Come see the beautiful form of the t'ai chi, and hear the beautiful, challenging truth of the Tao te Ching in a summer Worship Service conducted by Michael Paladini. Congregants will be invited to try out some t'ai chi moves during the Service as they are interested and able.
Childcare Will Be Provided
So said the poet William Blake. Come hear the Parish Jazz Band explore through the medium of jazz why sad music, or music on sad subjects such as lost love, grief, and the blues, somehow makes us feel happy.
Childcare Will Be Provided
Popular guest speaker and oncology chaplain, Michael Eselun, will explore our relationship to our own stories and how we use them in the attempt to make spiritual sense of our lives.
Michael Eselun, a certified chaplain, serves as the chaplain for the Simms-Mann/UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology. He has worked extensively in oncology, hospice, palliative care and with acute psychiatric patients. He's been invited many times to speak to students, doctors, nurses, social workers, and to dozens of faith communities across the country about his work as a chaplain. He recently spoke at the national conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer, and was the keynote speaker at the Promising Practices for Mental Health and Aging Conference at the California Endowment. Michael is also a co-founder and chair of a non-profit, volunteer anti-homophobia speakers bureau called GLIDE, Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality. Over the last 20 years, Michael and his fellow speakers have spoken to an audience of over 150,000 students, teachers, and other various groups and agencies in the LA area about homophobia. He has a TED talk available on-line via You Tube, called “It’s Magic” and you can find out more about him at www.michaeleselun.com.
Childcare Will Be Provided At All of our Summer Services
The service will be based on the book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. We will discuss the effects on our society of the war on drugs, harsh sentencing policies, and the tentacles of the criminal justice system. The US, with 5% of the worlds population, has 25% of the world's prisoners. The rate of incarceration has gone up while the incidence of crime has gone down. The impact on the black and brown communities, where 40% of adult males are under the control of the criminal justice system, is devastating. We will share our dismay at this state of affairs and ask the congregation to help formulate actions to remedy the situation.
Childcare Will Be Provided At All of our Summer Services
Calling upon his experiences in interfaith organizing, the Rev. Mark Stringer, Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, IA, will consider what gets in the way of UUs being “a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere” and will inspire us to more often be the religion that reaches out in love. There will be special music by the GA Choir with director Mary Neumann, UU Church of Reading, MA, and the GA Band.
Childcare Will Be Provided At All of our Summer Services
The Rev. Susie Phoenix who was ordained here at FPC and also served as our Director of Religious Education, will return to led us in wonderful worship.
Two Sundays a month our Spiritual Conversations Group meets, reads a poem together, and shares thoughts. This morning Rick King will lead a Spiritual Conversation's Worship Service. Come and be prepared to be surprised and delighted by how poetry can open us to unknown parts of ourselves and others.
Coffee, juice and healthy Breakfast Snacks (not donuts this year!) served by the Committee on Ministry starting at 9:45 in front of the Church will proceed our annual outdoor service (weather permitting.) Worship will be led by Rev. Tom Rosiello with our staff, choir, drummers and other volunteers helping.
The Church Picnic including an Ice Cream Social will take place immediately following the service. Bring a side dish to share. Meats and veggie burgers will be provided. Cap off your picnic lunch with an ice cream sundae!
We bring our regular season of Sunday Morning Worship in our sanctuary to a close with our beautiful Flower Communion ritual. Please be sure to bring a cut flower or two with you to church. We will bring them all together in one bouquet symbolizing the unity in our diversity. In doing so, we will recognize the many blessings, gifts and talents we each bring to this community. In gratitude for all we receive from others in our church community we will leave with the flower that another person brought.
Our Adult choir, under the direction of Mike Pfitzer and Children’s Choir under the direction of Pat Sorn, will be providing beautiful music. In addition, we are so pleased to welcome Mexican pianist, Mauro Ledesma, who will perform several Mexican piano works and participate in our message for all ages. Sanghee Kim will lead us from the piano and organ as we sing some favorite hymns. This is a very meaningful service that really communicates what is at the heart of our faith tradition. If you have a friend or neighbor who you think might be interested in Unitarian Universalism, this would be a great service to invite them to attend.
Led by guest minister, The Rev. Eric Hausman.
From ancient admonitions of Cicero to the contemporary poetry of Mary Oliver, the virtue of gratitude has come to play a key role in liberal theology. Come join us as we seek new ways of understanding this powerful yet often misunderstood virtue.
Rev. Eric Hausman is the minister of First Parish of Fitchburg, MA. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, he began his ministry serving a cluster of Unitarian congregations in Germany. Since his return, Rev. Eric has served congregations in Massachusetts and North Carolina. In addition to parish ministry, he has a special interest in systematic theology and the impact of technology on spirituality. When not working, he enjoys goofing around on the guitar and singing with his young family.
