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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Sunday Worship
- Q&A with local historian Ghlee Woodworth: Honoring our Black residents of the late 18th to early 20th century
- Journeying Toward Spiritual Wholeness
- A Program in Honor of Barbara Owen
- A Visualization of Peace Photo from Anne White
- Justice Sunday Soup & Salad Signup
- Caring for the Caregivers Group
- FRS Stewardship Committee
- Upcoming Fellowship Programming
- Weekly Wellness Programming
- Monday Night Meditation
- Tuesday Spiritual Practice
- Wednesday Guided Relaxation
- Beyond Our Doors: Events in the greater Newburyport area
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Annual Ministry Theme: Peace
January Ministry Theme: Change
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Worship Service
Sunday, January 15, 2023
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Photos courtesy of the Newburyport Public Library Archival Center and Ghlee Woodworth | |
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Sunday, January 15, 2023
Honoring our Black residents of the late 18th to 20th century:
the story of Newburyport’s Guinea Village and the once-thriving Black community
10:30am in the Sanctuary and on YouTube
Local historian Ghlee Woodworth will share stories of African Americans, including former slaves and Civil War veterans, who lived in Newburyport, drawing from her newest book, Newburyport Clipper Heritage Trail, Volume II. Learn about their occupations, the businesses and activities that were adjacent to FRS, and the locations of local gravesites. A Q&A with Ghlee will be held in the sanctuary immediately following worship.
Attend on YouTube: http://bit.ly/FRSyoutube
Half of each Sunday’s collection not designated as a pledge supports a local partner working to transform our region.
This Month’s Sunday Shared Collection
The January Shared Collection will support the Community Service of Newburyport Campership Program. Community Service of Newburyport provides support through clothing, emergency relief and referral services, and a food pantry for people in need in Newburyport, Newbury, and West Newbury. In addition, they run the Holiday Gift Bag Program for children and seniors. In the summer, the organization provides two weeks of summer camp for children.
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Save the Date: Oak Hill Cemetery Walking Tour with Ghlee Woodworth
When: Saturday, March 25 (weather permitting), time to be announced
To RSVP, email cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org.
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Journeying Toward Spiritual Wholeness
"We covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions."
Language for the new 8th Principle, currently adopted by more than 200 UU congregations in the United States.
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The FRS Anti-Racism Initiative social justice team formed in 2020 in response to Rev. Rebecca’s call for our congregation to respond to racial injustices of the time, particularly anti-Black racism and brutality. Our initial overarching goal was to work with the FRS board and members to become an anti-racist congregation. During the last two years, we have formed subgroups focused on balancing internal anti-racist work with external social justice action to combat racism. We have held Living the Pledge workshops to educate ourselves and others about systemic racism and how to be an ally to BIPOC individuals, those who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. Recently, we have begun to explore ways in which the UUA’s 8th Principle Project may inform our anti-racism efforts and guide our journey toward Spiritual Wholeness.
To learn more about actions of the FRS Anti-Racism Initiative team, click here.
We are excited to invite you to the next three Sunday services and to our January Justice Sunday as we join Rev. Rebecca and others in exploring ways in which this anti-racism work contributes toward building a more inclusive, Beloved Community!
On January 15th, the MLK celebration, Rev. Rebecca and historian Ghlee Woodworth will be sharing stories of local Black history, and Cyd Raschke will update us on the Newburyport Black Heritage Trail.
On January 22, the Anti-Racism Initiative social justice team will lead a service in which we reflect upon antiracism efforts of the past year and introduce you to the UUA’s 8th Principle. We will tell you how our anti-racism work has evolved and will share personal stories about how it has impacted feelings of inclusivity, cultural humility, and spiritual growth. Through story and song, we will explore what it means to view Beloved Community through the lens of racial justice.
What if Beloved Community meant….
people of diverse racial, ethnic, educational, class, gender, abilities, and sexual orientation coming together in an interdependent relationship of love, mutual respect, and care - seeking to realize justice within the community and in the broader world?
