Last Sunday, we explored how there are many ways for human beings to relate to the land upon which they live. This service will consider this further, reflecting on what it would be like to act out of the spiritual understanding that we belong to the earth; the earth does not belong to us. This … Continue reading We Belong to the Earth
As we near the 400th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth Rock next year, the book An Indigenous History of the United States (this year’s UUA’s Common Read) invites us to consider the history of this nation beyond “the first” settlers and “the last” Native Americans. This service will point to the possibilities for hope … Continue reading A Doctrine of Recovery: Decolonizing the Collective Mind
This Sunday, in honor of Veterans Day, we will welcome guest speaker Pete Rogers into the pulpit. After 40 years of silence and shame, Pete publicly “came out” as a veteran of the Vietnam War 10 years ago. Since then he has been telling his story to high school students in central Massachusetts – as … Continue reading How War Teaches Forgiveness
The ancients remind us that this time of year is when “the veil is thinnest between the living and the dead.” In our annual Remembrance Service, we will honor both our beloved dead and those whose legacy includes pain and unfinished business. WUS friend and genealogist D. Andrews will invite us into ways we can … Continue reading “A Different Kind of Magic:” A Service of Remembrance
This Sunday, we welcome into our pulpit the Rev. Tom Rosiello, Minister Emeritus of the First Parish Church of Stow and Acton and current minister of the UU Fellowship of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. In this month of exploring “belonging,” he will speak to how the current climate regarding immigration in the US is … Continue reading Caminamos Juntos: We Walk Together
Unitarian Universalism is not “creedal but covenantal,” meaning that we are held together not by shared belief but by promises. We make promises about how we will behave with each other and how we will companion one another through life. We make promises to the wider world. Everyone knows what a promise is but sometimes … Continue reading “Show Us How to Love”: Living in Covenant
Wave after wave of immigrants have come to America. Opening our country’s doors and welcoming people from other parts of the world who are seeking freedom and dreaming of a better life is part of America’s identity. Supporting a positive experience for immigrants who come to the United States is part of Winchester Unitarian Society’s … Continue reading Welcoming the Stranger: the “oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions”
The High Holy Days, the Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at the threshold of the Jewish New Year, invite us into reflection about the ways we have fallen short in our promises to one another. While this time of atonement often centers on experiences between individuals, it is also a time … Continue reading “For Our Failures of Justice”: History, Atonement and Yom Kippur
Unitarian Universalism affirms that everyone will be received in love after death. This faith does not ask anyone to profess a doctrine, creed or theology to belong in community. So practicing a Unitarian Universalist faith is easy, right? This service will explore how, despite our commitment to spiritual pluralism and inclusion, Unitarian Universalism expects much … Continue reading Great Expectations: The Challenge of the Liberal Religious Path
Many join and commit to a congregation “for community.” Whether we think about it at the time, we often seek community so that we do not live through our joys, transitions, sorrows and fears alone. This service will reflect on how we companion one another through the peaks and valleys of life. It will also … Continue reading “There is a Love Holding Us”: Celebrating Pastoral Ministry
