Upcoming Worship Services
BFUU Fellowship Hall 1924 Cedar Street
(at the corner of Cedar St. and Bonita Ave.)
all services are on Sundays from 10:30 AM to around noon, unless otherwise noted
The Fellowship Hall (1924 Cedar St) is accessible by a ramp on the Bonita Avenue side of the Hall, and has a T-Loop system to enhance audio for those with hearing aids.
We will be meeting on Zoom for Worship Services on Sundays at 10:30 AM. If you’d like to attend, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for the meeting ID and link.
If you have the ID, go to https://zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID. One tap mobile: +16699006833,,<meetingID># US (San Jose) Dial by your location: +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) - to do this, dial: 1 669 900 6833, then dial the meeting number, then dial the # sign twice.) If you need help getting onto zoom, please include that in your email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave a voicemail at 510-841-4824 ext. 1.
July 25: The Heart of National Parents Day Rev. Dr. Carrie Knowles reflects on our “renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life,” as we consider parenting.
August 1: The UU Quest for Social Justice – It’s Complicated The Rev. Theodore Parker, famous Unitarian, Transcendentalist, and abolitionist who kept a pistol in his sermon writing desk. His two congregants, William and Ellen Craft, courageous husband and wife activists living in Boston, chosen as targets under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The Unitarian president, Millard Fillmore, who signed that deadly Act into law. What can we learn today from their experiences and their choices? What might each of us have done, in their place?
August 8: The Free Church Tradition of Community Decision-Making BFUU Worship Team
In 1637, a community of neighbors in Dedham, MA began to figure out how to form a church together. An exploration of congregational polity and decision-making in the free church tradition.
August 15: The Meaning of Membership Doug Chambers (he/him) and Kathy Riehle (she/her)
We will hear stories of how some people come to join a UU congregation. What factors influenced her decision? What has it meant to him since? How has their spiritual journey been shaped by their congregational membership? How have our lives been changed? Has membership met your expectations? How has it fallen short? How has it risen above?
August 22: Living Longer: the Joys and Sorrows of Adding Years to Our Lives Rev. Dr. Carrie Knowles (she/her)
Rev. Dr. Carrie Knowles reviews the vital practices of increasing our lifespan and the emotional significance of living through new eras of our lives, as we embrace the sacred circle of life.
August 29: Toni Battle on Hymns and History Toni R. Battle (she/her)
Our guest speaker, Toni Renee Battle, an Equal Employment Opportunity Programs Senior Specialist with the City and County of San Francisco, spoke to us in May about reparations. This week Toni will tell us about the power of spirituals and hymns as healing components for Black people descended from the historical harm and trauma of slavery and jim crow. Spirituals were essential to the Civil Rights movement. Toni will lead us into a deeper understanding of this powerful, healing musical tradition.
Toni Renee Battle is a native of San Francisco, CA and was partially raised in the Southern state of Louisiana. Toni owns a small business called “Embrace Diversity…Embrace Success,” specializing in consulting services in the fields of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), communications and diversity. Currently, she is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Programs Senior Specialist with the City and County of San Francisco. She is also Founder of a cultural enrichment program called The Legacy Project which teaches culture, tradition and histories of Blacks and Native Americans to youth 7th through 12th grades. Her goal is to transition it into a Saturday school and eventually a Freedom School. She has more than 15 years of experience in these fields in both private and public sectors. She attended Fisk University in Nashville, TN, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Communications; and attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, obtaining a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Saint Mary’s College of CA in Moraga, CA majoring in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Social Justice. Her dissertation research focuses on historical harm trauma, generational grief and healing. Specifically, her research focuses on the impact of being descended from The Trail of Tears, slavery, banishment and lynching histories – on both the victim and perpetrator sides. She has received fellowships from Teach With Africa-South Africa and Columbia University’s Summer Teachers and Scholars Institute (STSI).
Toni specializes in diversity, communication, cultural dynamics, race relations, trauma and healing, and intra-racial prejudice. She has worked and trained in governmental, private, and educational organizations. She has certification in diversity dynamics from National Multicultural Institute (NMCI), in Washington, DC, specializing in cross-cultural dynamics/communication, sustained mediation dialogue, developing diversity initiatives, and diversity design& implementation, creating diversity councils, and recruiting and retaining a diverse workgroup. She holds additional certification in social justice mediation from Association for Dispute Resolution (ADR), Kingian Nonviolence training, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Practice. Her professional background includes: Television News Producer, Public Information Officer, Equal Employment Opportunity Manager, and Consultant; where she conducted media campaigns, produced television news, investigated discrimination complaints, customized mediations, and diversity consultations.
Toni has been a featured speaker and facilitator for clients which have included: Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Bradley University, National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME), and Rosiland Franklin Medical School. Her specialty areas also include intra-racial prejudice and customized mediation techniques. She is a member of Lambda Iota Tau Honor Society (English/Literature), serves on the board of the Association of Dispute Resolution for Northern California (ADRNC), member of the California Association of Equal Rights Professionals, member of Equal Justice Society, member of National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME), and is Co-Founder of Welcome To the Table (WTTT), the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of Coming to The Table (CTTT).