In life so many paths present themselves, some are rich and fruitful journeys and others deadends. Some lead us to the next step in our journey and others send us back to start again. Most often we cannot see what lies ahead and that makes it difficult to choose the right path. This Sunday the service will focus on ways to negotiate the maze. Our worship will be led by Rev. Tom Rosiello with Music provided by Sanghee Kim, Mike Pftizer and our Adult Choir.
In this candlelight service we will reflect upon Spring's arrival and what that means in our lives. Vespers is a 45 minute a service of reflection, poetry, music, candle lighting and silence. It is the perfect way to end a busy day. Please join us and you are invited to bring a spring poem or reading to share with others.
In this intergenerational service we will celebrate our planet earth and focus on the care and attention we need to give to her. The services will include participants of all ages and there will be singing of Native American chants as well as other hymns and songs of the earth. Our FPC Drummers will enrich the service with their talent and our Adult Choir will sing an excerpt from "Misa Gaia" at the 11 AM service.
The First Parish Church of Stow & Acton
will host a vigil service of candle lighting, sharing, meditation and prayer honoring those in the Boston Marathon. This will be an opportunity for people to come together and share their fears,
their pain and their hopes.
All are welcome
Please let friends and neighbors know.
Many of us strive for perfection, and we admire those who seem to achieve it. We get angry at ourselves when we don't get things exactly right. Of course, doing a good job is important, but there is a serious downside to perfectionism. It can lead you away from enjoying your life, and even be dangerous to your health. Some characterize perfectionism as the addiction of our time. This morning, Rev. Rosiello will focus on this learned behavior and suggest how we might approach life differently, taking the time to find some of the blessings in our imperfection. The worship service will include readings, a story for all ages, familiar hymns and songs, the sharing of joys and concerns and a time of reflection and prayer.
As Unitarian Universalists we have the freedom to believe as our mind and conscience dictates and are not required to conform to a standard set of beliefs or creed.
Therefore, there is a rich diversity of beliefs in our congregation. This morning at both services some of those beliefs will be shared. At the 9 AM service, in place of a sermon, three of our adults will share theirs by completing the statement ,"This I Believe…” At the 11 AM service 5 of our youth who are completing the Coming of Age Program will share their personal Credos. Our worship will be led by the Rev Tom Rosiello.
We will also recognize the youth who are completing the “Our Whole Lives” program.
The youth credos start at exactly 21 minutes into the recording.
We will explore the ancient resurrection story focusing on what it might mean to have "An Easter Faith" even within the context of our varied theological tradition. After a special Easter message our children will leave for the "Great Easter Egg Hunt." Both services will be filled with great Easter music in a variety of styles and will conclude with an invitation to join the choir in singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. It will be a wonderfully uplifting morning. Treat yourself to the experience and bring a friend.
This candlelight service will be led by our minster, The Rev. Tom Rosiello, and our lay minsters. Music will be provided by Mike Pfitzer, Sanghee Kim and members of our choir. We will tell the story of Jesus's final days focusing on the Passover meal that he shared with his disciples and what this ritual of "breaking bread together" means to us today. In this service we honor our history and celebrate our Christian roots while reaching beyond to the broader message of community and the ministry of humble service. We will be using the historic communion silver form both the First Parish of Stow and the Universalist Church of South Acton in the service. Whether your religious background is Christian or not, please join us for this beautiful service.
Whatever your religious background please join us for this family friendly Seder service and potluck Passover dinner. We will gather around tables, retell the ancient story of the Hebrews people flight from the slavery of Egypt to freedom. We will sing the songs and eat the symbolic foods. Everyone is asked to bring something for the meal. Simple recipes are available when you sign up and, if cooking is not your thing, there are items you can purchase to bring, such as grape juice or matzah. Pease sign up and pick up a recipe either at coffee hour after Sunday worship or by contacting the church office at 978 897 8149 or office@fpc-stow-acton.org.
Today is Palm Sunday on the Christian Calendar and the Jewish calendar will officially mark the beginning of Passover tomorrow. These are both days of great significance in their respective traditions. In both traditions they are observed with stories of the worst of times and the best of times. The worst and the best are embraced together and so it is in our own life and times. Sometimes it is in the difficult times that a blessing not otherwise possible comes. Sometimes there is joy and suffering together in our lives. With the help of beautiful music from both traditions we will explore the words with which Unitarian Charles Dickens opened, “A Tale of Two Cities” It is the worst of times. It is the best of times."
