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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 lives, we may find ourselves growing weary with what we have to do for the sake of our well-being.   So we need each other now, […]

Dear Urban Sanctuary Friends, We have a fun social opportunity in store this week. Jim Thompson and Dana Bainbridge invite you to a unique Thanksgiving event.  We are adapting the weekly Wednesday night Spiritual Poetry event to be focused around a deepening of our experience of giving thanks. St. Paul said "In everything, give thanks". […]

Sunday Gathering: The New Jerusalem: Envisioning a New Normal Aftersession: Envisioning a New World Octavia Butler 1947-2006 Hugo and Nebula Awards, Author of The Parable Series The Book of Martha - by Octavia Butler We will discuss this short story by award-winning SciFi writer, Octavia Butler.  In the story, the character, Martha meets God and is […]

Urban Sanctuary San Jose invites you to participate in the national day of generosity, #GivingTuesday. We believe that generosity begets generosity so go out of your way this #GivingTuesday to start a chain reaction of generosity! How can you be part of it? Here are a few simple ideas: Help us get the word out […]