Pastors' Blog
This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Lent, the 40 day period of reflection, repentence, and spiritual deepening that leads us towards Holy Week and Easter. This year we are diving into the book of Psalms as our Lenten theme, exploring how these ancient songs can help us grow closer to God not only in our individual spiritual lives, but also as a community seeking to follow God's call toward justice, compassion, and peace....
The Transfiguration is a peculiar story set down in the middle of Jesus' ministry in three of the Gospel accounts (Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36). It describes a defining moment in Jesus' ministry, when his closest disciples could see for sure that he was connected to something heavenly, other-worldly. It shows up in the Protestant liturgical year on the last Sunday before we enter Lent.
On Sunday, we will hike up the mountain again with Jesus, Peter, James and John. And...
This week's blog is written by our friend, Hollis Schachner from Temple Shir Tikva:
Each year, the adult choirs of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland and the United Parish in Brookline join together in leading song for collaborative, interfaith worship. Given the national attention that United Parish's Negro Spiritual Royalties Project continues to receive, we felt this year's collaboration was a great opportunity for the Shir Tikva...
During Epiphany, our worship follows our Church School curriculum, Seeking God Together, as we learn in worship alongside the youngest members of our community. This week, we're learning about the centrality in our faith of Serving Others.
On Sunday we will hear a story from the Book of Acts, the history of earliest followers of Christ, the movement known as The Way. It's about a woman...
Dear Ones,
For the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, we continue to follow along with the Church School curriculum and read a story from the Gospel of Luke. This story is a parable that Jesus tells at a dinner party...about a dinner party. A little pointed, no?
The parable introduces a banquet host, who, upon discovering that all his invited guests have bailed at the...
For the third Sunday after the Epiphany we continue to follow along with the Church School curriculum and read a story from the Book of Nehemiah. Have you ever been a part of a six-hour communal Scripture reading? Would you want to? Does it sound like drudgery or intriguing? (Nehemiah 8)
The story that we will read is about the Jewish community in the 5th century BCE Jerusalem after...
Howard Thurman, former Boston University professor and Dean of Marsh Chapel, was considered the theologian of the Civil Rights Movement. His writing and spiritual counsel had a profound effect on the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior -- who reportedly kept his dog-eared copy of Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited nearby throughout his...
It wasn't easy bringing the Christchild into the world. As beautifully as we present the story on Christmas Eve, with candlelight and touching music, as sweet and contained as our crèche scenes are, the truth is: it was a really stressful beginning for this young, holy family.
On Sunday, we will retell the story of how the Magi, these mysterious, regal astrologers from another land came following a star, presenting precious gifts to this child. After that, it gets complicated. These...
Dear Ones,
As we mark the halfway point of Christmastide, we also straddle the year that lies behind us and the year that stands before us. In our secular culture, New Year's Day carries themes of renewal, hope, commitment, and change...sound familiar? The Advent season marked the renewal of the Christian year, and now we look with hope toward the newly born Christ Child to usher in the renewal and change that our world has been yearning for down the centuries.
On...
For the first time in three years, we will gather in person in our sanctuary for Christmas Eve. We will hear the familiar lessons, sing the carols, take in the anthems and music that Susan and all our musicians have lovingly prepared, and re-light the candles.
It will be a joyous re-gathering. One that we can no longer take for granted as par for the course. One we can savor even more deeply.
I look forward to re-telling this story with you, remembering its radicalness, the...
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