Popular guest speaker and oncology chaplain, Michael Eselun, will explore our relationship to our own stories and how we use them in the attempt to make spiritual sense of our lives.

Michael Eselun, a certified chaplain, serves as the chaplain for the Simms-Mann/UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology.   He has worked extensively in oncology, hospice, palliative care and with acute psychiatric patients.  He's been invited many times to speak to students, doctors, nurses, social workers, and to dozens of faith communities across the country about his work as a chaplain. He recently spoke at the national conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer, and was the keynote speaker at the Promising Practices for Mental Health and Aging Conference at the California Endowment.  Michael is also a co-founder and chair of a non-profit, volunteer anti-homophobia speakers bureau called GLIDE, Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality. Over the last 20 years, Michael and his fellow speakers have spoken to an audience of over 150,000 students, teachers, and other various groups and agencies in the LA area about homophobia.  He has a TED talk available on-line via You Tube, called “It’s Magic” and you can find out more about him at www.michaeleselun.com.

Childcare Will Be Provided At All of our Summer Services

Calling upon his experiences in interfaith organizing, the Rev. Mark Stringer, Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, IA, will consider what gets in the way of UUs being “a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere” and will inspire us to more often be the religion that reaches out in love.  There will be special music by the GA Choir with director Mary Neumann, UU Church of Reading, MA, and the GA Band.

Childcare Will Be Provided At All of our Summer Services

Two Sundays a month our Spiritual Conversations Group meets, reads a poem together, and shares thoughts. This morning Rick King will lead a Spiritual Conversation's Worship Service.  Come and be prepared to be surprised and delighted by how poetry can open us to unknown parts of ourselves and others.

We bring our regular season of Sunday Morning Worship in our sanctuary to a close with our beautiful Flower Communion ritual. Please be sure to bring a cut flower or two with you to church. We will bring them all together in one bouquet symbolizing the unity in our diversity.  In doing so, we will recognize the many blessings, gifts and talents we each bring to this community.  In gratitude for all we receive from others in our church community we will leave with the flower that another person brought. 

Our Adult choir, under the direction of Mike Pfitzer and Children’s Choir under the direction of Pat Sorn, will be providing beautiful music.  In addition, we are so pleased to welcome Mexican pianist, Mauro Ledesma, who will perform several Mexican piano works and participate in our message for all ages. Sanghee Kim will lead us from the piano and organ as we sing some favorite hymns.  This is a very meaningful service that really communicates what is at the heart of our faith tradition.  If you have a friend or neighbor who you think might be interested in Unitarian Universalism, this would be a great service to invite them to attend.