January 17, 2020

Photo of a Lifetime (Happy New Year!)

January 17, 2020/ Rev. Jeanne Loveless

As you know by now, I am a photographer and since that is what I did almost every day on our trip to Scotland- I’m going to talk about it. I love coming around the bend of a trail with my camera on my hip, and realizing that I have wandered into something remarkable- a piercing shaft of light; the deep greenness in the leaves; perfect reflections of sky in water; clouds shaped like a thunderbird holding the moon between her wings. That kind of magic doesn’t happen often. You have to train yourself to slow down and look for it - to teach your eyes, mind, and heart to see it.

January 10, 2020

Christmas Every Day

January 10, 2020/ United Church of Hayward

If you are a typical person, you are taking some very deep breaths and expressing gratitude that the holidays are “finally over.”

November 30, 2019

The Gift of Music

November 30, 2019/ United Church of Hayward

“Sing to the mountains because as you sing, they are being cast into the sea. As you sing, the portals of heaven are opening.” Sherry K. White

November 15, 2019

Heavy: Finding "Our Moral Center"

November 15, 2019/ United Church of Hayward

These days are heavy. As I dropped Clivie off at school this morning, I cranked up my “Strong Women” playlist in the car to lift my spirits after listening to a few minutes of the impeachment hearings, coverage of the school shooting in Santa Clarita, and news of the Supreme Court deliberations about DACA I also have one of the scriptures I memorized with Grandma running repeatedly through my mind-In perfect King James English.

November 01, 2019

The One We Are Waiting For

November 01, 2019/ Chris Leahy

Hopi Elders say “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” How many of us spend our days waiting for someone else to change things?

October 18, 2019

Rev. Jeanne's Hand Blessing Ceremony from the UCH 60th Anniversary Celebration

October 18, 2019/ Jeanne Loveless

There have been a lot of requests for Rev. Jeanne’s Hand Blessing from the Anniversary Celebration. So we made it todays blog. -Editors

The Work of Our Hands: A Blessing for the United Church of Hayward, UCC 60th Anniversary Celebration © Rev Jeanne Loveless

October 14, 2019

The Waters That Connect Us All

October 14, 2019/ Chris Leahy

“The monastic life is like digging into a well: over the years you dig deeper and deeper in your understanding of things, until the day arrives that you reach the waters that connect us all.” Brother David

September 06, 2019

The "New Normal"

September 06, 2019/ Bill Ralph

I think that I first heard the phrase from a newsperson on cable TV referring to the state of our country under an immoral and criminal leadership style unlike anything we have ever experienced. The new normal replaces the usual, the expected, and the typical state of affairs to which we have become accustomed. The new normal encourages us to deal with the current situation rather than spending time and effort lamenting about change and loss.

August 17, 2019

A Blessing?

August 17, 2019/ Chris Leahy

Often these days I find myself questioning the worth of my prayer life. These are the times when I am certain, upon reflecting back, that I confuse prayer with a request line. You know what I am talking about, I’m sure you do.

August 02, 2019

Journey Fences

August 02, 2019/ Jackie Freitas

Being on a Journey implies not staying in one place very long – or it would not be called “Journey.” Our faith Journey finds us continually on the move. Sometimes we get comfortably settled and figure, “It will always be thus.” Yet we know from experience that as things change, we need to leave the comfort zone and move forward into the unknown.

August 02, 2019

Tehillim For an Intense Summer

August 02, 2019/ United Church of Hayward

As I have returned from vacation, checked in with many of you this week, and heard your stories, I am aware of how heavy many of our lives are right now.

July 05, 2019

Returning the Light

July 05, 2019/ Jeanne Loveless

Forgiveness is a mysterious thing. We hold trauma in our bodies. And sometimes when we forgive others and ourselves, we have to let go of things in layers. We might even think we are done with the forgiveness process, and don’t even know another layer is there. Maybe that is why Jesus said what he did to Peter about forgiving “seventy times seven” times. Sometimes there are that many layers of trauma trapped in us and we have to let them go one by one so the light can return to us again.

June 28, 2019

Messy Times

June 28, 2019/ Jackie Freitas

Have you noticed how preparing creamy mashed potatoes involves preliminary messy times of dealing with potato peelings? A well-running car has messy times of oil changes. We perform these actions, not because we relish the mess, but because we have a bigger goal in mind.

June 18, 2019

Cars Land

June 18, 2019/ Bill Ralph

We are a long way from Detroit, however there is a surprisingly long history of automobile manufacturing here in the East Bay beginning in 1916 with a Chevrolet assembly factory located on E. 14th Street on the Oakland/San Leandro border.

June 07, 2019

Held and Holding: River Deep, Or Mountain High

June 07, 2019/ Jeanne Loveless

This Saturday is also my 55th birthday, And as I breathe deep and celebrate that as my anniversary grief comes up, I find myself thinking about my son’s first birthday and the life changing journey that was the first few hours of his life. God held us through that messy, terrifying, light/dark place- Just as God held us through Stan’s funeral last June, is holding us as we move into new things as Beloved Community and is holding all of you as you share your challenging stories with me. God holds all of us. That is the euangelion (Gk), or “Good News” we share, no matter what the terrain looks like where we are walking: River Deep. Or Mountain High.

May 31, 2019

Universal Wonders

May 31, 2019/ Kristina Burnett

On our recent trip to New Mexico, we visited the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque and attended part of a lecture on black holes.

May 27, 2019

"The Rapture of Living"

May 27, 2019/ Jackie Freitas

“Once I knew only darkness and stillness. . .

My life was without past or future . . .

But a little word from the fingers of another

Fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness,

And my heart leaped to the rapture of living.” Helen Keller

May 10, 2019

Show Me A Sign

May 10, 2019/ Rev. Jeanne Loveless

The Gospel of John is full of signs of a different sort. From the opening of Jesus’ ministry at the Marriage Feast at Cana, people are all really interested in Jesus giving them a sign. Some of the signs in John’s Gospel are easy to see. And some aren’t. Peter gets a very interesting sign in John 21 as he and the Disciples encounter Risen Jesus on the beach at the Sea of Tiberius/Galilee. To see it, you have to be able to read a little Greek.

April 20, 2019

An Invitation to Rise Together

April 20, 2019/ Chris Leahy

So here we are, already at Easter. It seems like a week ago we were celebrating Christmas and I haven’t even sent out my Christmas cards yet! What does all of this mean to us? How can we authentically celebrate Easter? In other words, what in our own lives, is the living out of the Resurrection experience?

April 13, 2019

"But Mommy! I Saw It!"

April 13, 2019/ Rev. Jeanne Loveless

I sometimes let Clivie have a snack and watch a show or two before I move him on to homework in the afternoon. It gives me a chance to breathe, unload the dishwasher, and hopefully have a few minutes to pray. One recent afternoon, as I pulled out the tablet and asked him what he wanted to watch- he said emphatically “I want the show with the green excalius Beyblade!”

Dispatches from the Journey