First Church in Jamaica Plain
Unitarian Universalist
Worship Services Online via Zoom
Join us Sundays at 11 am (through June 27) on Zoom
Summer services begin July 4 and meet at 10 am, also on Zoom
We are a Unitarian Universalist community gathered to move our spirits and the world toward love. Worship services are the shared spiritual practice of our community.
As we care for our communities and neighbors during this time of COVID-19, our services will continue to happen online via Zoom, an easy-to-use video conferencing site. While we're staying away from one another in person, let's stay connected online. Join us for a time of prayer, music, singing, and a short sermon.
Download Zoom on your computer, tablet, or smartphone here.
On Sunday at the service start time, click on this link to join: https://uuma.zoom.us/j/190035147. If you'd like to listen in by phone to the services, you can call in at 646-876-9923 and enter Meeting ID 190 035 147. Please see your email newsletter for details.
Winter & Spring 2020-2021 Schedule:
Sunday, July 11, 2021 at 10 AM: Amazing Grace
Lyra and Dennis O'Brien, Worship Leaders
How can the grace which amazes us help us to create possibilities of love and justice? Our time together will include the story “Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman, as well as ideas from “Until Love Wins” (the UUA General Assembly service, shared with our congregation via Zoom, June 27, 2021).
July 4, 2021 at 10 AM: Original Blessing
Abby Krueger, Worship Leader
On the Fourth of July it is logical to reflect on the original sins on which this country was founded. We won't ignore these concepts, but the more powerful concept of original blessing will guide us forward. Margaret Suby will read our Children's Story, and Lyra and Dennis O'Brien will lead a centering hymn. Two amazing recordings by Andrei are already prepared!
June 27, 2021: Until Love Wins
UUA General Assembly Service
From our own Zoom room, we join largest annual gathering of UUs gathering in worship. The worship leaders write, "Today’s challenging times require a nimble and resilient spirituality. We need a demanding, inspiring faith and a love strong enough that it will not let us go. Join us as we draw the circle wide, gather our strength, and promise to stay in the struggle and joy until love wins."
June 20, 2021: Spilling Our Light
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Rev. Theresa I. Soto writes: "The light must spill to shine." On this Summer Solstice Sunday, we celebrate our joys, ground in gratitude, share what shines forth from within each of us, and what is being nurtured in the bright sun of summer and community. We'll be back in the FCJP Zoom room at the link above.
June 13, 2021: Virtual Field Trip to Foothills Unitarian in Fort Collins, CO
(11 AM Eastern)
Rev. Sean Neil-Barron
The service will be held on Zoom here.
June 6, 2021: Virtual Field Trip to First Parish in Needham (10:30 AM)
Jenna Crawford, Ministerial Intern
We'll visit First Parish Needham, who streams live from their sanctuary on both YouTube and Zoom for their 10:30 AM service for a service in celebration of Pride called, "Bless and Be Blessed." Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh writes, "In our religious tradition, it is not just ministers and religious professionals who have power to bless. Each of us has the power to bless another, and to bless the world." On this Pride Sunday, LGBTQIA+ First Parishioners and allies will be leading us in a series of meditations and blessings. The service can be accessed in First Parish's Zoom room here or streamed live on YouTube here.
The service will be followed by an Open Table Christian Communion in the FCJP Zoom Room.
May 30, 2021: Virtual Field Trip to the Unitarian Church of Staten Island
(11 AM)
Rev. Emily DeTar Birt
This week, we take a virtual field trip to the Unitarian Church of Staten Island, where Rev. Emily DeTar Birt leads a service called, "What It Takes to Thrive." She writes, "For over a year, people have been surviving to get through each day of the pandemic. But what really is the difference between surviving and thriving? Let us take a moment to explore spiritual wisdom and texts to better demonstrate what it takes to thrive." Please note: this will be in a different Zoom room than usual! The service will be held here.
May 23, 2021: Centering in Gifts
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
'Each and every one of us is born with gifts the world needs.' Not the same as skills or competencies; gifts are about what we can’t help but do, how we can’t help but be. Inspired by recent work with our UUA Region, this Sunday we dig into this idea of centering in gifts, allowing each of us to be seen and more fully known.
May 16, 2021: Flower Ceremony
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Czech Unitarians created the Flower Ceremony in the 1920s. Join us this Sunday as we honor both the spring and the beauty of our diversity in this ritual.
May 9, 2021: A Story That Matters
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Humans are storytelling creatures. On this Sunday, we take a step back to look at how it's possible to tell different stories with the same set of facts, and even to interpret the same story in wildly different ways. Climate change and the Garden of Eden both get mentions.
May 2, 2021: Picking Up the Pieces
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
After a crisis or a transformation, one of the tasks of religion is to pick through the fragments of theology, ritual, and story to see what is still valid and useful. We start this process on this May Day.
April 25, 2021: Making Peace
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Today we examine practices of peacemaking, inspired especially by the work of the Louis. D. Brown Peace Institute, for which we will take a special collection.
April 18, 2021: Water Is Life
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
In honor of Earth Day, we celebrate the land, the water, and the beings with which we share our life.
April 11, 2021: Radical Imagination - Brunch Church with Nourish
Rev. Aisha Ansano, Guest Minister
Let’s enter a powerful space of imagination beyond our wildest dreams. What is possible, in our world, our faith, our communities, our justice-making--and how can we get there together? The structure of this brunch church service will be a little different. In addition to worshipping all together, we’ll also go into breakout rooms for small group discussions. Please bring at least a bite of food for our embodied ritual, though you’re invited to bring your whole meal, too!