On January 29, Sandra Harbert Petrulionis, a professor at Penn State and a leading expert on our own Thomas Wentworth Higginson, will be speaking along with Reverend Rebecca about the antislavery movement in Massachusetts and what led Higginson to be a radical part of it. Dr. Petrulionis will hold a brief Q&A session immediately following the service.
Please also join us for Justice Sunday on January 29th to reflect upon our FRS antislavery history and learn why the 8th Principle Project is important to BIPOC individuals. Together, we look forward to exploring how the UUA’s 8th Principle may promote spiritual wholeness and guide the intersectionality of our work with other FRS social action groups.
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A Program in Honor of Barbara Owen
When: Saturday, January 21, 2-4pm in the Sanctuary and Lower Meetinghouse
Please join us to celebrate Barbara's 90th birthday, her many contributions to FRS, and her impact on the wider musical community through organ building, preservation, scholarship, history, and music. Reminiscences and music will be shared. Reception to follow.
FRS Minister Emeritus Rev. Harold Babcock and member Linda Lu Burciaga will be among the speakers. Director of Church Music Justin Murphy-Mancini, former Director of Church Music Jay Lane, and several guest organists will provide music.
For a full list of speakers and organists, click HERE.
The event will be livestreamed here: https://youtu.be/7k1Px450hCE
This event is jointly presented by FRS and the Methuen Memorial Music Hall.
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Photo submitted by Anne White: "Misty Sunset on Salt Creek" | |
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An Invitation from Program Council
This year's annual ministry theme is peace and we invite you 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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Justice Sunday Soup and Salad Signup
On Justice Sundays we gather in fellowship for soup, salad, and discussion! This is a great way to learn more about our social justice work at FRS, connect with people, and enjoy a lovely meal.
To sign up to bring a soup on one of our Justice Sundays, please click on the purple button below!
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Caring for the Caregivers Group
Caregiving is love in action. It can be and often is very demanding, and at times,
isolating work. We are interested in providing a support group for FRS members and friends who are providing care for loved ones. The purpose of the group is to provide support, connection, and a sense of belonging, and to share practical advice on care for oneself as caregiver. We will also explore the opportunities for spiritual growth as we explore caregiving as a spiritual practice. The group will meet once a month via Zoom.
Facilitators:
Nancy Kidd - Nancy is a licensed social worker who has 25 years of experience training staff for hospice. She has run support groups for families of patients for hospice and also for Anna Jaques Hospital. She was a founding member of High Pointe House, the hospice and palliative care residence in Haverhill, MA. She is also a member of the Pastoral Care Associates at FRS.
Rev. Jane Tuohy - Jane is currently providing volunteer chaplaincy services at Anna Jaques Hospital and is a member of the clergy on call at Anna Jaques. She is a certified instructor in emotional intelligence and is committed to helping families of patients navigate the emotions that come with caregiving and understand caregiving as a spiritual practice.
If you are interested, please contact Nancy at nankdd@gmail.com or Jane at jt@combridgehill.com.
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FRS Stewardship Committee | |
Upcoming Fellowship Programming | |
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Climate Action Project Monthly Meeting
When: Wednesday, January 11 at 7pm via Zoom
The FRS Climate Action Project (CAP) is currently working to encourage our members, friends and church community to decrease our carbon footprints, and to move toward net-zero energy use and other sustainable measures such as reducing, reusing, and recycling – to help our environment and to save money, energy and natural resources.
For more information click here.
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Habitat for Humanity
When: Saturday, January 21 at 8:30am
The FRS Habitat team joins other volunteers to build Habitat homes. Volunteers sign up for one Saturday each month.
Join the FRS Habitat team and you will experience fellowship, forge connection, find joy, and contribute service.
No special skills are required. Habitat will provide any needed info and training.
For more information click here.
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Tuesday Short Story Group
When:1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, Lower Meeting House (Zoom option available)
Click here for more information.
