by Kent French, January 25, 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. Peacemakers join God in caring for the Earth. On Sunday, we will revisit the second Creation story in Genesis (chapter 2, verses 4-23) and imagine what it would have felt like to wake up in the original Garden of Eden: What would we notice? What would surprise us? Where would our sense of wonder go? How does this original, primal wonder inform our relationship with this Earthly garden today? How much… Read More
by Kent French, January 18, 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. This Sunday, we pick up where our Church School curriculum left off in November, pre-Advent and Christmastide. And we start back in with a radical concept of wartime hospitality and a doozy of a biblical story to ground us (2 Kings 6:8-23). The story is so strange to our modern sensibility, that it comes across like creatively re-imagined history, with a whole lot magical realism thrown in. And yet, as we… Read More
by UPB Editor, January 16, 2024
After a multi-year hiatus, the Souper Bowl Chili Sale is returning. On Saturday, February 10, the Hearts and Hands Ministry Team will gather in the kitchen off Willett Hall to cook the chili, make cornbread and bake desserts. Come join us anytime between 9am-2pm to cook and socialize with others. After church on Sunday, February 11, we will sell the food and the proceeds will go towards the matching funds for United Parish’s grant award from the National Fund for Sacred Places. Contact heartsandhands@upbrookline.org…. Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, January 11, 2024
Dear Ones, I hope you will join us at 9:45am downstairs in Willett Hall on Sunday for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Intergenerational Morning of Service! There are service activities for every age and ability (drawing, scrubbing, tying, painting, connecting, and more!), and every little bit helps! Afterwards, in worship (also in Willett Hall), we’ll be delving into this year’s theme from The King Center: “It Starts With Me”. We’ll hear two stories of unlikely individuals called to join a movement they knew nothing about; and thanks to their leaps of curiosity, ended up making a whole… Read More
by Kent French, January 04, 2024
For this Advent and Christmastide, we are deepening into the question of How Does a Weary World Rejoice? You can follow along with daily devotionals on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Worship this Sunday, January 7, is in Willett Hall, while our Sanctuary is being painted. Please check our website and emails about the status of worship in light of the coming snow storm. We began this series by acknowledging our weariness and we conclude with trusting our belovedness; ultimately, our joy is rooted in the fact that we belong to God. In the story of Jesus’ baptism (Luke 3:15-22),… Read More
by Kent French, December 28, 2023
For this Advent and Christmastide, we are deepening into the question of How Does a Weary World Rejoice? You can follow along with daily devotionals on our Facebook and Instagram pages. After the shepherds and angels depart, after being counted for the census, after the wise ones drop off their gifts, then what? Mary and Joseph needed to make their way back home. But first, they had an important ritual — the Jewish rite of circumcision for an eight-day-old male. So they headed to the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:21-38). There they encounter Simeon, who had long awaited to meet… Read More
by Amy Norton, December 20, 2023
Dear Ones, The fourth Sunday of Advent is upon us again, bringing us to the morning when we help re-tell the story of the first Christmas (an unrehearsed event, much like our pageant). We’ll hear the call of the angels, follow the star to Bethlehem, pay homage to the infant Christ, and return home by another way. All ages are welcome to take part in our pageant; if your idea of fun is to ham it up as Herod, gallop around the Sanctuary as a Magi, or snore with the shepherds and sheep, this is your opportunity! We’ll be putting… Read More
by Amy Norton, December 14, 2023
For this Advent and Christmastide, we are deepening into the question of How Does a Weary World Rejoice? You can follow along with daily devotionals on our Facebook and Instagram pages. This Sunday, we’re focusing in on some of the songs featured in Luke’s Gospel, which a dear colleague compared to a musical. She is not wrong. The songs featured in a musical offer a view into the inner life of the characters, their deepest hopes, fears, poignant loves, their anguish and pain…Think Hamilton, Spring Awakening, Rent, The Secret Garden…even Mamma Mia. I believe that the enduring popularity of musical theater speaks to our human tendency… Read More
by UPB Editor, December 08, 2023
Many of you know that the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), the faith-based coalition of some 60 church, synagogues and temples working for housing justice in Massachusetts, is organizing several meetings with our state senators and representatives to seek their commitments to the legislative actions we are campaigning for — better public housing, more affordable housing, and housing for persons returning from incarceration. We have great momentum on our campaign with strong support announced by Gov. Maura Healey for GBIO’s proposals in October, and we need now to take our case to the legislature. Join us for one of the… Read More
by Kent French, December 07, 2023
For this Advent and Christmastide, we are deepening into the question of How Does a Weary World Rejoice? You can follow along with daily devotionals on our Facebook and Instagram pages. When was the last time you remember being really amazed? Not just surprised, but dumbstruck with amazement. Reflecting on the rhythm and events of your week, you might find it hard to bring this easily to mind. One of my early mentors told me that the heart of the spiritual life is gratitude and wonder. And yet, the more we lean into adulthood, the more responsibilities we have, the… Read More
