Category: Sunday Services

Risking Ourselves for Love: The Rev. Evin Carvill Ziemer will explore the topics of love, challenge, and change in this Sunday’s service for First Parish, beginning at 10 am at the church and on Zoom. 

Evin describes the service theme this way: “Love for each other and our world changes us and leads us ever on towards more change. Love was at the center of our Universalists’ ancestors’ theology and still is at the center of our community. And it is here in community we practice love.”

To participate via Zoom, please send an e-mail message to fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for a link. All will be welcome.

Lay Reader Dan Tinen will speak on issues raised by the now nearly year-old war in Ukraine at First Parish of Northfield, Unitarian, this Sunday, February 5. The service will begin at 10 am in-person and on Zoom. Dan describes his sermon as follows.

A year ago, Russia began its “special military operation” against its neighbor Ukraine. Now it has devolved into a desperate struggle with thousands dead, millions relocated, and civilians freezing in the dark. Americans need to have honest information about Ukraine before this disaster spirals out of control, but what little we do know has been clouded by misunderstandings and deliberate propaganda. Dan Tinen will share his research on Sunday morning.

To participate via Zoom, please send an e-mail message to fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for a link. All will be welcome.

“Finding Our Center” is the January theme set by the Soul Matters Sharing Circle of UU congregations. First Parish member Tony Stavely will lead a Chalice Circle service on the theme this Sunday, January 22, at 10 am. Who are “we” to be seeking a center together? Can one’s center be truly lost? What about eccentrics? We will explore such questions during this service of reflection and sharing. In keeping with current practice, the Chalice Circle will not be available on Zoom. All are welcome.

Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer

10 am Sunday, January 15

As we prepare for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, let’s remember the power of people moving together to make change. We will look back to the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and look back at the groundwork that led to the call for an eighth principle in Unitarian Universalism. We will also look forward and reflect on our place in the justice movements of our time. People of all ages are warmly welcome to join our service in person at 10am at First Parish in Northfield or on line via Zoom. To participate via Zoom, please send an e-mail message to fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for a link. All will be welcome.

A debate has long raged about the morality of economic systems, not only in our modern era but going back thousands of years. Biblical writers had various stances about the problem of poverty and the excesses of wealth. Writers today range from those who decry capitalism as the root of all evil to those who sanctify it as the solution to all problems. In a service titled “Judeo-Christianity and Capitalism,” Lay Reader Dan Tinen will share his alternative to these views on Sunday, January 8th at First Parish at 10 am, in person and on Zoom. To participate via Zoom, please send an e-mail message to fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for a link. All will be welcome.

The third of the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles is “Mutual acceptance and encouragement of spiritual growth.” This reminds us that life is a journey, taken alone, but witnessed and supported by others. Carlos Castaneda asked the question: Does your path have heart? This Sunday’s service, led by Robert W. Kubacki, will reflect on the guidance (as offered by many spiritual traditions) toward finding an answer.

All are welcome to the 10am service on December 18th at the church, corner of Parker and Main Streets in Northfield, and online by Zoom. Contact fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for the link to join online.

This week we are continuing to collect items for donation to the Northfield Food Pantry. Please bring shelf stable contributions with you to church if you can.

Dan Tinen will lead the Sunday service for First Parish of Northfield, Unitarian, at 10 am on December 4. Dan’s title is “Places I Remember.” In the service, he will explore the possibility that reflecting on one’s personal history may be a means of spiritual growth. The service will take place in person and online. All are welcome. Contact fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for the link to join online.

CHANGE is everywhere. It can be an inevitable process (growing up/aging), a sudden and terrifying event (a lightning strike), or a deliberate choice to change our lives.

Can we learn to make our way through life’s changes with grace and courage?

Join us at 10 am Sunday, November 27, to reflect on changes we have faced, changes we have made, and the changes that are coming in our lives. Mike La Rue will lead First Parish of Northfield, Unitarian, in a Chalice Circle on this ever present topic. As with other Chalice Circles currently, this will be an in-person only service.

The Thanksgiving Address, with Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer

Sunday, November 20, 10am, First Parish of Northfield, Unitarian

In Haudenosaunee tradition, the Thanksgiving Address is recited at the beginning of each day as well as at the beginning of many festivals and functions. As many in the United States look toward marking the holiday of Thanksgiving, let us respectfully reflect together about all there is for us to learn from this particular Indigenous gratitude practice. Our service begins at 10 am and people of all ages are invited to join together in person or connect with us on Zoom. The service will take place in person and online. All are welcome. Contact fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for the link to join online.

“Transformed by grace: Allowing curiosity to heal divisions among humans” is Eveline MacDougall’s theme for First Parish of Northfield’s Sunday service at 10 am on November 13. We welcome Eveline back to our pulpit. An author, musician, artist, teacher, actor, poet, journalist, and mom, she will share stories of interpersonal and spiritual healing, along with music featuring a number of different instruments.

The service will take place in person and online. All are welcome, wearing a mask. Contact fpnorthfieldma@gmail.com for the link to join online.