by Amy Norton-Benfield, February 12, 2026
This Epiphany Season (January 6-February 17), we are following the ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, alongside our Church School curriculum. As I studied this week’s scripture passage, in which Jesus miraculously gives physical sight to a man who was born blind, I’m struck by how fixated the other people in the story (the disciples, the Pharisees, the man’s neighbors, etc.) are on why he was blind in the first place, how the miracle was performed, and who performed it. Jesus offers some firm redirection from that first question at the top of the story, “You’re… Read More
by Kent M French, February 05, 2026
This Epiphany Season (January 6-February 17) we are following the ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, alongside our Church School curriculum. Last week I noted in the 10am Bible study that in John’s Gospel, Jesus always seems to walk six feet or more off the ground. John makes sure to emphasize Jesus’ specialness and his miraculous powers. It’s a powerful and enduring testimony about the healing power of God working through him. And, sometimes it comes across as a little too fantastical for our modern ears. How can we relate? What does it mean for me… Read More
by UPB Editor, January 30, 2026
Join us for worship on Wednesday, February 18 at 7pm in the Sanctuary and on YouTube as we celebrate this ancient ritual to help us remember that each of us is made of finite material, inspired and animated by the breath of God. Watch on YouTube here. Follow along with the order of worship here…. Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, January 28, 2026
This Epiphany Season (January 6-February 17) we are following the ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, alongside our Church School curriculum. I saw a meme the other day that referenced this Sunday’s scripture passage, in which Jesus surprises a Samaritan woman by reciting back to her, though she ought to be a stranger to him, the entirety of her complicated marital history:As a bookworm with not enough time on her hands to get through a massive ‘to be read’ stack, I felt very seen (and a little called-out) by the Jesus in this meme. At the… Read More
by UPB Editor, January 27, 2026
Once again, it’s time for a favorite United Parish tradition – 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, March 6, Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8. If you can serve as a HOST for a Dinner for 8, please CLICK HERE. Please sign up no later than Thursday, February 19. If you have any questions, please contact Kate H. or send an email to gathering@upbrookline.org…. Read More
by Matisse Peppet, January 22, 2026
This Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of John includes what’s arguably the most famous verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This week, we hear that sentence in context – spoken to someone trying to understand what life actually is, and grounded in a strange comparison to a wilderness story from the Hebrew Bible. In the book of Numbers, the Israelites, worn down by fear and exhaustion, are bitten by poisonous snakes. God does not remove the snakes or… Read More
by Kent M French, January 15, 2026
This Epiphany Season (January 6-February 17) we are following the ministry of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, alongside our Church School curriculum. Like a lot of us, I grew up with this idea of Jesus as gentle, loving, embracing, slow to anger, quick to love. It’s a conception nestled deep in my psyche that has brought much comfort throughout my life. Which is part of why I’m grateful for this Sunday’s passage (John 2:13-25), when Jesus gets really pissed off in the temple, even overturning tables. I like it because we see the really human side of… Read More
by Kent M French, January 08, 2026
The sequence of our scripture readings in January always make me chuckle. Jesus is born, a week later the Magi come, Mary and Joseph take the baby and escape to Egypt, then he’s baptized as an adult and then he’s off and running in his active adult ministry. And in three months, we’ll remember him dying on the cross and defying the tomb. Fast forward. We’ve mixed up the readings from the usual course and this week we’ll remember one of the pivotal moments from the early days of his ministry: turning the water into wine at the wedding at… Read More
by UPB Editor, January 07, 2026
Join us for the third evening of the Jazz Sanctuary series with bassist, vocalist, and composer Devon Gates, one of 2024’s “Up and Comers of the Year” (The New York City Jazz Record). Gates brings her distinctive blend of jazz, chamber, and soul influences to United Parish in Brookline for an intimate, interdisciplinary evening of original music, storytelling, and movement on Saturday, January 24 at 7pm in the Sanctuary. Based in Brooklyn, NY and originally from Atlanta, Devon Gates has emerged as a powerful creative voice on the contemporary jazz scene. A graduate of Harvard University and Berklee College of… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, December 31, 2025
This Advent and Epiphany, we ask the question: What do we fear? and reflect on what it means to insist on Hope in this moment in history. On Sunday, we’ll hear once more the tale of the magi: Zoroastrian priests schooled in astronomy, religion, medicine, and more, who journey westward to Bethlehem to visit the Christ child. We’ll hear how they defy a tyrant, dangerously defecting from his employment and traveling home “by another way,” and we’ll learn how we can follow in their footsteps today. Our A Sanctified Art curriculum reflects, As we end the series, Herod is still… Read More
