AI.”  One of the realizations she took away from that conference was “we humans will no longer be the most intelligent force on the planet.” She went onto talk about how AI is not just a tool but has “agency”—aspects of it are unfolding in ways that are mysterious to even its makers.  She suggests that in response, we, as humanity are being called to rise to our “most mature selves.”

When I first read this, my heart sank, because we are far from that now.  One of the points Tippet makes is that we have been focused on “survival of the fittest.”  She says: “We have not tended to the whole nature of reality which is becoming even more demonstrable in this age: a web of interactivity, entanglement, and mutual dependency. What if our technologies are calling us to nothing less than a greater understanding of the deepest meaning and purpose of human intelligence?”

This message of our interconnectedness with one another and the natural world has been a consistent theme in the messages we have been hearing on Sunday mornings.  We have talked about: our connection with nature; the ways in which we can reduce stress; our ability to maintain vision and stay hopeful in difficult times; conversation as a metaphor of connectedness; the importance of supporting one another; the language of everyday inspiration. And the conversations continue.

Yes, AI is a big and complicated topic that will be garnering more and more of our attention in the years ahead.  Yes, we will need to learn more about it and at the same time, we know that our call is to keep sharing the themes we have been hearing and to focus on being the best humans we can be.  Stay hopeful, stay connected.

Coming This Sunday: Finding Inspiration

This Sunday, our own Jackie Frietas will be preaching.  You may know that among her many talents, Jackie is a poet and this Sunday she will be sharing a few of her poems with us.  The theme of the service is “Inspiration is Everywhere.”  Jackie will be sharing some of the ways she finds inspiration and encouraging us to consider what we find inspiring.  As she says:  “Life needs inspiration along the way as we journey through various experiences.”  One of the texts she will be using talks about God kindling a light in our hearts.  Allowing that light, or inspiration, to shine through us reveals the glory of God.

Speaking of being inspired, I was inspired to share this post by Carrie Newcomer that was inspired by a picture she saw on a fence in Florida:

Carrie shared a story about a young boy who drew a picture of his mom. She explained that often kids tend to go through stages in their drawings of people.  One of those stages she calls the “blobby-guy” phase, (like the drawing in the photo above.)  The boy she was talking with had drawn a picture of his mom in that style: a blobby middle, stick legs and arms and long hair. She asked him about the picture and he began to tell her about his mother and he began talking about all the things she did for him, make his lunches, comb his hair, work in the garden and then his eyes lit up and he said with excitement, “My mom has fingers” and drew some stick fingers on his picture.

Carrie says:

“What a beautiful moment of wonder and realization. How exciting to see him notice and register something that he hadn't really thought about much— his marvelous mother, who did all kinds of amazing, clever, caring things—had marvelous fingers. Maybe that is why I often comment to people I meet on something I find extraordinary about them or something I really appreciated about how they were interacting with me. I guess I just like to be with the person I am encountering. I love to notice what is marvelous about them because there is always something marvelous about every single person I meet. It is nice to let a person know they are appreciated and it creates in me an ongoing feeling of wonder and revelation— kind of like that little boy who became so alive when he noticed something and then drew his mother's beautiful fingers on his blobby-mom picture.”

When we discover things, when we notice the beauty that is always there, when we pay attention to the moment, that light of God awakens within us.  Carrie reminds us that the good is there, we just need to look for it and to be grateful for the marvelous people in our lives. 

Be sure to join us this Sunday, and if you missed last Sunday, be sure to check out Rev. Gaffney’s sermon from last week where he talked about the challenges we face in seeing the good in others.

This Sunday: Rev. Paul Gaffney on "This Being Human"

The Rev. Paul Gaffney is the Program Manager of the Shaw Chaplaincy Institute of San Francisco Theological Seminary at the University of Redlands. Born and raised in western PA, the son of a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Paul received his BA from Hiram College, where he majored in Sociology/Anthropology and minored in Music. In 2004, he graduated from SFTS with a Master of Divinity degree, and in 2005, Paul became the sole chaplain of the Marin Interfaith Street Chaplaincy, providing emotional and spiritual support to people living outside and in transition.

He will preach on the interconnectedness of being human.

Spirituality, at its core, is about embodiment – honoring the fullness of our humanity, recognizing our interconnectedness with all things, and striving to live together in mutual relation.

For over 15 years, Paul worked with the Street Community in San Rafael and the wider Marin County as a chaplain both with the Marin Interfaith Street Chaplaincy and with the Ritter Center. Paul became the first Shaw Chaplaincy Fellow in the Certified Educator Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and he is currently an ACPE Certified Educator. Paul was ordained into Christian Ministry by the Northern California/Nevada Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Lafayette Christian Church on June 4, 2006. Rev. Gaffney also is a lay-ordained student of Taigen Leighton in the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition. Paul is married to his wife Annie, a preschool director, and they live in San Rafael, CA with their two rambunctious kittens Maggie and Stella.

