Worship Service

Sunday, February 7, 2010

9:00 and 11:00 a.m.

What's Saving You?

Rev. Angela Herrera, speaking

    The Rev. Angela Herrera, a member of the First Parish Church in Cambridge, will give this Sunday’s sermon addressing the thin line between the "normal" life we take for granted and the potential that everything could suddenly turn upside down. Much of the time we can ignore the risk but sooner or later we all must look danger in the eye. Can anything save us?

    Rev. Herrera moved to New England from Oregon five years ago with her husband and two children to study for the ministry. While in school she worked as a speechwriter for Bill Sinkford when he was the president of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She is currently a leadership development trainer for the national Episcopal Church.

    Last summer she preached during the opening ceremony at UUA’s General Assembly in Salt Lake City. She was ordained in December at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Concord, Massachusetts, where she did her ministerial internship last year and in just a few months she'll complete her masters degree at Harvard University’s Divinity School.

    Rev. Lee Bluemel will be preaching at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church at First Parish in Sherborn covering for the sabbatical leave of the Rev. Nathan Detering.

Music: Adult Choir will sing spirituals.

Children and Youth: This week, after beginning with the adults in the sanctuary, our children will all go to the chapel for a Valentine’s Day service. We’ll be thinking of all of the kinds of love people have for each other and for the world.

    The Neighboring Faiths group will be visiting the Selimye Mosque in Methuen. The Junior Youth Group will not meet. The Coming of Age group will meet at 11 a.m. to investigate ideas about life, death, and the afterlife. The Senior Youth Group will meet from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the parlor and the Our Whole Lives group will meet from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the chapel.

It’s Souper Sunday! The congregation is invited to bring a can of soup to church this Sundayfor the annual “Souper Sunday.” Children will collect the soup cans for our People’s Pantry, which they learned about last week during their children’s chapel.

Coffee Hour: Join us for coffee, tea, juice and conversation. Our “Pennies for People” jar will be available for children or others who want to donate change to humanitarian efforts there.

Upcoming events

“This I Believe” Seminar, Weds., Feb. 3 & 10. 7:30-9 :30 p.m. What core beliefs guide your daily life? What values or beliefs did you learn from your family and retain -- or rebel against -- as an adult? Join a group of North Parish friends in exploring what we believe. (If the Coming of Age 9th grade class can do it, you can too!)

   We'll begin with some exercises that help us reflect as individuals and as a group on what we hold to be true, how we feel about familiar axioms or theological ideas and how others "line up" across the spectrum of beliefs with us. Participants will also get pointers on writing a brief reflection about what they believe, which we'll have opportunities to share with each other during the second evening. This class follows the public radio project done 50 years ago by Edward Murrow and re-started recently to collect the thoughts of famous and not-so-famous people.

  This seminar will be facilitated by Rev. Lee Bluemel. To sign up email Carolyn Zimmer.

Desserts And Divinities, Thurs., Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25, 8-9:30 p.m. This class, led by Anna Choi, will provide an introduction to the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity. Each week the class will focus on a different religion –- exploring where the religion came from historically and its main precepts. Anna Choi is a professor of religion at Merrimack College with a focus on the Hebrew Bible. To register, email Anna Choi.

New UU 101 Class, Weds., March 3, 10 & 17 Are you a newcomer to North Parish, whether new to Unitarian Universalism or just new to this particular congregation? Are you someone who is considering joining the congregation as a member? Are you a long-term member who would like to meet some newer members, reflect on why you're a UU, and get a quick re-grounding in UU history and theology? Join this class!

  We'll cover how we got here (our spiritual/religious journeys or lack thereof), get a whirlwind tour of UU theology/history/philosophy, and learn the "nuts and bolts" of how to become a member and/or get connected at North Parish. This class will be led by Rev. Lee Bluemel and John Van Drie of the membership committee. Sign up by calling the office at 978-687-7948 or emailing Carolyn Zimmer.