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Divine Diwali
Diwali, an ancient Annual celebration of the Hindus, provides a lens for considering some of the key issues at play in the upcoming presidential election.
Reverend Dr. Stephen H. Furrer
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"Decisions, Decisions..."
Revered Furrer's second sermon on the nation's election two days hence. Complementing last Sunday's mythic analysis, this morning Dr. Furrer will consider the religious and ethical issues permeating the election and contemporary democracy.
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Religious Education
Sunday we are celebrating and learning about Diwali, Day of the Dead, and Halloween. Everyone is invited to bring pictures or personal items for loved ones who have passed away to place on the Ofrenda after service. Dress up in your Halloween costume if you’d like!
Upcoming Calendar
Saturday 11/5/16 - Harvest Festival 1pm-5pm wear your costume and bring a potluck item. RSVP here and use the code: 5621
Sunday 11/6/16 - Children are singing during the first part of service, two songs we have been practicing (This Little Light of Mine and Count on Me by Bruno Mars). RE Classes continue
Sunday 11/13/16 - RE Classes
Sunday 11/20/16 - Intergenerational Service - no RE classes today. Childcare is available for children 5 and under during service.
Sunday 11/27/16 - Children’s Chapel
Sunday 12/4/16 - RE Classes
Saturday 12/10/16 - Holiday Tree Trimming
See the bulletin board for updates and information! RE has the left third of the board.
Enroll for Fall RE by clicking on this link
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Member Spotlight
Dee Masters asked Marvel Burke to share something of her life with the congregation. Marvel Burke was born in 1920 into what she calls "a world of certainties." "Within a few years," Marvel says, "I gradually became aware there was something called the Past! There had been an exciting war, but it was all over, and I missed it. It felt good, though, that I was an American."
Marvel grew up in a family with a mother, father, and two sisters. Her home town was Chicago. She married at age nineteen her husband was tall and handsome: "That's all I required, that and a little smarts and humor." Marvel figures he turned out good. They lived together fifty-eight years and had three children. They were two-thirds raised when an auto accident "whisked our only son away." That was in 1967.
They moved to California in 1976 and immediately joined the church. Marvel's husband Howell developed Parkinson's disease. In 1995 he was gone.Marvel has "two beautiful, loving daughters: Carol Waters and Susan Osborne." Her baby sister Mary Jane, "from that house in Chicago," lives here, too. For the past sixteen years Marvel has lived happily with Noel Hammond. "That's not all, of course, to my life, but it's enough to tell Dee Masters, I guess."
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Sunday Hospitality
Volunteers
It takes many hands to
make a Sunday. Special thanks
to all of our volunteers!

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Greeters
Marvel Burke
Welcome Table
Marlene Baron
Amy Fields
Top Chef
Andy Kissner
Usher
Greg Garcia
Brad Shreve
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AIDS WALK L.A.
On Sunday, October 23, 2016, I was honored to join PUC members Brad Shreve & Maurice Chevalier in the Aids Walk LA. We joined thousands of fellow walkers in downtown L.A. beginning and ending in the newly developed Grand Park. It was inspiring to see hundreds of young people joining not only in the walk, but volunteering to make the event successful and fun for all attendees. The event raised over 2 million dollars. We are looking forward to next year and hoping more of our fellow PUC members join us.
Mike Buttitta
President, Board of Trustees
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Day of the Dead Celebration this Sunday 10/30.
Everyone is invited to bring pictures or personal items for loved ones who have passed away to place on the Ofrenda in the Gazebo after service.
Dress up in your Halloween costume if you’d like!
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COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT
The Worship Committee works with the minister to create worship services for Sunday morning services. We assist with filling the pulpit when the lead (interim) minister is not speaking and to fill the worship associate roles each Sunday. We provide input regarding the order of service and practices and rituals within it. The Committee meets monthly on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the church. Dale Osborne, Melissa Tyrell, and Vivien Hao are committee members.
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Did You Know....You can contribute $$$ to PUC when shopping at Ralphs? Go to www.ralphs.com and register choosing Pacific Unitarian Church as your non-profit community organization. Yearly registration started in September, so if you haven't registered/renewed since September, you are not currently participating in Ralphs Community Contribution Program. Scan bar letters are available in the office for those who prefer to register by taking this letter into Ralphs when shopping and syncing up their Ralphs Card. It doesn’t cost you anything. Ralphs gives PUC a percentage of what you spend there.
