2824 E. 18th Avenue.
Anchorage, AK 99508
Tel: 907-248-3737
All are welcome to our Fellowship of diverse people who come together to nurture each other, to grow ethically, spiritually and intellectually, and to help create a just, safe and caring community.
November Sunday Services:
Sunday Worship and The Forum
See our calendar to stay updated. Subject to change.
Find Zoom links here Sunday @Zoom.
The Forum IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
9:00 am Sunday, November 2, 2025
"From Micro-Units To the Big Picture:
How’s Anchorage Addressing Homelessness?"
Julie Greene-Graham, Chair, In Our Back Yard
Thea Agnew Bemben, Special Assistant to Mayor LaFrance
Susanne Fleek-Green, Chief of Staff, Mayor LaFrance
Julie Greene-Graham is a retired teacher who served in the Anchorage School District for 34 years. Married to a lifelong Alaskan, she is the mother of four daughters and Mema to four grandchildren. She is a member of Central Lutheran Church and part of their Local Organizing Ministry team. In 2022 she served on the Anchorage Municipal Emergency Cold Weather Task Force. Her role was to listen to people with lived experiences to hear their stories, to learn about their struggles and dreams and to share their insights with the task force. That experience opened her eyes to the needs of our unhoused neighbors. She was honored with the 2023 Anchored Home Community Volunteer Award from the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. In 2024, Julie founded the non profit, In Our Backyard, to help address the need for interim supportive housing for our unhoused senior neighbors.
Thea Agnew Bemben is a Special Assistant to Mayor LaFrance working to address the interrelated issues of health, homelessness, and public safety. Thea is a lifelong Alaskan who joined the Mayor's Office from her role as Principal and co-owner of Agnew::Beck Consulting, a local firm she co-founded in 2002. Thea brings expertise in health, housing, and human services planning along with strong experience working with Alaska Native communities, Tribal organizations and with many diverse communities in Anchorage and across Alaska. She has worked on major projects including implementation of Crisis Now, Medicaid Redesign with the State of Alaska, development of the Anchored Home plan and plans to address youth homelessness in Anchorage, housing initiatives including Pay for Success, and she convened the Municipality's Complex Behavioral Health Task Force.
Susanne Fleek-Green is the Chief of Staff for Anchorage Mayor Susanne LaFrance. She has twenty-five years of management, policy, and political experience focused on public and private land conservation, environmental protection, Native rights, and community building. She served until recently as Superintendent of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Before joining the Park Service, she served as Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s Chief of Staff and as State Director for U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She also worked for Anchorage’s Office of Economic and Community Development, for the United States Senate in Washington, DC, and as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Born and raised in Alaska, Susanne has lived in Yakutat, King Salmon and Anchorage. She is a Sealaska shareholder and member of Central Council of Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Susanne has a B.A. and Masters of Public Policy from UC Berkeley.
Sunday Worship Service IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
11:00 am Sunday, November 2, 2025
"Day of the Dead: AUUF in Remembrance"
Rev. Lise Adams Sherry and Barb Clark
The Forum IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
9:00 am Sunday, November 9, 2025
Exceeding Our Hopes —“Team Breathe”
Conquers the Bike Race Across America
Steve Lindbeck, Brad Cruz, Trevor Storrs
Steve Lindbeck has enjoyed a 45-year career in Alaska journalism, public affairs, and non-profit management. He served as CEO & General Manager for Alaska Public Media, Vice Chancellor for Advancement at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Associate Editor of the Anchorage Daily News, and Executive Director of the Alaska Humanities Forum, among other roles. In 2016 he spent an exciting year running for Congress. He has volunteered with many boards and committees, including Progress Alaska, the Rogers Park Community Council, the Anchorage Museum Association, the Alaska World Affairs Council, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and United Way. An Anchorage resident since 1968, he is a graduate of West Anchorage High School and Stanford University. In early 2018 he completed a Master of Science in Organization Development through Pepperdine University. He is married to Patty Ginsburg, a former journalist and consultant who is now retired. He and Patty were recipients of the 2015 Shining Lights Award for service to Alaska. Steve is also a relay team finisher of Race Across America.
Dr. Brad Cruz, originally from California and Nevada, came to Alaska in 1992 after completing his Air Force service, to join a Radiology group in Anchorage. He was accompanied by his California-born wife and two young daughters. Over the years, he has been active in competitive running, skiing, and biking and volunteered at various sports events in Anchorage, including the Run For Women, Lost Lake Race, and the Gold Nugget Triathlon. Brad worked as a Radiologist at Alaska Regional Hospital and Mat-Su Regional Hospital. He served a few terms as the Chairman of the Radiology/Pathology Department and on various committees, and for 11 years as an officer and board member of Anchorage Project Access. He retired from his Radiology practice in 2017 to have more time for teaching Anatomy at the UAA campus of the WWAMI Medical School program and working with Skiku, the non-profit that travels to rural Alaskan villages to teach cross-country skiing. Brad also has served on the Board of Skiku in various officer positions while continuing to coach in Gambell and Savoonga where he began his coaching career in 2015. Brad is an accomplished crew member for a successful Race Across America team.
