Worship & Sermons

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ This church was incorporated with the name The First Religious Society in 1794. In its history it had been the Third Parish of Newbury, founded in 1725, and the First Parish of Newburyport from 1765 until 1794 when it claimed its...

  by Julie Parker Amery ​ “It is better to give than to receive.” How many of us have had that adage running through our bones and blood since childhood? It is better to give than to receive. From a tender age, we are taught this. We who identify as female in...

  by Reverend Stan Barrett, Affiliate Minister ​ Rev. Rebecca gave us a real gift in her December 5th sermon last year. She told us about an encounter with “the Holy,” as she put it, a reconnection with “God, eternity, goodness.” She and Bart had just arrived at...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ “I’m here for you.” Little did I know that those few words would lead to a request that would change the history of our church. Father Jarred and I had been getting to know one another since he and his family moved here last August....

  by Ministerial Intern David Livingstone ​ When I learned that I would be delivering my first sermon to an empty sanctuary, my first thought was, “Well, later in my career when anyone asks about my first time preaching, I will be able to proudly tell them that...

  by FRS Member Lark Madden ​ Good morning. I’m Lark Madden and I want to start by asking you to join me in looking at one of the readings in our hymnal. If you don’t have a hymnal don’t worry – I’ll read it to you. I like many of the readings in Singing the...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ When Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the 1966 Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly, the relationship he had with our Association wasn’t all a bed of roses. Though he and his wife Coretta did attend Unitarian...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ Happy New Year Good morning! Welcome to 2022, a year that many of us have being waiting for a long time, perhaps even since March 2020. This year, 2022, is the year of the Water Tiger in the Chinese New Year, starting on February...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ The year was 1967. It was the year the first heart transplant took place, the first ATM was made public, and Public Broadcasting System was incorporated. It was also the year that The Beatles recorded their world-famous album,...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ I might have missed it, the chance to reconnect with God, eternity, goodness. We had just arrived at the Grand Canyon and checked in to our dormitory-style room. We walked into the modest, aging space, my partner pulling our canvas...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ Helping, Fixing, or Serving – Dr. Rachael Remin Service is not the same as helping. Helping is based on inequality; it's not a relationship between equals. When you help, you use your own strength to help someone with less strength....

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ How do we know when enough is enough? How can we tell if our appetite is satisfied or even sated? I don’t know about you, but my sense of satisfaction, or “enoughness,” was broken long ago. For much of my life, I repeatedly passed...

  by Reverend Bertrand Steeves - June 19, 1994 ​ A few weeks ago, during the morning worship service, Anne Verret-Speck sat on the stairs here surrounded by members of the Young Church and ably explained to the children my retirement. One bright five-year-old,...

  by Reverend Helen Murgida ​ Good morning and Welcome! If you are new to the First Religious Society, we are so glad that you have joined us. My name is Rev. Helen Murgida and I serve as Affiliate Minister and Pastoral Care Associate. I am a life-long educator...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ I have been with dying people, and the experience has often been beautiful. I’m sure many of you have sat beside the bedsides of loved ones passing away, perhaps even had the good fortune to sing to them or hold their hands,...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ Friends, have we forgotten one another? Tell me, in our busyness, our fear, our desperation, have we forgotten we belong to one another? Have we forgotten how to love one another, how to see the sacred spark of creation in each...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ In her book Traveling Mercies, the author Anne Lamott tells why she makes her son Sam go to church. The main reason is to give him what I found in the world, which is to say a path and a little light to see by. Most of the people I...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the pain you live in and think you cannot share. I’m sorry for the loss you’re going through and for the aloneness you sometimes feel. I’m sorry if you’ve forgotten how amazingly, spectacularly, beautiful you...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ It has been 78 weeks since we have been together in this sanctuary. We entered the 2019-2020 church year on September 8, 2019, full of hope and anticipation. We had spent the summer doing many things, including installing our new...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ My friend reminded me about the concept of foreboding joy about three weeks ago. The timing was perfect, as I was in the middle of experiencing a severe bout of just that. The Delta variant was on the rise. My previous excitement and...

  by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ “While worship is our collective act of celebration, affirmation, challenge, and inspiration, it does not ask of us what attending an annual meeting does. Experiencing our worship without participating in the community’s decision...

  Reflection by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ Do you believe in God? I don’t believe. I know. This is one of my all-time favorite film clips. The twinkle in Carl Jung’s eye and the childlike grin that filled his face bring me such joy. Jung was being interviewed in...

  Sermon by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ “We’re returning! Isn’t it great!?” People everywhere are talking about how wonderful this time of reemerging from the pandemic is. We hear how they’ve longed for connection and face-to-face time with their loved ones. I hear...

  Reflection by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ An analysis published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy in June 2020 documents how the “sixth mass extinction of wildlife on Earth is accelerating” as seen by the astounding and alarming number of animals...

  Sermon by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ My toe just went over the finish line as I heard my childhood name over the loudspeaker: “Becky Bryan!” It was spoken quickly, amidst hundreds of others, and even so, I knew what I had heard. How in the world did they know my...

  Easter Homily by Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ “Oh, Reverend Rebecca, you’re on mute.” “Sally, you’re on mute.” “Jeffrey, we can’t hear you.” What started as an occasional occurrence became commonplace within weeks, if not days. Isn’t that the way it is? We step...

  By Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ I was participating in a mission-vision workshop for church last year when the idea of a chapel by the sea came to me. It woke me up, stirred my heart, and brought tears to my eyes. The dream sparkled! Could it be? A Chapel by the...

  By Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ When someone you haven’t seen in ten years  appears at the door, don’t start singing him all your new songs. You will never catch up.Walk around feeling like a leaf. Know you could tumble any second. Then decide what to do with your...

  By Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ My best year in college was one when I had fewer choices, only a couple of friends, no car, two pairs of jeans, and one dress. Unhappy my freshman and sophomore years, I had debated between transferring to another school and studying...

  By Reverend Rebecca Bryan ​ “You’re going to be preaching on nonviolence. Do you know Bayard Rustin?” Justin, our Director of Church Music, asked me. His question was innocent enough. I had been a student and adherent of nonviolence for decades and did not...