We live in time,  where, if you’re paying attention it is easy to become cynical. What’s needed in these messy, empty and unsettling times; beyond reason, beyond doubt, beyond fear; is faith.  Join us as we walk together, not in certainty, but in faith. 

Blaise Pascal, 17th century
“It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason.”
Khalil Gibran, 20th century
“Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.”
Anne Lamott, 21st century
“I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me–that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.
Augustine, 5th century
“Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”

This year, Lent begins on Valentine’s day, inviting us to consider the relationship between love and our own mortality.   I believe that facing our own impermanence brings with it the gift of awareness of how precious everyone and everything is, and the urgency to love now.    Join us this Wednesday (yes Valentine’s day) for a short and beautiful beginning to our spiritual journey of Lent, to strengthen our soul’s capacity to love.  And,  join us this Sunday as we enter the wilderness together. 

In the words of the Hebrew scripture’s Psalmist, “Create in us, a clean heart oh God”,  I leave you with the beautiful words of the poet, Mary Oliver, and the Psalmist from the Hebrew scriptures.

“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.
“There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving. But, who wants easier?” 
—————————————————————-
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?” 
————————————————-
“to live in this world
you must be able
to do three things
to love what is mortal;
to hold it against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go” 

Two Opportunities to Take Action

by Mirtha Ninayahuar

Work Opportunities
Opportunity to Help Asylum Seeker by Offering Odd Jobs: Caregiving, gardening, handyman services, and more. Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church’s immigrant accompaniment team is assisting a young Nigerian man, Justin, who recently fled his country to escape violence against his family. He has applied for asylum and is awaiting his verdict. Meanwhile, we are soliciting offers for temporary work or odd jobs to help him support himself. Raised on a farm and holding an Australian nursing degree (experienced with the elderly as well as disabled adults/kids), he could provide caregiving, babysitting, pet sitting, gardening, and handyman services. Please contact: MDUUC accompaniment team member Will Dow at 925-639- 2708, willdow12@gmail.com.

Immigrant Preschool Needs Volunteers
 
The Nueva Esperanza Preschool for the Mam-speaking families from Guatemala at the Iglesia de Dios Church, 3315 Farnam Street, in the Fruitvale area is looking for volunteers. The preschool meets each Sunday from 3–5 pm. Volunteers should be able to commit at least one Sunday a month to help in interacting with the children, organizing the snack time and setting up and breaking down the items associated with the preschool. The children speak both Mam and Spanish and some speak some English. English-only speaking volunteers are welcome as well as Spanish speakers (at any level).
Please let Mirtha Ninayahuar if you are interested or would like more information via the office at 510-531-8212   office@skylineucc.org.

Transfiguration …the indescribable mystery and beauty of standing upon the mountaintop, in radiant glory,  and seeing for one brief moment the place where heaven meets earth, God incarnate.  Savor the words of Pulitzer prize winning poet Mary Oliver that speaks of our desire to behold Jesus in the flesh.  Join us this Sunday as we seek to experience Transfiguration as well. Also, join us for a conversation after the service to explore Transfiguration more deeply together. Childcare is provided, if needed. 

The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside Our Church: The Eucharist – by Mary Oliver

Something has happened
To the bread
And the wine.

They have been blessed.
What now?
The body leans forward

To receive the gift
From the priest’s hand,
Then the chalice.

They are something else now
From what they were
Before this began.

I want
To see Jesus,
Maybe in the clouds

Or on the shore,
Just walking,
Beautiful man

And clearly
Someone else
Besides.

On the hard days
I ask myself
If I ever will.

Also there are times
My body whispers to me
That I have.

On the eve of the State of the Union address several young people (young is a relative term, right?!) in their 30’s and 20’s sought me out to set up a time to walk and talk, and of course I happily agreed. 

1. The twenty year old shared with me, “I’ve been thinking about my legacy,  what I am called to do with my life?”

2. The father of two in his mid 30’s shared with me, “I’m happily married, I have my wife and kids; we have our jobs and a house, and all of our basic needs are met. I’m searching for something more. There must be something more  that has to do with why we’re here, why I am here, and what’s my purpose in this life? 

3. Another woman in her mid thirties shared with me, “sometimes the world seems so competitive and divided, and at its worst, religion can exacerbate it.  Can we find another way to live with one another?”

To me, these are profoundly spiritual questions. Asking these questions is a sign of being alive; questions that we need to ask throughout our lives, individually, and as a society. Join us this Sunday as we explore these questions of meaning in our lives. And, if you’d like to explore more after the service, join us for our Inquirer’s Session from 11:30 am -12:30 pm. Childcare is provided.

I’d like to share with you a few responses from various traditions to these questions: 

Paul Tillich, 20th century:  “Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt.”

Rabindranath Tagore, 20th century Nobel Prize-winning poet:  “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

Albert Schweitzer, 20th century: “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

Booker T. Washington, 20th century: “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”

Martin Luther King Jr., 20th century: “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Fred Rogers, 20th century: “Life is for service.”