November 16, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Sunday Worship Service
  • Special Congregational Meeting, December 4: Please Register!
  • Matt Myer's Children's Book
  • New Technology for Online Congregational Participation
  • A Visualization of Peace Photo from Mackenzie Rafeldt
  • Steeple Mugs Are Back!
  • Photos from Justice Sunday
  • Ways to Donate and Volunteer
  • Upcoming Meetings
  • This Week's Fellowship Programming
  • November Worship and Special Church Events Calendars
  • Weekly Wellness Programming
  • Monday Night Meditation
  • Tuesday Spiritual Practice
  • Wednesday Guided Relaxation

Annual Ministry Theme: Peace


November Ministry Theme: Justice


“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”

-Cornel West

Sunday Worship Service

November 20, 2022

Sunday, November 20, 2022

"Annual North Shore UU Thanksgiving Service"

YouTube only, 10:30am


(There will be limited seating available in the Lower Meetinghouse Main Room to watch this service on the screen.)


Don’t miss this special service where we come together with area Unitarian Universalist congregations to celebrate Thanksgiving. This year’s theme is “The Peace of Wild Things” and includes music by a combined choir and reflections from different clergy. You are invited to watch this service from the comfort of your home or at FRS in the Lower Meetinghouse Main Room (limited seating).


Attend on YouTubehttp://bit.ly/FRSyoutube


This Month's Sunday Shared Collection

Essex County Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build affordable homes, strengthen families, and foster hope. Habitat families buy their homes after they provide between 240 and 360 “sweat equity hours” to build their own home and other families’ homes. Since 1985, 114 new homes have been built and 41 homes rehabbed. This includes a current project in Salisbury. Please give so that one day everyone will have a decent place to live.

Special Congregational Meeting

Sunday, December 4

Immediately following Sunday worship on December 4, FRS will hold a special congregational meeting to ask that the congregation vote to extend the Mirzayee family’s use of Parish Hall as their home through June 30, 2024. 


Register for the meeting here: https://bit.ly/CongMeeting12-4-22

This past Sunday, Matt Myer joined Rev. Rebecca in leading worship service. Matt's children story, Desmond Gets Free, just sold out its first printing!


The new printing won't be available until December, but in the meantime, here are some other ways to get the book.


  • Ask your local bookstore if they carry it
  • Back order a copy here
  • Get an audio/video copy here
  • Get the e-book here


Photo: Matt playing the djembe drum during last Sunday's worship service

New Technology for Online Congregational Participation

 

We are excited to announce the acquisition of a large TV monitor for use in the Sanctuary. The monitor will allow online participants in congregational meetings (like the Annual Meeting) to be seen and heard by the congregation. Other projected uses include online guest presentations and other hybrid events. It will be mounted on the pulpit itself so that is visible to as much of the congregation as possible, and it is fully removable: it will be stored elsewhere and is not a permanent fixture. This portability will allow us to explore additional uses outside of the sanctuary itself. The monitor will be debuted at the December 4th congregational meeting so that virtual participants are able to contribute as fully as possible to the conversation and the vote. Special thanks to Rev. Rebecca, Rob Close, Bruce Deveau, John Mercer, Stephen-Wolf Foster, and many others for guidance and expertise in developing this exciting new resource for the church.

A Visualization of Peace

Photo submitted by Mackenzie Rafeldt - "overwhelmed with gratitude to live in such a beautiful place"

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.

Steeple Mugs are Back!


And just in time for the holidays. The FRS Men’s group will be hosting a table before and after church where you can purchase beautiful 15 oz. coffee mugs, printed with a graphic of our beloved steeple against a cobalt blue night sky. No inflation here! They are being offered at the same price as two years ago: $10 each. Supply is limited, so we suggest you purchase early. If you cannot make it to church or want to reserve yours, contact Bruce Deveau at bdeveau2@comcast.net or 978-314-1354

Photos from Justice Sunday

Thank you to all who brought soup and fresh bread!

Thank you to all who jumped in to help serve soup!

Thank you to all who joined in fellowship!

Ways to Donate and Volunteer

The Joy of Giving



Get your donations ready! Once again, this year we will be collecting new/unused gifts so the children of Kelleher Gardens can holiday “shop” for the important adults in their lives. Do you have lotions, gloves, decorations, tools, hats, jewelry, kitchen items, etc. that you’ve been given and never used? Can you pick up one or two small items while out holiday shopping? Donations of gift bags and tissue paper are also needed. Donations can be left in the back of the Sanctuary (look out for the sign and gift packages).


