March 22, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Sunday Worship
• Maundy Thursday Service
• Help Bring Spring into Our Sanctuary for Easter
• An Invitation from the Board
• Annual Giving Campaign 2023-2024
• A few words from Tom Stites
• Online Annual Giving Campaign Information Session
• Progress to Date
• All Welcome to join tonight's 300th Anniversary Idea Sharing Session on Zoom
• Hearts and Hands Art and Services Auction
• Arpeggione to Perform at the FRS
• Support the Youth Trip to Pine Ridge
• A Visualization of Peace from Joe Vecchione
• Save the Date: All Ages Trashion Show and Potluck for the Planet
• Upcoming Fellowship Programming
• Weekly Chalice Lighting Reading Submitted by Carol Kilty
• Thank a UU
• Weekly Wellness Programming
• Monday Night Meditation
• Tuesday Spiritual Practice
• Wednesday Guided Relaxation
• March Worship and Events Calendars
• Beyond Our Doors: Events in the Greater Newburyport Area

Annual Ministry Theme: Peace

March Ministry Theme: Discernment

March is Annual Campaign Month

This year’s theme is Growing the Gardens of Peace…together.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

"Why are We Here?"

10:30 am in person and on YouTube

Here is the church, here is the steeple; open the doors and see all the people! Why do we come to church? What is the role of the religious community in today’s society? Reverend Rebecca will explore historical and contemporary trends and the place spiritual community holds in our lives. Get a sneak peek of some fun ahead as well.

"Here is the church, here is the steeple; open the doors and see all the people!"

-Anonymous

Attend on YouTube: http://bit.ly/FRSyoutube

March Shared Collection Partner - UTEC

UTEC’s mission is to ignite and nurture the ambition of our most disconnected young people to trade violence and poverty for social and economic success. They serve Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill. The program starts behind the walls of correctional facilities and transitions into an intensive program in the community post-release. 87% of young adults in their workforce development programming had no new re-arraignments. This re-arraignment rate is 1/4 of the state average. Please help fuel the hope for young people in this program. Half of each Sunday’s collection not designated as a pledge supports a local partner working to transform our region.

Maundy Thursday Service…And Service Is Our Prayer

When: Thursday, April 6th, 5:30 pm

Maundy Thursday is also known as Holy Thursday. This service commemorates Jesus Christ’s institution of the communion during the Last Supper and the ceremony of the washing of the feet. As Unitarian Universalists, we say every Sunday…and service is our prayer. Service is central to our faith.  

During this Holy Week service, we will have the opportunity to reflect upon Jesus' call to serve one another and participate in the ritual of washing of feet or hands and receiving communion. Reverends Rebecca and Jane Tuohy will be officiating, and the choir will be singing. Come join us as we prepare for Easter.

Help Bring Spring into Our Sanctuary for Easter

Order your Easter flowers in memory or in celebration of friends or loved ones. The flowers will decorate the Sanctuary for Easter Service, and a list of donors and their messages will be included in the Easter Sunday Order of Service. You may bring your plants home after the service to enjoy in your home, plant in your garden, or give as a gift. The cost is $25 each for an Easter lily or a potted tulip plant.

The deadline for placing your order is Thursday, March 30 at 5pm.

Payment may be made by check payable to FRS, or via our online giving form - select "Easter Flowers" from the dropdown fund list: https://onrealm.org/frsuu/-/form/give/now

If you have any questions, please contact Diane Carroll, diane.carroll@frsuu.org. Thank you!

An Invitation from the Board

How are decisions made in the church? What is the role of the Board? What challenges are we facing maintaining our historic buildings? What are our financial challenges? Join us on April 2 after worship to meet with the Board, the Facilities Team, and the Finance Team. After brief presentations you will be able to share your ideas and get your questions answered about these important aspects of the life of our church.

As we move forward, the Board is looking to make sure the congregation is fully informed about the inner workings of the church and to stay in touch with congregants’ aspirations, questions, and ideas. Our community has many opportunities and challenges coming up including redesigning and renovating the Parish Hall, growing our endowment to help cover our annual expenses, and celebrating the 300th anniversary of our Beloved Community. Input from our

members to help guide us and inspire us will help grow the resiliency and strength of our church as we move forward.

Please join us on April 2 in the Sanctuary after worship to meet with the Board and hear about the challenges facing us as we move forward. There will be a chance to submit questions, prior to the meeting, during the worship service on March 26th or you can email them to anniemaurer174@gmail.com.

There will also be a chance to ask questions and contribute at the meeting.

