Copy
This week's updates...
View this email in your browser

 Inviting Connection!  Inspiring Spiritual Growth!   Igniting Action!

Join Us on Sunday...


SUNDAY October 20th –  Hard Times Require Furious Dancing: Remembering Collective Joy
 with Rev. Martha Niebanck

Barbara Ehrenreich, author, asks a provocative question for Unitarian Universalists: “Why do we resist the experience of collective joy?”  What would it take for you to surrender
to the ecstasy of collective effervescence? As we search for ways to feel hope as the days darken, perhaps fully experiencing joy in community might help us to  “make a way where there is no way.” 
 

SUNDAY October 27th –  Worth and Dignity with Rev. Stephen Cook

The first of a sermon series on the Unitarian Universalist principles and sources of our living tradition. Although we do not actually number them, the first in our list of seven asserts that “we covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person.”
 

In this Issue...

ALONG THE WAY
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR MINISTER

Miracle stories, if intended to be taken literally, have long since been “outlawed” by science.  There are still certainly many objects of wonder in the universe, things and occurrences not expected or explained by normal standards, but science regards them as just not yet explained.  Rejecting supernatural causes, it regards them as susceptible eventually to rational explanation as our knowledge of the universe grows.
 
There is, as well, a looser definition of miracle that we all use; the unexplained or unaccountable that seems to happen through grace, serendipity or the surprising power of love and good will.  This kind of “miracle” happens when good things that don’t need to happen do happen, when people do kind and loving things they don’t need to do for people they don’t even know, when people sacrifice their time, talent and treasure for causes that might not benefit them in the least.  This is the kind of “miracle” I have in mind when I say that every Unitarian Universalist congregation is an ongoing miracle.
 
Unitarian Universalism holds out no promise of supernatural rewards for believing and belonging; we hold out no threat of supernatural punishment for not believing and belonging.  We offer next to no absolute answers to the persistent questions of the religious life, or perhaps, a bewildering variety of different answers.  In any case, those looking for absolute theological certainty will not find it in our churches.  Any three UU’s will have at least four opinions on most religious issues.  (We joke about UU “evangelists” knocking on your door for no particular reason or burning a question mark on your lawn.)
 
So why, given all that openness and uncertainty, do so many nonetheless give up their Sunday mornings, sometimes their only free day of the week, to come to church?  Why do so many give their time, talent and treasure to an enterprise that does not always reflect their particular beliefs, or perhaps, evinces more belief than they care to espouse?  By normal standards, we should be found sleeping late on Sunday or holding on to our precious free time with family and friends instead of going to one more evening meeting.  We should not be spending substantial amounts of time and treasure on an institution that seems to pay no obvious dividends and, in fact, is prone to asking for more.
 
Why do we do it?  Personally, I call it a miracle—and leave God out of it, if you wish.  I believe that there is a concatenation of divine grace and loving, human serendipity that moves us, week by week, year by year, to create these ongoing miracles we call UU congregations.  We don’t have to, we want to, we choose to, in part because the “dividends” they pay are personal and spiritual.  (In your case, you have been doing it since 1842, a pretty good track record.) Hopedale Unitarian Parish, as all UU congregations, is an ongoing, living miracle, and for that, I humbly offer thanks.
 
See you in church,
Rev. Steve
 

Greetings from your Church Board!

Please take a moment to review recent adjustments for giving at church…
 
Weekly collections at Sunday services and pledge activity are being updated
 
Each month, a local non-profit organization is announced and selected to receive our total Share-the-Plate offering that is collected at Sunday morning services.  This means that all forms of loose currency in the offertory plates will be considered part of the donation to our monthly Share-the-Plate partner unless specifically noted.
 
Please use pledge envelopes or write "pledge" in the memo on checks intended to be credited toward your pledge in support of Hopedale Unitarian Parish.  We are currently researching electronic payment options to support easier giving and bookkeeping efficiencies. Look for the announcement when this option becomes available in the coming weeks!
 
Lastly, we welcome your suggestions for Share-the-Plate partners!  Please see any one of us or call the church office with your recommendation.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
 
Your Board

Church Events and Info...