Join us for Sunday worship at 10:30am PT on Zoom.

Summer Renewal Group: Listening to Our Hearts

Beginning on Tuesday, July 14 at 5:30 you are invited to join in breathing together, moving together, listening together and sharing together.  We will be combining gentle Chi Gung movements with listening to and reflecting on poetry.  All the Chi Gung movements we will be doing can be done seated or standing.  In addition, if you have limited space or mobility, the movements can be modified to accommodate that.  As my Tai Chi instructor said the important thing is using your attention and intention.

Each group will reflect on a different poem. The poems we will be using will be sent out in advance so that you can print them out before the meeting if you would like to. The group will last for about an hour.  You can attend all the sessions or just a few. More details about the flow of each session and Chi Gung are below.

In our first session we will be doing a special Chi Gung movement celebrating July’s new moon.   In Chinese philosophy new moons are good times for beginnings.  The Lunar New Year begins on a new moon. This July new Moon is in Cancer which emphasizes home, family and nurturing relationships.  Cancer’s energy encourages trusting your feelings and emotional healing. We will also be looking at a poem by Judy Brown called Our Music and closing with a song by Carrie Newcomer entitled Singing in the Dark.

Meeting time and dates: 5:30—6:30pm, Tuesdays, July 14—August 11, 5 sessions

Log into UCH Zoom site to join:       Meeting ID: 424 325 0026

                                                            Passcode: weloveUCH

The Flow of each Session

Opening:  Chi Gung movement.  These are slow simple exercises designed to turn your attention inward to your breath.  They can be done seated or standing.

Listening:  We will use a Lectio Divina approach to listening to a poem.  This is a spiritual practice of listening to a reading, often scripture, several times paying attention to what resonates with you.  We will be using poems from a variety of poets whose themes focus on paying attention to our hearts, accepting what is and celebrating our gifts.

Reflection & Sharing:  There will be time to reflect silently and conversationally with the group.  Sharing will be by invitation, sharing what you want to about what is speaking to your heart.

Closing:  We will close by listening to a song on chant.

What is Chi Gung (also spelled Qigong)? 

In Chinese Chi or Qi means life force or vital energy.  It is a central concept of Chinese philosophy and medicine.  Chi circulates through our bodies and through all life.  Gung or gong means skill, practice or achievement.  When you put the two words together it means “energy work” or “energy practice”—the practice of connecting with and moving the life energy through our bodies.

There are many different styles and versions of Chi Gung. Some are focused on healing the body, others on meditation, others on developing strength for martial arts. We will be exploring styles focused on meditation and healing.  Each week we will do something a little different.  All movements can be done seated.

How are you conversing with God?

This past Sunday my sermon centered on how the word “Logos” is translated in the opening of John’s gospel.  We have heard it as “Word” but some scholars suggest “Conversation” would be more accurate.  To be fair, it is daunting to capture God’s incarnation into human form with a single word. Still, I am drawn to the idea that God is in conversation with all of life. After all we are interconnected and interdependent.

Which raises the questions: 

• How do you converse with the Holy?

• If God speaks through all creation, what are you hearing?

When I was younger, I wished that God would talk to me as God does people in the Bible, speaking directly to Abraham and to Moses, sending angels to Mary and those shepherds in the field.  As I got older, I began to understand that God was speaking to me through other people, and through my experiences.  I began to pay attention to synchronistic events—what some might call coincidences.  So, on Tuesday this week I was in a group where we were looking at a poem that opens with these lines:

He said
our music
looks for us.
That which
is our essential
gift, our work,
hungers for us
as much as we for it.

 As I listened to the poem, I was struck by the line that our essential gift hungers for us as much as we hunger for it.  I thought, this is an invitation into conversation. Conversing between the voices “out there” and internally in me.  And I remembered that when I went to seminary, they highlighted a quote from Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  It is easy to think of this as receiving a revelation about what you want your life’s work to be, but I think it is also an ongoing, maybe even daily conversation, what is calling to me and how is my heart responding?   

I would love to hear from you about your conversations with the Holy and the things that make your heart sing.  (By the way, if you want to hear the whole poem come to the Tuesday Renewal Group where we will be exploring it.)

