First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton

Palliative Care and Hospice - Valuable Resources
2023-09-17 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Alliance Room and Zoom
Over 60s Sponsored September Presentation:
Palliative Care and Hospice – Valuable Resources
Sunday, September 17th – 12 noon to 1:30 pm
Alliance Room and on Zoom
Presenter: Joanna Stull, LMHC

Joanna reminds us as we age, we will be faced with making critical health care choices. We are best served if we have an understanding of what Hospice and Palliative Care are before we find ourselves or our loved ones in crisis. This presentation will help clear up confusion as well as clarify some common myths surrounding these kinds of care.
Joanna, our own FUUSN member, is intimately acquainted both personally and professionally with these services. For over 20 years, she has ushered families and patients through end of life. As a retired L.M.H.C. she currently provides valuable grief support.
Small bites for lunch provided.
Come join us!!
Please RSVP (haskellwendy@gmail.com)

Band Practice
2023-09-17 11:45 - 23:45, 2023-09-10 11:45 - 13:00 | Sanctuary

Private Event
2023-09-17 11:45 - 13:00, 2023-09-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Children’s Chapel and Parlor

Touched and Changed
2023-09-17 10:15 - 11:30 | Sanctuary and Zoom
Rev. Parisa Parsa, Anne Watson Born & Devin Shmueli
We honor our ancient heritage from Judaism with reflections on Rosh Hashanah, and the ways we are called to live and renew our commitments to justice, to one another, and to the divine. We invite you to consider how the practice of offering and receiving welcome might be renewed in your life and in our community life in the weeks to come.

Spirit Circle: Covenant Focus
2023-09-17 10:15 - 11:30 | Location TBA, MA

Spirit Play Training
2023-09-16 08:30 - 15:30 | MA

Creationdance
2023-09-14 16:30 - 19:00 | Headstart Room

Choir Practice
2023-09-13 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-09-06 19:30 - 21:00 | FUUSN Parish Hall, 1326 Washington St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States

Tai Chi Class
2023-09-13 18:30 - 19:30, 2023-09-06 18:30 - 19:30 | Headstart Room
Come and participate in this traditional form known as “Six Harmonies, Eight Methods” and experience for yourself this extraordinary gift from China’s rich cultural heritage. Joe Lyons, Instructor.

One In Name, in Honor One: FUUSN's 175th Anniversary
2023-09-13 10:15 - 11:30 | Sanctuary and Zoom
On October 24, 1868, a group of leaders in education, agriculture and politics officially founded a new Unitarian congregation in West Newton. Among them were luminaries we still celebrate: Horace Mann, Nathaniel Allen, as well as lesser-known folks whose decisions and foresight have made possible what this congregation is today. We’ll join in story, song and imagining some key points in our history this morning as we kick off our 175th anniversary celebration!

The Gospel of Universalism
2023-09-13 08:00 - 17:00 | MA
Rev. Parisa Parsa
Today’s world desperately needs the message of our Universalist heritage: the bold claim that all are saved and that we must tune ourselves to the love of God present in us, among us, and beyond us. Continuing our theme of Heritage, we will explore some of the radical thinkers who kept this theology alive through history and consider how we might express the Universalism our heritage today.

Private Event
2023-09-13 00:00 | MA

All Newton Music School
2023-09-11 18:15 - 20:30 | Alliance Room, 1326 Washington St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States

175th Anniversary Planning Session
2023-09-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Alliance Room, 1326 Washington St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States

JourneySongs Singing Group
2023-09-10 15:00 - 17:30 | Children’s Chapel and Parlor

Water Ceremony
2023-09-10 10:15 - 11:30 | Location TBA, MA
We resume Sunday Services in the sanctuary with our annual ritual of ingathering. All are invited to bring a small amount of water from your summer journeys, near or far, to symbolize what has given us life and nourished us in our time apart. Rev. Parisa Parsa, Devin Shmueli, Anne Watson Born, Carson Cooman and our FUSN Sanctuary Choir are crafting this special celebration.
This service is designed for people of all ages! Optional nursery care is available for those under age 5.

RE Youth Leader and Adult Volunteer Orientation
2023-09-09 09:00 - 12:00 | FUUSN Parish Hall, 1326 Washington St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
Here is an invitation for people to attend the RE Adult Volunteer and Youth Leader Orientation on Saturday, September 9th from 9:00 AM – Noon, whether or not you want to volunteer with our religious exploration programs on Sunday and beyond. This might well inform your discernment for volunteering in our programs or it might confirm that it is not the right fit for you.

We will have a guest presenter Yvonne Andrews for the neurodiversity portion of the orientation which will take place from 10:00-11:00 that day. I hope everyone will take advantage of the opportunity to learn and grow so we can create a welcoming space at FUUSN for those who are neurodiverse.

Yvonne Andrews is the new Director of Religious Education at First Parish in Waltham and is on faculty at Lesley University. Yvonne comes to us with a wealth of experience working with and teaching about neurodiverse students and a specialty in trauma-informed care across the lifespan. She has a Master of Education degree and has achieved PsyD ABD.

The new schedule is as follows:

8:45-9:15 Breakfast
9:15-9:55 Safety Jeopardy
9:55-10:00 Five Minute Break
10:00-11:00 Neurodiversity in the RE Space and at FUUSN
11:00-11:10 Ten Minute Break
11:10-11:45 Spirit Circle
11:45-12:00 Calendar Review, Volunteer Sign Up Review, Questions for the Year

Volunteers are required to participate or find a time to meet one-on-one with Devin Shmueli, Director of Family and Community Ministries, to get the information you need to be a successful volunteer.

Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
2023-09-09 | MA
Only a few slots are left for our upcoming Habitat for Humanity volunteer day. Please contact Paul Labo, paul_labo at yahoo dot com, to sign up. Paul says:
We had our first Habitat for Humanity build day last year since we learned the word Covid, and it was our best turnout in a long term. We framed multiple houses in Malden on that beautiful day and today 2 of them are completed and people are living in them. That feels very satisfying and is why I do this year after year.
So let us celebrate again this Saturday, September 9 by have 10 FUUSNites show up Habitat for Humanity.
Here’s the pitch (people seem to like the comedic effect, so I am recycling some of it from the past) …

This is your only chance to participate this year… (one build is all we are doing in 2023).
For those who actively volunteer, here is your chance to start the FUUSN year with one of the first activities of the 2023-2034 season.
For those of you who had schedule conflicts … cancel the conflict!
For those of you who are curious about HfH… this is your chance to scratch that itch…
For those of you who have nothing going on Sept 9… this is your chance to have something going on…
For those of you who feel they need to check more FUUSN boxes before EOY 2023… this is your chance to check another box
For those of you who are FUUSN overachievers… this is your chance to check one more box for 2023…
For those of you who don’t fall into any of the above categories… this is your chance to be part of the above “in” crowd…
Feel free to send me more pitches and I will use them in follow up emails…

We can bring 10 volunteers to help build a home locally in Boston for a family who qualifies for assistance.
Ask those who joined us in past times – it is always great fun and extremely rewarding. The HfH crew is terrific and assign folks to tasks that align perfectly to their skillsets.

Zoom Vespers 2023-2024
2023-09-08 18:00 - 18:30 | Online
Come to Vespers for music, readings and conversation. The service runs from 6 to 6:30 pm. Pre-service music begins around 5:47 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95067560228
Meeting ID: 950 6756 0228

Choir Potluck
2023-09-06 18:00 - 19:30 | MA
Our FUUSN musicians are joyfully returning to rehearsals, and we’d love to have you with us! We will kick off the new year with a potluck at FUUSN on Wednesday September 6. Come to connect with friends – and if you want to do some singing, stay for rehearsal after – we will happily find you a seat, some music, and a choir buddy. All are welcome!

Sept. 3, 2023 - NO SERVICE
2023-09-03 10:15 - 11:45 | MA
In observance of the Labor Day weekend, there will be no service on September 3, 2023.

Board of Trustees Meeting - CANCELLED
2023-08-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Online

New Forms of Church - Online Only
2023-08-27 10:15 - 11:45 | Online
Younger people are increasingly taking a pass on church attendance. Tandi Rogers, a UU minister who leads the spiritual direction program at Meadville Lombard Theological School, is an expert observer of this development. In this service, she will help us understand where young people might be going instead to find what they are searching for.
Note: This service is online only.
http://bit.ly/fuusn-zoom
Meeting ID: 956 9102 1697

Beethoven and Transcendence
2023-08-20 10:15 - 11:45 | FUUSN Parish Hall, 1326 Washington St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
How does music take us beyond our assumed identities? The ‘physical world’ of Beethoven’s final piano sonata fills no more than 27 minutes of clock time, but through it we experience a sound world in which time seems to stand still and we gain the experience of individual identity merging with a larger whole. Lois Shapiro, FUUSN ‘s concert pianist and music educator will help us understand the intricacies of this work and show us its force, from beginning to end.
Note: This service is in person only in the Parish Hall. No online service.

Summer Chime Concert
2023-08-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Location TBA, MA
All are invited to bring blankets or lawn chairs to FUUSN’s front lawn for a casual (free) concert. Feel free to bring a picnic supper. In case of rain, indoor seating will be provided.
Each concert will last about one hour. During the summer series chimers will include Paul Antonucci, Bob Feldman, Cathy Longley-Cook, and Jenny Xia, and quite likely others. View our program.
Did you notice the silence? FUUSN’s bells went silent in February when chimers noticed damage to a pulley. Repairs in June were made by John McShane, on behalf of his family’s firm, McShane Bell Co. Back in 1916, the same company that forged and installed FUUSN’s bells!
The chime consists of eleven bells with a combined weight just shy of seven tons. Each bell is engraved with a motto that FUUSN chose, giving insight into the the theology and values of 1916 West Newton Unitarians. Listed from largest to smallest, the bells are engraved as follows:
My tongue shall tell of the Fatherhood of God;
My voice shall prophesy of the Brotherhood of Man;
I speak of the saving power of the good life;
I proclaim the freedom of the mind to think and of the soul to worship;
I testify to the supreme worth of human service;
I ring out for the selfishness and meanness of men;
I ring in the generous spirit and the blameless life;
I sound abroad the joy at the heart of the world;
I cry the eternal progress of mankind;
I am the voice of Faith, Hope and Love;
I sing the valors and the excellence of the humble children of God.
View our Flyer: Summer Chimes Flyer 2023nb
Would you be interested in learning how to play the chime? We are always looking for new chimers. If so, or if you have questions, contact Gayle Smalley, email: gaylesmalley at mindspring dot com.

FUUSN's Activist Heritage - Online Only
2023-08-13 10:15 - 11:45 | Online
FUUSN has a long and formidable history of social activism, including 19th century campaigns for abolition and public education, and 20th century crusades for civil rights. Bob Ellertsen will evoke our activist heritage in today’s service to invigorate our commitment to action on issues of the 21st century.
Note: This service is online only.
http://bit.ly/fuusn-zoom
Meeting ID: 956 9102 1697
