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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Sunday Worship
- Photos from Opening Sunday
- An Invitation from Program Council
- Justice Sundays!
- Faith Formation and Spiritual Development
- Friday Night Fellowship
- Spiritual Deepening Through UU Wellspring
- Register for Chalice Circles
- Order Your FRS T-shirt
- Seeking Submissions for Next Year’s “Daily Muse”
- Upcoming Events
- Rage Over Roe
- All-Ages GSA Invites New Members
- Jeanne Geiger 31st Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence
- Happenings Around Town
- 18th Annual Newburyport Documentary Film Festival
- Weekly Wellness Programming
- Monday Night Meditation
- Tuesday Spiritual Practice
- Wednesday Guided Relaxation
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Annual Ministry Theme: Peace
September Ministry Theme: Making Room
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Sunday Worship Service
September 18, 2022
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Sunday, September 18, 2022
10:30am in person and livestream on YouTube
What Stands Between Us and the Peace We Desire
Join us as we begin our yearlong commitment to and exploration of peace. Reverend Rebecca will guide us through an inner reflection on what gets in the way of experiencing the peace we desire. Learning to touch and know inner peace is an essential spiritual and life skill and is a pathway we all can learn to follow.
Attend on YouTube: http://bit.ly/FRSyoutube
“And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.” -Etty Hillesum
This Month's Shared Sunday Collection
This month we are supporting the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center. Every year the center helps over 1,200 victims of domestic violence, both adults and children.
To attend worship in person, you must be vaccinated. Those who are unvaccinated are welcome to attend services online. Masks are not required for in-person worship. Socially distant seating is available in designated areas of the sanctuary.
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Opening Sunday's
Annual Flower Communion &
Church Picnic
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Photos taken by parishioner Jay McCarthy | |
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An Invitation from Program Council
This year's annual ministry theme is peace and we invite your to submit a photo that best represents your visualization of peace - a personal representation or a broader representation of peace in the community or the world.
You can email your photo to cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org or text your photo to 978-701-5352. Please provide a photo caption and your name.
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Photo submitted by Jeff Bard, FRS Jeanne Geiger Walk Team | |  |
Photo Submitted by Susan Stone: "Spiritual Path" | | |
As Unitarian Universalists, we’re called on to advocate, organize, and act for justice as we strive to live out our faith in the world. Unitarian Universalism challenges us not only to seek our own truth and meaning, but to walk a path that honors the inherent worth and dignity of every person, as well as the interdependent web of all beings. Our Justice Sundays bring together the cornerstones of Unitarian Universalism: normal Sunday worship to feed our spirits followed by time enjoying lunch together as a community to grow in fellowship, and justice learning and action to help us live our faith. On these once-a-month Sundays, join us in the lower meeting house after the worship service for a communal lunch of soup and salad and return to the sanctuary (or to a designated location in the community) at 12:30 for an hour of justice learning and action. Each month will have a different focus, though all are interrelated. Learn. Act. Connect. Live your faith. Join us! | | |
Faith Formation and Spiritual Development | |
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Friday Night Fellowship
When: Friday, September 23 from 6-8pm in the Lower Meetinghouse
Food, fellowship, and more! Please join us for a potluck dinner (bring whatever it is that you’re moved to bring), a brief, intimate worship experience, and programming. Our program for the evening is Community Storytelling: “Making Room.” Come with a personal story to share, or come just to listen. As you think about the theme for the night, “Making Room,” you might consider: the time you made room for another person, or someone made room for you; your efforts at cleaning out a space; your decision to re-prioritize; learning about what’s important to you; etc… Have fun with it! Go deep or go light, moving or humorous—all stories are welcome!
If you’d feel safer coming for just worship and the program, please join us at 6:45pm.
If you think you’d like to tell a story, or if you have questions about it, please let Julie know: julie.amery@frsuu.org. We will also invite spontaneous stories that night, time permitting.
Looking forward to seeing you for a wonderful evening!
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Spiritual Deepening Through UU Wellspring
When: Mondays, 4-6pm in person, beginning October 3
UU Wellspring is a 10-month spiritual deepening course for Unitarian Universalists, used in congregations across the continent since its development in 2005. The program runs from October until June, meeting generally every other week (exceptions for holidays, etc.). Participants experience deep listening and spiritual reflection in a small group of about ten, inspiring personal and community transformation. Participants read, view, and respond to pre-session assignments that are focused on spiritual topics and UU theology.
In addition to the meetings, participants engage in a spiritual practice of their choosing, and find a spiritual companion to meet with outside of the sessions.
Some of the themes explored in this first offering of Wellspring include: Everyday Theology, Your Own Prophetic Voice: Vulnerability and Courage, Nature as Spiritual Guide, Good Without God, and UU Perspectives on Death and the Afterlife. To learn more about the Wellspring program, you can check out the website here: https://uuwellspring.org/.
To register, or for more information, contact Julie Parker Amery, Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration, at julie.amery@frsuu.org.
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New Chalice Circles to Start This Fall
REGISTRATION begins Wednesday, September 14th (In-Person & Zoom Options)
It’s time to register for a Chalice Circle, where you’ll meet other FRSers, share your thoughts on spiritual topics, and practice deep listening, all facilitated by a trained leader. Now in its 8th year, the Chalice Circle Program is an important part of the shared ministry of our congregation.
For Dates & Registration: https://bit.ly/ChaliceCircles2022-23
Questions? Contact Julie Parker Amery, Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration, at julie.amery@frsuu.org.
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FRS T-Shirts Available for Order
T-shirts are $20 each and come in a variety of solid colors with our chalice logo and First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist printed in white. Orders are due by September 23rd.
Payment will be due when t-shirts arrive in early October. T-shirts are high quality 100% cotton Gildan brand, unisex fit. Most colors are available in most sizes, although inventory may shift.
To place your order, go to: https://www.customink.com/g/xbr0-00cm-szbk.
Questions? Contact christine.doherty@comcast.net before Sept 23rd.
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Seeking Submissions for Next Year’s “Daily Muse”
We’re starting to collect submissions of quotes to include in next year’s “Daily Muse” calendar. The calendar is a flip-book of inspirational quotes, the sales of which help cover the operating costs of the church. We urge you to think about some of your favorites and submit them for inclusion. Funny, wise, deep, witty… we seek a full range.
Submit as many as you’d like; we need 365!
Submit here!
Submit 20 or more quotes and receive a free copy of the completed book!
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Rage Over Roe: A Community Art Project
When: Saturday, September 24 from noon-4pm, FRS's Lower Meetinghouse
Help us make squares for our protest quilt! No artistic requirement - only a desire to express your RAGE over ROE. All materials will be supplied, including sewing machines, stencils, pencils, pens, fabric. Our creator and mentor is activist artist Agusta Agustsson, from the Sew4Rights organization. She helps communities create the squares and turns them into quilts to be easily held at protest and rallies. We will be making our squares over two dates, culminating in a local protest that is tied to the Women’s March “Feminist Futures” national protest on October 7-8, 2022. For more information click here!
Everyone is welcome!
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All-Ages GSA Invites New Members
When: Bi-weekly on Sundays, starting September 25, from 5-6pm on Zoom
All are invited to join the second year of the FRS All Ages* GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) led by 8th grader Phi Himmel (he/they) and 12th grader August Doherty Mead (they/them). The GSA is an intergenerational space for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies (supporters) to learn and grow. Our main values are support, education and advocacy.
Please only sign up if you are able to commit to regular attendance. If you are not able to commit now, another open enrollment will happen in February for spring meetings.
To sign up, please click on the button below. If you participated last year and plan to participate again, please sign up again.
Questions can be directed to August at augustdoherty@gmail.com or Phi at shimmel579@gmail.com.
*Notes: All-Ages GSA members need to be in middle school or older. Some Sunday meetings will be 6-7pm. Full schedule available.
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Jeanne Geiger 31st Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence
When: Sunday, October 2 from 8-11am at Waterfront Park, 1 Market Square, Newburyport
The Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center is thrilled to be back in person again this year for the 31st Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence. If you would like to join the FRS walking team, please contact Jeff Bard at jeffbard@hotmail.com.
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18th Annual Newburyport Documentary Film Festival
When: Festival in-person will be September 16-18, Stream films online, Sept 18-25
For more information visit: www.NBPTDOCUFEST.org.
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Weekly Wellness Programming | |
Minister–The Reverend Rebecca Bryan; Affiliate Minister–Rev. Stan Barrett; Affiliate Minister–Rev. Helen Murgida; Affiliate Minister-Rev. Jane Tuohy; Minister Emeritus–The Reverend Harold Babcock. Staff: Director of Church Operations–Rob Authier; Office Administrator–Diane Carroll; Audio-Visual Engineer–Rob Close; Director of Children's Ministry–Mara Flynn; Director of Church Music–Justin Murphy-Mancini; Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration–Julie Parker Amery; Sexton–Donny Rogers; Director of Congregational and Community Engagement–Cynthia Walsh. Parish Board: Chair–Tina Benik; Vice Chair-Jim Supple; Finance Chair–Renée Wolf Foster; Governance Chair–Tom Himmel; Endowment Treasurer–Kim Kenly; Finance Treasurer–Laurie Evans-Daly; Stewardship Chair–Vern Ellis; Parish Clerk–Kathy Desilets; Holly Cashman, Marissa Dewey, Minnie Flanagan, Michelle Kimball, Annie Maurer, Tom Stites. | |
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First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist | 26 Pleasant St., Newburyport MA 01950
978-465-0602 | frsuu.org
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