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Friday Book Group
When: Fridays from 10-11:30am, Lower Meetinghouse Room A and on Zoom
We meet weekly and read both fiction and non-fiction books chosen by the participants. Each book is read and discussed over a period of several meetings, with the reading for each determined by the group.
For more information, click here.
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Weekly Wellness Programming | |
January Worship and Events Calendars | |
Beyond Our Doors
Events in the greater Newburyport area
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Martin Luther King: The Art of Racial Justice
YWCA of Greater Newburyport 30th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
When: Thursday, January 12, 6pm, Newburyport Senior Center, 331 High St., Newburyport
This event will feature artists from Elevated Thought; they will help audience members reflect on quotations from The Trumpet of Conscience, Dr. King’s last work before his assassination on April 4, 1968.
The artists will lead discussion sessions and will guide groups of attendees in creating art that reflects sentiments in the quotations.
Advanced tickets are required, as space is limited; they will be available on a first come, first served basis.
For more information please click here.
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Walk With Me Film Screening
When: Sunday, January 22, 2pm, 102 Bridge Road (Route 1), Salisbury.
As a memorial for Thich Nhat Hanh, Internal Arts New England will host this film screening followed by a discussion forum with Matthew Daniell, of North Shore Insight Meditation Center, and Reverend Rebecca.
This event is both in-person and online. Tickets for the in-person event are $20 and can be purchased here.
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Dancing on a Volcano
The story of Nadja Merino-Kalfel
When: Thursday, January 26, 6:30pm, Nock School Auditorium, 70 Low St., Newburyport
In commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, attend a free screening of this riveting documentary highlighting one family's dramatic escape from Nazi-occupied Europe. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Jesse Kalfel, Nadja's son.
This free event is hosted by Newburyport Human Rights Commission and
Congregation Ahavas Achim.
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The Art of Loving Wisely: A Buddhist Meditative Approach
When: Saturday, January 28, 10am-12:30pm, Internal Arts New England
To love and be loved widely is one of the greatest joys and also one of the greatest challenges of being alive. Often wise love feels like a fleeting gift that we can't control. True enough, but it also expresses qualities of the heart that can be discovered and cultivated intentionally. The Buddhist practice of mindfulness and loving kindness can positively affect the quality of how we relate to ourselves, those close in our lives, and all those we encounter in our daily lives. In this half-day workshop, guided and silent sitting meditation sessions will be combined with walking periods and time for discussion.
New and experience meditators alike are welcome to attend, as we explore Buddhist-inspired skill sets to help us to love wisely, and live deeply in the present moment.
To purchase tickets, click here.
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Newburyport Black History Initiative
Dedication of Inaugural Historic Sign
When: Wednesday, February 1 at 4pm
Save the date! The Newburyport Black History Initiative (Geordie Vining, Dr. Kabria Baumgartner, and Cynthia “Cyd” Raschke) will host a ceremony Wednesday February 1st 2023 at 4:00pm to celebrate the installation of the first NBHI historic interpretive sign in Newburyport. The event will be held outdoors on the Clipper Rail Trail just south of Low Street on a former railroad bridge that today is part of the rail trail.
The February 1 event will introduce “A Black Neighborhood in Historic Newburyport.” This panel is located near a once-thriving but now long-gone African American neighborhood nicknamed “Guinea Village,” a historic village Ghlee Woodworth has featured in her publications. Back in the day, local people called the adjacent railroad bridge “Guinea Bridge,” a name that lingered into the 1980s even though its history had been forgotten. Cyd is grateful to the FRSUU for supporting her efforts to install this panel which now will be one of many upcoming signs to focus on the stories of Black Americans who lived and worked in Newburyport from the pre-Revolutionary War era to the early 20th century.
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Once a month we will publish a list of thanks to all who help to make our day a little brighter and our community stronger!
If you would like to thank another parishioner, please email cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org.
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If you would like to publish an announcement or event in the Steeple,
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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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