Share the Plate Partner-Community Meal

Our Share the Plate partner for October is the Community Meal. Hopedale Unitarian Parish participates in the Community Meal program served at Trinity Episcopal in Milford on the last Friday of each month. A free hot meal is served restaurant style and all from the greater Milford community are welcome.

Next Friday (10/25), we are especially in need of volunteers.  

Contact Alice Jacobson at alicejacobson@comcast.net.

Earth Circles youth RE program has started!

We had our first class of the new Earth Circle curriculum on Sunday, October 6th. After Rev. Cook's Story for all Ages, we began the lesson in the classroom: 

  • Lit the chalice and read our covenant together.
  • Shared Joys and Concerns.
  • Reviewed the 7 UU Principles and introduced the Earth Circle plan for this year (7th principle).
  • Focused our conversation on Unit 6:Climate Change. Discussed the science behind global warming and climate change and how we can all help improve the effects on the environment.
  • Started a class poster with a drawing of Earth in the center. In future lessons, the kids can add thoughts and comments to the poster about What can we do? for the environment (walk more, car pool, use LEED light bulbs, etc.). 
  • Shared an article about Greta Thunberg and talked about with an amazing role model she is.
  • Kept the conversation positive and action-oriented, without being negative or raising concerns.

 The covenant and 7 principles are posted on the bulletin board for reference, and the poster is on the table near the wall. The calendar for the year and link to the curriculum are included below.

10/6 - Tina - Unit 6 - Climate Change
11/3 - Jody
12/1- Chris
1/5 - Alice
2/2 - Rita
3/1
4/5
5/3
6/7 - Dona
 
Here is a link to the curriculum:
 
 https://www.uubedford.org/religious-education/earth-circles-curriculum-for-public-use/

 
Members of the Bedford UU parish who created this curriculum will be our worship leaders on November 17.
 
Thanks again for being part of this journey. Please share this with other families who may be interested in joining us.

INVITATION TO SERMON DISCUSSION



Every Sunday that Rev. Steve is in the the pulpit, he invites all who might be particularly interested in that morning's sermon to meet in the Ladies Parlor.  Join with him
at approximately 11:45 AM for an informal discussion.

Bring your coffee and your questions!

KRIS KRINGLE FARE-WINTER STROLL

We will not be having a Kris Kringle Fair this year. BUT, we are EXCITED to be revamping our participation in the Winter Stroll on Dec 7th to include some of our Kris Kringle Fair favorites. We will have 8 vendors in our hall as well as the cocoa crawl and bell tower tours. AND we are lucky to be adding MPAC talent to our location! If you haven’t volunteered yet to help make this a spectacular event for our church, then please contact Rita Earl. If you have already spoken to Rita, thank you, you will be contacted to discuss specifics.

HAPPENINGS IN THE UUA

 

 

Events Calendar 

  • ACOA Meeting, Mondays at 7:30 PM
  • Choir Rehearsal, Sundays at 9:00 AM 
  • Board Meeting, 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM            

Contact Information


Parish Minister:  Rev. Stephen Cook: 508-473-0745 
                                                                    revsteve@hopedaleunitarian.org

Parish Board Co-Chairs:  Tracy Anderson: 508-962-0235
                                                                     tracylanderson@verizon.net,
                                         Alice Jacobson:  508-380-6911 
                                                                     alicejacobson@comcast.net

Music Director/Organist: Carol Devendorf: 774-573-0568  mpac1991@aol.com

Church Office:  Jody Buck  508-473-0745  hopedaleunitarian@verizon.net

Community Meal Coordinator:  Alice Jacobson  alicejacobson@comcast.net

Caring Connection Contact:  Becky Chan  rwchan19@gmail.com

Publication Policy

If you have some news or information you would like to get out to people via our twice monthly email or in our order of service insert, or mentioned from the podium on Sunday morning, please get the announcement of 50 words or less to the church in writing via hard copy or email no later than 10 a.m. on Thursdays.  We publish as much as we can weekly and two or three timely announcements will be read aloud during the service on Sunday morning. We ask that announcements be about congregational life, the greater world of Unitarian Universalism, or local community events of importance to congregational life and mission.
 
Copyright © 2019 Hopedale Unitarian Parish, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp