Unitarian Universalist Church of Cambria

In Memoriam:  Bill Lakin - Founder and Past-President of the UUCC

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On June 15, 2019 our church community mourned the loss of one of our most beloved members, Bill Lakin. Bill’s memorial service filled our sanctuary with family and friends gathered to honor Bill’s contributions to Unitarian Universalism and to the wider community. As one of the original four founding members of the UU Community of Cambria, Bill served as the liason between the district and the mother church, was in charge of programs, scheduled speakers (including presenting many sermons himself), headed the Worship Committee and served as the first President of the UUCC board. Bill’s engagement in worthy causes didn’t end with Unitarian Universalism. He also served as a member of the National Advisory Council of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, as a board member of the Southern California Unit of the UU Service Committee, Executive Director of Project Freedom of Religion, he was a member of the Sierra Club Desal Task Force, a training manager for the Cambria Community Emergency Response Team (AKA CERT), an original board member of People of Faith for Justice and a recipient of the League of Woman Voters 2006 Mary Rhodes Vision Award. 

Until his retirement in 2012, Bill remained an active and valuable member of the UUCC and a dynamic and compassionate leader.  Although Bill had retired from leadership positions, his continued presence at church services and gatherings was always appreciated.  During Bill’s last public speech to our church community, presented at the 10th Year Anniversary celebration held in November 2018, he still spoke with deep conviction and from the heart. Bill always kept the best interests of the UUCC and the future of our congregation in his thoughts.  In addition to all the valuable work that Bill accomplished for both our church and the wider community, he also had the unique ability to successfully encourage and empower others to work effectively alongside him.  He was a team leader and a team builder.  It was an honor to have known him and worked with him.  He was truly the ‘father of our congregation’ and an inspiration to all of us.  Rest in peace, Bill. You are deeply missed.  You will live on in our collective memories.  You have made the world a better place.

        Day of the Dead Service

Honoring the Mexican holiday known as the Day of the Dead is an annual tradition at the UUCC.  For the Day of the Dead service, we gather to honor and remember family and friends who are no longer with us. This year a potluck was held after the service with attendees bringing a dish from a favorite recipe or a special type of food enjoyed by a deceased loved one. Photographs, mementos and stories were shared during the service to honor the memories of our dearly departed.

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     Music at the UUCC

The UUCC is very grateful to have amongst our members and friends a number of talented musicians and performing artists who regularly share their musical abilities with us during Sunday services and special events.  Our Music Director, Mary Schwalbe, and Jan Callner, our multi-talented pianist, both add mystery, celebration and wonder to our services with their beautiful music selections. We have a part-time choir that is called on to perform on special occasions. All enthusiastic singers are welcome to join.  No audition necessary.

Unitarian Universalist Church of Cambrian

Open House and Dedication Service

How time flies. This was the picture from 8 years ago when the UUCC celebrated the successful completion of our new church home by hosting an Open House and Dedication Service. Both events were well attended. For the Open House, guests and the UU community enjoyed a tempting selection of appetizers, viewed displays set up by the various UUCC committees, watched a slideshow illustrating church activities and discussed any questions they had about Unitarian Universalism with members of the congregation. At the Dedication Service, the new meeting hall was filled to capacity with nearly 100 attendees.

Tie Dye Picture Day

Who doesn't love brightly colored tie dyed shirts? Having fun together is definitely an important part of community building.  On this particular Sunday, we all wore our favorite tie-dyed outfits and took this group photograph after service as a memento of one of our more colorful gatherings.

        Deepening Your Nature

         Connection Workshop

This nature exploration workshop was led by Sue Davis starting at the San Simeon point. The workshop was designed to awaken ones senses to the natural world and form a deeper connection to nature with activities that included: Storytelling, Sit Spot, Deer Ears, Peripheral vision, ephemeral art, tasteful eating and touch connection. This was a 4 hour workshop with a walk along the beach and on to the point trail to experience the sounds and beauty of nature. It was a wonderful day for all who participated.

Putting Our Values To Work

For the past several years, the UUCC has sponsored the 4th Sunday program which sets aside offerings collected on the fourth Sunday of the month for donations to local charitable organizations.  In 2016, the congregation sent checks to the Food Bank, Cambria's Anonymous Neighbors (CAN), the Cambria Educational Foundation and the Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART). In the past, the congregation has donated to Headstart, Cambria Adult Resources (CARES)  Cambria Connection/Teen Center, Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch, and Friends of the Library.

      Congregational Workshop

Our UU District representative Jan Christian visited us for a workshop about conversation that help allow us to better communicate our congregational mission among ourselves. We were asked to consider five questions:  How are we living out our stated mission? How does being a UU congregation shape our overall identity, our Sunday services, and how we approach our mission? What do we hope is possible for our congregation in Cambria? What are the current challenges to achieving what we hope is possible? It was an informative workshop for us all.

   UUCC Donates to YMCA

As a part of our ongoing commitment to support our local schools, the UUCC recently donated $1,500.00 to the YMCA after school program. Judy Butler, Pat Lakin and Janet Cooper are shown with the director of the YMCA presenting the check. The local YMCA program is offered at Santa Lucia Middle School and teaches students how to develop informational or advertising campaigns and how to design and create promotional material, including videos. The students filmed the open house at our church on Arlington St. and created a wonderful video of the event. To see the video

                              2016 UUSC Guest at

                              Your Table Program

This year, our congregation raised $580.00 in support of the 2016 UUSC Guest at Your Table program.  Guest at Your Table (GAYT) is UUSC’s annual intergenerational program to raise support for and awareness about our work to advance human rights. This year’s program theme was Defying Hate, based on the recent release of the Ken Burns documentary about UUSC founders Martha and Waitstill Sharp, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War. The Sharps defied hate by helping Jews and dissidents escape Nazi Germany using brave, creative methods, many of which could have caused them to be imprisoned, tortured, or worse. UUSC is proud to carry forward the Sharps’ legacy by continuing to defy hate and protect the lives and rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and other marginalized groups, both here in the United States and throughout the world.   Bill Lakin, one of our founders and past president of the UUCC, spearheaded the fundraiser. Our congregation’s financial support of the GAYT program was nearly ten times the 2015 level.  We signed up 12 new or renewing UUSC members, which represents 30% of our membership. Thank you to all those members and friends who contributed and to Bill for presenting the 2016 program.