by Kent French, September 20, 2023
This autumn, our worship follows our Church School curriculum, Seeking Peace Together. We are learning in worship alongside the youngest members of our community. There’s a wonderful, enigmatic figure who crops up in our scripture reading from time to time: Nicodemus. A leader of the Pharisees who came furtively to Jesus after dark to find out what this guy was all about (John 3:1-21). In the past, I’ve referred to Nicodemus as a closet Christian. He’s longing to know something about Jesus, but he doesn’t want others to see him associating with him. Jesus tells him that he must be born… Read More
by Christine VanDeWege, September 14, 2023
This is my first blog as United Parish’s Sabbatical Pastor, covering for Associate Pastor Amy Norton while she is away. I am looking forward to offering my first sermon at United Parish this Sunday. I am also excited to get to know you, the members of United Parish, and warmly invite you to reach out to me. I’m happy to take a walk together, chat, or go for coffee, and I am always ready to pray with you. As a reforming Type A person, there’s a sense of peace that I seek and find while on a body of water…. Read More
by Kent French, September 07, 2023
Worship at 11am in the Sanctuary! (This Sunday’s worship will not be streamed live, but will be recorded and posted later on YouTube*). The last few years of global pandemic shook up a lot of our assumptions about in-person gatherings and brick-and-mortar institutions. Working from home and telecommuting are now much more viable options. So much of commerce has continued to move online. We see more street-level retail going empty or becoming a bank or a cannabis dispensary. And yet, we also got it at a gut level that certain human, social interactions cannot be fully re-created or that fulfilling… Read More
by Kent French, August 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. Last year, some local advocates for affordable housing got curious about what it’s like to live in public housing in Brookline. They went on a tour and were dismayed, even horrified by what they discovered: crumbling staircases, flaking asbestos, constant vermin infestation, failing appliances, inoperative and leaking windows, miserable energy performance, heating… Read More
by Kent French, August 24, 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. NOTE: After worship this Sunday, we strongly encourage you to join us for a site visit to Saint James Episcopal Church in Porter Square, Cambridge, 12:30-1:30pm and see the amazing work they’ve done with a local developer to transform their space and property for financial and missional sustainability. It will inspire you! Ride sharing available. People think… Read More
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
