Urban Sanctuary’s presence in the city and for each other

San Jose City Hall 200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA

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 […]

Jim Thompson’s Spiritual Poetry Class #27

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 […]

Jim Thompson’s Spiritual Poetry Class #28

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 […]

How to Be Anti-Racist

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

Community Coffee on the church patio 

Sunday Gathering and Aftersession

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 […]

Jim Thompson’s Poetry Class #29

        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 […]

Sunday Gathering & Aftersession

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 […]

A Unique Thanksgiving Event on Zoom

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 […]

Sunday Gathering & Aftersession Discussion

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 - […]

Giving Tuesday

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 […]

Jim Thompson’s Spiritual Poetry Class #31

This week’s poems are: "What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade" by Brad Aaron Modlin. Wouldn't we all like to have had a teacher like Mrs. Nelson with […]