Interfaith Book Study: How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi Facilitated by Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church of San José Choose either Thursday evenings or Saturdays […]

Sunday Gathering, October 11 from 10-10:50 a.m.  Pastor Dana will offer reflections from Paul's Letter from prison to the Philippians - chapter 2:1-7.  Paul talks about the unifying qualities of humbleness and consideration of others, and their value in lifting each other up in times of strife and struggle.  We will be having some breakout room […]

I have so many incredible poems to share with you, I had trouble picking just 3 for today but here they are, two by poets new to me and one by an ancient favorite. More to come in the following weeks. "We Are of a Tribe" by Alberto Rios. The "someday" he writes in the […]

Urban Sanctuary Friends, Pastor Dana will be interviewing Janet Childs who offers her wisdom about healing and transforming the enormous grief we are experiencing as a result COVID, the fires, and the political unraveling around us.  Janet has worked with the Bill Wilson Center for Living with Dying for 45 years and is the Director […]

Dear Poetry People: Elizabeth O'Connor, chronicler of the Church of the Saviour, the DC church Gordon Cosby founded in 1947, wrote Journey Inward Journey Outward, 4 words that have stayed with me these many years. Seemed like the perfect prescription for a life we can feel good about living. This week's poems go inward and outward, start deep […]

Our own Shirley Kinoshita will be leading a workshop on the ways she uses her art for God and good.  Thanks for sharing your gifts, Shirley! For more information and register to get the link: Art and Faith Using Your Talents for God and Good  

Hi Urban Sanctuary Friends, In times like these, and as we grow older, we are faced with the challenge of adapting to tremendous amounts of loss.  How do we digest all this emotionally and spiritually?  We often remind each other to "take care of yourself", but how do we do that? Last week, in my […]

Aftersession led by Iheoma Umez-Eronini When Iheoma learned that a dear friend had died young and very unexpectedly, she was in a state of shock and disbelief.  It seemed unreal.  She found that writing a letter to him, and having others listen as she read it to him, gave her a way to express her […]

Dear Proximate Paragons of Poetry: Someone once pointed out that we are often coming or going but not necessarily staying put. The image of a revolving door or a merry-go-round seems apropos to my relationship with poetry and especially to poets. I learn of a new poet that I really like and then...well, read on. […]

Dear Urban Sanctuary Friends, Next Sunday, Nov 1 is the Feast of All Souls.  It's also the last Sunday we gather before Election Day.  I'm reaching out to you to invite you to build a virtual altar of our Ancestors and to call on their spirits to guide us through the events of this week.  Let's […]

My dear Urban Sanctuary friends, My heart reaches out to you asking you to stay connected to each other and to pray for our presence in downtown San Jose during these post-election tensions.  "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and a sound mind." I have been […]

Dear Hopers for a Great Sea-Change: The coming week will be something to be alive for. Per Mark Strand (whose bounding poem, "Eating Poetry" was on last week's docket): "…it's […]