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September 13 - Water Communion Sunday. We will join the waters of our summer sojourns in our annual celebration of homecoming. Bring water from whatever source was important to you this summer: your sprinkler, Cape Cod Bay, Lake Como, or the Amazon! Ken will offer a homily "Celebrating the Religious Community at First Parish, Beginning its 359th Year."
September 20 - Beginning his 25th year at First Parish (and having returned from a sabbatical of thought and study), Ken will share his expectations, concerns, and dreams for the future.
September 27 - Robin Zucker, our Ministerial Intern, will give her first sermon at First Parish. Titled "A Tale of Two Tattoos," it is a Yom Kippur reflection about perfection, brokenness, and forgiveness that asks, "How good do we have to be to be forgiven, and by whose standards?"
October 4 - Kimi and a couple of our youth will be speaking on "Lotts Creek Community School, or What Are Those Crazy Kids Driving to Kentucky For?" (with our handmade sign, "Honk if you're happy!"). We had another great trip this year and look forward to sharing the story of this amazing school with the congregation.
October 11 - Sermon by Ken, "What Could the Cambridge Platform Have to Say Now?" This year is the 350th anniversary of the accord that governed the relationship between church and state in the greater Wayland area (the Massachusetts Bay Colony). Fusses are afoot. For good reason?
October 18 - Sermon by Ken, "How Does the Bible Factor In?" A century and a half ago, the Bible was considered to be the guidebook that defined us at First Parish. In the years that followed, it came to have a far-reduced role. What might it mean to us today?
October 25 - Sermon by guest preacher Ben Hall, "Rethinking Community." Ben, who is a member of First Parish, is a candidate for Unitarian Universalist community ministry. He asks, "To what kind of community does our faith call us, and how do we get there?"
November 1 - Sermon by Ken, "If the World Were to Listen, What Would We Say?" What if the sermons at First Parish were broadcast on the radio so anyone in earshot of WADN in Concord could listen? For this and the next four Sundays, we will in fact be "on the air." What does Unitarian Universalism have to proclaim to the world at large?
November 8 - Sermon by Ken, Is There a Unity of Knowledge at Hand? Ken attended a four-day conference at Harvard last February on "Jewish Views of the Environment," at which E. O. Wilson (though himself not Jewish) was the keynote speaker. Wilson's latest book, Concilience, raises interesting issues that Ken will address.
November 15 - Greta Stone, Kimi Riegel, and other members of the congregation will present a service with adoption as the theme. All of our lives are touched by adoption. It' s a topic to be explored and celebrated.
November 22 - The entire congregation gathers for a pre-Thanksgiving worship service, with a homily by Ken.
November 29 - Sermon by Ken, "Spirit of Life."
December 6 - Sermon by Kimi, Home for the Holidays. The concept of place has captured the imagination of writers for centuries. What makes a place feel like home? What are some of the places that are special to us? Where is our home for the holidays? Join Kimi for a morning exploring the theme of place.
December 13 - Music Sunday. For our annual holiday Music Sunday, the Holiday Orchestra and Choir will perform Vivaldi's Gloria. Liturgy by Ken.
December 20 - Homily by Ken, "A Jesus for Us Today."
December 27 - First Parish will host the annual combined service with our neighbor churches, First Parish of Sudbury and First Parish of Framingham. Sermon by Robin, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", asks how, in an era of virtual communities, we might sustain a place-based community of old-fashioned neighborliness. An inter-generational "people's choir" will sing simple Christmas music; interested adults and children should arrive at 10:00 for rehearsal.
January 3—9:00 and 11:00 Worship Services. Sermon by Ken at the time of New Year's resolutions, wondering, "Is 'Good Enough' Good Enough?" Sometimes no, but maybe often yes.
January 10 - Sermon by Deborah Pope-Lance, "Faith and Folly." As a UU Community Minister, Deborah provides programs and consultation on the ethics of ministerial practice and congregational life. Her sermon considers the story of Abraham's willingness to slay his son Isaac, asking what responsibility we exercise for faith or folly.
January 17 - Sermon by Ken Sawyer, "To Awaken the Soul, To Excite and Cherish Spiritual Life." The phrase is from a talk by William Ellery Channing, a founding thinker of American Unitarianism, who was describing what he called "the great end in religious instruction." As many First Parishioners prepare for a major assessment of our church school program, Ken will consider how we at First Parish strive for that "great end."
