by Kent French, August 17, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and inspire us about how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. If you come through our building’s hallways on weekday afternoons during the school year, you’re likely to hear children and teens belting out show tunes, learning dance moves or busily painting sets. For the past five years, Artbarn Community Theater has made United Parish their home. Artbarn’s mission is “fostering creativity, self-esteem and social… Read More
by Kent French, August 10, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and inspire us about how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. In late March, our congregation hosted an Iftar dinner for our Muslim friends and neighbors. Iftar is the nightly meal for breaking the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. It was a joyous, convivial evening. Over 200 people showed up, including members of 12 different Brookline faith communities, our state… Read More
by Kent French, July 31, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and inspire us about how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. This past year, we’ve had the privilege of having a pastor-in-discernment in our midst. The Reverend Erik Hoeke came to Boston from western Pennsylvania to do some study at Boston College and has been a regular worshiper with us. I’ve been grateful to get to know him, and learn more about his… Read More
by Amy Norton, July 27, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and inspire us about how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. This Sunday we welcome Rev. Carrington Moore, Executive Director of common cathedral. Carrington will be preaching on the story of Bartimaeus, who would not let his pleas for help be silenced, and received nothing short of a miracle in return. Carrington writes: “The Miracle before the Miracle” delves into the divine interplay of social,… Read More
by Amy Norton, July 19, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and give us sense of how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. Raise your hand if you know what a parable is! For anyone needing a refresher, a parable is a sacred story-within-The-Story. Parables were tales that Jesus told to illustrate his message for whoever would listen. Sometimes the parables had clear, stated explanations, sometimes they were real head-scratchers, sometimes they were ridiculous,… Read More
by Amy Norton, July 13, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and give us sense of how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. This Sunday, we welcome Erin Venkatesh and Rachel Silverman, who co-lead Thrifty Threads, our clothing ministry (and the only thrift store in Brookline), along with a team of incredible volunteers. Thrifty Threads turns 30 this year, and has grown exponentially since it first came into being in 1993. In addition to providing… Read More
by Kent French, July 06, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality and give us sense of how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. This Sunday, we welcome Raul Fernandez, who was the first Latinx person elected to serve as a member of the Brookline Select Board. He also founded and chaired Brookline’s Small Business Development Committee and led successful efforts to create a working group designed to better support the Brookline Housing Authority and its residents, a Racial… Read More
by Kent French, June 29, 2023
This summer we welcome our neighbors to come and share about their lives, work, passions, spirituality, and give us sense of how we can serve “our neighbors as ourselves,” following what Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Leviticus 19:17-18, Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). See speakers list below. This Sunday, we welcome our state representative, Tommy Vitolo. From an early age, Tommy learned the value of neighbors, as he grew up in a community where “kids played outside in big groups and there were neighborhood barbecues nearly every weekend all summer long. Parents were coaches, scout leaders, PTO captains, and… Read More
by Kent French, June 22, 2023
This is a big weekend for us. On Saturday, we’ll have our postponed Strawberry Festival on the lawn, 11am-3pm. Emily and Stefan have been valiantly carrying this big event forward for us. WE STILL NEED MORE VOLUNTEER HELP — please click here to sign up. This is our annual welcome party for the whole neighborhood. On Sunday, we’ll have our June, end-of-program-year all-parish meeting. In some places, church annual meetings can be a dreary or tense affair. I’ve heard of some that devolved into fistfights. That’s not how we do things. Ours is a celebration, of all we’ve experienced over the past year and all we have to… Read More
by Kent French, June 15, 2023
This Sunday, June 18, we begin summer worship in Willett Hall at 10am (June 18-September 3). It’s the first time in three years that we’ll return to this type of worship and I have missed it greatly. Why? For those of you who haven’t been, when we worship all at the same level, in slightly closer proximity and visibility, and slightly more informality, it connects us better. Personally, I feel more clearly the creativity of God, the human connection with Jesus Christ, the synchronicity of the Holy Spirit and our connection as the living, breathing body of Christ in the world. Summer… Read More
