Please join us for one of the most anticipated services of the year. You will be treated to music by the Singing Group, Handbell Choir, SoulSong and Judy Putnam’s piano. This year we will enjoy familiar carols set in new and interesting musical ways. This is holiday music with twists and turns that are sure to bring smiles and touch the heart.
Celebrate the joy of the season at our annual holiday workshop service as we take a break from the hectic commercialism around us to focus on the holiday by reflecting, singing, crafting and eating together on this special Sunday. We will gather together for a short service and caroling accompanied by the Northshore Ukulele Players, and then create gifts, treats, and decorative items for the holidays. This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another as we collaborate in a setting of sharing and creativity. The crafting will be followed by a potluck lunch. The service will be lead by Tracee Kneeland. The festivities begin at 10:30 a.m.
One of the many things that sets UUs apart from other denominations and religions is our 7th Principle: respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. What does this mean in our anthropogenic era of climatic disasters and dwindling resources? What can we do to protect life-as-we-know-it? Iain will discuss our NSUU Green Sanctuary Program and how we can use it to cope with the Climate Crisis.
Spiritually, Thanksgiving is a spare and simple holiday, a pause to dwell in gratitude. Most of us have been blessed with warm homes to shelter us on this holiday. In this Sunday service we will celebrate our special gratitude for the gift of home and its nourishment of our souls and bodies. The ritual of sharing bread will be part of the service, this time with the sharing of a variety of breads from the homes of members of the congregation. We will also note the particular tragedy of those who do not have the gift of a warm home in their lives this season.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was not conventionally religious and, in fact, avoided membership in any established church. Nevertheless, he wrote with passion and sensitivity about many issues of spiritual and moral significance and described the people who played significant roles in Salem’s turbulent religious history. In contrast, Susannah Ingersoll, owner of the House of the Seven Gables, was a faithful, lifelong member and supporter of East Church in Salem, a church that became the founding congregation of a new Unitarian Association. This illustrated talk will focus on some of the many colorful incidents and personalities in the early religious history of the church on the North Shore.
This morning we will enjoy the return of Bonnie Anderson, pianist, along with Shay Rudolph, cellist. Shay Rudolph has a varied musical career in the New England area. She plays with several area symphonies as well as touring with Weird Al’s “Strings Attached” and the Who’s “Moving On” tour. Bonnie and Shay have concertized together and are looking forward to bringing their music to us this morning.
Ed will use his hospice experiences with memorial services and grief groups and other examples to explore what the Day of the Dead means for us today. He will also compare and contrast the “American” way of dealing with death with the ways other cultures celebrate and deal with death.
Ed was ordained in 1973 by the Central Association of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ, Ed spent 44 years engaging in a number of ministries. These included Community Missioner at an ecumenical lay academy, local church pastor, intentional interim pastor, Community Representative for the former Massachusetts Office for Children, Executive Director of a youth and family services council, Licensed Nursing Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse, and for the final ten years of his active ministry until retirement in 2017, hospice chaplaincy. Ed is married with two adult children
