Celebration Sunday is a time in the Unitarian Universalist year when we celebrate all the work we have accomplished, it also signifies the transition to summer services. This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty will be sharing her thoughts about summer, celebration and...
This Sunday we will honor the youth who are making the transition, bridging, into young adulthood. With each celebration of accomplishment we have an opportunity to embrace an ending, but it is really an ending or just another opportunity to begin again? Rev. Dr....
In line with our covenant with our world through our seven principles we are moved to continue the conversation of what it means to integrate our promise and our spirituality with the diversity that surrounds us. With our sermon, Spirituality and Interfaith, we hope...
Sunday May 18th - What does it take to be an active, social-justice seeking community and how do we say thank you for the gifts that we share with one another? This morning is all about honoring the hard work of the members and friends who keep First Parish up and...
Books have been written, music sung and love abounds for mothers. They work tirelessly, they give selflessly, and they compel us to excel! Okay we have the opportunity to complain about our mothers all the year long but we really honor them on this one day, which is...
This I Believe – What do you believe? By the adult “This I Believe” class Join us this Sunday as the six members of the adult “This I Believe” class, Trish Robertson, June Hopkins, Rich Davison, Valerie Tratnyek, Leslie Lowe, and Karen Neurath share their inspiring...
5:45am — Easter Sunrise Service – We will meet outside in the upper memorial garden to greet the dawn with a celebration of life through music, the spoken word, and sharing. All are welcome to this renewing and introspective practice, We will gather at 5:45 as Sunrise is at 5:55.
10:00am — Easter – What is Easter and why is it important that holy week culminate in resurrection? Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty will be sharing her thoughts about the theological implications off resurrection and how we can each find value, regardless of our religious or spiritual identity, in Easter. There will be an easter hunt provided for adults and children and if the weather cooperates we will be having our Fellowship hour out of doors!
How do Unitarian Universalists acknowledge the importance of this Holy Week? Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty reviews the transformative nature of life and how on occasion we face into the darkness to be born again with a new appreciation for life. You need not be Christian to find meaning during this time of the year; throughout history the religious and pagan alike found opportunities transformation during this time of reflection and rebirth.
What if you could hear a musical ensemble that has been performing together for decades present its best works? This Sunday, the First Parish of Sudbury choir and music director Debra Morris-Bennett will do just that when they celebrate 25 years of singing together....
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark—or Anything Else
For many of us, the dark was the first thing we were truly afraid of. But as with much of the unknown, darkness can become far less intimidating once we become more familiar with it. On Sunday, March 30, First Parish of Sudbury will explore the lighter side of darkness and fear when it welcomes to the pulpit Rob Kinslow, a member of First Parish and second-year seminarian at Andover Newton Theological School. Kinslow will lead a service called “Sweet Darkness” in which he will suggest ways to overcome doubt, fear and regret. The service begins at 10 a.m. and is open to all.
“In one of my favorite poems there is a line, ‘Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you,’” Kinslow said. “Our fears and regrets can make us feel small and outmatched in the world, but I really believe we can shift our thinking, and that whatever is making us feel small can actually become a small thing we no longer fear.”
Kinslow is a senior strategist specializing in medical marketing for KHJ Brand Activation in Boston. His blog, “Brand and Beyond,” appears regularly at www.massdevice.com. He is pursuing a master’s in divinity at Andover Newton in Newton.
Click “read more” to read the full sermon.