"Between 2000 and the early 2020s, housing prices tripled while household income doubled; in other words, the price of housing rose by 50 percent more than household income in the last 20 years." - From a White House Report, 03/2024: "Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing: Economic Insights and Federal Policy Solutions,".

Our first two Unitarian Universalist principles call forth (1) the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and (2) justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Last Tuesday evening, more than 200 farmworkers and allies pleaded for dignified and affordable housing. In particular, they urged the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission to support the building of 40 housing units at 555 Kelly. This proposal gives farmworkers age 55 and older—many of whom continue to work long hours in the fields—an affordable and dignified housing opportunity. And for many, it would replace the marginal living conditions we learned about after last year’s shooting.

The Planning Commission seems disinclined to grant the waivers available under State law for high-density, affordable housing. Instead, they've focused on potential impacts on the privileged community, especially the reduction of parking for the Farmers' Market—the very market for which these farmworkers grow the produce! This is neither equitable nor just.

The Half Moon Bay Planning Commission meets again this coming

Tuesday, April 30th, 7 pm, at Ted Adcock Center. Please attend to show your visible support for the proposal for 555 Kelly. It's currently unclear whether more public comment is invited, but just in case we recommend preparing up to 200 words of support for agenda item 1B of the Planning Commission Agenda.

This week is the culmination of Coastside Gives, when you're invited to support financially the many wonderful, local nonprofit agencies. Coastside Gives has raised over $6.6 Million for our Coastside Community since 2015. Some nonprofits for which UUCC has raised funds in the past are Coastside Hope, Abundant Grace Coastside Worker, Senior Coastsiders, Coastside Adult Day Health Center, and CoastPride. For a list of all participating organizations this year, please visit the Coastside Gives website. Coastside Gives is a 24-hour giving day that begins at midnight on May 2nd, 2024. Please consider donating generously.

Come join us Sunday, May 5th, when Starr King Student Ronnie Boyd presents a sermon entitled “Hammer, Wood, and Saw: Affordable Housing as Community Practice.” Ronnie explores how faith communities are uniquely positioned to help solve the affordable housing crisis that has struck our region. 

Ronnie Boyd is the Community, Faith & Justice Organizer at East Bay Housing Organizations in Oakland California. She is also a 2nd-year student at Starr King School for the Ministry in the Master of Divinity program. Ronnie organizes with Bay Area DRUUMM and works to connect UUs and UU congregations to social justice movements. She has a diverse background, organizing for police and prison abolition and public education reform. Working in affordable housing advocacy was a natural next step, as the grief of housing injustice lay as a backdrop to the organizing Ronnie did in both Chicago and the Bay Area.

She is an avid science fiction and fantasy fan with a love for Afrofuturism, Black contemporary writers, and womanist theology. In her spare time, Ronnie enjoys watching wholesome comedic television shows to remind herself that good people can and do exist in both this reality and alternative ones.

Beautiful music will be provided by Diedrik Edholm and Vera Vanderschalk. Tom Devine will lead us in some rousing hymns, including Peter, Paul, and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer."



May 5 Order of Service

One-click UUCC Zoom Link

or Meeting ID: 661 775 5196 Password: UUseesea or 416762

or visit uucoastside.org for the day-of Zoom link

Please join us at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

CoastPride Multi-Faith Partners hosted a Pride Seder last Friday, April 26th, at the Community United Methodist Church. The traditional Seder ritual was updated to honor the liberation of LGBTQ+ people, much like the Passover Seder retells the story of the liberation of the Jewish people using readings, songs, and symbols. UUCC was proud to participate in the planning and day-of festivities, bringing the rich history of such an important Jewish holiday to our beloved LGBTQ+ community and allies on the Coast.

CoastPride Multi-Faith Partners is a coalition of Coastside congregations that are affirmatively inclusive and welcoming to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+). UUCC, along with Coastside Jewish Community, Coastside Lutheran Church, Community United Methodist Church, Holy Family Episcopal Church, and Pescadero Community Church, all helped in supporting this event.

UUCC's contribution to this year's Pride Seder was a traditional Passover dessert, Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crack, baked by Bill Heavlin. The recipe uses matzo, an unleavened cracker. It is eaten at Passover to symbolize how when the Jews left Egypt, they left in such a hurry they didn’t even have time to let their bread rise, so when they eventually baked their bread, it turned into matzo. The matzo is topped with toffee, chocolate, and pecans. It's Reb Moshe's favorite Passover dessert and you can tell by the photo that it was a big hit.

2024 is the year of Building More Beloved Community at UUCC and we continue to offer monthly gatherings such as Feministas Who Lunch where all topics are open for discussion from politics to our daily lives. We'll meet again at the Sharp Park Restaurant, located near the Sharp Park Golf Course, on Saturday, May 11th, 1:30pm in Pacifica. There is always ample parking at the Sharp Park Restaurant, located at 2600 Francisco Blvd in Pacifica. RSVPs of Yes are appreciated when the email reminder is sent.

On Sunday, May 19th, at 11:00 am, UUCC meets again, in person at the Odd Fellows Hall kitchen/reception area. The event is entitled "A Gathering of Inspirations (Equity)" The format is a group discussion and somewhat informal. We hope (a) to explore further the monthly theme of equity and (b) to contemplate more deeply Ronnie Boyd's May 5 sermon on affordable housing. Everyone's invited to describe inspired acts, reflections, and resources — news reports, online articles, artworks, and poems would be examples. Odd Fellows Hall is located at 526 Main Street, in Half Moon Bay.

Our next Deeper Conversations meeting will be held again at the Half Moon Bay Coffee Company, 20 Stone Pine Rd., on Saturday, May 25th, 1:30 pm-3 pm. We'll revisit the Icebreaker deck "Best Self." Some sample questions include: "What do you regret not doing when you were younger?," "What book has had the biggest impact on your life?" and "What is one of your pet peeves?" Join us as we set aside the small talk and continue bonding more deeply as our UU Coastside beloved community.

We are well on our way to starting a monthly Modern Men's Group for UUCC. So far, six have expressed their interest in participating.

UU Men's Groups can take various forms. Examples:

• Social Group—Monthly dinners, sporting events, card-playing, hiking, camping.
• Service Group—Occasional group providing service to the community.
• Discussion Group—Begins with check-in allowing personal sharing, followed by discussion of an issue relevant to men.
• Support Group—Permits sharing of personal joys, sorrows, and concerns that can only be spoken in a trust-based environment of compassionate listeners.

If interested in participating in a monthly men's group, email Bill Heavlin, who is currently working out an inclusive schedule.

"A total 675 students have been arrested across universities in the United States as protesters continue to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from companies enabling Israel’s nearly seven-month war on Gaza." - 4/28/2024 Aljazeera News

Now that we are meeting in person on First Sundays, we need help in different ways. Can you commit to helping out in any of the following ways?

• Photograph our May 5th Service
• Bring flowers!
• Greet people as they come in
• Set up chairs before, and/or put them away after, the Service
• Help unload and load video equipment for hybrid service
• Assist with setting up video equipment for hybrid service
• Pass out the orders of service and distribute hymnals
• Clean up of the hall before closing

To tell us how you can help our Beloved Community come together again, please contact us at uucoastside@gmail.com. And thanks to all who have or continue to volunteer!