Month: November 2021

For the 75th anniversary of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Religious professionals

Ministers

1947-49 — Rev. Nat Lauriat*, minister of First Unitarian Church in San Jose, spends a few hours each week in Palo Alto
April-June, 1949 — Rev. Lon Ray Call*, extension minister from the American Unitarian Association
1949-72 — Rev. Felix Danford “Dan” Lion*, minister
1961-1962 — Rev. Darrall Roen “Bud” Repp*, assistant minister
1965-1968 — Rev. Mike Young, assistant minister
1971-1977 — Rev. Dr. Ron Hargis*, minister of religious education
1972-1973 — Rev. Sidney Peterman*, interim minister
1973-1990 — Rev. William R. “BJ” Jacobsen*, parish minister
1990-1991 — Rev. Sam Wright,* interim minister
1991-2001 — Rev. Ken Collier, minister
1998-2000 — Rev. Dr. Til Evans*, interim minister of religious education
2000-2007 — Rev. Darcey Laine, minister of religious education
2001-2003 — Rev. Kurt Kuhwald, interim minister
2003-present — Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern
2007-2009 — Rev. Eva Ceskava, interim minister of religious education
2009-present — Rev. Dan Harper, assistant/associate minister of religious education
* Deceased

Religious Educators

1948-1949 — Religious Education Committee run program in cooperation with Palo Alto Friends Meeting
1950/51 — John Durr, Superintendent of Religious Education
1951/52 — Robert Harrison
1952/53 — Evelyn Borthwick, Supervisor of Church School
1953-1955 — Religious Education Committee is in charge of the Sunday school
1955/56 — Eve Wilder volunteers as Superintendent of Religious Education
1956/57 — Religious Education Committee is in charge of the Sunday school (no one volunteers to be Superintendent)
1957/58 — Marion Murphy, Superintendent of Religious Education (first paid religious educator, part-time)
1959/59 — C. Sargent Hearn, Director of Religious Education (DRE) (first F/T paid religious educator)
1959-1965 — Florence Sund, DRE
1965/66 — Meredith Whitaker, Acting DRE
1966-1969 — Clarice Gault, DRE
1969-1971 — Virginia Stephens and Ellen Thacher, Co-DREs
1971-1977 — Rev. Dr. Ron Hargis, Minister of Religious Education (MRE)
1977-1979 — Dr. Robert Donmoyer and June Yennie-Donmoyer, Co-DREs
1979-1983 — Mary Brau, DRE
1982/1983 — Sandy Price, (Interim) DRE
1983-1985 — Mary Katherine Haynes, DRE
1985 — Donna Bookbinder, “temporary DRE”
1985-1988 — Jean Blackburn Conner, DRE
1988-1998 — Edith Parker, DRE
1998-2000 — Rev. Dr. Til Evans, Interim MRE
2000-2007 — Rev. Darcey Laine, MRE
2007-2009 — Rev. Eva Ceskava, Interim MRE
2009-present — Rev. Dan Harper, Assistant/Associate MRE

Music Directors

1951 — “Mrs. Harry Lewis” is choir director
1952 — Marion Conley is choir director
1955 — In December, Emma Lou “Timmy” Allen becomes choir director
1963 — Stanford professor Dr. Arthur P. Barnes becomes choir director
1965 — Miriam Wain is choir director
1966 — Arthur P. Barnes returns as choir director
1976 — Colleen Magee Snyder become choir director
1982 — Joan McMillen becomes choir director
1985 — Karl R. Schmidt becomes choir director
1989 — Sheridan Schroeter becomes music director
1992 — Alva Henderson becomes music director
2001 — Michael Gibson becomes music director
2004/05 — Choir members Kathy Parmentier and Mayo Tsuzuki direct the choir
2005 — Henry Mollicone becomes choir director
2011 — Bruce Olstad becomes music director

Children and Youth Religious Education Programs

1940s-1950s

1947 — In April, congregation begins holding Sunday evening meetings

1948 — Congregation moves meeting time to Sunday mornings
1948 — In the spring, “Mrs. Cleaveland provided child care for the very young in her yard and different mothers took turns as sitters.”
1948 — In the fall, first Sunday school classes held jointly with the Friends (Quakers). “There are three Friends and three Unitarians, all mothers of the children, who take turns [as teachers] for a month at a time. The children range in age from two and a half to ten and are divided into three groups for instruction.”

