Remaining Open-Hearted While Being Broken-Hearted
There are many things that bind together the human family. One of them is our shared experience of loss and grief. On All Souls Day, when we remember our dearly departed loved ones, we explore this common bond, and ask: How do we remain open-hearted while being broken-hearted? Rev. Rob Hardies is preaching.

Sacred Stories to Tell in the Dark
It was a dark and stormy night… the wind howled, shadows flickered, and somewhere in the distance, something stirred that we couldn’t quite name. It is comforting to know how the story ends, to see what’s lurking around the corner before we take another step. But what if some things can only be met in the dark? How might embracing mystery help us trust that even when we can’t see the path ahead, we can still find our way forward? Rev. Sophia Doescher preaching.

"Not a Bot” by Rev. Rob Hardies
As artificial intelligence, social media, and other technologies shape more and more of our lives and culture, what’s at stake for our humanity? How do we remain human amidst the bots? And how can our moral imagination keep pace with technological innovation? Rev. Rob Hardies preaching.

Honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day
As we commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day this year, we are again called to take our learning and teaching about history and have it move us to action. Please join us this Sunday morning where the Indigenous Justice Working Group will lead worship through a series of reflections and readings on the intersection of land, people, and our place is moving us towards a just and loving future. The Indigenous Justice Working Group is preaching.

From FOMO to Freedom
We’ve all fallen for FOMO, haven’t we? The Fear Of Missing Out. Fed an endless stream of possibilities, opportunities, products and desires, we’ve been driven to distraction. Left feeling lonely, anxious, envious and inadequate. What if we freed ourselves from all of that by taking back our attention and living boldly with intention and purpose? How do we move from FOMO to Freedom? Rev. Rob Hardies is preaching.

‘Sorry’ Seems To Be the Hardest Word
‘Sorry’ makes the world go ‘round. Without it we’d all be alone. But a sincere apology is more than a tool in our relational toolkit. Properly understood, ‘sorry’ is an entire theology, a spirituality, an ethic. It contains multitudes. So why do the words ‘I’m sorry’ so often get caught in our throat? Why is it so hard to give and receive apologies? Rev. Rob Hardies is preaching.

It's More Than Just Showing Up
It's about showing up in the ways that are life-giving to both ourselves and one another. But so often we are pushed to our limits and we just need a place to show up that can accept us exactly how we are. How do we make sure First Parish is a place where we do both? Rev. Sophia Doescher preaching.

Walk Together, Children
Religious wisdom can enrich our lives in many ways. But if religion had just one vital message to offer the world today, it might be this: Don’t go it alone. From slave songs to old New England church covenants, a chorus of religious voices has celebrated the life-giving and liberatory power of human connection and community. At a time when our freedoms are in jeopardy and loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, how do we create joyful and liberating religious community? Rev. Rob Hardies is preaching.

Becoming a Connoisseur of Silence
There are many different flavors of silence. You can have an awkward silence, companionable silence, lonely silence, reverent silence, and many more. Sometimes it's obvious which kind of silence we have and sometimes it's not, but in either case, it invites us to be open to everything that the silence makes room for: the thoughts that come up, the things we notice, and everything that is going on in the background. Come join us on Sunday morning for a worship all about the quieter moments in life and what they invite us to hear. Ministerial Intern Valentin Frank is preaching.

Faithful Questions in Turbulent Times
We live in uncertain times filled with both possibility and peril, not to mention the daily joys and challenges of living. What are your hopes, dreams and fears in this moment? What are the urgent spiritual, moral, ethical, and religious questions that are on your heart as we face these turbulent times? Please submit your questions ahead of time to Rev. Rob at (rhardies@firstparishcambridge.org) and on this Sunday he will respond to as many as time permits. Rev. Rob Hardies preaching.

Advice for the Time Being
As we transition from the expansive, sunny time of Summer to the reflective time of Fall, a time of new beginnings and midterm elections, what advice do you need to hear? Is there anything we can actually do to make things feel better, for the time being? Rev. Sophia Doescher is preaching.

Return to the World with a Gift
The world asks much of us. But in order to meet the demands of our lives and of these unprecedented times, there must also be opportunity for rest, reflection and preparation. After that, we can return to the world with what Zen monks call “gift-bestowing hands.” What gift will you offer to our world, so in need of healing? Rev. Rob Hardies preaching.

The Good and The Perfect
We hear a lot about the good and perfect and whether they can be friends instead of enemies. We'll explore how to tell when to hold the line and when to let go into imperfection. Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen is preaching.

When we gather in community, something special happens. This creation of sacred space is something that we can all feel when it happens, but is hard to put your finger on. So, let's try and put our finger on it and attempt to put words to the indescribable.. Join us this Sunday for a worship all about the imagination that it takes to visualize the intangible and magical feeling of being in community. Ministerial Intern Val Frank is preaching

Hairy Toes and Other Signs of Health

In these heartbreaking and challenging times, we look to surprising places for signs of wellbeing, endurance and possibility. Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen is preaching.

The Wisdom of Family Restaurants

Grilled Cheese! Sundaes! Being Yourself! What can we learn from Friendly’s, and other family restaurants, as multigenerational spaces? Join Rev. Stevie–Minister of Religious Education in Arlington, MA–to explore what it means to be a community of practice. Rev. Stevie remembers fondly serving First Parish Cambridge as our Summer Student Minister in 2016, and is glad to return to share this message. Rev. Stevie Carmody is preaching.

Retelling and Retilling

What do we do with the traditions and texts that wound us? How do we know when to abandon the field—and when to dig in our trowels and replant? Eli invites us into his least favorite parable in the Bible, to see if there's any ground so rocky it can't give rise to new life. Guest Preacher, Eli Hardwig, is preaching.