July at United Church of Hayward’s Summer of Renewal

We are having a great summer at UCH. So far, we’ve had a demonstration of “tapping” from Jennifer P. and thought-provoking sermons from Rev. Dr. Monica Cross, Rev. Rhina Ramos, and our sabbatical minister, Rev. Kathy Cramer. We look forward to welcoming Rev. Paul Gaffney as our guest preacher on July 12, our own Jackie F. on July 19, and Rev. Melissa Tumaneng, Northern California Nevada Conference Associate Minister, on July 26. We hope you can join us for any or all of these Sundays.

Rev. Kathy will also start a five-week Zoom group on Tuesday, July 14, at 5:30 pm. Join us for Qigong and experiencing poetry using Lectio Divina. It promises to be an uplifting and meditative experience, so hopefully you can join the group.

This Sunday: Rev. Rhina Ramos on Abundant Grace

We are so glad to welcome Rev. Rhina Ramos to the UCH pulpit this Sunday, June 28.

Rhina is someone who has lived the sermon before she preaches it. Before entering ministry, she practiced labor law on Long Island, recovering owed wages for immigrant workers — the kind of on-the-ground, unglamorous justice work that doesn't make headlines but changes lives. She went on to become a local pastor and church planter of Ministerio Latino, and she currently serves as Associate Conference Minister for our own Northern California Nevada Conference of the UCC.

She's also the author of In My Heart, a Volcano — a memoir about life as an immigrant and queer woman — and if that title doesn't make you want to hear what she has to say on Sunday, we don't know what will.

This week's theme is "the perseverance that gives way to hope," and Rev. Rhina will be preaching on Romans 5:1-8 — Paul's insistence that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Her sermon is titled "Abundant Grace."

You are warmly welcome to join us Sunday as we receive what she brings. We gather on Zoom, with fellowship at 10am PT, and worship at 10:30am PT.

Summer Renewal Group: Listening to Our Hearts

I am offering another way for us to gather during our Renewal Summer.  It will be a group focused on listening to: our bodies; our hearts and one another.  We will be using movement, poetry and music. It will be a time for listening deeply to ourselves and one another.

We will begin with gentle Chi Gung movements—slow, simple exercises that can be done standing or seated.  These exercises are designed to turn our attention inward to our center and breath.

We will then read a poem together in the style of Lectio Divina, an ancient spiritual practice that invites conversation with the Holy.

We will close by listening to music. The group will meet for about an hour.

There is nothing to prepare in advance and you are welcome to come for all the sessions or just a few. In Chinese tradition, new moons are good times for beginning, so we will begin on Tuesday, July 14 at 5:30 pm

Meeting time and dates: 5:30—6:30pm, Tuesday, July 14—August 11 (5 sessions)

Yes, there is reason to hope!

I confess that I am a bit of what I will call a click-aholic.  I sign up for Zoom workshops that are recorded so you can watch them later and subscribe to newsletters from people and organizations that I like.  All of which then puts me on other lists of other interesting organizations (and some I could care less about), and my inbox becomes unmanageable.  There is no way that I could actually read or watch all of the things that I subscribe to and I often go for weeks without looking at any of it, but once in awhile my eye catches something that captures my attention.  It happened this morning when I noticed a post from Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation.  This is part of what it said:

Organizer and activist Mariame Kaba reflects on hope as a discipline. 

For me, hope doesn’t preclude feeling sadness or frustration or anger or any other emotion that makes total sense. Hope isn’t an emotion, you know? Hope is not optimism….

The idea of hope being a discipline is something I heard from a nun many years ago who was talking about it in conjunction with making sure we were of the world and in the world, [not focused on the afterlife but the here and now]…The hope that she was talking about was this grounded hope that was practiced every day….

I bowed down to that. I heard that many years ago, and then I felt the sense of, “Oh my God. That speaks to me as a philosophy of living, that hope is a discipline and that we have to practice it every single day.” Because in the world we live in, it’s easy to feel a sense of hopelessness, that everything is all bad all the time, that nothing is going to change ever…. I understand why people feel that way. I just choose differently. I choose to think a different way, and I choose to act in a different way. I choose to trust people until they prove themselves untrustworthy.

I take a long view, understanding full well that I’m just a tiny, little part of a story that already has a huge antecedent and has something that is going to come after that. I’m definitely not going to be even close to around for seeing the end of it. That also puts me in the right frame of mind: that … [what] I’m doing is actually pretty insignificant in world history, but if it’s significant to one or two people, I feel good about that….

When I read this, I reflected on a question that was asked in our service last week, “What can I do?” There are certainly things that we all can do in these difficult times:  write letters; make phone calls; contribute to organizations, stay informed.  As was also shared last Sunday we can do small and caring things for the people around us.  And, of course, we can pray. 

