As a Unitarian Universalist congregation, we are very concerned about social justice issues. Over its 65 year history, Emerson has supported various causes. Activities have included support of the United Farm Workers, the San Fernando Valley Fair Housing Council, sanctuary for Salvadoran refugees, gun control, the end of nuclear weapons, giving weekly to the West Valley Food Pantry, housing the ho
meless in our church basement, compassionate immigration reform, and monthly peace vigils. Our minister and the RE director represented Emerson in the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. The Vietnam War spurred our minister at the time, Reverend Kaufmann, to initiate a conscientious objector program for Emerson teens who had reservations about the war effort. Public forums have included school busing, gun control, black equality, immigration. Some prominent worship service guests over the years have included Jane Fonda, Gore Vidal, William Shockley, Father Gregory Boyle, Diane Donoghue from “Nuns on the Bus”, Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis Rodriguez, and music activist, Melanie DeMore. Emerson gained some notoriety when Reverend Nardoni debated Reverend Jimmy Swaggert on local television. Emerson has a wide variety of programs and activities. The Small Group Ministries meet monthly for discussion and to work on two community service projects a year. Our JustWeb group screens monthly films and documentaries about social justice issues. We have many active groups such as The Coming of a Certain Age group (women going through menopause), Current Events Discussion Group, Vegetarian Dining Club, Book Group, Hiking and Outing Group, Knitting Ministry, Ladies that Lunch, and Daytime Discussion Group. We have an outstanding Religious Education program for children and youth of all ages. Our human sexuality program, Our Whole Lives (OWL), is exemplary, as is our Coming of Age program for teens. Emerson has been providing cultural experiences to the West Valley since 1969. Screenings of classic films, concerts, full length plays, operas, "Colors of Language," readings by authors who were not straight, white men (playwright Jose Rivera, Japanese/African American playwright Velina Hasu Houston, Nigerian poet Kunle Ajibade, African American novelist Gary Phillips, Persian Jewish American novelist/memoirist Gina Nahai). A production of “8” by Dustin Lance Black (3 nights) about the Prop 8 case in California with a talk back with Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, two of the four plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case. For One Billion Rising, we produced the Va**na Monologues as a fundraiser for a local domestic violence shelter. Most recently, we staged “To Begin the World Again, the Life of Thomas Paine” by Ian Ruskin and “Giving Up” by Annie Abbot. We have a stellar music program with an outstanding choir. In addition to our weekly choir performances, we also feature special music by guest artists, as well as afternoon and evening performances such as Angels of Flight Flute Orchestra, Roy Zimmerman, open mic nights, Kate Hutter and the LA Contemporary Dance Company. Emerson participates in the monthly artwalk during the summer months with open jam sessions for musicians. Emerson is handicap accessible, has unisex restrooms, and offers hearing devices for anyone hard of hearing.
