by Kent M French, August 06, 2026
This summer’s worship series features members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like: liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. Twenty-five years ago, Merle P and I shared the stage together in theatrical productions around Boston. At the time, we were both full-time actors and singers. Merle has continued in that work, as well as an educator. And I became an actor-singer-pastor, showing up as… Read More
by UPB Editor, August 04, 2026
It’s time to sign up for a favorite United Parish tradition – Picnics / Dinners for 8! These meals are a chance for us to gather and deepen our connections to one another in small groups of around 8 people. The meals are Friday, August 21, Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23. All are welcome to attend—newcomers, long-time members, and friends of all ages! If you would like to sign up to attend a meal, please click on THIS LINK to indicate your availability and other important information. The last day for signups will be Tuesday, August 18. If… Read More
by Kent French, July 30, 2026
This summer’s worship series features members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like: liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. Over the past decade, our building has increasingly become a hub for many community groups doing great work in around Brookline. It’s one of the reasons we were able to land that big Community Preservation Act grant (more here and here). We now number 35+… Read More
by Kent French, July 23, 2026
This summer’s worship series features members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like: liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is about an unexpected person, someone from the wrong side of the tracks, helping someone in desperate need. There was a man in a ditch who had been beaten and robbed. And the people who should have… Read More
by Kent French, July 16, 2026
This summer’s worship series features members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like: liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. During the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus tells his listeners: you are the light of the world! And just as you wouldn’t hide a lamp under a basket, we shouldn’t let our lights be dimmed. Instead, Jesus exhorts us boldly: let your light… Read More
by Kent M French, July 09, 2026
This summer’s worship series features members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like: liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. On July 21, we kicked off this series with a helpful sermon-conversation about how Jesus and Isaiah describe the Good News. And how we see it in the world around us, in contrast to how our media outlets sell us the news. The next Sunday,… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, July 01, 2026
This summer’s worship series will feature members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like: liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. This Sunday, we hear from Carolyn, a church member who regularly participates in the protests at the ICE detention facility in Burlington, MA. One day on her way to the protest, she encountered an angel in the form of a just-released detainee. “On a… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, June 26, 2026
This summer’s worship series will feature members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We will look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like, namely liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. This Sunday, we hear from William, one of our teens, about how the Good News that God is always with him is a source of confidence and courage in his life. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know William, along with many of… Read More
by Kent French, June 18, 2026
This summer’s worship series will feature members and friends Reporting the Good News, however they see it in the world around them. We will look to Jesus’ inaugural sermon (Luke 4:14-19) and Isaiah 61 for our guidance about what God’s kind of Good News looks like, namely liberation for all of us. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall. One of my regular tropes is that the media is so good at selling us on the bad news: all the crime, scandal, malevolence, harm, wars, pollution, and the worst of human behavior or cataclysmic events. Certainly, we can tout… Read More
by Kent M French, June 11, 2026
REMINDER: Worship begins at 10am in the Sanctuary this Sunday, followed directly by our June All-Parish Meeting. For four years, we’ve been grappling with the expensive reality of what it means to stay in our big, beautiful building in the bustling neighborhood of Coolidge Corner, a place that our Baptist, Congregationalist and Methodist forebears chose over 180 years ago. It’s been intimidating, daunting. At times, our path and direction has felt desultory, slow-moving. It’s also been exciting, challenging, full of possibility. It’s helped us clarify purpose, think and dream creatively, and build oodles of goodwill in the wider community around… Read More