Trevor Storrs is a professional amateur athlete, who thrives on pushing physical and mental limits. From triathlons to martial arts to long-distance cycling challenges—including competing in the legendary Race Across America—Trevor embraces every race as a test of perseverance, focus, and heart. His commitment to fitness extends beyond competition; it reflects his belief that discipline, resilience, and teamwork are the keys to success both on and off the course. Speaking of off the course, during the day, he is an advocate for children and families as the President & CEO of the Alaska Children’s Trust – the statewide lead organization focused on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Sunday Worship Service IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
11:00 am Sunday, November 9, 2025
Implicit Bias--Managing Our Fears
Rev. Lise Adams Sherry
This is a sermon topic requested by Tracy Barbee who won a sermon in the auction last year. She wants us to be aware of how much implicit bias affects us everyday. It's hard for it not to when it comes from so many sources! Many of us react to these biases on a gut or feeling level which can bring on another set of complications, as we all have been witnessing in our current world. I wonder how we can turn that around so we can be more curious about and grateful for all the different gifts our diversity brings? HOPE is coming for our Time for All Ages.
The Forum IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
9:00 am Sunday, November 16, 2025
How APD is Providing Help and Hope On the Front Lines of Homelessness
APD’s Hope Team: Ruth Adolf and Tanya Vandenbos
Ruth Adolf is an 18-year Police Officer with the Anchorage Police Department (APD). Her extensive experience includes patrol work, specialized Crisis Response, and a key role in developing and implementing APD's successful co-responder model—a concept that pairs officers with mental health professionals in the field. A former member of the Crisis Negotiator Team, Ruth is a dedicated instructor for the department's Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), sharing her expertise with first responders and community members. In her current assignment, Ruth applies her skills to compassionate outreach as a member of APD’s HOPE Team.
Tanya Vandenbos is a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor (CDC I) and Behavioral Health Clinician (BHC I) with 8 years of service at the Anchorage Police Department. Drawing on prior experience in mental health outreach, case management, and housing support, Tanya was instrumental in bringing the Mobile Intervention Team concept to APD. Today, she is vital in cultivating community resources for officers and citizens alike. Tanya is committed to meeting people where they are and currently focuses her expertise on the Homeless Outreach Prevention Engagement (HOPE) Team).
Sunday Worship Service IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
11:00 am Sunday, November 16, 2025
Being Curious About Religious Language
Rev. Lise Adams Sherry, Barb Clark
Many folks ask what is Unitarian Universalism? Is it a movement, a religion or something else? And based on that answer, many folks have questions and opinions about what kind of language we use here. Are we a church, a gathering, a fellowship? Do we worship, commune, gather, explore the divine? I'd like to explore some of these words and see how we can use them, even reclaim some.
The Forum IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
9:00 am Sunday, November 23, 2025
Can We Count on the Courts?
Retired Alaska Superior Court Judge Elaine Andrews
Retired Judge Elaine Andrews served as a trial judge for over 20 years in Anchorage. She served as Presiding Judge of the Third Judicial District from 1996-2002. Prior to assuming the bench in 1981, she was an attorney serving in both the public and private sector practicing criminal and civil law. She is the past chair of the Committee for Fair and Impartial Courts for the Alaska Bar Association. She was the 2017 Recipient of the Jay Rabinowitz Award for Public Service, the Anchorage Bar Association Distinguished Service Award 2016 and the 2005 recipient of the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award. She has a grown family of five and enjoys her retreat in the Wrangell-St. Elias area with her husband of 44 years.
Sunday Worship Service IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
11:00 am Sunday, November 23, 2025
Multigenerational Gratitude Service
Rev. Lise Adams Sherry, Jenn Bluntach, Director of Religious Exploration
All ages will participate in the 11 am service today. We'll sing, add gratitudes to our Gratitude Tree, maybe dance. Much of our activity is still TBD, but we hope we all can gather together to enjoy our time together! And, we'll have a Soup Sunday after the service.
The Forum IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
9:00 am Sunday, November 30, 2025
“Rediscovering Your Library: 21st Century Services, and Hidden Gems”
Margie Harrison, Anchorage Municipal Library Director
Margie Harrison has worked in libraries for over thirty years. She planned to go into social work after college, but her career path changed after taking a job at a small urban library. Margie graduated with a Master’s Degree in Library Science from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan a couple years later. Her love of learning and a passion for serving and helping others is what drew Margie to librarianship and eventually to library leadership. Throughout her career Margie has worked in public and state libraries in various capacities across the U.S. including Michigan, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, and Louisiana. Margie came to the Anchorage Public Library from southwest Louisiana where she served as Executive Director of a 13-branch library system. Margie has a servant’s heart and a community spirit. She believes libraries are the ultimate community connector linking people to possibilities, resources, information, and services. Margie is proud to have been selected to serve as Anchorage Public Library’s director and lead our smart, dedicated staff in our mission to connect people to information, education, and community.
Sunday Worship Service IN PERSON at AUUF & on Zoom
11:00 am Sunday, November 30, 2025