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23 Dedham Avenue
Needham, MA 02492

Sermons

Most Recent Sermon

Natural Evil

 

Sunday, March 19, 2023

10:30 am; live streamed from the Sanctuary

Rev. Catie leading

 

We celebrate the vernal equinox and the beauty of the Earth during this Sunday’s service. And, we acknowledge that the natural world isn’t always “good” to us humans or other living creatures on our shared planet. We then wonder, How “natural” are the natural evils we are experiencing in our modern world? How does humankind contribute to natural evil, and how could we instead mitigate its growth and damage?

Previous Sermons

Baraye, Because

  Sunday, March 12, 2023 10:30 am; live streamed from the Sanctuary Darrah Bryans, Ministerial Intern, leading   Join us for our service this Sunday as we continue our exploration of March’s theme of “Good and Evil.” How do we make sense of evil in our...

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​​The Source of Human Good

  Sunday, March 5, 2023 10:30 am; live streamed from the Sanctuary Rev. Catie leading   As we enter our theme month about Good & Evil, we’ll explore our Unitarian/Universalist historic theologies about goodness, positive psychology, and love at the...

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Black U/U Trailblazers

  Sunday, February 26, 2023 10:30 am; live streamed from the Sanctuary Rev. Catie and Sara Elizabeth leading   As we near the end of Black History Month, we celebrate black Unitarian/Universalist trailblazers — or, as black UU minister and historian Rev....

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What the World Needs Now

  Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 10:30am (live streamed from the Sanctuary) Darrah Bryans leading   When disasters happen, earthquakes, mass shootings, a cancer diagnosis, we often say that we will keep those harmed in our thoughts and prayers. This is a nice...

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A Privileged Place

  Sunday, February 12, 2023 10:30 am, live streamed from the Sanctuary Rev. Catie leading   As we celebrate black excellence and mourn anti-blackness in our dominant culture, First Parish will also wrestle with privilege and fragility (racial and through...

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Building Bridges

  Sunday, January 15, 2023 10:30am, live streamed online and from the sanctuary Darrah Bryans, Ministerial Intern   “I’ve been to the Mountaintop [...] And I’ve seen the Promised Land,” declared Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in his last speech before his...

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We Will Not Be Controlled

  Sunday, January 22, 2023 10:30 am, live streamed online from the sanctuary Rev. Catie Scudera preaching   Exactly 50 years ago this Sunday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the Roe v. Wade decision, declaring that the Fourteenth Amendment of...

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​​No Mud, No Lotus

  Sunday, January 29, 2023 10:30 am, live streamed online from the sanctuary Rev. Catie Scudera preaching   Modern Buddhist teachers Thich Nhat Hanh and Pema Chödrön have written extensively on how to transform suffering into equanimity. Is it true that...

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Each Moment a Threshold

  Sunday, January 8, 2023 10:30 am, live streamed online from the sanctuary   As we cross the calendar threshold into a new year, we’ll reflect on flexibility and change. Senior Youth Group Alum will contribute portions of the service, and Rev. Catie and...

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What’s the Word?

  Sunday, January 1, 2023 10:30 a.m. Pre-Recorded Online Darreh Bryans, leading What's the Word? Standing on the threshold between the old and new years, we have the chance to look back at where we've been and contemplate our hopes for the new. Join us for a...

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Sorrow in the Time of Joy

  Sunday, December 11, 2022 10:30 a.m., In-Person in the Sanctuary and streamed live to the Parish Hall and online Darrah Bryans, Ministerial Intern, leading   This Sunday we light our third candle on the advent wreath, representing joy. December is a time...

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