When someone we love dies, their presence among us is sustained through sharing stories of their life. This service will reflect on the practice of storytelling about our beloved dead and the power of hearing their words once again. All are invited to bring photos and small mementos of those we remember to place in … Continue reading Testimony: A Service of Remembrance
As we prepare for the Witness Pilgrimage to the Royall House and Slave Quarters, this service explores the little-known history of enslaved Africans in our area, inviting us to consider what lessons can we can learn for today’s on-going quest for racial justice. This Sunday, we share our gifts with the Royall House and Slave Quarters, … Continue reading “It is Not Wrong to Go Back for That Which You Have Forgotten”: A History of Our Place in the Deep North
Poet Wendell Berry affirms “There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” As part of this month exploring “sanctuary,” this interactive service will reflect on the meaning of sacred space, within and beyond the literal sanctuaries of houses of worship. This service will also serve as the religious education program … Continue reading Holy Ground
The Rev. Heather Janules “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most.” These words by Phillip Pullman remind us that simple human stories can be like scripture, inviting us deeper into life. And what inspires more than a love story? This is the story of Malik and Zahida. It was 1989. … Continue reading Sanctuary Stories
October 7, 2018 The Rev. Heather Janules One of the blessings of New England is living through the transitions of the seasons, the extremes of bitter cold and snow in winter, the muddy chill of spring, the bright blaze of summer and the odyssey of color that is autumn. Each season brings gifts and challenges. … Continue reading The Spirituality of Surrender
I love to ask couples and friends how they met. Every story iscompletely unique about how and where they met, who introducedthem. I think of these stories as their “call to be in relationship” stories.I also love to ask people who go to church, what made them walkthrough the door of the congregation for the … Continue reading The Sacred Playground
Perhaps you have seen him – the tall, lanky white man with a baseball cap, standing at the intersection of Commerce Way and Route 95 in Woburn, the center of a busy retail corridor. He holds a sign, printed on one side with the slogan “Support our Troops” and, on the other side, “Trump Won … Continue reading Our Voice, Our Vote
“There is something I have to tell you. I have never told this to anyone before. Many years ago, I was unfaithful in my marriage. The affair is long over but I can’t help but to think about what a bad spouse I was. My children were young at the time. I robbed my family … Continue reading Hungry Before God: Reflections on Yom Kippur
One thing I have always known about myself is that I have a brown thumb. Whenever somebody gives me a plant, I immediately worry about how much time we will have together. How long will it take for my neglect to turn this beautiful plant into a brown, shriveled mess? It is strange that I … Continue reading The Parable of the Brown Thumb
O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie usTo see oursels as ithers see us!It wad frae mony a blunder free us,An’ foolish notion:What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,An’ ev’n devotion! –Robert Burns, “To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church”
