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Monthly Newsletter of the
First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton
June 5, 2024
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Worship Service
All Ages Flower Sunday
Sunday, June 9, 2024 at 10:15am
Rev. Parisa Parsa
Please bring a flower or two to share, ideally from your yard or garden.
We celebrate Flower Sunday, a Unitarian Universalist ritual in which we celebrate coming together with all of our unique beauty and thorns, in all different stages of life, and accepting one another as we are. This will be Rev. Parisa's final sermon as interim minister.
Join us in person or on Zoom:
https://bit.ly/FUUSNWorship
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Religious Exploration This Week
All Ages Service - No RE, nursery care available
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Meanwhile...
From Rev. Parisa Parsa
What an overwhelming array of emotions we’re holding as we enter the summer at FUUSN! Your new co-ministry team has been welcomed with open arms, you’ve spent a lot of time with one another and with them, and we’re about to complete the church year with our Annual Meeting and Flower Ceremony. As many of you heard last week, in August I will move on to a transitional ministry at Arlington Street Church. Change really is the only constant. Bowing to that fact and the mystery of what abides even as we navigate change is the core of spiritual life.
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It’s hard to find the words for the goodbye I want to offer you, good people of FUUSN. You have become so dear to me in the last two years. As the congregation emerged and re-animated in-person gatherings as Covid rates waned, it was a joy to witness your re-discovery of your affection for one another and deep devotion to this community. After years of openly wondering (often cynically) about the fate of liberal religious congregations, I felt a glimmer of new hope rising in the coffee hour hubbub.
The truth that abides alongside the constancy of change is summed up best by the poet Gwendolyn Brooks:
“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
My childhood was filled with rather traumatic departures, incomplete goodbyes because circumstances did not allow for care for relationships. It has been in adulthood, and especially in ministry, that I have learned the significance and the real challenge of saying goodbye. Whether it is the ceremonies we hold to honor the final goodbye of death, or the movements in and out of community and life stages, farewells always come with a mix of emotions many of us like to keep in check. In the case of this arc of interim ministry, I am grateful for the goodbye horizon that was built in from the start. It has meant that we have all been preparing emotionally (if somewhat reluctantly) for this for several months. I’ve already received several deeply thoughtful, heartfelt notes and gifts and shed some tears. We have been each other’s business for two years, and though we will continue to be connected in spirit, the nature of our bond is about to change.
We all face the temptation to escape the strong emotions of goodbyes by rushing past them, saying we’ll see each other again, or (sorry: not sorry) postponing the goodbye long enough that we run out of time. Yet if we learn anything from those truly final farewells of our lives, in which we watch people we care about die too soon, or with unfinished business, it should be to pay careful attention to the smaller goodbyes: to take time to name and appreciate the gift of a relationship, to forgive what needs to be forgiven, to offer forgiveness, and to let go. Life is too short to carry regret for words unspoken or wounds unhealed. And life is too precious not to bow to the harvest of lessons and growth we offer in our bonds.
This Sunday, June 9, will be my last one leading FUUSN worship, and we will celebrate so much, including the joy of the annual flower ceremony. We will give great thanks and make important decisions at the Annual Meeting, and with the transition to summer services on June 16, many folks will scatter. I will be ‘on duty’ for FUUSN through the end of July, and welcome you to stop by for a chat or to schedule a meeting for coffee or a walk nearby. You can schedule a time with me here. Tell me what else needs to be said before we part. Let me thank you personally for our time together. While we might encounter one another again in the small world of Unitarian Universalism, our relationship will be very different: I will no longer be your minister. Let us bow to one another in thanksgiving for what we have learned together, release one another from our mistakes, and move forward stronger for all we have learned.
Deepest blessings and all good wishes to you, beloved FUUSN community!
Rev. Parisa
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Welcome to Our New Co-Ministers: Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner and Rev. Joel Miller
We are delighted to announce that the Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner and the Rev. Joel Miller have accepted our call as co-ministers!
At a congregational meeting held on June 2, 2024, 99% of voting members issued the call. Rev. Debra and Rev. Joel accepted the call, and a joyous celebration followed! To see photos and a video of this special day, and for more details about our new co-ministers, please see our press release.
Rev. Debra and Rev. Joel will join us in September 2024. We hope that you will join us in welcoming them.
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Monthly Newsletters Begin Today
As we wind down for the summer, our newsletter shifts from weekly to monthly, published on June 5, July 3, and July 31, 2024. Please submit your news and events for inclusion in the newsletter by the previous Tuesday at 9am.
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Annual Meeting After Service This Sunday
At our annual meeting on Sunday June 9th, we will be voting to approve the operating budget for FY25 that was approved by the Board of Trustees last week. Here are the budget and a narrative explaining key points of the budget and how it meets the board’s priorities for the coming year. The full Annual Report is also available.
Karen Bottar and Neil MacGaffey of the Finance Committee are holding a Zoom session on Thursday, June 6th from 7:00 to 8:00pm. They will be available to answer any questions you have about the budget. Please drop in anytime during the hour that is convenient for you. If you are not available on the 6th, please feel free to contact Karen or Neil, and they can arrange to answer your questions.
Thank you,
Susan Bartlett
Chair, Operations Council
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Warrant for Upcoming Annual Meeting
The warrant for the upcoming annual meeting on Sunday, June 9, 2024 can be found here:
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Over 60s Zoom Group Forming
As the Over 60s, we have long been trying to figure out a way to make it easier for those members who have a difficult time getting to church - whether it’s transportation, health and mobility issues, or distance - to get together. Age not a requirement!!