1949 — Religious education (RE) enrollment is 25 children

1950 — Services are held at the Palo Alto Community Center
1950 — RE enrollment is 40
1950/51 — John Durr is Superintendent of Religious Education; he volunteers while in his last year of theological school

1951/52 — Robert Harrison runs the Sunday school as a volunteer

1952 — Due to growth there are two sessions of Sunday school
1952/53 — Evelyn Borthwick is volunteer Supervisor of Church School; Marion Conley is Superintendent of the 11:00 a.m. church school
1952 — RE enrollment is 150

1953/54 — Religious Education Committee is in charge of the Sunday school
1953 — RE enrollment is 180

1954/55 — Religious Education Committee is in charge of the Sunday school
1954 — RE enrollment is 215

1955/56 — Eve Wilder volunteers as Superintendent of Religious Education
1955 — RE enrollment is 310

1956/57 — Religious Education Committee is in charge of the Sunday school
1956 — RE enrollment is 400+, with waiting lists for gr. 6 and under
1956 — 7th, 8th, and 9th grade classes meet in five nearby homes

1957/58 — Marion Murphy is part-time paid Superintendent of Religious Education
1957 — RE enrollment is 530
1957 — Rae Bell begins serving as children’s choir director

1958 — C. Sargent Hearn becomes the first full-time paid religious educator, assisted by his wife Virginia
1958 — RE enrollment is 461
1958 — First Sunday services are held in new building

1959 — Florence Sund becomes the Director of Religious Education; from 1955-1959 she was DRE in Rockford, Ill.
1959 — RE enrollment is 500+
1959 — A spin-off group from PAUC becomes the Unitarian Fellowship of Redwood City

1960s

1960 — RE enrollment is 561
1960 — “Attendance has dropped off a bit, partially because of the Redwood City Fellowship exodus”; 25 PAUC members plus a number of PAUC children transferred to Redwood City
1960 — The Student Council, elected from the Sunday school, disburses $1,100 [$9,750 in 2020 dollars] collected from the Sunday school collection, including funding for the patio installation

1961 — RE enrollment is 600

1962 — RE enrollment peaks at over 600
1962 — There are three Sunday sessions to accommodate the Sunday school — the 8:45 early morning forum, and the regular 10:00 and 11:30 services — plus a Wednesday evening session with a family service
1962 — Sunnyvale UU Fellowship is spun off from PAUC

1963 — This year and next, some children transfer to the Sunnyvale Fellowship, relieving some pressure on PAUC’s Sunday school
1963 — Due to lack of classroom space, 5 classes are held in nearby homes
1963 — For the second straight year, PAUC membership “is at a standstill”
1963 — Programs for children and teens include 3 sessions of Sunday school, midweek family service, Junior Unitarian Youth (gr. 7-9), Liberal Religious Youth (gr. 10-12), children’s choir, youth choir; committees and staff include DRE, Youth Director, Religious Education Committee, Youth Activities Committee, and Student Council

1964 — Ernee Chester becomes Youth Choir Director
1964 — Continued growth of Sunnyvale and Redwood City UU Fellowships means no waiting list to get into PAUC’s Sunday school
1964 — Liberal Religious Youth stage “Our Town,” give $50 of the proceeds [$425 in 2020 dollars] to oppose California Proposition 14, which would legalize racial discrimination in housing

1965/66 — PAUC member Meredith Whitaker is “acting DRE”
1965 — In addition to fun activities, Junior Unitarian Youth (gr. 7-9) have discussions on “Death and the Hereafter” and “Does Unitarianism Promote High Moral Standards?” 
1965 — Nationwide, Unitarian Universalism stops growing and begins declining around about 1965