I also believe that staying hopeful is “doing something.”  One of the other posts that I stumbled upon this week was from a Juneteenth sermon delivered by Dr. Lauranett Lee.  She was preaching on the mustard seed text and talked about seeds being planted during the horrendous years of slavery, she said:  “And yet—within that system of oppression, seeds were planted.  Hidden seeds. Seeds of faith.  Seed of resistance and resilience.  Seeds of prayer and possibility.  Seeds of family and a future life in freedom. Seeds of hope.”

Yes, it is true, that there is much to grieve these days, things that break our hearts every day, and the good news is that we can still plant seeds of hope—who knows when or how they may sprout.  But it begins with the planting and that is something we can do now.

Sharing opportunity for July 5 Worship Service: Beauty in Nature

As you know, this year America is celebrating 250 years of independence. Some of you may feel like it should be a day of mourning, rather than celebration. At the same time, it is an opportunity to reflect on what we value and to look at our roots.

In the recent copy of Smithsonian magazine the Smithsonian Secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch II recounts going to the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration. In an essay for the festival program anthropologist Margaret Mead responded to those who criticized celebrating in the aftermath of a recession, the Vietnam War and the resignation of a disgraced president. She wrote: “It is quite true that we are living through difficult times, but life does not stop for difficult times,” Noting the parallels to a 19th century America still divided by the Civil War and in the midst of a worldwide recession, she went onto write “The celebration of our 100th anniversary as a nation also took place in a time of trouble, but taking pride was a good thing we gained strength and looked to the future.”  Bunch adds: “It is more urgent than ever for us to remember that the nation was formed by resilience and shaped by those who believed in its highest ideals.”

Since spending time in nature makes our hearts sing and is one of the ways that we connect to the Holy, you are invited to share a photo of your favorite National Park or wilderness area on that Sunday.  You can share it as your Zoom background and/or add it to the Kitchen Wall (by emailing Ashley).

Share your pictures, stories and artwork: What Makes Your Heart Sing

As you know, one of the things that Rev. Jeanne is doing during her sabbatical time is painting and taking pictures of the things that make her heart sing.  When we welcome Rev. Jeanne back we will be able to see some of her photos and hear her stories.  We also want to also share with her our stories and photos. This is a wonderful opportunity to pay attention each day to what makes your heart sing. We can share:

• Photos from our trip to the Filoli Gardens

• Photos of something you are creating:  artwork, poetry, prayer shawls, gardens, bread

• Photos of a trip you took, or something beautiful you noticed out of your window

• Photos of friends, family—I think I heard there was a new grand niece welcomed into the world

• Stories:  talk about something you just discovered or learned, a fun experience, an act of kindness or generosity that you witnessed.

Share this on our Kitchen Wall by emailing Ashley.

Coming This Sunday, June 21

As our Summer of Renewal continues, we are welcoming Rev. Dr. Monica Cross to the pulpit this Sunday. She will be talking to us about prophetic vision. Here is some more information about Rev. Cross.

Rev. Dr. Monica Joy Cross serves as Pastor at First Christian Church of Oakland in Oakland, CA; Associate Minister at Tapestry Ministries in Berkeley, CA; Director of Women's Ministries in the Northern California-Nevada Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); and President of the Oakland Peace Center Board. She is a Transformational Leader Fellow of the Sojourner Truth Leadership Circle of Auburn Seminary in New York City, NY, and Founder of Global Prayer Network. Her activist organizing work includes Laney Teach-In/Poor People's Campaign League of Revolutionaries for a New America. She has authored Reflections of a Prophet Without Honor, a book of reflections that emerge from her life with God, and Authenticity and Imagination in the Face of Oppression, an autobiographical work that addresses gender, race, religion, sexuality, and strategies toward liberation. She also writes a blog entitled The Transgender Scholar. While being a native of Southern California, Monica currently makes her home in Richmond, California.

Pride Sunday

We are also celebrating Pride Sunday this Sunday. As you know, June is Pride Month. The UCC Open and Affirming Coalition has chosen the theme for this year: "We Shall Not Be Moved! Rooted in Love, Justice, and Affirmation." "Jeremiah 17 reminds us that those who trust in God are like trees planted by water. When the heat comes, they do not fear. When drought comes, they keep bearing fruit," writes the Rev. Derek Terry, acting executive director of the ONA Coalition. "That is the image for this moment. Open and Affirming churches are called to be rooted deeply enough to withstand fear, backlash, silence, and hate."

The first Pride marches were held on June 28, 1970, in cities around the United States, on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Thousands of LGBTQIA+ people gathered to commemorate Stonewall and demand equal rights. The first Pride Sunday at a church is attributed to the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in the early 1970s. Since that time, many mainline Protestant churches have incorporated Pride celebrations into their Sunday services. Pride Month (June) is now celebrated worldwide.

