by Amy Norton, February 23, 2023
This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Lent, the 40 day period of reflection, repentance, and spiritual deepening that leads us towards Holy Week and Easter. This year we are diving into the book of Psalms as our Lenten theme, exploring how these ancient songs can help us grow closer to God not only in our individual spiritual lives, but also as a community seeking to follow God’s call toward justice, compassion, and peace. Our first focus Psalm is number 119- we’ll hear excerpts of it in worship (if we read the whole thing, we might not have time for… Read More
by Kent French, February 17, 2023
The Transfiguration is a peculiar story set down in the middle of Jesus’ ministry in three of the Gospel accounts (Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36). It describes a defining moment in Jesus’ ministry, when his closest disciples could see for sure that he was connected to something heavenly, other-worldly. It shows up in the Protestant liturgical year on the last Sunday before we enter Lent. On Sunday, we will hike up the mountain again with Jesus, Peter, James and John. And we’ll remember what they experienced there, even though Jesus warned them to tell no one about it. I wonder… Read More
by Cantor Hollis Schachner, Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, February 09, 2023
This week’s blog is written by our friend, Hollis Schachner from Temple Shir Tikva: Each year, the adult choirs of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland and the United Parish in Brookline join together in leading song for collaborative, interfaith worship. Given the national attention that United Parish’s Negro Spiritual Royalties Project continues to receive, we felt this year’s collaboration was a great opportunity for the Shir Tikva community to learn more about it, while considering and sharing our own musical parallels in the Jewish tradition with the United Parish. Negro Spirituals are deeply imbedded in American music, most especially in houses of… Read More
by Kent French, February 02, 2023
During Epiphany, our worship follows our Church School curriculum, Seeking God Together, as we learn in worship alongside the youngest members of our community. This week, we’re learning about the centrality in our faith of Serving Others. On Sunday we will hear a story from the Book of Acts, the history of earliest followers of Christ, the movement known as The Way. It’s about a woman raised from the dead (Acts 9:36-43) named Tabitha or Dorcas. Apparently, she knew how to serve others. It says: Her life overflowed with good works and compassionate acts on behalf of those in need. The people around her… Read More
by Amy Norton, January 26, 2023
Dear Ones, For the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, we continue to follow along with the Church School curriculum and read a story from the Gospel of Luke. This story is a parable that Jesus tells at a dinner party…about a dinner party. A little pointed, no? The parable introduces a banquet host, who, upon discovering that all his invited guests have bailed at the last minute, instructs his servant to go out and invite anyone he can find, but especially those who would never expect a dinner invitation from anyone: the poor, the disabled, the outcast, etc. Where do we see that… Read More
by Iuliana Mogosanu, January 19, 2023
For the third Sunday after the Epiphany we continue to follow along with the Church School curriculum and read a story from the Book of Nehemiah. Have you ever been a part of a six-hour communal Scripture reading? Would you want to? Does it sound like drudgery or intriguing? (Nehemiah 8) The story that we will read is about the Jewish community in the 5th century BCE Jerusalem after their return from the Babylonian exile, learning and understanding God’s word as part of their gathering to renew the covenant with God. We will imagine participating in an almost six-hour communal Scriptural… Read More
by Kent French, January 12, 2023
Howard Thurman, former Boston University professor and Dean of Marsh Chapel, was considered the theologian of the Civil Rights Movement. His writing and spiritual counsel had a profound effect on the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior — who reportedly kept his dog-eared copy of Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited nearby throughout his justice work. Thurman wrote: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To… Read More
by Kent French, January 05, 2023
It wasn’t easy bringing the Christchild into the world. As beautifully as we present the story on Christmas Eve, with candlelight and touching music, as sweet and contained as our crèche scenes are, the truth is: it was a really stressful beginning for this young, holy family. On Sunday, we will retell the story of how the Magi, these mysterious, regal astrologers from another land came following a star, presenting precious gifts to this child. After that, it gets complicated. These visitors get caught up in a political tangle with the wicked puppet king Herod and outwit him. The young, bewildered… Read More
by Amy Norton, December 27, 2022
Dear Ones, As we mark the halfway point of Christmastide, we also straddle the year that lies behind us and the year that stands before us. In our secular culture, New Year’s Day carries themes of renewal, hope, commitment, and change…sound familiar? The Advent season marked the renewal of the Christian year, and now we look with hope toward the newly born Christ Child to usher in the renewal and change that our world has been yearning for down the centuries. On Sunday, we will sing some carols to celebrate the 8th day of Christmas, and hear our liturgist proclaim… Read More
by Kent French, December 22, 2022
For the first time in three years, we will gather in person in our sanctuary for Christmas Eve. We will hear the familiar lessons, sing the carols, take in the anthems and music that Susan and all our musicians have lovingly prepared, and re-light the candles. It will be a joyous re-gathering. One that we can no longer take for granted as par for the course. One we can savor even more deeply. I look forward to re-telling this story with you, remembering its radicalness, the ways that God and angels moved among ordinary people, startling them with a crazy… Read More