1966 — RE enrollment is 480
1966 — Junior Unitarian Youth (gr. 7-9) sell UNICEF cards, raising $1,000 [$8,900 in 2020 dollars] for UNICEF
1966 — Clarice Gault hired as new Director of Religious Education, indicates she will stay no more than 3 years

1967 — RE enrollment is 575
1967 — Former DRE Meredith Whitaker is chair of RE Committee
1967 — RE committee and the DRE see “a need for in our church educational programing”
1967 — An experimental Thursday night mid-week service provides innovative programming for children

1968 — RE enrollment is 409
1968 — Liberal Religious Youth or LRY (gr. 10-12) stage Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit”
1968 — “LRY membership has soared” up to 80 people on the mailing list, up to 35 attending meetings

1969 — RE enrollment is 260
1969 — Due to falling adult attendance and religious education enrollment, congregation goes down to two services per Sunday
1969 — Clarice Gault resigns, indicates she sees problems withe PAUC
1969 — Virginia Stephens and Ellen Thacher become co-DREs

1970s

1970 — PAUC hosts an alternative high school, called “Lothlorien High School”
1970 — Congregation votes to form a nonprofit corporation to run Lothlorien; in the mean time, Lothlorien is run by PAUC
1970 — Ron Garrison, a Stanford student, hired as “Youth Minister”
1970 — Rae Bell resigns as children’s choir director, after 13 years
1970 — Room 8 is a ceramics room, with potter’s wheels
1970 — Program is “based on a freer, experience-centered situation” which children and teachers like, but parents want more”content”

1971 — Congregation establishes Ellen Thacher Children’s Center, a day care center for ages 2.9 to 7 years, named after the recently deceased Ellen Thacher; 1/4 of the children receive financial assistance
1971 — Congregation hires Rev. Dr. Ron Hargis as minister of religious education, on a two-year contract basis
1971 — Two types of Sunday school programs are offered, “one experience-oriented, one subject-oriented”
1971? — Nonprofit corporation to run Lothlorien is formed

1972 — Playground built for Thacher Center, with help from PAUC members, Lothlorien students, and Thacher parents
1972 — Dan Lion resigns; Ron Hargis becomes sole minister until Rev. Sidney Peterman arrives in the fall as interim minister
1972 — Ron Garrison resigns after congregation declines to make his position full time, with youth and community education responsiblities
1972 — RE enrollment is 250

1973 — The RE Committee brings in Til Evans of the Starr King School for the Ministry to lead an all-day workshop
1973 — PAUC offers About Your Sexuality course (precursor to the current Our Whole Lives comprehensive sexuality education course for gr. 7-9)
1973 — A grant from Samuel Untermeyer makes it possible for 6th and 7th graders to talk with astronaut Edgar Mitchell

1974 — “Baby Bust” means fewer children, and RE enrollment continues to drop
1974 — A grant from Samuel Untermeyer makes it possible for 6th and 7th graders to participate in an art project for an afternoon with innovative artist Ruth Asawa
1974 — “Nursery leader Cindy Cray noted that the decline in the birth rate has certainly affected the number of children in the nursery”

1975 — Ernee Chester, Youth Choir Director, resigns
1975 — Sargent Hearn, former DRE, is serving on the Religious Education Committee

1976 — A Junior High class is reactivated this year
1976 — Monthly intergenerational potlucks are held

1977 — Ron Hargis resigns at the end of the year
1977 — RE enrollment drops to about 50
1977 — Children are in the Main Hall service several times this year
1977 — June Yennie-Donmoyer and Bob Donmoyer become co-DREs in September

1978 — Religious education enrollment rises to 100
1978 — LRY (the youth group) has 30 members
1978 — First annual “mini-vacation” at Bass Lake
1978 — Monthly “All Church Community Activities” include a square dance, a picnic, and a dinner with Mexican cuisine

