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.
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.