On Pride Sunday, we are reminded that we were all created in the image of God. God breathed life into the earth, transforming it into a hospitable environment. This life force brings energy and renewal to all of creation. God's creation is diverse, wonderful, and interconnected. On this Sunday, we celebrate our connection with the LGBTQIA+ community and the value they bring to our world.

A Message from Rev. Kathy

Hello everyone,

This is my first time checking in with you on Updates from the Journey. I am so grateful to be with you in this sabbatical-time journey and looking forward to leading worship this Sunday. As you know, we will be reflecting on our experiences in nature last Sunday. I have to say, spending time in the Filoli gardens was a great way to begin a ministry! The gardens were spectacular, and it was good to meet several of you in person. I also am grateful for the very meaningful Pentecost service where I was welcomed into ministry with you. Some more on that below.

I will begin by reflecting on our time at Filoli. We started our day there with a meditation time before heading out to explore. It was a warm and sunny day, and I was grateful for the many benches in the gardens to stop and rest. There was so much to explore, including bonsai trees, an extensive rose garden, a vegetable garden, statues made of tree branches, and many different floral species. Trees along the trail to an upper level of the garden were filled with colorful bird houses. After exploring by ourselves, we gathered again to share a tasty lunch. Thanks to Kristina for all the work that she did arranging the details so that the day ran smoothly.

I hope that those of you who could not attend the field trip did have an opportunity to explore the beauty and serenity in nature. If you haven’t already, be sure to take some time to reflect back on your experience, paying attention to what spoke to you and made your heart sing. The late, great preacher, Rev. Fred Craddock, talks about the importance of remembering in understanding how God works in our lives. He says that there are three possible times that we can understand the significance or importance of an event in our lives: in rehearsal, at the time of the event, and in remembrance. In rehearsal, understanding is hindered because we have not yet experienced the event, and it can be hard to imagine all that might happen. In the moment of the event, understanding is hindered by the clutter and confusion of all that is happening and having one’s attention taken away by various details. But in remembrance, we have the time to look back and take in all that happened; we can recognize what was truly important, we might see that something that seemed big in the moment was not so, and something we barely noticed in the moment has become very special. In doing this, we gain understanding of the experience and of the work of the Spirit in our lives.

I am looking forward to hearing how the Spirit spoke to you through your time in nature.

Now, I want to reflect back on the Pentecost service. The covenant and blessing part of the service was so meaningful. It was a reminder to me of the power in ritual and the way in which it connects us deeply to our faith. Even though we could not meet in person and were instead communing via screens, it was a profoundly meaningful moment.

I want to share with you the story of the stole that I put on that Sunday. Like many pastors, I have several stoles, so a choice needed to be made. The one I chose is one that I received on my ordination. I was ordained by the Lafayette Christian Church (LCC). That stole previously belonged to Rev. Mike Matthews, who was the Music Minister at LCC. Mike had one of those outgoing, bigger-than-life personalities. He loved music and sang in opera companies before going to seminary. He was very enthusiastic about music and even got me to sing in the choir a few times.

As you may recall, I made the decision to pursue ministry later in my life. I was a member of LCC, active in several groups and committees, and served as an Elder. In the Disciples of Christ tradition, Elders serve at the communion table. One Sunday, when I was serving at the table, my husband Alan had come to church with me. When the service ended, he took off, and it took me a while to find him. Once I found him, he told me that he felt like he had seen me receive a call while I was at the table. He was a little taken aback by the experience and so went to Mike to process it. From that point, Mike began to encourage me to go to seminary, and he was not going to take no for an answer. One of the other things Mike was passionate about was cooking, so he invited Alan and me to dinner after my first day of seminary.

During seminary, I did an alternative field education experience looking at the connections between physical health and spirituality. Rev. Mike was one of my supervisors for that experience and remained one of my mentors throughout my time in seminary. When I graduated, we celebrated at the home of Mike and his wife, Rev. Faye Orton. Sadly, Mike passed away before I was ordained.

Like many pastors, Mike had several stoles, and Rev. Faye decided that she would bestow one to each person ordained by LCC. The church had for many years been a field education site, so several people were ordained there. And so, when I was ordained, I received the stole that I put on when you blessed me on Pentecost. It is meaningful, of course, because it belonged to Mike. It also has colors I love and golden stars, musical instruments, and musical notes. It seemed particularly fitting given our sabbatical theme of “What Makes Your Heart Sing?” I have no idea what the words on it say; I assume they are Latin and speak about God and the wonder of music.