1979 — PAUC again offers a preschool class in Sunday school
1979 — Mary Brau becomes DRE
1979 — RE enrollment is 92, with 70 in Sunday school, and 12 in LRY (Liberal Religious Youth, the youth group)
1979 — For the hour before Sunday school, children may go to the Clay Room, the Reading Room, or the Games and Crafts Room

1980s

1980 — DRE Mary Brau adds “executive officer” of the entire church to her duties
1980 — Nationwide, after a decade and a half of decline, Unitarian Universalism begins to grow at about 1% per year
1980 — RE enrollment drops to 75

1981 — An intergenerational breakfast is held on Easter Sunday

1982 — Sandy Price, an experienced DRE from Oak Park, Ill., becomes DRE for one school year while temporarily living in the area
1982 — Clay room activities at 10:00 a.m. (before Sunday school and the service) continue to be popular
1982 — Junior Choir is revived, sings once a month when children are in the first part of the service

1983 — Mary Katherine Haynes becomes DRE
1983 — Small but active youth group with paid part-time youth advisor

1984 — Intergenerational activities include two family potluck breakfasts, “Trick or Treat for UNICEF,” and Christmas carol party 

1985 — Donna Bookbinder is temporary DRE
1985 — Jean Blackburn Conner becomes DRE in November
1985 — No program for teens this year

1986 — RE enrollment is 54
1986 — Child care is available year-round on Sundays; one paid staffer assisted by teen and parent volunteers

1987 — Educational goals developed in a fall retreat: increase involvement of kids in church, religious literacy, plant the seed of lifelong UUs
1987 — Easter breakfast and egg hunt

1988 — RE enrollment is 80
1988 — Edith Parker becomes Director of Religious Education
1988 — RE Committee seeks ways to encourage more participation by high school aged teens

1989 — Senior High teens host an all-church supper and some after-church lunches
1989 — RE brochure lists the Halloween Parade

1990s

1990 — RE enrollment is 125
1990 — Children continue to attend the first part of the worship service once a month before leaving for their classes
1990 — Both the senior high group and the junior high group are active

1991 — RE enrollment is 90
1991 — Main Hall is often 80-90% full on Sunday mornings; Ken Collier first proposes double sessions

1992 — Three paid child care workers provide care each Sunday
1992 — Intergenerational activities include a Seder Summer Solstice sunrise celebration, and a Winter Solstice celebration

1993 — Enrollment is 120, classrooms are crowded
1993 — After a hiatus, a Junior Choir starts up again
1993 — DRE Edith Parker serves as resource person for the new UU congregation forming in Fremont

1994 — The Religious Education Committee for children and youth, and the Adult Religious Education Committee merge to form a Lifespan Religious Education Committe

1995 — RE enrollment is 140, with growth in youngest ages, infants through preschoolers: the peak of the Millennial generation
1995 — UUCPA provides financial and moral support to the new UU congregation in Fremont, with no apparent effect on RE enrollment

1996 — Intergenerational events include folk singer Jim Stevens, 4:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service, Easter egg hunt for gr. preK-2 
1996 — RE enrollment is 147

1997 — RE enrollment drops to 125
1997 — Congregation sees enough growth in adult membership to consider adding a second minister
1997 — New safety policy requires two adults in each classroom, though implementation was difficult at first

1998 — Edith Parker completes ministerial training, under UUA rules is not allowed to continue serving as inister at UUCPA, and so resigns
1998 — UUCPA hires Rev. Til Evans as interim minister of religious education, to serve with Ken Collier
1998 — Ellen Thacher Preschool is now part of Palo Alto Community Child Care
1998 — Intergenerational events include a games program in September
1998 — Til Evans reports that the lack of dependable and consistent space for religious education programs is the greatest lack facing the program

1999 — RE enrollment is 135
1999 — Behavioral problems in classrooms lead to the development of a behavioral covenant
1999 — Inspired by Til Evans, the Lifespan RE Committee marshals support in the congregation for adding a second permanent minister

2000s

2000 — In January, UUCPA adds a second worship service on Sunday morning
2000 — Rev. Darcey Laine is called as minister of religious education; Rev. Ken Collier announces his resignation a few months later
2000 — RE enrollment is 64

