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Sunday Service @ 10:30 a.m.

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We are Humanists, Theists, Atheists, Agnostics & Interfaith Families

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Sunday Worship Service

Sundays @ 10:30 a.m.
In-Person and Online

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Minister’s Welcome

Welcome to First Parish!
We’re so glad you’ve found us.

Welcome Message

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Order of Service & Bulletin

Lessons I’ve Learned From Covid, Redux, a sermon by Darrah Bryans, Ministerial Intern

by Rev. Catie Scudera

Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 10:30 am, in person and livestreamed to YouTube and Zoom from the Sanctuary On this Sunday before the Memorial Day holiday, we will mark the occasion with prayer as we honor those lost to war and armed conflict. Three years into the pandemic,...

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Awe & Mystery

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First Visit

FAQs RE: First Parish

A Welcoming Congregation

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Learning @ First Parish

Religious Edcation, Continuing Education & More

Learning Overview

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Minister & Staff

Meet Rev. Catie Scudera and the rest of the First Parish staff

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Homegrown Coffeehouse

Garnet Rogers
April 22 – Doors open 7:30 PM

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From Our Blog

Upcoming Lane Lyceum: The Climate Crisis & How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The Climate Crisis and How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Tuesday, May 30th 7:30 - 9:00pm Online via Zoom; Link: bit.ly/ClimateLyceum Are you...

Upcoming Lane Lyceum: Adaptive Leadership to Adaptive Living

Adaptive Leadership to Adaptive Living Tuesday, June 6th 7:30 - 9:00pm Hybrid: In-Person & Online At First Parish in Needham Zoom Link:...

Upcoming Lane Lyceum: Faith on the Front Lines of Abortion Access

Faith on the Frontlines of Abortion Tuesday, May 23rd 7:30 - 9:00pm Online via Zoom; Link: https://bit.ly/FaithAndAbortion We are excited to host...

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What an incredible Music Sunday! 🎵 We were bles

What an incredible Music Sunday! 🎵 We were blessed with an amazing chamber orchestra supporting our First Parish Choir, accompanying our hymns, and offering modern instrumental pieces. We’re so grateful for our music director, Laura Nevitt, for pulling together this wonderful service — and to them and our assistant music director, Harold Fortuin, for organizing and offering great worship music yearround!
If you missed this morning’s service, you can watch the recording (and any other prior Sunday service) on our YouTube page: https://youtube.com/@uuneedhamservices
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #sunday #worship #SundayService #choir #churchchoir #singing #multigenerational #allages #music #churchmusic #chambermusic #chamberorchestra #woodwinds #strings

This year the First Parish Annual Meeting of the M

This year the First Parish Annual Meeting of the Membership will take place on Sunday May 21, 2023, beginning at approximately 12:15-12:30 pm after social hour. Lunch will be provided during social hour for those who are attending the meeting onsite in the Sanctuary. The meeting will be in hybrid format with a real-time Zoom link, so that members can participate remotely and can make comments and vote on Articles online. We’ll be voting on nominated officers, a proposed bylaw change, and the proposed budget for the 2023-2024 congregational year.
The Zoom link was included in the Bell Notes, and you can read the 2022-2023 Annual Report though the Bell Notes or on our website uuneedham.org
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #historicchurch #democracy #governance #vote

Please join us for Music Sunday on May 21, 2023 at

Please join us for Music Sunday on May 21, 2023 at 10:30am at First Parish in Needham, MA. Our First Parish Choir will be joined by a chamber orchestra and guest singers. Featured music will be “The Road Not Taken” & “Something Like A Star” from Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, “Pastorale” by Amy Beach, and “Quartet for Strings” by Laura Nevitt @laurameredithnevitt , among others. We hope to see you there!

We hope you will join us for next Tuesday's Lane L

We hope you will join us for next Tuesday's Lane Lyceum on what it means to be a person of faith fighting for access to abortion.
Faith on the Frontlines of Abortion
Tuesday, May 23rd
7:30 – 9:00pm
Online via Zoom; Link: https://bit.ly/FaithAndAbortion
We are excited to host Rev. Erika Forbes, an interfaith minister, and Amy Littlefield, a reproductive health journalist, for an important conversation on what it means to bring our faith to the frontline of the fight for reproductive justice. Amy will interview Rev. Erika about her work and how her journeys with Texas abortion patients are part of a robust legacy of faith leaders supporting reproductive freedom that dates back to the years before Roe v. Wade.
Rev. Erika has been an interfaith minister for 20 years, and her ministry focus has been reproductive health, rights, and justice. She is leading the charge in Texas as the lead in the Tubman travel project which aids those seeking abortion care outside of the state of Texas into New Mexico. She was recently awarded the Oscar Romero award by Rothko Chapel for her courageous work.
Amy Littlefield is a journalist focused on reproductive health care and the abortion access correspondent for The Nation. She is from Needham, Massachusetts.
#uu #progressivefaith #reproductivejustice #antioppression #virtualchurch #religiouseducation #needham #uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #liberation #leadership #learn #reproductivechoice #abortionishealthcare #abortion #abortionaccess #reproductiverights #reproductivehealth #abortionrights #reproductivefreedom #abortionisahumanright

