Somehow in the midst of a year that had held many challenges, good things have been happening at First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist. Today we celebrate milestones that remind us how and why community life is important to us: appreciation of congregational ministries; recognition of new members; and a bridging ceremony for high school senior, … Continue reading MILESTONES
Memorial Day holds some surprising roots, including racial ones, which we need to remember if we are to acknowledge the depth and complexity of the occasion. The day is, as Mark Bellinti writes, “a time for remembering the human loss in human wars, the silence of voices, the bending of hearts forever. . . ”Let’s … Continue reading “The First Parade”
The Purpose of Religious Education at First Parish Church is to understand, nurture and live out our Unitarian Universalist Faith. During our Religious Sunday Service, we will hear a multitude of voices and ages express the many ways in which we embrace our shared values, practice care for one another, and strive to build a … Continue reading “Religious Education Sunday: Being Unitarian Universalist – A Faith of Action”
Brad Willenbrock, Diana Niethamer, Christian Douglas, Duncan Ballantyne, Paul Willenbrock, Roberta Villanti, Carol Ballantyne, Carol Gerard, and Rev. Susan Milnor When we become curious about our racial history, what do we find? How is our own faith tradition part of this story? It’s a little like investigating one’s own genealogy: we find both truth to … Continue reading “How the Moments Come to Us”
Mother’s Day can be a tough time for many, and there is no one right way to hold it. But most of us can appreciate the legacies of foremothers as they struggled to make lives and engage their own creativity. What did they do with that creative energy? How are those often unacknowledged legacies passed … Continue reading “Tending Our Mothers’ Gardens”
As spring transforms the gray of winter to the green of spring, so we enter into a time of visioning that goes beyond just change but seeks transformation. A time to vision a new and more vibrant future for us as a community. IN-PERSON WORSHIP at 225 Cabot Street BEGINS AT 10:30 am Zoom link option https://zoom.us/J/92762405253 (which … Continue reading “Transformation – it’s more than just change”
How do you imagine First Parish Church Unitarian Universalist in the future? What would you want to see, hear, experience? This Sunday the Transition Team seeks your participation in visioning the future of the congregation. We will hold a brief worship service and then break into small, facilitated groups to consider three visioning questions. … Continue reading Transition Sunday II: Visioning: Who Do We Want to Become?
A Multi-generational Easter Service Even when the world discourages us, even when winter winds seem endless, love returns and gives us new life. Our service will include a multi-part story of the Legend of the Pysanky, a short Easter reflection by Rev. Susan, favorite Easter music, and even birds. If you picked up a pysanky image last week, please bring it … Continue reading “Love Comes Again”
In the Christian world, today is Palm Sunday, in some ways the most revealing holy day of the tradition. It provides the context for us to consider how Jesus, an itinerant Jewish teacher and “healer,” was most of all a prophetic activist who opposed the oppression of his people by a powerful empire. IN-PERSON WORSHIP … Continue reading “Especially This Year”
The song, Anthem, by Leonard Cohen, provides the text for today’s sermon. “There is a crack in everything. . .”. How can our struggles, disappointments, even failures and wounds, make us stronger? Is it possible to awaken to new selves within us? From Japanese pottery to human healing, the universe offers us clues. Today’s service … Continue reading How the Light Gets In