Again, I want to say how grateful I am for this experience and that I am honored to be on this sabbatical journey with you.

Rev. Kathy

June at United Church of Hayward

Welcome to Summer 2026 at the United Church of Hayward, UCC! With our minister, Rev. Jeanne Loveless, getting well deserved rest and rejuvenation during sabbatical leave, we have some wonderful guest ministers lined up to lead worship and/or preach. Our main sabbatical minister is Rev. Kathy Cramer, who will facilitate worship most Sundays.

Here is what our line-up for June looks like:

• June 7: Rev. Kathy will celebrate communion and lead us in sharing our Nature Sunday experiences.

• June 14: Our own Jennifer Pridgeon will demonstrate Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), or “tapping.”

• June 21: We will celebrate Pride Sunday with Rev. Dr. Monica Cross as our guest preacher.

• June 28: Rev. Rhina Ramos from the Northern California/Nevada Conference, will be our guest preacher.

Nature Sunday at UCH

Sunday, May 31 is Nature Sunday at the United Church of Hayward, UCC. There will be no Zoom Worship on that day. Instead, we invite everyone to get out into nature that day, be it in someone’s yard, a public garden, or a park. Explore and take time to sit and just be. You may also want to journal.

Here are some suggestions for your time in nature:

• Be open and pay attention to what draws you. What makes your heart sing? What strikes you? How and where in your body do you feel it?

• Consider what speaks to you. What is the message?

• Pick one item, a blossom, leaf or blade of grass for example, and concentrate on it for a few minutes. What do you see? What does it tell you?

• Is there a question in your life you are struggling with? Be still and wait to see if the answer presents itself.

• Nature is full of plants. What other life is there? What else can you see? Sit still and listen: What can you hear?

Use your phone to take some pictures. On June 7 during worship, we will share our experiences in nature. Choose one of your pictures to use as your Zoom background that day.

Gratitude as God Watches Over “Our Coming Out and Our Going In”

God is acquainted with all our ways… and will watch over our coming out and our going in-both now and forevermore.” — Psalm 121:8

There is a part of me that still can’t believe we got the CTS/Lilly renewal leave grant. My renewal leave begins after our Pentecost Celebration and covenanting with Rev. Kathy as our sabbatical minister on Sunday. It is so close! And the good news is that, after months of work, we are well organized. We have a great slate of guest ministers, spiritual practices, and creative projects that fit within the five elements of our “What Makes Our Hearts Sing?” theme. We have set things up so the church community can also have fun and experience renewal during what has been a particularly challenging and draining time in our nation.

You know I believe strongly in practicing gratitude. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to express a lot of it. This renewal leave would not be happening without the work of the impromptu “sabbatical team” that has emerged at UCH. My PPRC and our Council have been the core of that. And I want to especially acknowledge Kristina, who has done a little bit of everything (spreadsheet builder, administrator, proposal writer, order taker for the Filoli gardens excursion, and coordinator of guest preachers). We are excited to have Rev. Melissa Tumaneng (NCNCUCC Conference staff), Rev. Rhina Ramos (NCNCUCC Conference staff), Rev. Dr. Laura Jean Torgerson, Rev. Dr. Monica Cross, and Rev. Paul Gafney as guest preachers. Jennifer, Steve, and Jackie are also all leading worship experiences or preaching and sharing their gifts during this season.

Jessica also helped write the grant proposal and has made reimbursements and record keeping seamless, which has relieved stress for the Council and for me. Jackie and Laurie have organized the Order of Worship process that should unfold smoothly in my absence, Ashley is managing my professional page, Updates publications, livestreaming, and other things while I am away. Scout built the surveys you have been filling out online to provide information and feedback that have driven the entire process. And Steve and Kirk are making sure our worship services will have singable, well organized, shared music. Many of you have also quietly prayed for and encouraged the process, sent me cards, texts, and notes of support. I am grateful for you, and for your ongoing support of this body of Christ.

I also want to say “Thank you” to Rev. Kathy. In order to rest well and renew my spirit in this time of uncertainty and challenge in our nation, I needed to know that the community is well cared for and will have the ministerial support to face whatever unfolds. I am 100% sure that will be the case with Rev. Kathy and our sabbatical leadership team.

I also wanted to thank the congregation for the beautiful journal and pen I received at last week’s Lunch Bunch gathering. The embossed pattern on the outside of the leather journal is an Amaranthus flower. Amaranthus is found all over the Aegean, and in Greek means “immortal” or “unfading.”  It is often used in threshold rituals in Greece and Turkey and is associated with the Goddess Artemis (Particularly Artemis of Ephesus-who was wildly popular in Ephesus in the Hellenistic age and is a primary reason Paul has a bee in his bonnet in the book of Ephesians). I am writing in my new journal already, and it is a particularly fitting gift to take with me on my renewal leave travels.  