The time, date, frequency and content to be determined by members, with set-up and on-going help by the Over 60s. We see this potential group as a way to stay connected with others at FUUSN and keep up with what’s going on, bring inquiries, maybe have staff as guests, whatever! when attending church is not so easy.
Would you have interest in such a group? If so, please email Ruth Comstock. If we have enough interest, we will get back to you and begin planning!
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June Worship Services
June 16: FUUSN in the News - Parish Hall
How does FUUSN appear to those who only know us through the newspapers? This Sunday, Gayle Smalley, chair of the FUUSN Preservation Committee, will take us on a tour of FUUSN as seen through newspaper articles about us. What do you hope this might reveal? Come for a conversation about our community and the larger world.
June 23: Psychedelics and Spirituality: The Religion with No Name - Zoom
Today we are experiencing something of a renaissance in the understanding and acceptance of psychedelic experience. The medical community is leading this renaissance as it researches the power of psychedelics to address medical conditions such as addiction and anxiety. Yet throughout history, psychedelics have been even more centrally valued for their ability to promote spiritual experiences of love and oneness – creating what some have called The Religion With No Name. In this service, Curt Lamb will lead a discussion of the implications for contemporary spiritual life of the psychedelic renaissance.
June 30: Strong in the Broken Places - Zoom
Singer songwriter Leonard Cohen wrote in his song, Anthem, “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” In this service – Strong in the Broken Places – Claire Willis will invite us to see our wounds and limitations in a new light – as sources of strength and even beauty.
View all Summer Services Here
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Thursday, June 6
6-8pm: UUA General Assembly Delegates Meeting - Children's Chapel
7-8pm: FY25 Budget Q&A - Zoom
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Saturday, June 8
8:45am-1:00pm: Boston Pride - contact Jacki Rohan at rainbow-umbrella@fusn.org
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Sunday, June 9
11:30am-1:30pm: Annual Meeting - Sanctuary and Zoom
11:30-1:00pm: Community BBQ Lunch - Parish Hall
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Tuesday, June 11
7-9pm: Soul Matters Small Group Ministry - Children's Chapel
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Saturday, June 15
2-5pm: Julian Dusett Memorial Service - Sanctuary and Parish Hall
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Thursday, June 18
10am-12pm: Over 60s Haiku Retreat - Alliance Room
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Sunday, June 23
6-8pm: UU Plant-Based Eating Club Potluck - Location TBA
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Monday, July 1
7:30-9pm: Soul Matters Small Group Ministry
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Thursday, June 13
6-7:30pm: RE Committee - online
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Monday, June 17
5:30-6:30pm: All8 Arts Facilitators - online
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Tuesday, June 18
7-9pm: Operations Council - online
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Tuesday, June 25
7-8pm: Board of Trustees - online
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Monday, July 1
2:30-3:30pm: Member Services Committee - online
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Recurring Events
Wed., 6:30pm: Tai Chi Class
Wed., 7:30pm: Choir Practice
Thurs., 4:30pm: CreationDance
Fri., 11am: Over 60s Walking Group
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Please Bring A Flower From Your Yard or Garden This Sunday!
As part of Flower Service this Sunday, everyone is encouraged to bring a flower to share, ideally from your yard or garden. If you have no flowers or forget to bring one, don't worry! We will have plenty of extras.
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Community Lunch Helpers Wanted!
The Community BBQ Lunch is scheduled for June 9, 2024 to coincide with the Annual Meeting. Volunteer to help cook, set up, or clean up!
| For these and ALL other volunteer opportunities, visit the Volunteer page on our website. Have a volunteer opportunity to add? Contact Jenise. | | |
Summertime Over 60s Activities
Pickleball - for all ages. Get on pickleball email list for dates and time: Contact Kevan Hartshorn, Brian Gill, or Bruce Kimball.
Walking groups - for new participants for email list for dates and times: Contact Ruth Comstock.
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UU Plant-Based Eating Club Summer Picnic - July 13, 5pm
Our Annual summer potluck picnic will once again be held at the beautiful backyard of Brenda Asis and Andy LeCompte in Weston on Saturday, July 13 at 5pm (rain date: Sunday, July 14 at 5pm). Further details will be forthcoming.
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Summer Chime Concerts
Music is in the air in West Newton! A chime concert is scheduled for Saturday, July 13th. Free to the public, the concert will begin at 5:00 PM and continue for about one hour. Additional concerts will be offered at 5:00 PM on July 20th and August 10th.
View the Flyer
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Our profound thanks to the Ministerial Search Committee for their amazing dedication and very hard work: sending out and evaluating the results of the Congregational Survey, gathering more information about the needs and desires of the congregation in Listening Circles, having the courage to decide not to choose a candidate from the first round of applicants and the fortitude to continue into a second round, and the inspiration and wisdom to select our new co-ministry team. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL to Barbara Bates, Eric Haas, Julia Huston, Melissa Kogut, Eric Moore, Erin O'Donnell (chair), and Cindy Orrell!!! | |
Thanks to the many people who helped with the Congregational Vote on Sunday, June 2, 2024. What seemed so simple in theory had a lot of moving parts! Thanks to Dan Brody, Judith Curby, Emily R. Gelbert, Julia Huston, Bruce Kimball, Ben Klinman, Jud Leonard, Ellen Metzger, Gordon Moriarty, Bob Persons, Linda Ross, Kit Ryan, and Barbara Schmitt. | |
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Have a news item you want to share? Want to schedule a FUUSN Event? Please use our web forms! Note that any event using physical space at FUUSN must be approved by Fran, and until you receive confirmation from her, that event will not be scheduled or added to our Events calendar.
Submissions to the newsletter must be sent in by the first Tuesday of the month at 9am.
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First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton www.fuusn.org | 617-527-3203 | | |
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