April Theme: Repair & Reparations
Annual Ministry Theme: Truth
SUNDAY, April 27, 2025
Saving the World by Saving Birds
SERVICE STARTS AT 10:30AM
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Saving the World by Saving Birds
10:30am in person and on YouTube
A world that works for birds — whose migrations span tens of thousands of miles, and reach almost every corner of the planet — will work for every living thing, including us. Writer and migration researcher Scott Weidensaul will share some of the inspiring work that is happening around the world to safeguard and restore bird populations, and which can serve as a roadmap for recovery. Please join us for our annual Earth Day service.
“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” – Robert Swan
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Birds – The Gateway to Conservation Action
A presentation by Scott and Amy Weidensaul
Sanctuary, 1pm
With federal support for protection of the environment waning, it falls to us to work together locally to protect nature and all its creatures. Scott, a widely published naturalist, author, and researcher, will speak on the compelling appeal of birds, and Amy, currently the Senior Director for Sanctuaries at Mass Audubon, will connect birds and their appeal to engaging new communities with nature conservation and environmental action. The talk will be followed by a reception with regional environmental leaders. Please come and learn about local measures to protect our ecosystems. Free and open to the public.
Rev. Rebecca’s Faithful Response After the Election
The Latest News & Events
In the Spirit: “When the world is on fire” by Reverend Rebecca M. Bryan
Published in The Daily News on April 11, 2025 The recent months have ushered in tremendous and devastating changes in our country. Our democracy, government agencies and international relations, which we assumed were staples of our nation, are being torn...
Exploring Elderhood Together: Better Vision, Movement, and Balance
Thursday, April 17, LMH Main Room, 1-2:30pm. Exploring Elderhood presents: An Experiential Program to Support Better Vision, Movement, and Balance with Ree Coleman We are all keenly aware of our sense of sight and how our sight and eyes support us each day. Also...
Rev. Rebecca’s Book Launch
Sunday, May 4, 12-2pm, Sanctuary and Lower Meetinghouse Join us for the launch of Rev. Rebecca's new sermon book, Guided by Love: A Minister's Thoughts on Love, Hope, and Justice! Rev. Rebecca will read from her book and host a Q&A in the Sanctuary. A reception...
Know Your Rights!
Tuesday, April 15, Sanctuary, 6-8pm Join us for a Know Your Rights workshop. Learn about essential legal rights of immigrants, how to handle interactions with law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and information to protect yourself and your...
Be the Light: Make Love Real
On Sunday, March 2 we kicked off our 2025 Annual Giving Campaign! Our theme: Be the Light: Make Love Real! This theme is both a statement of our values and a call to loving action. There is no better time, no time more deserving than now, to show how we can answer...
Contemplative Worship at FRS: Touching the Sacred Within
Led by Rev. Alan Seale. When: The first Sunday of January, February, March and April at 8am in the Sanctuary Contemplation has been described as “a long loving look at the real” and “a pure intuition of being, born of love” (21st-century mystic William McNamara)....
Easter Worship
Join us on Sunday, April 20, to celebrate the coming of spring and Easter with the traditional story as well as choir and brass music. Children are invited to join us outside after the service for an Easter egg hunt. All are welcome!
Justice Sunday Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
Please join us as we welcome representatives from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute following worship on Sunday, March 30. Our guests will share information on the upcoming 29th Mother's Day Walk for Peace to be held on Sunday, May 11. This gathering will also...
Congregational-Wide Read: Caste
Beginning on February 3, we will be reading Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. Isabel Wilkerson explores how America has been shaped by a caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and our nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems...
Tour the FRS Campus and Buildings
Follow our drone footage as we fly to the top of FRS’s steeple featuring a glass-eyed gilded weathercock which overlooks downtown Newburyport and Merrimack River. From there, you’ll get a first-hand look at our campus grounds and the interior of our meetinghouse and Sanctuary which dates back to 1801. Rev. Rebecca, our Senior Minister, welcomes you and ALL who seek a place of spiritual community and faith here. To close, Nick Place, our Director of Church Music, plays the organ which dates back to 1834 and we close with a view of the bell from the foundry of Paul Revere and Sons bell.
