Welcome!

We are the First Religious Society, a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Newburyport, Massachusetts.  We're glad you're here. We aspire to be a welcoming and inclusive community that encourages spiritual growth as we strive for truth and meaning and serve the social and spiritual needs of our larger community.

Dates to remember

August 10: Ministerial survey becomes available
September 15: Survey closes
September 17: After church opportunities to explore ideas about settled minister
October (TBD): Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop

Beth Duerr Munro's Journey of Faith

Beth Duerr MunroGiven by Beth Duerr Munro on May 28, 2017.

My family was very involved in church and then it vanished from my life as quickly as my mother who died at age 36. I was eleven and learned families stop going to church when they blame God for loss. I missed assisting at Sunday School, seeing our church friends, and the stained-glass storytelling windows. I was confused: Was it, or wasn’t it a sin to stop attending?

Be a Jazz Vespers reader

Jazz Vespers invites you to consider being a reader at one of our musical services. Vespers is held the first Wednesday evening of the month from October through June (save for a winter break in January) at 8pm in the sanctuary. The service consists of Jazz and Pop music with 3 or 4 minutes of readings and a few minutes for silent reflection. Readers choose their own selections which can range from humorous pieces to traditional literature to modern poetry.

Community yard sale

Saturday, June 17, 2017: Community yard sale to benefit B’Link. In front of the church. Drop off: 7-8:30 am. Sale: 9am-noon. As our (hopefully) final fundraiser of the year, the B’Link (youth immigration justice trip) group is holding a community yard sale. So as you’re doing your spring cleaning, put your sellable stuff aside and bring it to the church early on the morning of June 17. Then come back a little later and purchase new treasures!

Rev-eries - June 13, 2017

On Wednesday afternoon, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. It seemed that summer was finally fast approaching. Certainly, the summer of the congregational year is nearly upon us.   

I will spend time working this summer – planning for next year, mostly, and seeing to things that come up. I will also take some weeks of vacation in July and the first part of August. 

Mindfulness based emotional intelligence: join a summer program

An eight-week program to build practical skills for managing emotions. We will meet once a week on Sunday, 6:30-8:30pm, for eight weeks starting on June 25, 2017. You are expected to meet for at least six of the eight sessions. This course is suitable for students and adults, and all are welcome to attend. Sign up with facilitator David Turner, (617-669-1950). There is no charge for the program.

A Young Church Faith Journey

Sam Lincoln playing saxSam Lincoln shared this talk at the May 21, 2017 Young Church Sunday.

I’ve been at FRS for a just about as long as I can remember. My brother and I were faithful attendees of the Sunday school programs up until seventh grade, when I hit pause on the religious education and took the Our Whole Lives, or O - W - L, or OWL curriculum… and that’s all I’ll say about that. The underlying theme of my early years at FRS was that of engagement with the community but not engagement with the faith itself.

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