This Sunday’s service: “Let’s Think About This”

Posted on March 14, 2012 by northshoreuu

Park bench plaque, facing Sacramento River, Redding, California

Many spiritual teachers encourage us to leave off thinking in order to be fully present to the moment. This Sunday, March 18, the Reverend Frieda Gillespie will lead a service exploring the views of Krishnamurti, Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hanh, Emerson, and others about the place of thought in our lives.

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Our multi-generational Religious Education Program will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Visitors are always welcome.

Photo (cc) by fishermansdaughter and republished under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

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This Sunday’s service: “The Shakers and the Unitarians”

Posted on March 7, 2012 by northshoreuu

Shaker barn at the first Shaker settlement in Albany, New York.

The theme of the service this Sunday, March 11, will be “The Shakers and the Unitarians” — a request by church member Iain Goddard, winner of the People-to-People auction sermon for 2011. The Reverend Frieda Gillespie will explore the influence of the Shakers on Unitarianism and vice-versa.

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Our multi-generational Religious Education Program will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Visitors are always welcome.

Photo (cc) by Jim Forest and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

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“Why Marry?” Reflections on love and commitment

Posted on March 3, 2012 by northshoreuu

The following is the Reverend Frieda Gillespie’s sermon of February 19, titled “Why Marry?”

Just before sitting down to do some serious writing of this sermon, I took our wedding invitations out to the mailbox. “This is it,” I said. Jennifer smiled (thankfully). Every step we take toward planning our wedding makes it more real. We both have some jitters about it.

I have never married, although I’ve had a few opportunities. I’ve always said that I haven’t married because I hadn’t met anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I’ve seen the handwriting on the wall with each of them. I knew the relationships wouldn’t last. Thinking about it, there is a lot I would have missed had I gotten married. Many of my best adventures would probably not have happened. That includes adopting my daughter. I’ve never felt that marriage and having children were a measure of my worth or status as a woman. Nor have I felt discounted by anyone else because I wasn’t married. But I have felt out of place in a group of soccer moms or, more likely, swim-team moms. I definitely don’t have the same things to talk about that they do. That can be a disconcerting experience.

There are some significant changes in our culture that are working against traditional concepts of family and marriage. People are getting married later. In 1960 more than half of those aged 18 to 29 were married. Today, that number has dropped below 22 percent. Forty percent of children are born to single mothers. Women are becoming more and more independent of men. Women outnumber men in colleges and graduate schools. They earned 60 percent of the entire bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded in 2010. Women have better employment and salary prospects than men for the first time. Read more »

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This Sunday’s service: “Worth and Dignity”

Posted on February 29, 2012 by northshoreuu

The first of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s seven principles — respect for “the inherent worth and dignity of every person” — can be a challenge. What, for example, are we to make of murderers, pedophiles, and rapists? Do they, too, deserve our respect? How do we understand our first principle?

These questions will be the subject of our service this Sunday, March 4, titled “Respect for the Worth and Dignity of Every Person?”, to be led by the Reverend Frieda Gillespie.

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Our multi-generational Religious Education Program will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Visitors are always welcome.

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A rare sight this winter

Posted on February 29, 2012 by northshoreuu

It’s been a brown winter, but some snow accumulated behind the church earlier today.

Photo by Dan Kennedy.

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This Sunday’s service: “Word Salad Auction Sermon”

Posted on February 22, 2012 by northshoreuu

The Reverend Frieda Gillespie will give her “Word Salad Auction Sermon” this Sunday, February 26. This is a sermon won by five members who selected challenging words for her to incorporate into the sermon, and the subject is humor in church life. The title: “The Funny Thing About Church Is …”

If you have stories about your church experience that illustrate the uniqueness, oddness, or humor of church life, please feel free to email them to Reverend Frieda. Her email address is available here.

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Our multi-generational Religious Education Program will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Visitors are always welcome.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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This Sunday’s service: “Why Marry?”

Posted on February 15, 2012 by northshoreuu

The reasons people marry have changed over the last century to the point that “Why marry?” has become a really meaningful question. Please join us this Sunday, February 19, for a service that ponders the answers.

“It is especially relevant to my partner, Jennifer, and me since we are tying the knot on Memorial Day Weekend this year,” says our minister, the Reverend Frieda Gillespie.

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Our multi-generational Religious Education Program will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Visitors are always welcome.

Photo copyright © 2008 by Giovanni Dall’Orto via Wikimedia Commons.

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This Sunday’s service: “What If Money Were No Issue?”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by northshoreuu

This Sunday, February 12, we will hold our annual Canvass Kick-Off. A church that supports itself generously and cheerfully is a happy and healthy church.

What if we had all the pledge money we need to thrive? What if the Board could focus on establishing a vision for the church rather than on finding money to do basic maintenance on the property? How can we relate to money less painfully in the rest of our lives as well as in our pledging support to the church?

Come and explore these and other questions with us as we think about how to place our church on a sound financial footing. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Our multi-generational Religious Education Program will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Visitors are always welcome.

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High school a cappella singers will perform this Friday

Posted on February 6, 2012 by northshoreuu

SwingTown!, from St. John's Prep

Vocal groups from Danvers High School, Pingree School, and St. John’s Prep will perform songs from their wide repertoires this Friday, February 10, at the Northshore UU Church as part of our “Music in the Woods” series.

The Danvers High Chamber Singers is an honors-level group whose members sing everything from Renaissance madrigals to today’s rockin’est a cappella hits. The singers are also involved in community service activities.

SwingTown! is St. John Prep’s a cappella group featuring students and faculty. The dynamic vocal band sings everything from a cappella standards, through oldies and rock, to modern tunes that are on your iPod. Several concerts are held during the year.

Spectrum Highlights is a mixed-voice choir that performs at the Pingree School in Hamilton, and throughout the community. Their repertoire includes both a cappella and accompanied music, and celebrates the full “spectrum” of musical expression.

Tickets are $10 for ages 13 and older.

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This Sunday’s service: “Great Day in the Morning”

Posted on January 31, 2012 by northshoreuu

Our guest minister this Sunday, February 5, will be the Reverend Karin Peterson, who was a member of the Northshore UU Church from 1977 to 1990.

Her topic, “Great Day in the Morning,” will consist of some reflections on what in the world of nature can be personally grounding while our lives are part of a fast-paced and chaotic world. During these wintry months we are invited to claim quiet moments — maybe time spent looking out of a window, going for a brisk walk, or sitting with a journal, pen, and a cup of something warm.

As an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister for 21 years, Karin has served as a parish minister, college chaplain, Massachusetts Bay District administrator, and certified spiritual director to seminary students, clergy, and lay people.

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship at about 11:30. Visitors are always welcome.

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