Continuing Conversations: Beauty, Complexity, and Power

1 June 2026

“We are not isolated beings, but connected, in mystery and miracle, to the universe; to this community; and to each other.” — Rev. Rebecca Parker

As we come to the close of another congregational year, we do so holding both gratitude and hope. June invites us into the theme of Beauty, Complexity, and Power — and what a fitting way to describe both the human spirit and the life of this beloved congregation.

Beauty is not perfection. Beauty is found in the courage to embrace complexity. It lives in the tension between sorrow and joy, memory and hope, certainty and discovery. Beauty emerges when people commit themselves to one another, even in uncertain times. And power is not domination — it is the sacred strength born from love, resilience, community, and shared purpose.

At Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society, we know something about complexity. We are diverse in thought, story, age, identity, theology, and experience. Yet through all of that richness, we continue to choose one another. We continue to show up. We continue to care deeply for each other. That, in itself, is an act of justice-making and shared liberation.

As many of you know, this season marks the transition from Rev. Gordon Clay Bailey’s ministry with SepulvedaUU into a new era in the life of this congregation. Transitions invite us into reflection, gratitude, uncertainty, hope, and possibility all at once.

For me personally, serving this congregation has been both an honor and a sacred journey. Together, we have prayed, struggled, celebrated, questioned, learned, and grown. We have tried to build a community rooted in love, justice-making, and shared liberation. I carry deep gratitude for every conversation, every act of kindness, every difficult moment navigated together, and every glimpse of the beloved community we created along the way.

What gives me confidence about the future of SepulvedaUU is not the size of this congregation, but the spirit of this congregation.

This community has always been mighty beyond its numbers. We continue to lean into our Unitarian Universalist heritage — grounded in compassion, courage, curiosity, and the ongoing search for truth. We remain a people who deeply care for one another and who are willing to explore and travel where we have never been before.

The future will require imagination. It will require flexibility. It will require deeper community and wider compassion. But I believe this congregation possesses all the necessary ingredients to continue growing into its next chapter with grace and integrity.

As I close this chapter of ministry with SepulvedaUU, I also want to lift up the many people whose labor, love, and faithfulness made this year possible.

To the Board of Trustees of SepulvedaUU: thank you for your leadership, courage, patience, and unwavering care for this congregation. Ministry is never carried by one person alone. Your commitment behind the scenes, your willingness to wrestle with difficult realities, and your continued dedication to the future of this community deserve deep appreciation and praise.

I also offer heartfelt gratitude to BridgesUU and Pastor AJ Blackwood for the spirit of partnership, compassion, and solidarity shared throughout this season. In a world that often encourages separation and competition, we experienced cooperation, relationship, and mutual care.

To our beloved administrator, Jewell Faamaligi, thank you for your consistency, grace, organization, and loving presence that helped keep so many moving parts together.

To our gifted Musical Director, Paul Ermish, and our in-house pianist and choir director, Marco Rambaldo, thank you for the beauty, emotion, and spirit you brought into worship week after week. Music has a way of carrying us when words alone cannot, and your ministry through music has blessed this congregation deeply.

To Ric Hauck, our formatting genius, thank you for the countless ways your creativity, technical skill, and dedication helped shape and communicate the life of this congregation with excellence and care.

And special thanks must be given to the tech team from CSL, whose support carried us through a long season of worship services and additional programming. Your generosity and expertise helped sustain our ministry in ways both visible and unseen.

I also want to express gratitude to Centers for Spiritual Living itself for the many supportive efforts shared with us during this unique season of shared space together. What a remarkable year of cross-pollination, collaboration, and blooming flowers of pure love. We learned from one another. We supported one another. And together, we created moments of genuine community that transcended labels and traditions.

These experiences remind me that the future of liberal religion, interfaith cooperation, and beloved community will not be built through isolation, but through courageous partnership and shared humanity.
And I am sure this mighty but small congregation will make it.

Just as long as we have breath.

As long as there is breath, there is possibility.
As long as there is breath, there is love.
As long as there is breath, there is justice to pursue and liberation to share.
As long as there is breath, there is still beauty unfolding among us.

Thank you for allowing me to walk alongside you in this chapter of SepulvedaUU history. The journey continues, and I believe the best of your spirit will continue to shine brightly into whatever comes next.

“Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law. This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.” — adapted UU covenant

With love, hope, and abiding faith,

Rev Gordon
Rev Gordon Clay Bailey
Minister
Sepulveda UU Society
818-724-4260

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