Save the Date – May 5, 2023

HEARTS & HANDS

The FRS Arts & Services Auction

At the Newburyport Community Center

Plans are in the works for a night filled with merriment and fellowship! 

CALL FOR AUCTION DONATIONS 

Do you have artwork, a vacation home or a unique experience you can offer? Host a dinner party in your home! Tickets to events? There will be a table after service to sign up, or email Vernon Ellis at vellis@ellisdesign.net and let us know what you’d like to donate.

To sign up to volunteer, click on the blue button below.

Andrea LeBlanc will bring her chamber ensemble, Arpeggione, to her hometown of Newburyport for a performance at the First Religious Society on March 26. A nationally renowned baroque flutist and a second-generation North Shore native, Ms. LeBlanc co-founded Arpeggione in 2022 to bring world-class historically-informed performances to some of her favorite places in the area. Andrea lives in Beverly, MA and also performs as an orchestral musician and soloist with groups such as the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Early Music Festival, Aston Magna, and Mercury Houston.

“The Salon of Anna Amalia” will celebrate the musical works and influence of Anna Amalia, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg. Performers Andrea LeBlanc, flute; Thomas Carroll, clarinet; Anna Griffis, viola; Ben Swartz, cello; and Sylvia Berry, fortepiano will be playing on instruments from the late 18th c. Sunday, March 26 at 4pm; tickets at https://www.frsuu.org/final-wilson-series-2/

Support the Youth Trip to Pine Ridge



In June, five of our UU teenagers are taking a justice learning and service trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. This is the third FRS youth trip to the Reservation since 2015; the first since the pandemic. To make the trip accessible to all, the group holds several fundraisers throughout the year.

There are three ongoing and upcoming ways you can financially support the group:



1. The envelope drive (ongoing). Take an envelope with a number, posted in a corner of the vestibule. The number represents the number of dollars you’ll donate. Return the envelope with that amount. Every envelope counts!
2. Soup Sundays (March 19, April 16, June 4). Join us in the Lower Meetinghouse, after the worship service and before Justice Sunday, for delicious homemade soups! Donations accepted.
3. The Second Great FRS Bakeoff! April 30, after church. Whether you want to bake something to enter, or would rather taste and vote on your favorites, you won’t want to miss it! (More details coming soon.)

Thank you for your support! This trip is a true pilgrimage, something that will open hearts and minds and indeed change lives!

Please Help Us Reach Our 2023-2024 Goal!

Photo submitted by Joe Vecchione

Save the Date: Friday May 12th - All Ages Trashion Show and Potluck for the Planet - All are welcome to join us for this festive outdoor event at FRS!

The FRS Green Team and Young Church are collaborating on intergenerational events

not to be missed! We are inviting congregants of all ages to create wearable art made out of recyclables and trash to be showcased at our first-ever Trashion Show at FRSUU this spring. Let your creativity flourish while building awareness about sustainability and waste reduction!

Sunday, April 2, following worship, from 11:30-1pm - Trash Fashion Workshop

Join Mara Flynn, Green Team members, and Mary McDonald and begin crafting some trash fashion. We will be providing inspiration, supplies, support, and PIZZA. You are also encouraged to start collecting your own recyclables and (clean) trash for the cause and bring it with you.

To attend the Trash Fashion Workshop please RSVP on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/582248008467

Stay tuned for more information.

The FRS Men’s Group formed in the fall of 2018 in response to the Me Too movement. Rev. Rebecca had put together a single-meeting women’s listening group, and several men in the church wanted to meet to see how they could respond and possibly influence their own male culture. We’ve been meeting once a month ever since. We meet, listen, offer care, and support each another.



If you are interested in being part of a men’s group here at FRS, if you have ideas about what a men’s group could be, if are curious and want more information, we welcome your interest. You can contact Bruce Deveau at bdeveau2@comcast.net or Joe Brouillet at josephbrouillet@comcast.net.

Lighting a chalice is an honored and beloved ritual of our faith. We take time to light a chalice and offer a reading or time of silence before the start of every meeting, gathering, or worship service. Doing so reminds us of our connection to one another and our values. It helps us to center and calm our minds and bodies. Each time the chalice is lit we are invited to return to ourselves and to peace.

We hope everyone joins in creating this collection of readings. Please submit your reading to cynthia.walsh@frsuu.org or RevRevecca.Bryan@frsuu.org.

To learn more about Jan Richardson, click here!!

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.

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–; Director of Children's Ministry–Mara Flynn; Director of Church Music–Justin Murphy-Mancini; Director of Church Music Emerita–Barbara Owen; 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.

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

978-465-0602 | frsuu.org