by UPB Editor, September 17, 2024
Join us this fall at United Parish for activities and programs for all ages! Check out our upcoming events below. You can also always find announcements and calendar events on our website. Sunday Worship 11am-12pm Sanctuary Fall Worship Series This year we embark on a journey with the Narrative Lectionary, a calendar of Bible stories that starts each year in the story of creation and takes us through the stories of the Hebrew Bible in the fall, and then Jesus’ ministry and that of the early church in the spring. The stories we study this fall are organized around the… Read More
by Kent M French, September 12, 2024
This autumn, we drop into various stories of the Bible sequentially, starting at the beginning — following along with our young people in Church School. We look at the promises God makes with humanity and how those promises get broken. We look at our relationship with God and how we honor and keep it. One night many, many years ago, an old guy named Abraham was staring out into the night sky talking with God. He was getting on in years, childless, uncertain about his future, but God assured him: Look up at the sky and count the stars if… Read More
by UPB Editor, September 05, 2024
Welcome back! We hope you had a great summer! Join us this fall at United Parish for activities and programs for all ages! Check out our upcoming events below. You can also always find announcements and calendar events on our website. Welcome Back Sunday – Sunday, September 8 Church School Orientation 9:45am-10:45am Front Lawn Children and youth are invited to meet on the front lawn, then head to their classrooms with their teachers. Click here to learn more and register your children for Church School. Contact the Children and Youth Deepening team at cydeepening@upbrookline.org. Worship 11am-12pm Sanctuary We’ll head back… Read More
by Kent French, September 05, 2024
This autumn we drop into various stories of the Bible sequentially, starting at the beginning — following along with our young people in Church School. We look at the promises God makes with humanity and how those promises get broken. We look at our relationship with God and how we honor and keep it. This Sunday is our Welcome Back Sunday, when we begin our program year and re-convene after our summertime travel and adventures. It’s a fun, festive day, complete with an after-worship picnic on the lawn. New Beginnings. Many of us are probably well familiar with the second… Read More
by Kent French, August 29, 2024
This summer, we delve into the theme of “Sacred Places, Sacred Moments” hearing from our members about locations, physical spaces, situations, or moments in time in which they feel connected to or made room for the Divine. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall downstairs. NOTE: This Sunday’s homily will not be broadcast on YouTube. Who is God to you? Someone human-like who loves you unconditionally? A severe judge? A taskmaster? Or something more abstract? A rushing wind? A misty cloud? Or maybe a mother hen? A soaring eagle? Is God something or someone as close as your nearest breath or as distant… Read More
by UPB Editor, August 26, 2024
Children’s Choir Resumes: Susan DeSelms will be leading our children’s choir for grades 1-7! Grades 3-7 will begin at 9am in the Choir Room. Grades 1-2 will join at 9:15am. Church School Orientation: Children and youth are invited to meet on the front lawn at 9:45am, then head to their classrooms with their teachers. Learn more and register for Church School here. Worship: Join us for worship at 11am in the Sanctuary. Welcome Back Picnic: Please join us for a picnic on the front lawn (rain location: Chapel) after the church service (around 12pm). The Gathering team will provide a… Read More
by Amy Norton, August 22, 2024
This summer, we delve into the theme of “Sacred Places, Sacred Moments” hearing from our members about locations, physical spaces, situations, or moments in time in which they feel connected to or made room for the Divine. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall downstairs. A long time ago in a land far, far away, Abraham (our foreparent in faith) lived into a new way of relating to God that would have ripples down the millennia: the movable altar. (Ok, there were many things that Abraham did that shaped Judaism as well as what would become Christianity and Islam, but I’m focusing on just… Read More
by Amy Norton, August 15, 2024
This summer, we delve into the theme of “Sacred Places, Sacred Moments” hearing from our members about locations, physical spaces, situations, or moments in time in which they feel connected to or made room for the Divine. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall downstairs. I’ve always loved Psalm 104- it’s an exultant ode to creation, to each part of our beautiful ecosystem. I especially love verse 26, which talks about God creating the ocean, “and [the sea monster] Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.” I find special meaning in the idea that this giant sea monster that strikes fear in the hearts… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, August 08, 2024
This summer, we delve into the theme of “Sacred Places, Sacred Moments” hearing from our members about locations, physical spaces, situations, or moments in time in which they feel connected to or made room for the Divine. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall downstairs. One of my favorite books as a child was Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble. I loved how after a harsh storm, the bounty of the beloved family apple tree was transformed (spoiler alert) into a bounty of a different type of blessings: an indoor swinging vine and a special drawing desk. Our homilist this week, Deb H.,… Read More
by Amy Norton, August 01, 2024
This summer, we delve into the theme of “Sacred Places, Sacred Moments” hearing from our members about locations, physical spaces, situations, or moments in time in which they feel connected to or made room for the Divine. Summer worship is at 10am in Willett Hall downstairs. My sister has often remarked, “thinking about the universe makes my stomach hurt,” and to be honest, I get it. Our homilist this week, Stella L. writes, “How do you feel about the unknown? Does it fill you with excitement—or with fear? The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,… Read More
