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.
There is within each of us a place of inner peace and strength. In a time when we so often feel buffeted and worn down by the world, how do we re-discover and regularly return to this place? How can we move through the world from this place of peace and strength? Rev. Rob Hardies preaches
What is lost when we place the "objective” above lived experience, memory, or the truth of our interconnected lives? Join Sophia Doescher and our Indigenous Justice Working Group as we gather the threads of perfectionism, urgency, and objectivity to practice truth-telling that resists erasure and reclaims our shared humanity. Sophia Doescher preaches
After the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two communities—one American, one Japanese—sought to forge a relationship based on peace and reconciliation. In honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, Rev. Rob will share perspectives on forgiveness and atonement from his involvement in a decades-long relationship with Japanese Buddhists and survivors of the atomic bomb. Rev. Rob Hardies preaches.
The poem "Outwitted" by Edwin Markham tells us what to do:
He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
Join us so we can draw the circle together, with The Rev. Dr. Thandeka guest preaching.
These days, it feels like many of the causes and institutions we believe in are facing devastating setbacks; the values we cherish and the people we love are threatened. How do we find the spiritual and emotional fortitude to persevere in our struggle for the good, when so much we care about seems ‘lost’? Rev. Rob Hardies preaching.
We live in a world saturated with urgency: urgent news, urgent crises, urgent demands. Even our search for self understanding presents with a looming deadline. Yet, the function of urgency persists, so how do we know when urgency is truly necessary—and when it hinders our search for wholeness? Sophia Doescher preaching
Join us for Homecoming Sunday! As we come together to celebrate the beginning of a new church year, we’ll reflect on the importance of community and friendship in our lives. When times are tough, we must nurture our relationships, turning to one another for encouragement and support. Only in relationship, can we discover the meaning of our lives. Preaching: Rev. Robert Hardies
The phrase “Good Morning” may be just about the most universally used set of two words in the English language. For many of us, it is the first thing that we speak on any given day and we repeat it dozens of times. But does “Good Morning” mean that every morning is automatically good? What about mornings that are not good? Join us to reflect on the nature of beginnings, the intentions we put into the world, and the art of connection. Preaching: Valentin Frank
