Past Sermons
Did you miss a recent sermon? Or want to share one with a friend? Would you like to get a flavor of the kind of messages you might hear at First Parish? Click one of the sermons below, or browse our video archive on YouTube.
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.
