1859 Centre St.
P. O. Box 320001
West Roxbury, MA 02132
617-325-4439
This season is filled with stories about unlikely victories, both literal and metaphorical tales of light over darkness. Our service on the 17th will contain a few of them – one, in particular, shared by our children and youth! There is much to be discovered in beating the odds by defying what feels inevitable: a true source of hope.
Our theme for December is hope. And while it might not surprise us as a seasonal theme, it can feel like a bit of an enigma given the challenges before us. We’ll consider the intersection of this time of waiting with a curiosity about what we’re waiting for, and how to live in the present moment even as we look forward.
Join us for our annual Thanksgiving Service, full of music and wonder as we consider where happiness and gratitude reside. All are invited to bring some bread, as we did last year, that we will bless during the service as a sign of what feeds us in community. Is your favorite whole wheat, or an everything bagel? Perhaps donuts or challah; Irish soda bread or gluten-free muffins? Whatever strikes your fancy, plan to bring some to share. We’ll also be collecting donations for the Stratford Street Food Pantry, Rose’s Bounty. We’ll have a basket on the steps in the front of the sanctuary to collect non-perishable food.
John Milton wrote, Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. During this month of gratitude, and in recognition of our abundance, we pause to consider how some of us are changed by choosing to serve our country. Please join Rev. Anne, with lay leader Frank Laske, to consider how our life experiences may separate us in ways we often forget to notice, and how they might reunite us when we become aware. Prior to the service, from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m., we will observe a quiet time in the sanctuary for any/all to enjoy the space in contemplation.
Roughly 10 years ago, Phyllis Tickle wrote a book about the Christian church called The Great Emergence. “Tickle’s basic thesis is that every 500 years, the Church goes through a rummage sale, … Continue reading The Courage to Imagine Forward
Over the last five decades or more, many in Western culture have taken constructs of God out of the center. We have Decentered God, if you will, and often replaced … Continue reading Out of the Center
Rev. Anne tells us, “The first line in a poem I stumbled across recently referenced ‘accidental pilgrims, you who find yourselves on a journey of surprise and wonder.’ And while … Continue reading Intentional Pilgrims
We make a lot of assumptions when we imagine what The Great Community might look like. We’ll have time to examine our hearts and consider who and/or what we have … Continue reading The Great Community
Your waters from a summer moment or experience help fill our common bowl at this year’s Ingathering Service, while the wisdom of Nasrudin inspires us to consider both our gifts … Continue reading Ingathering Service: Welcome Wear
This service wraps up our meta-theme on “change,” a year of focusing on who and what we will be as individuals and as a faith community given the times we … Continue reading Forgiving the World that Offers No Apology
