Annual Ministry Theme: Unity
October Ministry Theme: Conversation
"…if we want to change the conversation, we have to change who's in the conversation."
-Margaret Wheatley
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Sunday Worship
"Proud of Our Voices"
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We remember the process of actively welcoming LGBTQ+ people into our congregation and reaffirm our commitment to being a Welcoming Congregation. Members of the Welcoming Team will lead this service with Rev. Rebecca, recognizing the continuing need to practice welcome to people with different experiences of gender and sexuality. We will hear powerful testimony from youth, members, and friends as well as music from the voices of LGBTQ+ creators.
The service will be in-person and livestreamed on YouTube.
To watch the livestream online click here.
Please note: Registration is no longer required to attend worship services in person.
In-person attendance is limited to 200 people, with assigned, distanced seating.
Masks are required in worship, and inside church buildings at all times.
Sunday Afternoon Sermon Talkbacks
Over the next few months Reverend Rebecca will host online gatherings for people who would like to connect and discuss the Sunday worship sermons. During this hour, Reverend Rebecca will re-read the sermon and invite people to join in a discussion. No need to sign up and everyone is welcome!
When: Sunday, October 17, from 4-5pm
Subsequent dates TBD
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 950 1827 2974
Passcode: 000263
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,95018272974# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,95018272974# US (Chicago)
Feedback Conversation Focused on In-Person Worship Service Experience
Tuesday, October 19, from 6-7pm
Friday, October 22, as cited in the video message, from 11:30am-12:30pm via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 968 1327 3447
Passcode: 093476
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,96813273447# US (Washington DC)
+13126266799,,96813273447# US (Chicago)
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30-Minute Fellowship Following Sunday Worship Service
Join us on the brick area in front of the church following the service (weather permitting) for a beverage and in-person fellowship.
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Printable Sermon Transcripts on the FRS Website!
Reverend Rebecca's sermon transcripts are posted to the FRS website during the week following each Sunday service. If you've ever wished you could print a copy of a sermon at home, now you can! On each sermon page there is now a button you can click to open a printable version of that sermon. (Please note that printable versions are only available for the sermons beginning with Opening Sunday this church year.)
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Photography at Church
Please know that from time to time FRS will take photos and video to capture in-person events to share on our website and in social media or in an FRS publication.
If you have concerns or do not wish to be in a photograph, please contact Cynthia Walsh at cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org.
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Seeking Inspirational Quotes
Just in time for the holidays, FRS will be selling daily quote booklets for 2022—perfect to give as gifts or to keep for your own inspiration. Want to see your favorite quotes included? Please send one or two to Julie Parker Amery for consideration. We're seeking a diverse selection—from historical figures as well as contemporary, and people of all ages, genders, races, cultures, and identities. Please send submissions by October 18 to Julie at julie.amery@frsuu.org. Thank you!
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Indigenous leaders prepare a space for the ceremony that commenced Monday's Indigenous Peoples Day Observance at Moseley Woods. |
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Indigenous Peoples Day Observance Held at Moseley Woods
On Monday, October 11, more than 150 people gathered from surrounding communities under the large maple tree on the lawn of Moseley Woods for the city's first Indigenous Peoples Day Observance, which was organized by members of FRS' Indigenous Peoples Day Initiative working with native indigenous leaders.
The event began with Indigenous leaders Red Dawn, Alyssa Bright Moon Nock, John Price, Melanie Currier, and others leading an opening circle of community solidarity with drumming, chanting, and ceremony. Reverend Rebecca provided a land acknowledgement "as a symbol and a sign of our commitment” to acknowledge that everyone was “standing on the unseeded land, traditionally occupied by the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People."
FRS parishioners Erin Hutchinson-Himmel and children Sophie, Maggie, and Charlie read historical research the family compiled in a quest to understand the Native Indigenous history of the Greater Newburyport area, and Betsy Hazen shared her story. The event also featured musical performances by Kristin Miller and son Phoenix, Kristine Malpica of Imagine Studios, Lynne Taylor of River Valley Charter School, and Meg Rayne.
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Red Dawn (person in red) and Reverend Rebecca |
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Betsy Hazen shares her story of being a Mayflower descendant which lead to her involvement in FRS' Indigenous Peoples Day Initiative. |
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Community members from Newburyport, Salisbury, Newbury, Amesbury, New Hampshire, and Maine participated in Monday's event. |
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SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, October 30, 4-6pm, outside FRS
Let's gather and celebrate all that we love about fall! This family-friendly event will be full of fun and fellowship. Stop by and enjoy some hot mulled cider and yummy cider donuts.
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Upcoming Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration Programming |
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The Spectrum of Awareness
In this eight-week virtual program, participants will meet once a week for one hour to explore and reinforce a daily practice of both formal mindfulness meditation and mindfulness in the activities of our daily life.
Our manual for this program will be a book written by Diane Winston, Director of Mindfulness Education at the UCLA Center for Mindfulness Research – The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness. (Having the book is highly recommended, but not required.)
While each of us is our own teacher, a community of learners supports us as we continue to deepen our understanding and practice of mindfulness meditation. Both new and experienced meditators are welcome.
If you have questions about this program, please contact David Turner, a longtime student and practitioner of mindfulness meditation, who will be the group facilitator: davidyturner@comcast.net or 617-669-1950.
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FRS Film Forum
Fall Focus: The Seven UU Principles
When: Tuesdays from November 2-December 14, 7-8:15pm, on Zoom
Please join us for enlightenment, inspiration, and connection!
In this series, we will discuss a variety of films, each relating to one of the seven UU Principles, while building community, articulating our beliefs, and diving into Unitarian Universalism. All films are available for viewing on Netflix or Prime; contact Julie if you don't have access and we can have a viewing at the church. Watch the film before the session and come prepared to share your reflections, listen to others, engage in discussion, and reflect further.
Films:
1—Dead Man Walking
2—Won't You Be My Neighbor?
3—Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring
4—Life of Pi
5—Knock Down the House
6—13th
7—My Octopus Teacher
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Forest Walks and Meditation
When: Mondays October 25, November 8 and 22, December 6 and 20, 10:30am, at Maudslay State Park, Newburyport
Much research in recent years has brought to light the benefits of being in nature mindfully, using all the senses, giving rise to practices such as Forest Bathing (Shinrin-Yoku) in Japan and Scandinavia. Join us for five such walks, experiencing fall turning to winter. Walks will be silent and will include a number of mindfulness practices, and will be followed by tea and conversation.
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Request Your FRS Name Tag Here!
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2021-22 Stewardship Kick-off Meeting!
Wednesday, October 20, 6:30pm-7:30pm, Zoom
(Monthly meetings will take place on the third Wednesday of the month.)
The primary mission of the Stewardship Committee is to invite and inspire members of the congregation to generously invest gifts of time, talents, and treasure within our congregation and the UU faith.
Everyone is welcome to join - please share this invitation with anyone else who might be interested.
So far we have the Fall Festival on October 30 in the works; we are planning an online auction in late January; and of course there is the annual pledge campaign.
Many hands make light work, please join us!
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UPDATE: Lower Meetinghouse Public Area Weekday Availability
The Lower Meetinghouse Public Area is now available for weekday meetings beginning at noon. On the Thursdays when there is a Worship Planning meeting, the space will be available beginning at 1pm. To check space availability, view the church calendar HERE.
Based on 6-foot distancing, the Lower Meetinghouse can accommodate meetings in the following configurations:
- 8 people at tables arranged in a rectangle (one person per table)
- 14 people seated in a large circle
- 16 people in 4 rows of 4 people
When filling out the reservation form, please let us know which setup configuration you will need. Information about capacity limits in other church spaces can be found on the reservation form.
Reserve a space for your meeting HERE.
Masks must be worn at all times inside church buildings.
If you have questions, contact Diane Carroll, Office Administrator, at diane.carroll@frsuu.org or 978-465-0602 ext. 401.
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Lecture and Book Signing with Jon Kolkin
Inner Harmony: Living in Balance
Monday, October 18 at 7pm
Firehouse Center for the Arts, 1 Market Square, Newburyport
Sponsored by FRS and the Firehouse Center for the Arts
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EXPLORING ELDERHOOD TOGETHER
ACCESSIBLE HAPPINESS
Thursday, October 21 from 1-2pm
Whether you’ve participated before or are new to Exploring Elderhood Together, please join us as we reconnect and recharge for the year ahead.
We all need recharging as we live through the heart-breaking pandemic and witness tumult in the world. But behavioral scientists tell us that living through disruptive times can help us create new opportunities and see new possibilities. We’ve also learned that a perhaps essential antidote to disruptive times is lightheartedness, happiness, and even joy.
With that in mind, we’ll explore Accessible Happiness, based on the work of Rev. Dr. Audette Fulbright, Associate Minister of All Souls UU, NYC. Not at all hokey happy, but a way to discover genuine joys of your own which you may be overlooking. Doing so can un-fray your nerves and lift your mood.
We’ll meet on zoom, whose technology served us so well last year, and through which we learned that despite looking at each other through the ether, our hearts and minds can still connect.
Come, bring your open, playful heart, join others, and have some fun.
No registration is required. This is a live presentation via Zoom and will include small-group breakout sessions.
Join by Zoom:
Meeting ID: 966 8876 5086
Passcode: 517079
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Meeting ID: 966 8876 5086
Exploring Elderhood Together brings people over 60 together to reflect on topics related to what it means to grow older in the 2020s, and through sharing from our own lived experiences, to build a greater sense of belonging within our community.
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Please check out the "Latest News" section on our website to view the full calendar of events taking place within our congregation.
Click on the yellow button below:
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Thank a UU
Take a moment to thank a fellow parishioner. Once a month, The Steeple will publish a list of thank you's highlighting brief messages expressing thanks to someone who made a difference in your day! Send your "Thank a UU" submission to cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org.
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Minister–The Reverend Rebecca Bryan; Affiliate Minister–Stan Barrett; Affiliate Minister–Helen Murgida; Minister Emeritus–The Reverend Harold Babcock. Staff: Office Administrator–Diane Carroll; Director of Children's Ministry–Mara Flynn; Director of Church Music–Justin Murphy-Mancini; Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration–Julie Parker Amery; Director of Church Operations–vacant; Director of Congregational and Community Engagement–Cynthia Walsh; Sexton–Donny Rogers. Parish Board: Chair–Holly Cashman; Vice Chair–Tina Benik; Finance Chair–Tim Fountain; Governance Chair–Juliana Beauvais; Endowment Treasurer–Kim Kenly; Finance Treasurer–Micah Donahue; Parish Clerk–Kathy Desilets; Vern Ellis, Minnie Flanagan, Michelle Kimball, Lucy Litwin, Annie Maurer, Jim Supple, Renée Wolf Foster.
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First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist | 26 Pleasant St., Newburyport MA 01950
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