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Seasonal Worship Services

September

At the Ingathering Service, members bring small amounts of water from their summer travels (near or far) and pour them into a single vessel, symbolizing the ways that we bring the world with us into this community, and the ways we are connected by the basic elements needed for life. This service is held annually on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

A drop falling into water forms heart-shaped ripples

October

We celebrate the High Holidays, the Jewish Days of Awe, in early October.

The Wheel of Life service at the end of October is an annual tradition at FUUSN, put together by the Lay Ministers with the help of FUUSN musicians. This service considers the changes we all experience throughout our lives, from birth to death. We share our milestones and accomplishments, and we remember and celebrate those members who have died in the past year.

Pictured here: The FUUSN Band plays at the Wheel of Life service, October 29, 2023. Photo by Neil Klinman

Five band members stand at the front of the church playing bass, guitar, and mandolin, accompanied by a pianist at a grand piano

November

Each November, we have a multigenerational Thanksgiving service, a Music Sunday, and a Vigil on or near November 20 for the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Pictured here: A FUUSN member lights the chalice on the Transgender Day of Remembrance, while former interim minister Parisa Parsa looks on.

 

A gray-haired man in a gray sweater and white collared shirt lights a chalice in the front of the Sanctuary, while a dark-haired woman with glasses wearing a black jacket, pink shirt, and long necklaces stands behind a podium nearby.

December

Winter Solstice: Longest Night Celebration – Held annually on December 21, the winter solstice, this service offers music, readings and ritual to honor the nourishment of darkness and welcome the light.

On a Sunday before or on Christmas Eve, we hold a Christmas Pageant and the annual Carol Sing Service

Christmas Services are offered on Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m. for traditional stories, carols, and chimes for each baby born that year; and at 10 p.m. for less traditional readings and contemporary music.

On the final Sunday of the year, we have a Quaker Service.

Looking up tree trunks through bare branches at a starry night sky.

February

In February, we hold the Annual FUUSN Musicians Concert, a benefit for the UU Urban Ministry.

Pictured here: Music Director Anne Watson Born with three a capella singers at the FUUSN Musicians Concert in March 2024

At the front of the Sanctuary, four women holding folders sing into microphones

March

We hold the second of our annual Music Sundays in March.

 

A large choir of adults dressed in black stand in the sanctuary of a gothic revival church and sing to a congregation, accompanied by stringed instruments and piano, and conducted by a gray-haired woman in a formal black pantsuit.

April

An annual Folk Music Sunday is a much-anticipated showcase of the congregation’s musical talents. This year we will also celebrate Passover and Easter.

A flyer showing a double bass, mandolin, banjo, and two guitars reads, FOLK MUSIC SUNDAY: Songs for the Earth, April 28, 2024, 10:15am, First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton

May

We celebrate Flower Sunday, a Unitarian Universalist ritual in which we celebrate coming together with all of our unique beauty and thorns, in all different stages of life, and accepting one another as we are.

 

Close-up of a patch of wildflowers, with a sunflower prominently in the center.

June

In June, the congregation celebrates the graduation of the Coming Of Age candidates in a special service where candidates share their personal credos.

Important society decisions and elections are then held at our Annual Meeting after the worship service on the second Sunday in June.

The chancel of the Sanctuary is decorated with rainbow strips of crepe paper streamers and paper flowers.

Summer Services

FUUSN Summer Services run from the third Sunday in June through the Sunday before Labor day. These informal and lively lay-led services begin earlier—at 9:30 a.m.—in the Parish Hall.

Pictured here: Jazz Summer Service, July 9, 2023. Photo by Neil Klinman

FUUSN 2024 Summer Services
A pianist plays to a crowded service in the Parish Hall.