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 such a lucky accident, having been born, that we're almost obliged to pay attention." Here are the poems for this week: "A Ritual to Read […]

Dear Poetry Folklery: I thought last week's discussion was especially nice, although I now wish I had explained a bit about "The Night Game" and the baseball context of it beforehand for the non-baseball fans in the group. Don Maruska made a wonderful suggestion after I said, "If I didn't know Robert Pinksy was the […]

Hi Urban Sanctuary Friends, You never know what a week can bring, and this week it is Ibram Kendi, renowned author of "How to Be Anti-Racist".  Silicon Valley organizations have come together to invite Dr. Kendi to speak to what Anti-Racism might look like in our community.  For more info, see below: How to Be […]

Community Coffee on the church patio 

Hi Urban Sanctuary Friends, For your Sunday sabbath it is our hope that we can provide you with a time that inspires, centers and connects you to God and your […]

        This week's poems: "What makes a great poem? What makes a poem great?" “Great Poems” by Steve Seely “The Worm’s Waking” by Rumi. “Yellow Glove” by […]

This week Paul's words to the Galatians come to mind - "Do not grow weary in well-doing".  As we face another acceleration of the impact of the coronavirus on our […]