UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICES
THEME FOR NOVEMBER: “NURTURING GRATITUDE”
November 2
Honoring Our Ancestral Connections
10:30 AM
Lauren Franco, Todd Robertson, Fynn Tyler, Andrew Greenwood, Donn Teubner Rhodes
The community of life around us is finishing their preparations for the stillness of the season ahead. As they gather the final seeds and nuts of Fall, place the finishing touches of their dens and burrows, and come together to share in each other’s warmth – so too are we invited to settle into a place of joyous remembering. Today, we celebrate our place as both Honored Descendants and Future Ancestors by celebrating the ones who have left an indelible mark on our lives and the others whose lives we may shape. Please bring with you a memento of a Beloved who is no longer among us but who continues to inspire you.
November 9
Gratitude On Sesame Street
10:30 AM
Rev. Clare L. Petersberger, Kara Tyler, Director of Religious Education, Andrew Greenwood, pianist
Sesame Street was first broadcast on National Educational Television on November 10, 1969. The following year, NET became PBS. Over the past 56 years, Sesame Street has taught important life lessons in ways that resonate with children (and the child in each of us.) In May, the current administration cut funding to PBS. Happily, Netflix picked up the rights to stream Sesame Street and to ensure that it will be shown on PBS. Today we reflect on some of the spiritual practices Sesame Street has taught with regard to gratitude. We will feel grateful as we sing familiar songs from Sesame Street that lift our spirits!
November 16
If The Moon Came Out Only Once A Month…
10:30 AM
Rev. Clare L. Petersberger, Kara Tyler, Director of Religious Education, Charmers Trio: Donn Teubner Rhodes, Sharen Camille, and Adele Dinerstein
Cathy Ross wrote a poem musing on how, if the moon came out only once a month, we would appreciate it differently and more fully. This can be true of many things in our lives. Nurturing gratitude begins with nurturing our appreciation for what we sometimes take for granted in our “ordinary” days. The music of the Charmers Trio, this morning, will be anything but ordinary! It will make you savor the moon in a new way!
November 23
Finding Home
10:30 AM
Jane D'Ambrogi, Ann Beezley, Nancy Casswell Magrogan, Loraine Sorbello, Sheila Helgerson Executive Director of Earl's Place and men from Earls Place
Having a place to call home is a fundamental necessity; however, finding home can be difficult for some. Today we are honoring Earl's Place, one of our community partners and the work they do in housing and providing support for men in transition.
Our offertory this morning will be donated to Earl's Place to help them in their mission.
November 30
Being Gratitude People
10:30 AM
Rev. Clare L. Petersberger
In an extraordinary interview with Anderson Cooper, Stephen Colbert observed, “To exist is a gift. To suffer is a gift. You cannot pick and choose what you are grateful for.” I was fascinated by how Colbert, the great comedian, turned theologian in this interview. He is correct that suffering can be a gift in the sense that it binds us to all other human beings. It reminded me of a sermon The Rev. Dr. Galen J. Guengerich delivered on why he believes the value that binds Unitarian Universalists together is gratitude---that we are the gratitude people. This morning, we explore what it means to be grateful for it all.