by Amy Norton, March 21, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” As we begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday, we prepare for the often heart-wrenching way that we will confront our own role in Jesus’ arrest, torture, and death. It’s heavy, there’s no way around that. I also think that it is one of the regrettably few times we explicitly encounter Christ in such a visceral way, drawing such clear parallels to our own… Read More
by Kent French, March 14, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” Come on Sunday and we’ll reflect on Matthew 18:15-22, in which Jesus gives challenging instructions about how to work through conflict and forgiveness with someone who’s offended you. When Peter shows a real interest in learning more about it and asks “How many times should I forgive…as many as seven times?” Jesus responds: “Seventy times seven.” That’s a lot of forgiveness. In preparation,… Read More
by Kent French, March 06, 2024
*Daylight Savings Time Begins this Sunday, March 10. Turn clocks ahead one hour.* This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” Withstanding Hard Times Sometimes the news seems too hard to hear. A challenging medical diagnosis. The end of a relationship. A job layoff. A debilitating accident. A financial setback. We’d rather turn the other way. We’d do anything to change it. Our response might be “No, no, no!” To put… Read More
by Amy Norton, February 29, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” On Sunday, we’ll be continuing our Lenten journey with Simon as Jesus bestows a new name upon him and cements him forevermore in our narrative as Peter. This nickname, Petros (or Kephas, in Aramaic), might best be appreciated by English speakers as “Rocky” (or maybe “the Rock,” if you’re a Fast & Furious fan). And what an exultant moment for Rocky this is. Blurting… Read More
by Amy Norton, February 20, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” On Sunday, we’ll be continuing our Lenten journey with Peter (still named Simon at this point in the narrative), back out onto his boat in the middle of a stormy sea of Galilee. In those days, before aquariums and marine biology and underwater cameras, the ocean’s depths were a foreboding mystery that still very much inhabited the cultural zeitgeist as the realm of scary… Read More
by Kent French, February 15, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” Jesus’ first disciples were everyday people: minding their own business, mending their nets, supporting their families, worrying about expenses, paying their taxes, fretting about the future. First and foremost among them was Peter. He’s a compelling guy, often impulsive, leaping before he looks, getting it wrong at least as much as he gets it right, making promises he can’t keep. Much… Read More
by Kent French, February 08, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, following the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” This is the last Sunday before we launch once again into the season of Lent, those 40 days when we commemorate Jesus’ days in the wilderness and seek to deepen in our own faith and spiritual practices. This Sunday, we’ll offer a prelude to Lent, as we lean into the Wandering Heart series described above (check out the link). Often, before the… Read More
by UPB Editor, February 07, 2024
Ash Wednesday Wednesday, February 14 7pm Worship in the Chapel Learn more Lenten Discernment Class Sundays, February 25, March 3, 10, 17 5:30-8pm in the Parlor Sunday, March 24, 12:30pm in the Parlor Learn more Lenten Dinner Church Music and worship over a shared sacred meal. Thursdays, February 22, 29, March 7, 14, 21 5:45pm Doors open in the Parlor 6:00-6:45pm Worship Learn more Palm Sunday Sunday, March 24 11am Worship in the Sanctuary and on YouTube Maundy Thursday Thursday, March 28 7pm Worship and Communion in the Sanctuary and on YouTube Good Friday Friday, March 29 7pm Tenebrae Worship… Read More
by UPB Editor, February 01, 2024
Join us for worship on Wednesday, February 14 at 7pm in the Chapel as we celebrate this ancient ritual to help us remember that each of us is made of finite material, inspired and animated by the breath of God. Contact Senior Pastor Kent French at kent@upbrookline.org or Associate Pastor Amy Norton at amy@upbrookline.org…. Read More
by Amy Norton, February 01, 2024
January 21-February 4, our worship continues following our Church School curriculum from the autumn, Seeking Peace Together, as we learn in worship alongside the youngest members of our community. We had just chosen the hymn In the Bleak Midwinter for our Advent midweek worship when we turned to planning some of our post-Christmas Sundays, and noted humorously the seeming incongruence of “Celebrating the Harvest” during the depths of the “Bleak Midwinter.” The text this week forms the basis of the holiday of Sukkot, or the Festival of Booths, that our Jewish siblings still celebrate to this day. In part a… Read More