Questions? Email Nancy Crochiere at ncro27@comcast.net


Cookies for Peace

When: Friday, December 9, 3–8pm, Lower Meetinghouse Main Room, during the first downtown Newburyport Invitation Night


This is a new FRS Holiday event, and we are seeking many bakers and other volunteers to ensure this fundraiser is a success. Half the proceeds will go to the Emergency Response Fund to support peace in Ukraine through the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). Please visit the sign-up table after church or click on the blue button below.


There will also be tours of our historic meetinghouse that evening; more information to follow in next week's Steeple.


Sign Up Here!

Holiday Program – Family to Family                                  

 

Each year, the Community Outreach Group of FRS supports the Family to Family program sponsored by Newburyport Youth Services and the YWCA. You can participate by becoming an “Elf” helping to fill the wishes of families in need in the Greater Newburyport community. Last year, the Family to Family program served almost 400 families and over 1,300 people in the Greater Newburyport community. This year there continues to be many families struggling and needing help.


Please visit www.newburyportyouthservices.com or www.ywcanewburyport.org to sign up. For more information, email Barbara Garnis at: barbaragarnis@comcast.net.

Upcoming Meetings

Join Us to Create Fellowship and Stewardship at FRS

 

We need your help to create new and fun ways to get together in fellowship, and possibly even raise funds in the process. The next event we are creating is "Cookies for Peace," a cookie walk fundraiser on Friday, December 9, 3–8pm in the Lower Meetinghouse Main Room during the first Newburyport Invitation Night. We are raising money for our beloved community and to support peace in Ukraine.

 

The Stewardship Committee meets every third Wednesday of the month, at 6:30pm, via Zoom. Join us and have some fun! Our next meeting will be on November 16.

 

Zoom meeting link: https://bit.ly/3Rvp2FK.

 

Any thoughts or questions, please contact Vern Ellis at vellis@ellisdesign.net.

Monthly Animal Bereavement Support Group Begins on Friday, December 2

When: First Friday of the month, Lower Meetinghouse Main Room, 6:30pm


If you have ever had to say farewell to a beloved animal companion, then you have known the heartache and grief that follows such a loss. Yet as a society, we don’t recognize, understand, or honor how heartbreaking that experience is, nor the impact it can have on someone’s emotional and physical well-being. Those who grieve often feel isolated, afraid to talk about their loss, and risk being embarrassed for caring so much about “just” an animal. There are many in our beloved community and beyond who have had this experience, and felt the need to carry their grief in silence – for far too long.


Rev. Rebecca, Nancy Kidd, and Renee Wolf Foster invite you to come together on Friday, December 2, at 6:30pm to share our stories, our photos, and our sorrows in a loving, listening group of kindred spirits. All are welcome.

This Week's Fellowship Programming


Tuesday Short Story Group

When:1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, Lower Meeting House (Zoom option available)


Click here for more information.

Exploring Elderhood Together

When: Thursday, November 17 from 1-2:30pm, Lower Meetinghouse


Please join our Exploring Elderhood Together community as FRS member Diane Forman discusses longevity in the Blue Zones, based on her recently published article in an AARP newsletter.


To learn more and access Diane's article published in AARP, please click here.

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. 


We are currently reading The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall. For more information, click here.

Friday Night Fellowship

When: Friday, November 18 from 6-8pm in the Lower Meetinghouse


Friday Night Fellowship starts with a potluck dinner followed by a brief, interactive worship service led by Rev. Rebecca (often involving a ritual), then a program.


Click here for more information.

November Worship & Events Calendars

To download and print the FRS November Worship Calendar and November Events Calendar, click on the blue buttons below!

November Worship Calendar
November Events Calendar

Weekly Wellness Programming

Monday Night Meditation
Tuesday Spiritual Practice
Wednesday Guided Relaxation 
Click for Latest News & Events

If you would like to publish an announcement or event in the Steeple,

please send information to cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org by Sunday.

Minister–The Reverend Rebecca Bryan; Affiliate Minister–Rev. Stan Barrett; Affiliate Minister–Rev. Helen Murgida; Affiliate Minister-Rev. Jane Tuohy; Minister EmeritusThe Reverend Harold Babcock. Staff: Director of Church OperationsRob Authier; Office AdministratorDiane Carroll; Audio-Visual EngineerRob Close; Director of Children's MinistryMara Flynn; Director of Church Music–Justin Murphy-Mancini; Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual ExplorationJulie Parker Amery; SextonDonny Rogers; Director of Congregational and Community Engagement–Cynthia Walsh. Parish Board: Chair–Tina Benik; Vice Chair-Jim Supple; Finance Chair–Renée Wolf Foster; Governance ChairTom Himmel; Endowment TreasurerKim 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.

First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist | 26 Pleasant St., Newburyport MA 01950

978-465-0602 | frsuu.org