2001 — Sunday school begins to include regular social justice projects
2001 — Rev. Darcey Laine spends significant time “supporting the parish ministry transition”

2002 — Capital campaign includes renovation of classrooms

2003 — Board of Trustees implements a child protection policy

2004 — The Senior High Youth Group and Rev. Darcey Laine, along with youth from the Redwood City UU Fellowship, install the first labyrinth at UUCPA

2005 — Time of children’s classes is changed from 11:00 to 9:30 a.m.
2005 — With Rev. Amy Zucker settled in as the new parish minister, Rev. Darcey Laine is able to re-focus her attention on children and youth

2006 — Family Chapel Services are held, led by volunteers

2007 — Darcey Laine resigns, as her family wants to relocate to upstate New York
2007 — Rev. Eva Ceskava becomes interim minister of religious education

2008 — 

2009 — Congregation hires Rev. Dan Harper as assistant minister of religious education
2009 — Joe Chee, doctoral candidate in educational technology, starts CYRE blog for teacher engagement and training
2009 — Children and Youth Religious Education Committee moves key documents to the cloud
2009 — Nationwide, Unitarian Universalism begins small annual decline that continues to the present

2010s

2010 — With the help of church consultant Alice Mann, UUCPA sets goal of “adding the next 50 people” as measured by average annual attendance
2010 — Second Sunday Lunch begins, children and teens welcomed from the beginning
2010 — Joe Chee produces Sunday school teacher podcasts
2010 — Youth group makes a service trip to New Orleans

2011 — New fenced-in play area installed in front of Thacher School’s playground
2011 — Coming of Age class cooks, serves, and eats dinner with Hotel de Zink for the first time

2012 — UUCPA’s “OWL” comprehensive sexuality education program welcomes non-UU families, as a community outreach program
2012 — Navigators program is organized at UUCPA, a scouting program welcoming all genders and LGBTQIA+ persons
2012 — UUCPA begins publishing Sunday school curriculums online

2013 — Children are invited to participate in planning the new front garden

2014 — Religious education enrollment peaks at 135 (highest since 1999)
2014 — Sunday school “Ecojustice class” installs first rain barrel at UUCPA

2015 — First year of Ecojustice Camp day camp
2015 — Youth group makes a service trip to Belize, under the direction of Anne Frahn

2016 — RE enrollment is 116
2016 — Membership and Growth Committee reports that UUCPA is halfway to the goal of adding 50 people, as measured by average annual attendance

2017 — RE enrollment is 105

2018 — RE enrollment is 105
2018 — Congregation considers removing the word “Church” from its name, with strong support from high school students who become members so they can vote on this issue
2018 — Mr. Barb Greve becomes religious educator while Dan Harper is on sabbatical; Greve is also volunteering as co-moderator of the UUA

2019 — About 30% of enrolled children and youth are non-white

2020s

2020 — COVID cause state-wide shutdown, on March 15 youth group and all classes move online
2020 — In September, two small in-person classes begin (Ecojustice class and OWL gr. 7-9), outdoors, masked, and physically distanced
2020 — In late November, another lockdown closes in-person classes

2021 — In February, the two in-person classes are able to resume once again
2021 — In June, three-week COVID-safe Ecojustice Camp welcomes 16 campers, makes $12,000 for the congregation
2021 — In September, in-person classes resume for preschool and up, with online options available

For the 75th anniversary of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

1949 — Our congregation protests “the assumption that war is inevitable and an A-bomb justified…. We urge positive program negotiations to avoid war.”