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Ministerial Search Committee
On October 8 th, 20 PUC members and friends spent the morning with Everardo Aguilar, a UUA facilitator at the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop. The workshop focused on identifying our biases that could potentially lead us to overlook a ministerial candidate who could be a best match for PUC. The three areas focused on were sexual orientation, race/ethnic identity, and disability. Gender was not a focus area as more than 50% of UU ministers are women. During the workshop, participants learned through group activities, discussion, and case studies. It was an enlightening workshop overall.
October 16th Ministerial Search Service Recap
On October 16 th, the Ministerial Search Committee (MSC) led the Sunday service. Gary Hart sang an original song he wrote, “Searching for a Minister Blues” which was enjoyed by all. Naresh Deo and Maurice Chevalier presented an informative high-level summary of the survey results. The MSC team presented a skit of the Cottage Party results written by Caitlin Masters which was quite entertaining. A brief Q&A followed the service.
Survey and cottage party results will be shared in writing with the congregation in early-mid November. The committee is working on compiling the results for a congregational packet to share with potential ministers.
The process flow work of the Ministerial Search Committee is posted on the bulletin board. PUC’s Ministerial Search Committee members are Darcy Carroll, Maurice Chevalier, Naresh Deo, Pamela Harris, Gary Hart, Janet Kissner, and Caitlin Masters. If you have any questions, please contact the Ministerial Search Committee at msc@pacificunitarian.org.
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REMINDER
PUC Garden Fall Planting, Saturday, October 29th, 1p.m. to 3 p.m., Bring gloves. This is a time change.
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RUMMAGE SALE. Please bring your items to PUC and put them in the tent in front of the church. We need shoes, jewelry, books (ones people want to read) electronics, kitchen items, CDs and other treasures. Everything must be clean and usable. So clean out your garage, your closet or your kitchen and bring them to PUC.
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Plan to do any shopping this holiday season at Amazon.com? If so, use smile.amazon.com instead.
You get the exact same amazon but Amazon makes a small donation to Pacific Unitarian Church when you shop.
Happy shopping! http://smile.amazon.com/ch/95-2250196
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Do you like saving money? Do you like working with people? Do you want a different way to contribute to PUC? Then you would just love serving on the PUC Finance Committee. This committee meets once per month to help the treasurer and Board with many of PUC's financial matters, such as the budget, pledge status, and investigating ways to save PUC money. For example, last year the finance committee was able to obtain a five-figure tax refund for PUC, negotiate a significantly lower rate for our trash pick-up services and help the treasurer with the year end tax letters. If you are interested in being a part of the finance committee, please contact the treasurer a treasurer@pacificunitarian.org.
No prior experience is necessary, but an attention to detail is helpful.
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Women Reading & Responding Book Club
Third Monday of Each Month
11:00 a.m. PUC Library
November 21st: The Road to Character by David Brooks
Come and check out a discussion even if you haven’t read or finished the book.
Contact Lisa Sites if you have any questions.
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Playing in the Sage…

“End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.”
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
This can be a scary time of the year for children (and some adults) as we try to distinguish between what is real and what is pretend in the world.
One of the wonderful things about Pacific Sage (there are so many!) is all the life that surrounds the children. And as the wheel turns, there is eventual death. When we come across plants, lizards, or bugs that have passed on, it gives us a chance to explore and help the children try to understand…what is living and what is not. The children and staff acknowledge the life lost, sing “Happy Trails” and return what remains to the Earth.
As part of the cultural festivals of the season, Ms. Perla and I will be sharing our experiences of the Mexican Holiday… “El Dia de los Muertos”. This is celebrated November 2nd but last for several weeks. We will be building an ‘ofrenda’ in our science room to remember our family and friends (and pets) that are no longer with us. So take a peek and add a loved one if you like.
Warmly,
Sylvia
Director
Pacific Sage Preschool
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To have your joy or concern appear here, send it to
joysandconcerns@pacificunitarian.org
or call the PUC office. For information on how to do so,
scroll down to the end of The View.
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