As I am preparing to take my leave, I want to invite you to follow my personal page (Jeanne Loveless) if you aren’t already on Facebook. I will be posting there from time to time about our travels and about my sabbatical experiences. I won’t respond in writing to your comments, but I’ll see them.

I also want to be clear that I am logging out of my church email, and will not be posting on my professional page, or on the church page. I will also not have access to Wi-Fi or cell service in Big Sur or be able to even use my US Sim while we are out of the country. So, I can’t and will not receive voicemails, or texts. I will return to UCH on September 13 and preach for the first time on September 20. We will resume Transitions Group and Scripture Seekers on October 1.

Lastly, I want to invite you to join us for worship this Sunday on Pentecost. May 24 at 10:30 Pacific. We will be celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit and birthday of the church on Zoom and Live-Stream. We will also be entering into covenant with Rev. Kathy and will also bless Christy, Clive, and me as I go forth on my renewal leave journey.

So again, thank you for making this renewal leave possible — not just for me, but for all of us. May God bless us richly and watch over us in this season of “our coming out and our going in.” In this present moment “and forevermore.”  

With Infinite Love and Gratitude,
Rev. Jeanne

ICE Out of Dublin Coalition Toolkit

As you know, we have been concerned that the federal government is planning to reopen FCI Dublin, a closed down prison with a history of many problems, as an ICE detention facility. We have been awaiting an environmental assessment from the federal Bureau of Prisons on FCI Dublin. On Friday, May 1, the Federal Bureau of Prisons published an Environmental Assessment Report on FCI Dublin. It is a 2,731 page document, which you can access here.  

The publication of this report moves FCI Dublin one step closer to its possible reopening as an ICE detention center.  

We need everyone to take action now: A 30 day public comment period opened on May 1 and closes on June 1. Let's FLOOD the process with hundreds of our public comments: NO ICE DETENTION CENTER IN THE BAY AREA OR ANYWHERE! 

👉Use the ICE Out of Dublin Coalition Toolkit, which includes a sample comment. 

• Submit your public comment by emailing bop-adm-facilities-s@bop.gov (in the “to:” line), and PLEASE BCC US by including iceoutofdublin@gmail.com in the “bcc” line. Include "FCI Dublin Environmental Assessment" as your email’s subject line. The deadline is June 1.

Fights over environmental impact reports have been crucial in stopping the opening of warehouse detention centers around the country. Together, we can keep ICE Out of Dublin!

Great New Resource About Christian Nationalism from Rev. Benjamin Cramer

I have had several requests for something concise and simple that explains what Christian Nationalism is, and why it is problematic. This free new booklet published by Rev. Benjamin Cramer does a terrific job of answering these questions. And it has a nice bibliography which you have already seen a lot of but is contained in one place. Take a look and share it with your friends.

Renewal Leave Begins in 35 Days! (Not Like Anybody Is Counting)

I wanted to update you about renewal leave. The church council/renewal leave team have been working hard behind the scenes to put things in place and I am delighted to report that all our Sundays are covered! As Kristina reminded us in council last Thursday, part of CTS/Lilly’s thinking around clergy renewal leave is that the minister AND THE CHURCH can experience renewal. And getting things in place to run smoothly while I am away will create the opportunity for the community to have that experience.

While I am on leave, Rev. Kathy, Jackie, and Steve will be facilitating worship. Steve and Kirk will be sharing music. Jennifer and Steve will be providing special spiritual practice experiences, and Jackie will be preaching and Kristina providing backup if needed. We also have a great slate of guest preachers including Rev. Melissa Tumaneng (Associate Conference Minister), Rev. Dr. Monica Cross, Rev. Dr. Laura Jean Torgerson, Rev. Rhina Ramos, and Rev. Paul Gaffney. And as you now know, we have called Rev. Kathy Cramer to be our sabbatical minister. Rev. Kathy will be with us on April 26 to observe worship, and Council Leadership and I are having Zoom conversations with her to bring her up to speed. If you have not seen our introduction of Rev. Kathy, you can see it here: Meet our Sabbatical Minister — United Church of Hayward

Our field trip to Filoli Gardens will be Sunday, May 31. Kristina will be writing a separate Updates article to give you more information about, and how to opt in with your preferences for rides, lunch, times, etc. within the next couple of weeks. All expenses for this excursion are covered by our CTS/Lilly grant. For those of you that do not live in the south Hayward area, we are hoping you can also spend time out in nature on this day in your location, so we can share observations and perhaps do a spiritual exercise together with Rev. Kathy when we return to Zoom worship on June 7.  

