There are three pieces we say in every service at FPD, that begin with some familiar lines:We welcome you, whoever you are…Love is the doctrine of this church/home…We will keep a place for you wherever you may go…. What do we mean, truly, when we recite those words? How do they inform our identities and … Continue reading Whoever You Are
Our summer services begin with an invitation to worship with Unitarian Universalists all over the world. Join the Live-stream General Assembly Virtual Worship Service on Sunday at 10:00 am: https://www.uua.org/ga/program/highlights/sunday-morning-worship The following week we begin our summer lay-led services, also starting at 10.00 am, on Sunday, July 5.
You have left me with some questions that I would like to try to answer on Sunday. Want to add another? Email me by noon on Saturday, June 20. minister@firstparishdorchester.org
For our service this Sunday, we will be observing Flower Communion, in a bit of a different way: during the day on Saturday, you are invited to bring a flower to the back porch of the church building, and leave it there. While there, take a flower that someone else has left. Lucas will pick … Continue reading Flower Communion
In commemoration of those who have been killed in war we ask that each of us brings a flower to show on screen in a the memorial moment. The sermon recognizes the first Memorial Day ever held – it was in Charleston, South Carolina.
Because we Unitarian Universalists are so individualistic, a sense of community can elude us. We are afraid if we get too involved in a shared challenge we will lose our selfhood. What I hear over and over again from folks is, “We want a community.” I know what goes unsaid is the “BUT” ending, “But … Continue reading Miracle of Community
Join us this Sunday for a virtual blessing of the animals! Children, bring your stuffed animals. Adults, bring your living animals or pictures of them. And everyone, bring a picture or remembrance of an animal no longer with you. In this time of stress and uncertainty let’s celebrate the comfort these creatures give us. Here … Continue reading Blessing of the Animals
Minutes after Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, essentially ending American women’s decades-long quest for the right to vote, a young man with a red rose pinned to his lapel fled to the attic of the state capitol and camped out there until the maddening crowds downstairs dispersed. Some say he crept onto a third-floor ledge … Continue reading The Mother Who Saved Suffrage
Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” In that spirit, it is worth remembering evangelist Billy Sunday’s face-to-face 1918 encounter with the great influenza pandemic while conducting a revival crusade in Providence, Rhode Island. He claimed, “I can preach the devil influenza back to hell faster than … Continue reading Old Time Religion