January 24 - Sermon by Kimi Riegel, "Language: Who's in Charge, Anyway?" Each year at the First Parish Auction, the ministers auction a sermon, the subject to be determined by the buyer. Hal Morse bought this sermon, which begins with the idea that language shapes our world and gets us through our days. How does our language affect our perception and vice-versa? How have changes in language affected our lives?
January 31 - Sermon by Ken Sawyer, "Millennial Madness." As the year 2000 approaches, many concerns are surfacing, and not all of them are digital. Some people foresee the final days, the end of time, or a shift into a new mode of existence. Even if we don't buy into them, such theories can fascinate us. This talk is brought to you by Jane Williamson and Stephen Winthrop, who took home from last year's auction the privilege of ordering up one sermon.
February 7 - Sermon by Robin, "Old Love for the New Year." How might love from the past, even "love gone by," endure to guide or nurture us in the future?
February 14 - Sermon by Ken, "Well, Maybe. I Guess. Sure, Sure, Whatever." A defense - even a celebration - of ambiguity and uncertainty in matters religious.
February 21 - Sermon by Ken, "Some Things Commonly Believed Among Us". A declaration that there are times that call for more decided responses.
February 28 - Sermon by Kimi, "Women and Islam." Recent events in Afghanistan bring this topic into the news again. Are Muslim women treated unfairly? What does the Koran, the holy book of Islam, have to say about women? What is our place as people who care about human rights?
March 7 - Sermon by Ken, "Rocks, Pebbles, and Sand: Putting First Things First."
March 14 - Sermon by Ken, "Job."
March 21 - Youth Sunday. The Masks of Life: How Are We All Hiding? What Are We Hiding? The eighth grade will have a ceremony at 9 o'clock; at 10, senior youth will explore the theme with masks, readings, music, and original work.
March 28 - Sermon by Ken, "Lists Upon Lists, Some Worth Pondering, Including Jesus' Own Top Ten."
April 4 - Easter Sunday. Sunrise service (and breakfast) beginning at 6:23 a.m., 99 Concord Road; Music Sunday - The Choir presents Benjamin Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb. Ken Sawyer, Liturgist.
April 11 - Question and Answer Sunday. Members of the congregation have a chance anonymously to ask questions of Ken, Kimi, Polly, and Robin, and hear them answer on the spot.
April 18 - In their annual sermon together, Kimi and Ken will join with Barb Greve to discuss ways in which individuals, congregations, and society can become more understanding, accepting, and affirming of transgender people. Barb is Administrative Assistant at the UUA's Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns, and president of the First Parish in Framingham.
April 25 - Sermon by Robin, "How Can We Keep From Singing?" In what ways might we find meaning and fulfillment in our workday labors, our hobbies (or labors of love), and in our volunteer work? How do some people manage to merge values and spirituality with vocation? This service will explore the mixed blessings of work, culminating in a Blessing of the Tools.
May 2 - A sermon by Ken and a Blessing of the Animals. "The Interconnected
Web." May 9 (Mother's Day) - Our 1-5 graders will present their version of "The Peace Play," in which a diverse group of children comes to an understanding about how they want the world to be. It will be a fun morning. Mother's Day began as a day to affirm a peaceful world. Join our hard-working kids and get your Mother's Day off to a good start.
May 16 - Sermon by Ken, "Ministry: Missionary, Maid/Manservant, or Midwife?" Our new members will also be recognized.
May 23 - Sermon by Robin, "We've Known Rivers." Some say life is more like an ever-changing river than an immovable mountain Both literally and figuratively, we never step into the same river twice. Robin will explore this theme of change, challenge and opportunity, as she looks back at her year paddling with the Parish through the rapids and along the soft currents of congregational life.
May 30 (Memorial Day Sunday) - Sermon by Ken honoring some of the personages who have died in the last 12 months.
June 6 - We welcome as our speaker Rabbi Sally Finestone, rabbi of Or Atid, the Conservative Jewish congregation that meets in our buildings. Sermon Topic: "King Hezekiah's Tunnel." The liturgist for the morning will be Maddie Sifantus.
June 13 - Flower Sunday The regular church year will culminate as usual with special all-church service, featuring a flower communion in the tradition begun in Prague by the Rev. Norbert Capek sixty years ago. Bring a flower to add to the community bouquet.
Note: Sermons for all weeks are not available at this time. Links will be added
as more sermons are published.
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