Category: News

In our Sunday services, and in many of our religious education programs, we conclude with a unison benediction that goes like this:

Go out into the world in peace
Be of good courage
Hold fast to what is good
Return no one evil for evil
Strengthen the faint-hearted
Support the weak
Help the suffering
Rejoice in beauty
Speak love with word and deed
Honor all beings

Guillermo Oliva, a member of UUCPA who is fluent in English, Spanish, and German, has translated this benediction into both Spanish and German, in honor of the Spanish-speaking and German-speaking people in our congregation. Here are his translations:

In Spanish:

Vete en paz al mundo
Mantén tu valentía
Sostén lo bueno con firmeza
No pagues maldad con maldad
Fortalece a los frágiles de Corazón
Apoya a los débiles
Auxilia a los que sufren
Goza de la belleza
Expresa amor con palabra y acción
Honra a todos los seres

— translated by Guillermo Oliva, used by permission.

In German:

Gehe friedlich in die Welt hinein
Sei guten Mutes
Halte das Gute fest
Gebe nicht Uebel fuer Uebel zurueck
Staerke die gebrechlichen Herzen
Unterstuetze die Schwachen
Hilf die Leidenden
Geniesse Schoenheit
Druecke Liebe mit Worten und Taten aus
Ehre alles Dasein

— translated by Guillermo Oliva, used by permission.

This Sunday is the first anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, and in Sunday school we will be talking (in an age-appropriate way) about what happened in Ferguson. Kids of all ages are welcome — parents, too!

Rev. Dan Harper, our minister of religious education, was fortunate enough to attend a workshop this summer given by Dr. Marcia Chatelain, professor of history at Georgetown University, on talking with students about Ferguson. He will use material from her crowd-sourced #FergusonSyllabus for this Sunday school session.

Hope to see you at UUCPA this Sunday!

Four kids and three adults from our congregation have been participating in the summer Peace Camp at the First Unitarian Church of San Jose. Here are a couple of photos of our UUCPA kids at Peace Camp:

Above: Luna and Charlie working on tye-die t-shirts.

Above: Caewithe (at top) playing a game with other children and counelor Katherine.

You can see more photos from Peace Camp here.

Here are some photos from the youth service trip work days at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lox Angeles.

Above: At a build site in Long Beach. One of the job site supervisors (L) checking with Samuel, who is working on installing a vanity.

Above: At the Long Beach build site, Robert cutting baseboard molding.

Dan also worked at the Long Beach build site. Eleanor, Amelia, and Olivia worked at The ReStore, which exists both to be “a self-sustaining funding source for Habit for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, and to provide our local community with low-cost building and home improvement materials.” Although they didn’t take any photos, they reported that they met a lot of interesting people from the surrounding community.

(Photo credit: Dan Harper)