Our ministerial intern Darrah and five other First

Our ministerial intern Darrah and five other First Parishioners joined the @peaceinstitute Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace on this beautiful morning. First Parish is proud to support the Institute’s work locally and nationally to care for survivors of homicide and teach peace-building skills to people of all ages. Our spiritual ancestor, Unitarian writer and activist Julia Ward Howe, founded Mother’s Day as a day for peace, and we follow in her example.
Happy Mother’s Day to all who are filled with joy today, and our love and support to those who feel grief and other complicated emotions this day. We honor you all, and work to co-create a better world for every person’s children!
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #peace #mothersday #Mothersday2023 #happymothersday #activism #walkforpeace #antiviolence #peaceonearth

This morning, our Pastoral Care team held a wonder

This morning, our Pastoral Care team held a wonderful retreat in our (air conditioned and ventilated!) Parish Hall, with a great facilitator (Rev. Sarah Persons) who was recommended by the New England Region UUA. Our own member Lyn led us in a fun and creative break, and our intern’s dog Percy also offered extra care to everyone. We love our Pastoral Care team and all they do to support their fellow First Parishioners!
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #gratitude #fellowship #love #retreat #communitycare #dog #dogsofinstagram #creative #creativity #art

This Mother’s Day, we honor the mothers and moth

This Mother’s Day, we honor the mothers and mother figures among us, as well as Mother’s Day’s origins as a holiday for world peace. Many of our members and friends will be attending the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace on Sunday morning, and for those who participate in the worship service, we’ll reflect on communal mothering throughout mammal species, otherwise known as allomaternalism. We’re excited to hear from our First Parish Players, too.
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #sunday #worship #SundayService #peace #mothersday #mother #motherhood #parenting #parenthood #parents #ittakesavillage #churchmusic

In this week’s Midweek Moment of Joy, Rev. Catie

In this week’s Midweek Moment of Joy, Rev. Catie and her special guest Sophia share the simple pleasures of a Wednesday afternoon in Needham Center 🚉
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #joy #commuterrail #train #mbta #toddler #toddlerlife #toddleractivities #toddlersofinstagram #simplejoys #simplepleasures #macarons

Our Spotify playlist for our May monthly theme (Wi

Our Spotify playlist for our May monthly theme (Widening the Circle) is up! It includes a song from our friend @spencerlajoye 🎵 Find us at “First Parish Needham UU” and let us know if you have other suggestions for songs on this theme.
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #music #spotify #spotifyplaylist #may #diversityequityinclusion #diversity #equity #inclusion

A few days late, for their April 2023 Couch Conver

A few days late, for their April 2023 Couch Conversation on the monthly theme of Wholeness, Rev. Catie and Darrah explore ways that the metaphors of “brokenness” and “wholeness” can both help in healing processes and cause harm. How have ideas of wholeness and brokenness been helpful or hurtful in your life? Watch the video on our Facebook or YouTube pages and let us know what you think!
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #diversityequityinclusion #diversity #equity #inclusion #antioppression #wholeness #brokenness #broken #disability #disabled #disabilityinclusion #disabilityawareness #neurodiversity #neurodivergent #theology #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth

In this week’s Midweek Moment of Joy, Rev. Catie

In this week’s Midweek Moment of Joy, Rev. Catie, summer minister Rev. Joanna, and perfect pooch @neadsdogs Sully say, May the Fourth Be With You and Go Sox!
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #joy #redsox #boston #bostonredsox #gosox #⚾️ #starwars #maythe4thbewithyou #maythefourthbewithyou #maytheforcebewithyou #baseball #fenway #fenwaypark #servicedog #neads #neadsdogs #dog #dogsofinstagram

At the start of Mental Health Awareness Month and

At the start of Mental Health Awareness Month and our theme month on Widening the Circle, we remember that we covenant to “gather as a diverse community.” The members and friends of First Parish hold many diverse views and identities: theologically, philosophically, in sexual orientation and gender identity, age, ethnicity, family composition, and more. This Sunday May 7th at 10:30, we lift up the inherent worth and dignity of every person: those considered able-bodied and neurotypical and those considered disabled and neurodivergent. We’re also welcoming our friends at the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to offer our Time for All Ages and meet with our religious exploration kids. All are welcome on-site at 23 Dedham Avenue, and online on YouTube and Zoom. Learn more about Sunday mornings at First Parish on our website, uuneedham.org
#uuneedham #unitarianuniversalist #needham #needhamma #sunday #worship #SundayService #diversityequityinclusion #diversity #equity #inclusion #antioppression #disability #disabilityawareness #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #neurodiversity #neurodivergent #disabled #peace #endviolence #endgunviolence #accessibility

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