This Sunday we celebrate our annual Flower Ceremony! As we continue the tradition Rev. Norbert Čapek created in 1923, we reflect on how this ritual of beauty and collaboration invites us to sow love in our world. Bring a flower from your garden, from a store, or from the wild, and we’ll build our robust … Continue reading Sow with Love: A Flower Ceremony Service
The celebration of Juneteenth is just five years old as a Federal Holiday, but its earliest celebrations happened in 1866, just one year after the news of, and enforcement of, emancipation finally reached all people in the United States. Today, we honor Juneteenth as we trace the difficult legacy of slavery and the continued work … Continue reading Honoring Juneteenth
This Sunday we celebrate Pride at First Parish! Join us for stories and music about the joyful resilience embodied by queer and trans people throughout time. Receive a Glitter Blessing to carry you into the week. Stick around for our Coffee Hour Pride Fest where we’ll have nail art pens, temporary tattoos, stickers, and Pride … Continue reading Pride: Joyful Resilience
It’s our annual Milestones service! Join us this Sunday as we welcome new members, celebrate our graduates, and extend our gratitude to all of the people whose time, energy, and enthusiasm filled our congregational life this year.
It was a time of great stress in our Church. As the American political environment spiraled out of control with threats of the South’s secession, the abolition of slavery, and the activism of organized labor, our congregation, being without a minister for a year and a half, was desperate for a strong religious leader to … Continue reading Celebrating John C. Kimball – Eighth Minister, First Parish Church – 1860-1870
You’ve been submitting questions for a number of weeks, and this week, Anna and Rev. Elizabeth answer questions from our children, youth, and adults. We’ll spend time together exploring all the things you’re curious about–both big and small. Haven’t submitted a question that’s on your mind? Be sure to write it down on a card … Continue reading The Question Box
Clergy, psychologists, and dog trainers have all said that curiosity is an antidote to fear or anxiety. Our curiosity invites openness, prepares us to welcome the new, and helps us understand varying perspectives. In this service, we look at the practice of leaning in with curiosity and how it can help us embody our UU … Continue reading A Healthy Dose of Curiosity
Join us for this Music Sunday service as members and friends of First Parish lift their voices and instruments in songs they’ve selected to share with you! We’ll also hear an update from our Mission and Vision Task Force–you don’t want to miss this!
In contemporary fiction, stories of an apocalypse never mean an actual end to the world. Instead, they are often the start of something new, sometimes something dreadful, and often something with beautiful stories of relationship and ingenuity. In this service, we look at books and TV shows with apocalyptic themes and explore the lessons of … Continue reading Lessons From The Apocalypse
Many years ago, a congregant asked me to help him find a prayer practice for atheists. That question invited me into new ways to understand, claim, and reclaim prayer. Today, we explore this practice together. What is prayer for? Who is prayer to, especially if we are non-theists? How can prayer practices from across the spectrum … Continue reading Reclaiming Prayer