I also wanted to help us prepare our hearts for renewal leave together. So, I have designed a worship series based on the five things we identified in our congregational survey that make our hearts sing, which was the renewal leave proposal theme.

 Spring 2026 Post Holy Week Sermon Series Theme: “What Makes Our Hearts Sing?”

• April 19: What Makes Our Hearts Sing? Spiritual Connection and Spiritual Practices (Resurrection Appearance #2): John 20: 18-29. When Jesus shows up in the upper room after his resurrection, several things happen that point us toward deeper spiritual connection and practice. He makes connections in this pivotal story between breathing, the holy spirit, and peace. Join us for conversation and a group “Lectio Divina” practice on this passage as we talk about what this may show us about Jesus’ spirituality and about what makes their (and our) hearts sing on the journey. You ‘all will be doing some new spiritual practices during renewal leave. And I will be practicing the Greek Orthodox “Jesus Prayer” in preparation for our visit to Greece and a form of Sufi prayer with my prayer beads called “Tasbih/Dhikr” in preparation for our visit to Turkey. So, this feels like an effective way to get our feet in the water.

• April 26: What Makes Our Hearts Sing? Being Creative/Making Things and Enjoying What Others Have Made. Exodus 35. It is no accident that our “Virtual Art Wall” in Updates from the Journey has been popular. At UCH it makes our hearts sing to participate in creation with God, and to enjoy what others have created. You know photography is my artform, and it is central in my renewal leave proposal. But I am also- inspired by Laurie- going to try a new beginner project by trying some watercolors based on my photography. I do want to be clear that heart singing creation is not just about art- it’s also about the skills and beauty that create community. Join us for a conversation about Exodus 35 in which “stirred hearts and willing spirits” create the first tabernacle together by bringing time, talent, and treasure of all kinds forward for an incredibly important community project.

• May 3: What Makes Our Hearts Sing? Living Into Jesus’ call for a relational life and getting to know our neighbors and each other better. I Corinthians 13. We are familiar with Jesus calling for us to “Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength and neighbor as self” which shows up in one way or another in all the Gospels. But did you know that Paul (in one of his most openhearted, spiritually connected moments) also has something important to say about being in relationship? I will be visiting the agora of Old Corinth on renewal leave (where this letter Paul sent may have first been read) and have been thinking about the Corinthian church. So, we are going to dive into I Corinthians 13 in which Paul talks very poetically about the greatest relational calling, “love.” This is more than just a popular wedding reading. So, join us for deeper conversation about the “Heart Singing (and Shaping)” aspects of relationship, loving, boundaries, and “looking through the glass dimly” before we can “see face to face.” (I will also bring Rumi, who wrote some of the most beautiful poetry in the world about his relationship to the Divine and his beloved Shams Tabriz into this conversation- as we will be visiting his shrine, and learning more about the Sufi tradition in Konya, Turkey on renewal leave.)

• May 10: What Makes Our Hearts Sing? Learning New Things Together: Romans 12. Most of us would not list vulnerability and change as things that make our hearts sing. But our survey indicated that “Learning New Things Together” is heart singing activity- even though that activity can be full of vulnerability and change. I find tension worth a deep dive, especially since I am going to be putting myself in completely unfamiliar places and cultural situations, I am unfamiliar with on renewal leave, and so are you. Paul has some incredibly astute things to say about learning new things and embracing new ways of thinking in Romans 12. Join us as we deep dive into a practice that might make a tremendous amount of difference in our lives: Paul’s invitation to the “renewing our minds.”

• May 17: What Makes Our Hearts Sing? Being Out in Nature and Finding God There. Psalm 104. The Psalms are full of natural images, and we are clear that noticing God in nature makes our hearts sing. Nature can be beautiful, and breathtaking, and intimidating and scary (which is the nature of spiritual mysteries). Join us for conversation about the elements of creation (earth, air, fire, water, and spirit) that feature so prominently in Psalm 104, and for reflection on the wisdom of getting outside, whether that is on a windswept Big Sur coastal walk (I am opening my renewal leave with a 12 day silent retreat at the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur), or watching the birds in your yard.

• May 24: Pentecost. Acts 2 Celebration and Sending Forth of Rev. Jeanne (and Clive and Christy) to renewal leave. Blessing of Rev. Kathy as she steps in to serve as our sabbatical. minister. More details to come.

If you have additional questions about renewal leave, please contact Kristina. Thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity for sabbatical renewal. It is my hope that with all of the excellent work that we have done, we are setting this up for the congregation to experience renewal too.

 – Rev. Jeanne