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Photo (left to right). Andi Stout (Chalice), Derek Staats (First Church) and Rev. Jim Grant and his wife, Betty, members of First Church, participate in a PSWD planning session for District Assembly.

District Assembly. More than 300 UUs from Arizona, Nevada and Southern California are expected to attend the Annual Meeting of the Pacific Southwest District (PSWD) and Camp de Benneville Pines on April 25-27 at the Carmel Valley Marriott. This year's theme is, "Weaving the Tapestry of the Beloved Community."

Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell, senior minister of First Unitarian Church, Oregon, is the keynote speaker during the opening night, followed by a Soulful Sundown Contemporary Worship Service. Saturday features a full day of workshops capped off by a banquet and awards dinner featuring entertainment by Richard Lederer, the former co-host of "A Way With Words" on KPBS. On Sunday, a worship service will be held from 11 a.m. until noon.

The program, including a tentative schedule of events, is available at www.pswduua.org.

Marriage Equality. Jan Garbosky of First Church and so many others are working hard to prevent an anti-marriage equality amendment from getting on the November ballot. What they need is help from as many UUs as possible throughout San Diego County. "Your church's help is needed for the next 7 weekends (now until April 21) to help the Equality for All and the UU Legislative Ministry (UULM) stop the petition to amend the California constitution to exclude same-sex couples from marriage," Jan wrote in an e-mail.

Churches can volunteer as staging areas for volunteers or organize church teams for work on weekends. UUs can also contribute financially to the UULM Action Network. "Please begin sharing this information with your congregations and your non-UU friends," says Jan, the Marriage Equality Leadership Team Representative for the San Diego Cluster of UU churches. "San Diego anti-LGBT organizations and individuals have provided the majority of funding for this anti-marriage equality petition. Let's show them that UU's and other faith communities will not allow rights to be denied California's gay and lesbian couples." Jan is at jgarbosky@cox.net.

Special Service. Palomar UU Fellowship will have a special service on Friday, March 21, beginning at 6:30 p.m. It's Good Friday as well as the 5th anniversary of the first full day of the invasion of Iraq.

Saturday/March 22/First Church. Classical guitarists Fred Benedetti and George Svoboda will present a program of classical and Eastern European music beginning at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Spring Concert Series.

Friday/April 14/Chalice. Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen (Vermont UUs) perform the very best contemporary and traditional folk music. Visit www.chaliceuu.org for additional information and tickets.

New Administrator. Chalice has hired Paula Gonzales as its new Administrator, succeeding Colleen Wells. Paula is a long-time member of Chalice who was administrator for the congregation's Religious Education program from 2000-2004. She will begin on March 1. Paula, her husband Vince, and her daughter Nikki are all members of Chalice.

Check This Out. Gwen Baldwin of Summit UU Fellowship thought readers might enjoy knowing more about Sandy Bernstein, a professor at San Diego State University who's carved out quite an impressive niche. See: www.sdsuniverse.info

Musician Sought. Summit continues to search for a Choir Director. Interested candidates should send a letter of intent and a resume in electronic format to Ed Henry, chair of the Sunday Services Committee, at ehenry@mail.sdsu.edu.

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