April 4, 2021: Easter Sunday
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Bust out your florals and Easter bonnets or come as you are to celebrate on Easter morning. All are invited to a contemplative early morning service at 7 AM -- you may want to join the service from outdoors to welcome in a crisp spring morning! The whole community gathers together at 11 AM for our Sunday morning service in honor of the holiday.
Friday, April 2, 2021 at 7:00 PM: Good Friday Tenebrae Service
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Good Friday gives us a traditional day to seriously consider suffering and how humans cause it. In our service, six readers each share a "modern day crucifixion" story: examples include firsthand stories of domestic violence, hate crimes, or war. We end the service in darkness with the story of Jesus' crucifixion.
March 28, 2021 at 10 :30 AM: Wandering in the Wilderness - A Service Honoring Passover
Rev. Joanna Lubkin
On this Sunday, we take a virtual field trip to All Souls UU in Braintree; please note that the service begins at 10:30! At this second Pandemic Passover, we reflect on the part of the Exodus story after Moses has led the Israelites out of slavery ... only to wander in the desert for 40 years. What lessons can we learn from this story of an uncertain journey? This is a virtual "pulpit exchange:" we will welcome Braintree folks to our Zoom sometime in May; stay tuned! We will be in All Souls Church's Zoom room here: https://zoom.us/j/96571006038
March 21, 2021: Balance and Grow
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
On the spring equinox, we try to balance between hope and grief, between struggle and celebration. We honor what is sprouting and growing in our hearts.
March 14, 2021: Measure a Year
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
We come around to one year of virtual worship, one year of pandemic. This Sunday we ask: how shall we mark the year? How shall we honor those who have died? What shall we mourn?
March 7, 2021: Loved Into Being — A Stewardship Worship Service
Leaders from Across the UUA
Faith in Unitarian Universalism isn't an intellectual exercise: it's "heart" work. This full-length worship experience features a sermon by UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, as well as vibrant music, storytelling, and other worship elements that will help us to grow in spirit, in courage, and in generosity. Join us for this Stewardship Adventure.
February 28, 2021: Taking Refuge in Community
A Joint Service with First Parish in Brookline
Revs. Elizabeth Bukey and Lisa Perry-Wood
Building community is not easy, but going it alone isn't an option. On this Sunday, Revs. Lisa and Elizabeth each offer a reflection on how creating/building/relying on community has made a difference in our lives. We look at how "community" can look very different at different times and places, sometimes coming together unexpectedly.
February 21, 2021: The Spirituality of Money
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
What is the relationship between money and values? How is generosity a spiritual practice? On this Sunday, we explore these questions and start to consider our own "money stories."
February 14, 2021: Side With Love Sunday
From the Unitarian Universalist Association's Side With Love Campaign
What if to "side with love" meant making bold, faith-full choices? What if it were even a little bit scary? This worship service brings together worship leaders and musicians from across the country to offer hopeful, moving, challenging reminders about what we, as Unitarian Universalists, are called to do, and BE, in the world.
February 7, 2021: The Next Right Thing — Lessons from Frozen
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
There is wisdom in stories "for children." This Sunday we look at the two Frozen movies for lessons in resilience, life amid grief, and transforming tradition.
January 31, 2021: Filling the Spiritual Gap
Andrea Fleck Clardy, Worship Leader
Our UU Churches provide personal support, essential community, and guidance in social justice. But what about the spiritual? Lifelong UU Andrea Clardy shares her own search and her experience in Wellspring, a year-long UUA program for spiritual deepening now available to our congregation for the first time.
January 24, 2021: Imagine
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Imagine what our church could be like if money were no object. Imagine a society that is radically more just, equitable, and compassionate. Let's dream big.
January 17, 2021: The Movement, Not (Just) the Man
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Leaders are real and important. But leaders don't act alone. Sometimes the way our society tells the story of social change obscures the organizers behind the scenes, the many years of work, the power of coalition and the reality of community. Let's look at that this week.
January 10, 2021: On the Threshold
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
It is a time of endings and beginnings. In Christian tradition, this is the season the Wise Ones arrive to kneel before possibility. In our political realm, new leaders arive with many hopes and plans. Where are WE going? What star guides your way for 2021? What can we imagine for our future?
January 3, 2021: Out of the Box
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Can we start our new year with creativity? Rev. Elizabeth will preach on six words submitted by congregants, inviting us to consider engaging our world with creativity and imagination. Suggest a word by emailing Rev. EB! She'll pick any that are the most common, supplemented by ones picked out of a hat.
December 27: Our Church and the Beginnings of American Unitarianism
George Wardle, Church Historian
The service will share stories about our heritage and our historic connection with the beginnings of Unitarianism. What was the beloved Rev. Thomas Gray preaching here in Jamaica Plain that led to this church and many Boston churches to be identified as Unitarian? How is it that so many neighboring churches split over this controversy while our church did not? How has this heritage affected our identity over the years?
December 20: When Jesus Was Born
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
The tradition of Christmas/Nativity pageants meets 2020. In this virtual pageant, our church families tell the story of Jesus' birth once again.
December 13: Waiting for the World to Turn
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
Advent is a time of waiting. In Christian tradition, it is a time of preparing for God. How might we wait faithfully for a world of love and justice?
December 6: Time for the Dark
Rev. Elizabeth Bukey
We enter the darkest weeks of the year. What if we approached them as a gift? What rest, safety, or coziness can we find in the gentle darkness?