FRSUU Events Calendar
This calendar lists FRSUU activities inside our buildings and in the community. It also shows when FRSUU spaces are being reserved by outside groups. Click on an event to see its location and more information.
If you need to reserve space space for your meeting or event, please fill out [this form].
For questions regarding church ministry related events and meetings, please contact the Church Administrator at diane.carroll@frsuu.org.
For external inquiries including private events and rentals please contact nick.place@frsuu.org.
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Mystic and Contemplative Circles and Services with Rev. Jane Tuohy
December 3 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
An event every 2 weeks that begins at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, repeating until December 17, 2024
The Mystic and Contemplative Circles and Services is a program designed to create opportunities to explore pathways for opening to Spirit and sharing in sacred circles.
These gatherings are intended to be opportunities to share with others open to exploring Mystical experiences and cultivating Mystical hearts. We will explore different forms of contemplation, meditation as ways of accessing our own deepest selves, connecting with others, and inviting Spirit.
This series will be facilitated by Rev. Jane Tuohy and different sessions will be led by people who participated last church year in the Interfaith Exploration of Mysticism program, and by guests. No previous experience is required. A willingness to be open to mystery, to be in the unknown, and to invite experiences and perspectives of other participants is required.
All sessions will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8pm in the Lower Meetinghouse, First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist of Newburyport.
Registration is required. Please submit name, contact information to Rev. Jane Tuohy at jane.tuohy@frsuu.org.
Dates:
Session One Sept. 22. Mystical Hope Rev. Jane Tuohy
“ Mystical hope would simply be what happens when we touch this innermost ground and it floods forth into our being as strength and joy. Hope would be the Mercy -the divine love itself coursing through our being like lightning finding a clear path to the ground”. Cynthia Bourgeault
Session two Oct. 8 Johnathon Pape
The Spiritualist Movement began in the U.S. in the 1840s, but spread widely, particularly in English-speaking countries. Spiritualism holds a firm conviction in the existence of spirits “from the other side” who maintain ongoing communication with the living world. Spiritualist Churches usually offer a fairly traditional Christian service, but in addition to standard elements of worship, spirit messages are delivered to those in attendance. This often comes from church leaders who are mediums and regularly connected to and in communication with spirits. The spiritualist movement was very popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many churches sprang up, as well as some spiritualist communities. One of the most famous of the spiritualist communities is Lily Dale, NY, a Victoria-era community located in Western, NY. The Lily Dale Assembly has sponsored many speakers on spiritual matters (including such well known figures as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, and James van Praagh, among many others) and there are also numerous mediums who live there full time and are available for spirit readings and consultations. There are Spiritualist Churches in various communities across the U.S., including the Greater Boston Church of Spiritualism, located in Arlington, MA.
Session three: Oct. 22 Shamanism as an Introduction to Mysticism Rev. Rebecca Bryan
Rev. Rebecca will share her early and personal experiences with shamanism that were integral to her mystical understanding and theology. This will include a guided shamanic journey. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and bring a mat or a blanket to lay on the floor during meditation, if that is available to you.
Spirit Strong: Election Time Services: On Nov. 4, 5 and 6 FRS will host services designed to provide perspective, build community and offer vision and hope for the future.
More information will be forthcoming in The Steeple.
Session four: Nov. 19 Music as a path to transcendence Susan Swan
“Mysticism is the encounter with the presence of God. It is unity in the sacred.”
Not everyone listens to classical music. However, for me, this genre leads to the sacred. I have selected very brief excerpts- some choral, some instrumental, some old. a few contemporary, some religious, some secular. We’ll listen to each one, and I’ll ask you to write down one or two words that might express the feeling of the piece for you; i.e., more than I like or dislike it. Please note that I’ve heard these pieces many times and I rarely listen to other genres. I’ll give my own reactions and then play the excerpt once more. You’ll then have time to record your feelings again. Members who wish can then share these reactions with the group.
Session five: Dec. 03 The remarkable mystical faith of Etty Hillesum Carolyn Coman
Etty Hillsum ( 1914-1943) was a Dutch Jewish writer and mystic whose diaries chronicle an extraordinary spiritual evolution forged during the Nazi occupation of her country and the devastation of the Holocaust. Before she died at the ae of 29, Hillesum committed herself to being a dwelling place for God and to seeking God in everyone she encountered. Carolyn Coman is the author of For Sad Girls, a book based on Hillesum’s diaries and letters.
Session six. Dec. 17 Closing session All
