Services in July
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SUNDAY 4 JULY AT 11AM
Practical Religion
Unitarians can be described as very practical people when it comes to religion. Come and explore all that it might mean to have a practical religion.
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SUNDAY 11 JULY AT 11AM
Service led by Guido Casale
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SATURDAY 17 JULY AT 4PM
Village Worship: Giving
Generosity is an important value in our lives. We’ll celebrate and explore how we give to one another and the world.
VILLAGE WORSHIP
These services are designed to be especially family and child friendly and include more movement, simpler songs and some different sorts of activities, along with stories and a message for the day. Each month will have a theme that will guide the creation of the gathering. For June the theme is Giving. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the companionship and the lively gathering.Worship will be followed by a potluck supper.
Village Worship will be on hiatus in August, but will begin again in September.
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SUNDAY 18 JULY AT 11AM
Blessing the Animals
St Francis, we’re told, loved the animals and blessed them all. This service will celebrate the animal companions that are or have been a part of our lives. You are invited to bring along your animal companion(s) who are well behaved and can manage being part of a service, or if you prefer, a token representing the companion (a picture or toy or somesuch). We will have a special table laid for animals we have loved who have died if you would like to bring along something to lay there.
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SUNDAY 25 JULY AT 11AM
Paying Attention
In a favourite poem, Mary Oliver talks about spending a summer day out in a field lying on her belly and observing the world. Most of us know that we do well to watch and love the world, but sometimes it’s not easy to do. In the midst of summer, we’ll reflect on how to pay attention.
Services in August
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SUNDAY 1 AUGUST AT 11AM
Lughnassadh
The first or second of August is the traditional time for the pagan festival of Lughnassadh, the first harvest. Our service, held in the round, will celebrate the first fruits of the growing season and offer time for reflection upon what growing can mean for each of us.
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SUNDAY 8 AUGUST
Wage Peace
On the day after many around the world remember the first fall of an atomic bomb at Hiroshima, we’ll consider how to make peace.
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SUNDAY 15 AUGUST AT 11AM
"We Was Robbed!"
This is the exclamation made in a Bronx accent when a game goes the wrong way, and the team you had been cheering for loses. Is it a theft? Or is there something else to take into account here? We’ll explore winning and losing.
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SUNDAY 22 AUGUST AT 11AM
Service led by Rev Ashley Hills
Longtime friend of the congregation, Ashley Hills, takes the service while Linda is away at Summer School.
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SUNDAY 29 AUGUST AT 11AM
Sacred Play
Religion is often a very serious subject, filled with big questions and topics. But a balanced life also includes times for the spirit to run free, and times for pleasure and frivolity. We examine the role of play in our lives. Harrison Ibbs will be named and dedicated as a part of the service. Please make plans to stay for a potluck (picnic?) lunch after the service.
What to Expect at a Sunday Service
Who will be there?
There are usually around 25-30 people attending a Sunday Service. Children stay for the first 10 minutes or so and then join their own programme in a separate room on the premises. If they prefer to stay with you, that is fine. Likewise, babies and very small children are welcome to stay with you through the service.
Who leads the service and what style is it?
The service is usually led by our minister, Rev Linda Hart, known for her engaging storytelling and love of poetry. From time to time, there may be a visiting preacher or occasionally a member or friend of the congregation might lead a service. In format and content, the services tend to be an interesting mix of traditional and more creative elements.
How do you begin?
In common with Unitarians worldwide, we start by lighting a candle - our chalice lighting. The flaming chalice is a symbol of our Unitarian faith.
Once a month there is an opportunity for someone from the congregation to light the chalice and offer a thought or some words that are personally meaningful. This is an opportunity for us to get to know each other better. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Linda to sign up for a date.
Tell me more about the service
We continue with hymns, a story, readings, times for prayer/meditation/reflection and a sermon of ten minutes or so. The readings are often prose or poetry from contemporary spiritual writers.
Linda sometimes invites participation from the congregation, for example by making time for anyone who wishes to offer a brief prayer for a concern or joy they have; or she might invite brief responses to a question. If you want to join in, that's fine but there is no pressure and if silent participation is your preferred way, then you should feel quite comfortable here.
The service lasts about an hour in all and is followed by time for tea, coffee and fellowship to which everyone is welcome and invited to attend.
About every 6 weeks, we change the orientation of our worship space into more of a circle. In general, this coincides with a service that has more congregational sharing or some element of ritual included. This is to offer the opportunity to experience our worship and our space in a different way. The Sundays when the chairs will be in the round will be noted in the service descriptions.
Do you have any special services?
We have some special services which recur annually, for example: a Christingle service at Christmas, Maundy Thursday service at Easter, Remembrance Sunday in November, a Flower Service in May or June, a Gathering of the Waters Service in September and celebrations of the Celtic Wheel of the Year.
What about music?
Margaret, our Music Director, invites vocal and instrumental soloists to participate in services, usually several times a month. We are also very lucky to have a talented harpist as one of our members.