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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Christmas Eve Service
- Christmas Day Service
- 2023 Daily Muse Calendars Available!
- A Visualization of Peace Photo from Peggy Nicol
- UU Wellspring
- FRS Writers' Group Forming
- Upcoming Fellowship Programming
- Weekly Wellness Programming
- Monday Night Meditation
- Tuesday Spiritual Practice
- Wednesday Guided Relaxation
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Annual Ministry Theme: Peace
December Ministry Theme: Earth
“Time spent among trees is never time wasted.”
-Anonymous
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Worship Service
Saturday, December 24 at 5:30pm
Sunday, December 25 at 11:00am
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Saturday, December 24, 2022
Christmas Eve Service
5:30pm in person and on YouTube
Our traditional Christmas Eve service will include the Christmas Story, carols, and “Silent Night” sung by candlelight. Reverend Rebecca will lead worship. We will gather for festive carols and hot cocoa outside the church after worship.
Sunday, December 25, 2022
“A Unitarian Christmas”
11am in person and on YouTube
Reverend Rebecca will preach about the extensive and intriguing role Unitarians have played in the current celebration of Christmas, especially in the 19 Century. What does Christmas mean to us then and now? This fun service is for all ages and includes carol singing.
Enter the circle of peace on earth, the circle of love and compassion, where the most forsaken among us may rediscover hope and encounter joy. This is the story of Christmas.
- Forrest Church
Attend on YouTube: http://bit.ly/FRSyoutube
This Month’s Sunday Shared Collection
This month’s Shared Collection partner, Community Action Inc. Energy Program, provides heating assistance, based on household income and size, to residents of Amesbury, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury, and West Newbury. Need help? You can check if you are eligible and make an appointment online at www.communityactioninc.org. Let’s keep all our neighbors warm this winter. Thank you.
Half of each Sunday’s collection not designated as a pledge supports a local partner working to transform our region.
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Looking for great stocking stuffer or last-minute gift for the holidays?
The First Religious Society in Newburyport is selling daily quote calendars, aptly named the Daily Muse. This flip-style calendar includes quotes which are humorous, reflective, historic, spiritual, joyful, and inspirational; as well as holiday-specific quotes, such as January 1, "Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending”.
The calendars will delight family, friends, and clients.The idea originated from a parishioner who, along with the rest of her family, looked forward to receiving a calendar every year from her brother in the Chicago area. A college student shared that the first thing she and her roommates do every morning is gather in the kitchen to see what gem awaits them for that day. One parishioner gives them as gifts to her book club, and when they meet they share their favorite quotes.
The Daily Muse is $20 and can be purchased at the church office at 26 Pleasant Street, Newburyport on Wednesday, 12/21 and Thursday, 12/22 from 10am–2pm, Friday, 12/23 from 10am-1pm, and after Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service. Or you can email Julie Parker Amery, julie.amery@frsuu.org to arrange pick up. It's a great way to start your day!
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Photo submitted by Peggy Nicol "Hermit Island Peace" | |
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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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UU Wellspring is Coming to the FRS | |
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When: Starting in January!
Second and Fourth Mondays, 4-6pm
“Wellspring was not only faith-changing, but life-changing… seeds were planted during that year. I didn’t know it, but those seeds were growing in me and things were changing deep within...” –FRS member Lea Pearson in her Journey of Faith (12/4/22), speaking about the Wellspring program.
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 begins in January 2023, meeting twice a month (excluding July and August). 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/.
This program will be offered in person and will meet the second and fourth Mondays of the month, beginning January 9, from 4-6pm. If you’re interested in participating or would like to learn more, please email Julie Parker Amery, Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration at: julie.amery@frsuu.org.
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FRS Writers’ Group Forming
Do you love to write? Would you like to be in community with other UU writers? Whether you consider writing a spiritual practice, or see it more as a creative outlet, we invite you to join us in envisioning an FRS Writers’ Group that would meet monthly. The planning session will be on Friday, January 13, at 9:00am (on Zoom).
Whether or not you can attend that session, please indicate your interest in participating in a writers’ group here: https://bit.ly/FRSWritersGroup Writers of all genres welcome!
Questions? Contact Julie Parker Amery, Director of Faith Formation and Spiritual Exploration at julie.amery@frsuu.org, or James Funston at jamesf3579@comcast.net
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Upcoming Fellowship Programming | |
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Serenity in the Sanctuary: Peaceful Contemplation
When: December 20-24, noon, Sanctuary
Take Peace! Beauty, peace, and calm can be found in the midst of holiday madness. The
Sanctuary will be open for short programs of poetry, guided meditation, silent meditation, and blessings.
Click here for more information.
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Passion Action Fair: Where the heart and soul meet to nourish the mind
When: Sunday, January 8, 2023, following worship service, in the Lower Meetinghouse
Click here for more information.
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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.
We are reading the novel ON BEAUTY by Zadie Smith. This past Friday, discussion included how “power” was used in the novel, and our increasing sense of some characters in this (comic? satirical?) novel. For our meeting on Dec. 23, we will be reading through page 271 (sections 6 - 11, the remaining of the second chapter). New and used copies of the book are readily available!
For more information, click here.
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Weekly Wellness Programming | |
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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