JULY MINISTRY THEME: POSSIBILITY
Annual Ministry Theme: Life
SUNDAY, JULY 12
GROWING INTO HARMONY WITH THE DIVINE
SERVICE STARTS
AT 10AM
Sunday, July 5, 2026
Reading Frederick Douglass Together
10am, Brown Square, rain location: FRSUU, no livestream
Please join us for the annual community reading of Frederick Douglass’s speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Meet in Brown Square across from City Hall (rain location, FRSUU) at 10am. No sign-up required. Light refreshments will follow. Lawn chairs are encouraged. Co-hosted by the Friends of William Lloyd Garrison, the YWCA of the Greater Northshore, Museum of Old Newbury, and Congregation Ahavas Achim, with support from Mass Humanities and Mass Cultural Council. No livestream. More information at www.WLGarrison.com.
Sunday, July 12, 2026
Growing into Harmony with the Divine
10am, Sanctuary and YouTube
Drawing from Steve McIntosh’s Evolution’s Purpose, the story of cosmic, biological, and cultural evolution, the service will explore how familiar phrases from our FRS Affirmation of Faith and Doxology can speak to our lives today. The service will be led by David Turner and will include harmonies from choir members and video reflections and songs from Alban and Erinda in Albania.
FRSUU Welcomes New Interim Minister!
The FRSUU Board of Trustees and the Interim Minister Search Team are excited and proud to announce the selection of Rev. Connie Simon as our new interim minister. Rev. Connie, who is completing her interim ministry at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, MD, will start her two-year ministry at FRSUU on August 1. Her first official Sunday in the pulpit will be September 13, Opening Sunday for the 2026-27 church year.
Rev. Connie explains her approach to interim ministry on her website: “I’ve chosen to focus my ministry on transitional work because I genuinely love it. There’s something deeply meaningful about accompanying congregations through periods of change—helping them reflect on their history, clarify their identity, strengthen their leadership, and step intentionally into their future. Transitions are challenging, but they’re also extraordinary opportunities for growth, healing, and renewal.”
Read the full announcement HERE.
Summer Sunday Worship
July 19 and 26
10am in the sanctuary with livestream on YouTube
Click here for the full schedule of summer services and events.
The Latest News & Events
Wilson Music Series 2025: Cuban Art Song Project
Cuban Art Song Project. Isabella Lamadriz and Pablo Zinger will perform an hour of Cuban love songs in celebration of Valentine’s Day. The Cuban Art Song Project (CASP) seeks to promote underperformed Cuban art song, zarzuela, and popular music and to encourage the...
Justice Sunday: The State of Housing in the Greater Newburyport Area
On Sunday, February 2 following worship we will have a Justice Sunday (and soup sunday) focusing on housing in the Newburyport area. Rents are high and apartments are few and far between. The cost of buying in this area continues to climb. Judy Tymon of the YWCA...
Valentine Making with Tinkerhaus ($20)
For the sixth year in a row, Tinkerhaus will be hosting a Valentine Making Event. This year it will be at Parish Hall starting at 6:30pm. Learn from Barbara Burns Dore for paper crafting tips and make Valentines for your own sweeties and some to share with local...
FRS Green Team Potluck and Beyond Plastics Presentation
On Wednesday, January 29 we invite all to share a potluck supper at 6 pm, followed by a talk and discussion on the risk of plastics and the associated plastic waste in our lives and for our environment. Molly Ettenborough, of the Newburyport Department of Recycling,...
Mystic and Contemplative Circles and Services – Winter 2025
The Mystic and Contemplative Circles and Services will begin again this winter on February 25. This 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...
Men’s Group Breakfast: Celebrating Women
On Saturday, January 11 from 8–10am The FRS Men’s Group will be cooking a deluxe breakfast honoring women as an FRSUU auction item. We hope to sell 100 tickets to this event. All women are welcome regardless of payment. The suggested donation is $20/person and...
Scott Ouellette Guitar Concert
On Saturday, January 11 from 3-4pm join Scott Ouellette in the Sanctuary for a guitar concert. Scott is a self-taught fingerstyle guitarist living on the east coast of the United States. He first began playing the guitar at age 7, listening mostly to popular rock...
Exploring Elderhood Together: Brain Health Through Movement
Presented by Exploring Elderhood Together on Thursday, January 16 from 1-2:30pm with Guest Speaker Ree Coleman, Certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher and more. Join us as we explore the connection between movement and brain health. We’ll start with a short video of Dr....
Post Inauguration Service
Join Rev. Rebecca and Rev. Laurel on Tuesday, January 21 from 6-7pm for this post-inauguration service in the sanctuary. In this time of immense change and uncertainty, it matters that we gather in community, root down into our deepest values, and remember that we...
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. Organ music provided by former Director of Church Music Justin Murphy-Mancini on our 1834 Joseph Alley organ. Piano music provided by Director of Church Music Nick Place. We close with a view of the bell from the foundry of Paul Revere and Sons bell.