1950 — Congregation gives sizable contributions to help Spanish refugees who had been living in France since 1938
1950 — Congregation sponsors and settles a Displaced Persons family from Latvia

1952 — Congregation refuses to sign California’s “Loyalty Oath,” and has to pay state tax even though it’s a nonprofit
1952 — Congregation collects 155 pounds of clothing for Spanish refugee children

1953 — Our congregation, the San Jose Unitarian church, and the Los Gatos Unitarian Fellowship form a dental loan fund to aid children of migrant workers

1956 — Congregation assists a displaced persons family from East Germany

1958-66 — With a group of 5 Bay Area Unitarian churches, our congregation helps found Stevenson House, Palo Alto’s first nonprofit housing for low-income seniors

1958 — Over 200 members sign a pledge of open housing, agreeing to welcome all persons to their neighborhood regardless of race, creed, or national origin

1959 — Congregation supports a Displaced Persons family from East Germany

1960 — Congregation assists a displaced persons family, plus four children from Indonesia
1960 — Congregation approves a resolution calling for the dissolution of the House Un-American Activities Commission

1962 — The Women’s Alliance sends six cartons of clothing to Spanish refugees in Toulouse, France
1962 — The Sunday school packs food baskets for prisoner’s families at Christmas

1964 — Rev. Dan Lion participates in the Mississippi Summer Project (a.k.a. Freedom Summer), and is supported by our congregation
1964 — Congregation votes overwhelmingly to oppose the Becker Amendment, Resolution 693, that would allow prayer in public schools
1964 — Congregation votes to oppose California Proposition 14, which would allow open racial discrimination when selling or renting housing

1965 — Congregation supports Rev. Dan Lion’s trip to Selma, Ala.
1965 — Sunday school students give $90 [$800 in 2020 dollars] to sponsor a foster child in Greece

1966 — Activism against the Vietnam War
1966 — Congregation sells 2.2 acres to Stevenson House elderly housing community at $30,000 below market rates [$240,000 in 202 dollars], then gives Stevenson House a $5,000 donation [$405,000 in 2020 dollars]

1967 — The congregation’s newsletter carries a series of letters over several months from congregation members both opposing and supporting the Vietnam War
1967 — Senior minister Rev. Dan Lion and Assistant Minister Rev. Mike Young provide counseling to conscientious objectors

1968 — Congregation votes to not build a new church building, and instead votes to spend the money raised on “human rights” programs

1969 — Rev. Dan Lion and other Unitarians participate in anti-war march in downtown Palo Alto

1970 — Congregation forms a nonprofit corporation to start an alternative high school, called “Lothlorien High School”

1971 — Congregation establishes Ellen Thacher Children’s Center, a day care center named after the recently deceased Ellen Thacher; 1/4 of the children receive scholarships

1972 — Congregation grants the use of the church as sanctuary for those “acting according to the dictates of their conscience in opposition to civil or military actions” [i.e., for conscientious objectors]

1975 — The Social Concerns Committee supports the United Farm Workers boycott of Gallo
1975 — After its sixth year, Lothlorien High School ceases operations

1977 — Gail Hamaker and other women from our congregation are active in getting the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly to adopt the groundbreaking Women and Religion resolution

1981 — The World Concerns Committee presented non-partisan lectures on various topics of social concern

1982 — Congregation votes in December to join South Bay Sanctuary Covenant to provide protection and advocacy for Central American refugees

1984 — The Sanctuary Committee raises $100 a month to support South Bay Sanctuary Covenant [$250 in 2020 dollars]
1984 — The Stevenson House Committee helps raise funds to renovate Stevenson House, arranges activities to “enliven the environment” of residents

1987 — Congregation votes to join the Mid-Peninsula Peace Center
1987 — Congregation votes to make our congregation a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone
1987 — Congregation votes to join the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, to address homelessness

1988 — Congregation is a founding member of Hotel de Zink, a short-term homeless shelter

1989 — 1st annual Undie Sunday collection of donations of new underwear for unhoused people

1992 — Congregation gives over 3% of its annual budget to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

1994 — Congregations begins Welcoming Congregation process, to become more welcoming to LGBTQIA+ people

1997 — Congregation joins with other churches to form Peninsula Interfaith Action; began work on education and housing

1999 — UUA recognizes UUCPA as a Welcoming Congregation,welcoming to LGBTQIA+ people

