I have invited Alex Darr, Member of the Society and a lay minister of the Faithful Fools, to lead worship from the context of his recent journey to Nicaragua.

About this Sunday service Alex writes, "As we make our way through this election season, some of us are eagerly anticipating change and some are resisting it. Thirty years after a violent revolution, Nicaraguan lives are shaped by the effects of that drastic change and the U.S. intervention and influence that followed. Join me in exploring revolution and change, based on my two weeks in Nicaragua with the Faithful Fools."

Also joining me on the Chancel will be Melissa Fafarman and Youth Worship Associate Brian Furney. The choir will sing "Esto Les Digo" and lead us in singing familiar hymns in both Spanish and English.

Bring a friend and share our good news!

You are invited to the breakfast Forum as it focuses on "From Pearl Harbor to 9/11: Lessons from the Japanese Internment in the Shadow of the Patriot Act" with author Shizue Seigel.

Shizue wrote In Good Conscience: Supporting Japanese Americans During the Internment. She will explore with us the motivations and impact of the courageous activists who stood up for the internees and kept faith with religious and constitutional values in the face of racism and fear.

The free program will start at 9:45. Come at 9:30 for conversation, coffee, and (for a slight charge) a light breakfast.

from Betty Skwarek,
Acting Director of Religious Education

Children and youth will be focused on Faith and Hope in Sunday School classes throughout March. This Sunday in chapel, learners will hear the story, "A Prayer for the Earth". It tells how Noah's wife, Naamah, saves the plants from the great flood.

Teachers Kirk and Nan Robarge with help from Morgen Warner will start the third grade on their Rite of Passage program. The 3rd-5th graders will also continue working on their i-movie with Ministerial Intern Jeremy Nickel.

Senior youth and their parents will have a pizza-dinner and meeting on Saturday, March 8 followed by an overnight for the youth. Please contact the Religious Education office at 776-4580 to register or for additional information.

New students are welcome throughout the year, and parents are invited to phone Acting Director of Religious Education Betty Skwarek at 776-4580 for more information.

The Great Green Auction begins Sunday in the King Rooms where early bidders can score special items including tickets to a sold-out Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Eroica, for March 6th! Or, score a case of Balyeat Primotivo wine!

The auction will offer free snacks of popcorn, pretzels, and goodies for everyone and wine/soft drinks for donation after services.

Over 110 donors have donated get-away trips, dinners in private homes, tutoring services, video production services, bottles of fine wine, custom hand knitted items, baked goods, transportation service, a hike in Muir Woods, opera tickets -- there's something for everyone to bid on! It's fun and for a good cause -- our Society! Please come and bid on auction items.

The auction will continue next Sunday, March 9. Plan to stay after services for your final bidding and for the live auction and catered lunch. Appetizers, no-host wine bar, catered lunch ($10), and lots of fun as Auctioneer Jeremy Nickel presents six unique items!

Walter was an active member of this congregation along with his wife, Charlotte, and three children, Nancy, David, and Peter in the 1950's and 1960's.

Members of the Society will elect delegates to the General Assembly after service on Sunday. The election will be conducted by paper ballots — there will be no call to order for the meeting.

Stop by the voting table in the Thomas Starr King Room, pick up a ballot, mark it, and return it. Choose among the following candidates:

· Leslie Bader
· Liz Cormier
· Michele Garside
· Amy Kelly
· Brendan O'Brine
· Millie Phillips
· Alison Rittger
· Michaela Romano Meade
· Joan Rost
· Maria Solis
· Carrie Steere-Salazar

The top vote getters will be the Society's delegates and the remainder will be asked to serve as alternate delegates at the General Assembly.

Registration opened yesterday (March 1) for the June 25th assembly. Early registrations are discounted.

Members and friends are invited for a short free presentation by attorney Eric Isaacson (pictured), a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, who is a co-author of the interfaith amici curiae (or "friends of the court") brief filed in support of marriage equality. The case will be heard by the California Supreme Court in San Francisco on Tuesday (March 4). A decision is expected from the court by early June.

The Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry - California coordinated the effort to gather over 400 signatures from Unitarian Universalist ministers and lay people. The ministry also collected support from a wide array of interfaith leaders and organizations, including the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Church of Christ, and the Union for Reform Judaism.

Eric will provide a brief overview of this historic case, the significance of the amici brief, and will allow time for a Q&A on how things will proceed during the oral arguments and the court's deliberations.

As a Unitarian Universalist, Eric put his faith into action by working with other Unitarian Universalists and allies to make a difference in our state. In addition to hearing the facts of the case, participants will learn what inspired Eric along the way.

A light reception and time for conversation will follow with Eric and Rev. Lindi Ramsden, Executive Director of Legislative Ministry

Sunday is the last day to select one of four CommUUnity dining options for a week from Saturday (March 8) dinners. You're welcome to pick up a fork and spear one of these meals.

There will be two no-host dining-out options:

• Cafe Gratitude, a vegan (mostly) restaurant is gourmet and quite fun with a notable orientation toward a positive attitude. Natalie Shuttleworth will meet folks at it on 9th Avenue, between Irving and Judah. Their chocolate (and other) desserts are wonderful!
• Nancy Hardies will start another group off with appetizers and beverages at her home. From there diners will visit a moderately-priced Noe Valley restaurant.

from The Reverend Gregory Stewart

The Reverend Bill Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), was in San Francisco last Saturday to meet for breakfast with the Society's Board of Trustees. Pictured in the photo by Sonnie Willis are The Rev. Sinkford and Board members Carrie Steere-Salazar, Matt Fuller, and Nan Parks McCarthy.

The Reverend Sinkford praised our Society for making its liberal religious light shine bright and said the energy for personal and social transformation here is palpable and contagious.

He eagerly took questions from participants on topics that included the UUA's marketing campaign and its evolving relationship with Time magazine, innovative programming and ongoing support for our in our denomination's Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) youth ministry, and the nature and meaning of our being a "Flagship" congregation.