For this service, auction winners were each invited to submit two words for inclusion in this service. As this newsletter goes to press, the words have not been submitted. Stay tuned to see how this experiment comes together! Please join us on Zoom or in person! Services are normally held in the Commons and over Zoom … Continue reading Fill in the Blank
In 2024, at a Fireside chat hosted by ISAAC, author Layla Saad said, ‘“The Beloved Community. We want to live there. And a lot of times we want to skip over the work it takes to get there. The beloved community is not a destination that we are walking towards or arrive at, it’s actually … Continue reading Building Beloved Community During Troubling Times
In the Buddhist tradition, there is a teaching that truth is the moon and teachings are the fingers pointing at the moon. One must not mistake the fingers for the moon, the teachings for the truth they are gesturing toward. Rev. Rachel originally preached on this concept in the fall 2017. Please join us on … Continue reading Fingers Pointing at the Moon
In trauma theory, there is the concept of ‘the assumptive world’ – the things we assume can count on without having to think about them. When we experience a significant loss, change, or trauma, our assumptive world disintegrates and we need to rebuild something in its place. Rev. Rachel will explore these ideas further in … Continue reading When the Ground Beneath Us Falters
People’s people are generous people and have a long tradition of caring for one another and the wider community. As we kick off our stewardship season and ask People’s people to make their financial commitments for the coming year, we will celebrate how we have done the work of love within our building and beyond … Continue reading The Works of Love: A Stewardship Service
One of the most important ministries of People’s Church is providing the Our Whole Lives Comprehensive Sexuality Education program for our children and youth. In this service, Rev. Rachel and People’s Church youth who have participated in the Our Whole Lives program will reflect on the importance of comprehensive sexuality education rooted in the values … Continue reading Our Whole Lives
As we prepare for an upcoming capital campaign to pay for maintenance and improvement of our current church home (see other parts of the newsletter for more details on that), this Sunday, we will look back at the various homes this church has had over the years, from the Fireman’s Hall in 1855 to two … Continue reading Mortar and Stone, Windows and Walls: A History of the Buildings of People’s Church
It’s time for our annual question service – bring your questions about life, religion, and meaning to the service (or send them to Rev. Rachel in advance) and she will respond to as many of them as she can during the service. This Sunday service will also contain a recognition of our partnership with Scouting … Continue reading Living the Questions
Loss and grief touch our lives in myriad ways, yet many of us feel unsure how to respond when they show up in our communities. This sermon reflects on what it means to be a grief-literate community and invites us to grow our capacity to accompany one another through loss with honesty, humility, and love. … Continue reading On Being a Grief Literate Community
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III has said: “When the people sing together something happens that can’t be replicated by singing alone…” We invite you to our hymn sing service; People’s people will reflect on hymns and songs that have had special meaning to them over the years and then we will sing a few verses from … Continue reading Hymn Sing (Again)
On Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, we will remember the life of Unitarian Universalist Civil Rights martyr James Reeb. Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister serving in Boston who went to Selma, Alabama in 1965 to support voting rights. While there, he was attacked by white supremacists and died. We will learn (or re-learn) his … Continue reading Remembering James Reeb
Rev. Rachel has been reading disability history and theory recently. She was struck by an idea from Jennifer Natalya Fink that our cultural ableism and fear of disability is, at its core, a fear of needing care. In our community, we know that we are interconnected and we try to care for each other. Can … Continue reading Help, Care, Fear & Disability
Is it possible to separate the art from the artist? How do we navigate the ethical thicket that arises when we learn that art that is meaningful to us is made by people who have acted abhorrently? There are no simple answers, but Rev. Rachel will explore some guidelines that might help us live with … Continue reading When Bad People Make Good Art
In this service, we will mark the end of 2025 with rituals to let go of what we do not want to take with us into the coming year (by dramatically burning it up using magicians’ flash paper!) and to set our intentions for the year ahead. You can access the order of service HERE. … Continue reading Burning the Old Year: An All Ages Service
Join us to remember and retell the story of the Nativity as we hope for the rebirth of love and peace in the present day. This service will feature music, poetry, storytelling and candlelight. You can access the order of service HERE. Please join us on Zoom or in person! Services are normally held in the … Continue reading Christmas Eve Service
Join us to celebrate the darkest day of the year and the return of the sun with music, story and crafts. We will also celebrate the purchase of the solar panels on the church roof. You can access the order of service HERE. Please join us on Zoom or in person! Services are normally held in … Continue reading Solstice Celebration! A Service for All Ages
Unitarian Universalism teaches us that no one is beyond love’s reach… not even the parts of ourselves that annoy us. Loving those parts of us (and each other) can be challenging, yet it’s as important now asever. How might we practice that love, and what can we learn about it from the mountain-climbing-platformer video game … Continue reading A Love So Wide
Rev. Rachel’s children recently observed, ‘the days you are sad are the days we dance in the living room.’ What does it mean to practice joy, now, given everything unfolding in the world? Inspired by the line from poet Wendell Berry that gives this service its title, Rev. Rachel will explore how simple, joyfulpractices might … Continue reading Be Joyful (though you have considered all the facts)
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III has said: “When the people sing together something happens that can’t be replicated by singing alone…” We invite you to our hymn sing service; People’s people will reflect onhymns and songs that have had special meaning to them over the years and then we will sing a few verses from … Continue reading Hymn Sing
The creations of Jim Henson—including Sesame Street, The Muppets, and more—hold so many lessons about how to create community across difference. This service will feature some iconic music from The Muppets and Sesame Street. This service will be most meaningful if you have a basic knowledge of The Muppets and Sesame Street characters. There are … Continue reading (Almost) Everything I Need to Know about Beloved Community I Learned from The Muppets