2002 — Congregation adopts Statement of Conscience opposing the Iraq war
2002 — Marriage equality activism against the Knight Initiative (Prop 22)

2003 — Congregation raises more than $50,000 for construction of the Opportunity Center to provide services to unhoused people
2003 — Founding member of Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice

2005 — Antiwar activism against second Iraq war

2007 — Green Sanctuary Committee is formed

2008 — Task force on ridding the world of nuclear weapons is formed
2008 — Welcoming Congregation Committee organizes congregation to attempt to defeat Prop 8, a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage

2009 — Congregation receives Green Sanctuary Congregation certification from the Unitarian Universalist Association for good congregational environmental practices

2010 — 1st annual sale of fair trade chocolate for Halloween
2010 — Fair Elections task force is formed

2011 — Congregation works on the California DISCLOSE Act with California Clean Money Campaign
2011 — Solar panels installed on the roof of the Main Hall, providing about half of UUCPA’s energy needs

2012 — Congregation endorses SB 52, the California Clean Money Act, to require financial disclosure of campaign contributions; holds CA DISCLOSE Act rally at the church
2012 — Our Whole Lives comprehensive sexuality education classes are open to the wider community

2013 — Immigration Task Force is formed; adult class is offered on “Immigration as A Moral Issue”
2013 — Music Director Bruce Olstad launches Bodhi Tree North concert series to raise money for charitable causes

2014 — Installation of native plant garden in front of the church is completed

2015 — “Drone quilts” are displayed in the Main Hall, sponsored by Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice
2015 — Ecojustice Camp day camp is launched to teach kids about environmental justice

2015 — Congregation gives authority to the Green Sanctuary Committee to advocate on behalf of UUCPA for environmental issues

2016 — Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern leads first Beloved Conversations anti-racism class

2017 — Congregation endorses SB 31, California Religious Freedom Act
2017 — Congregation co-sponsors Unity Rally to counter rally by Anti-Sharia proponents
2017 — More solar panels added to Main Hall roof, which now satisfy all the congregation’s electrical needs

2018 — Congregation approves fast-track process for endorsements on behalf of the congregation, and for approvals to carry a UUCPA banner in public rallies and vigils
2018 — Parking lot solar panels, erected by a solar energy company leasing from the congregation, begin operation
2018 — Congregation becomes a host of the year-old Heart & Home Collaborative women’s homeless shelter
2018 —Native plant garden in front of the church is expanded

2019 — Signed a Statement of Support for people arrested and charged for leaving food and water in the desert for immigrants
2019 — Congregation organizes phone banks for Reclaim our Vote, reaching out to voters of color
2019 — Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern begins “White Folks Dismantling White Supremacy” anti-racism class
2019 — In cooperation with Grassroots Ecology, congregation becomes a rain barrel demonstration site, with over 500 gallon capacity 

2020 — Congregation participates in the Unitarian Universalist Association’s UU the Vote campaign
2020 — Members of the congregation write thousands of postcards and made hundreds of phone calls to encourage people of color in southern states to register and vote in the 2020 election
2020 — Due to COVID lockdown, Heart & Home Collaborative homeless shelter remains at UUCPA for 3 months, 24/7
2020 — Board approves carbon-neutral policy
2020 — “White Folks Dismantling White Supremacy” class expanded to twice monthly

2021 — Congregation endorses the California Ballot DISCLOSE Act
2021 — Congregation receives final approval and launches UUCPA Safe Parking Program, hosting four passenger vehicles in our parking lot, in conjunction with Move Mountain View
2021 — Board approves plastics reduction policy
2021 — First all-electric heat pump HVAC system is installed in church office
2021 — Congregation begins work on proposed 8th Principle on addressing racism and other oppressions
2021 — Core group takes online Beloved Conversations class from Meadville Lombard Theological School
2021 — Congregation renews their commitment to being a Welcoming Congregation
2021 — Congregation adds Showing Up for Racial Justice at Sacred Heart as a monthly Justice Partner

Update, 11/18/21: Errors corrected, new items added