A Faith of Inclusion

As we listened to our leaders describe a war of choice as a "holy war", we witnessed a version of Christianity known as "Christian Nationalism", where anyone who disagrees is considered an enemy and a traitor. What is it that separates us, with our own Christian heritage, from the rage-filled rhetoric of this extremist ideology? Historically, Unitarian Universalists have upheld values of radical welcome and love for all of our neighbors, working to end the oppression of immigrants, the poor, and the disenfranchised; values we believed were enshrined in our constitution 250 years ago. As a "faith of inclusion", how do we reach toward others of faith, whose values seem very different from our own? Rev. Lisa Perry-Wood is preaching.

Finding Meaning in Being Lost

Feeling lost is a sensation we are taught from a young age to fear, a sensation that lives directly alongside turbulence and confusion. But when we are able to live safely in that state of being lost, there can be something beautiful about it. It is only in our moments of knowing the least that we can learn the most and see the world in new and unexpected ways. Join us this Sunday to explore the feeling of facing questions so deep that we don't even know where to begin. Ministerial Intern Valentin Frank preaching.

Though Dwelling in a Land of Freedom

This Juneteenth Sunday Rev. Rob and the First Parish Gospel Choir invite us to confront legacies of enslavement and liberation right here at First Parish. What do these stories mean for us today? As we approach the nation’s 250th birthday, how can these stories point us forward to a more faithful expression of our democratic ideals? Rev. Hardies preaching.

To Become Our True Selves

It is getting harder to find the spaces where we can courageously explore what it means to be our true selves, and be celebrated on that journey. First Parish is one of those places. 

Join us for our Pride celebration this Sunday as we celebrate the joy of being unapologetically and wholly us! With music from our choir and reflections from congregants and Rev Sophia. Rev. Sophia Doescher is preaching.

How To Preach a Sermon with Flowers

Legend has it that the Buddha once “preached” an entire sermon without speaking. Instead, he held up a lotus blossom and let the flower speak for itself. Similarly, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invited his followers to consider the meaning of “the lilies of the field.” Once a year we celebrate a communion of flowers. If these flowers could speak, what would their urgent message be to us?  Rev. Rob Hardies preaching.

Coming of Age Service

In Unitarian Universalism, we celebrate the capacity in all of us to form our own beliefs in the lifelong journey of the spirit. Because of this, one of our most closely held traditions is that of our Coming of Age service, an opportunity where we invite teens in our congregations to share their own Credos with the community. Please join us for this special service where celebrate the young people in our congregation, learn from their wisdom, and reaffirm their welcome place in the First Parish Cambridge community.

To Mourn Is To Resist

What does it mean to be free as democracy crumbles? How might our mourning instruct our resistance? Join us this Memorial Day Sunday to remember the liberation at the center of our faith, with powerful music from the First Parish Gospel Choir. Rev. Sophia Doescher preaching. 

We spend much of our lives grasping at the world, reaching for things we believe will fulfill us and make us happy. A few years back, I broke both arms in a bike accident, leaving me unable to grasp. My frustration eventually gave way to a question: What if the greatest fulfillment in life comes not from grasping the world, but from allowing ourselves to be held by it? Rev. Rob Hardies preaching.

Unitarian Universalists believe that any religion worth its salt ought to make a difference in the world. But in these times of upheaval, when so much that we value in our country seems to be unraveling, it can be a struggle just to pay attention, let alone take some kind of action. Maybe our faith has something to say about how to face the challenges of this moment without burning out. Join us this Sunday! Rev. Kathleen McTigue preaches.

We often speak about speaking truth to power, but what about singing truth to power? Protest music has been a richly explored tradition, both in our own Unitarian Universalist faith and in justice-seeking communities across the globe. For centuries, humans have felt this power of singing as good and true, and that torch has now been passed to us. Join us this Sunday for a celebration of music and meaning, of song and of truth. Ministerial Intern Valentin Frank preaches.

"The Great Turning" is a paradigm shift coined by Buddhist activist Joanna Macy. She describes it as shift from an industrial growth society, focused on consumption and destruction, to a life-sustaining civilization. This is made possible by doing the "work of re-connecting", work that we as Unitarian Universalists are called to do. Join us for our Earth Day celebration, as we reimagine and claim our place in this Great Turning.  Rev. Sophia Doescher preaching.

Our Religious Exploration program will have special Earth Day celebrations in the classrooms. Our teachers are preparing special lessons to give gifts back to the earth for all she has done for us, telling stories, singing songs, and offering gratitude.

Sometimes life brings us to tears. But can those same tears also point us back to life’s blessings? What can we learn from our tears? What do they teach us? What do they mean? Rev. Rob Hardies preaching

Join us for a sermon by Rev. Mary Margaret Earl, Executive Director of UU Urban Ministry. She will lead us in reflecting on navigating the overwhelming noise and news without losing sight of our work for justice.

Biography
The Rev. Mary Margaret Earl has served as Executive Director and Senior Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry for 11 years. In this ministry, she works for racial justice and to strengthen connections between UUs and the Roxbury neighborhood where the UUUM operates. She has served on the leadership team of Moral Movement Massachusetts, the Roxbury Cultural Network, and the search committee for the Roxbury Community College president. Prior to her arrival at the UU Urban Ministry, she spent 10 years at a faith-based nonprofit in RI serving the homeless community, She is past president of the Board of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, recipient of the Heroes of Faith Award from the Rhode Island State Council of Churches for her interfaith work, and received a Courage of Conscience award from the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, MA. She is a longtime vegan committed to standing up for nonhumans.