First Parish Malden

UU poet and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe held the first mother’s day as an anti-war protest as a reaction to the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian war. She believed that women held a responsibility to help shape the world we live in. In this moment when we are in the midst of a war, how can this message give us a renewed understanding of the holiday?

As we explore the hero’s journey this month and finish our pledge drive we turn to the future. Who are we called to be in this moment? What possibilities lie ahead? Where are we going?

The extraordinary in the ordinary. The thing that makes things more themselves. We’ll explore the spirituality of salt and how it connects us to the earth and the sacred.

There’s wisdom deep underground in the life of worms. Charles Darwin spent decades studying them. They are doing this important work underground and unseen, making something compost out of what we think of as death. What can we learn from the secret lives of earthworms that will help us in above ground world?

Drag Easter: An annual First Parish tradition! As our country attacks the rights of transgender and non-binary people, we celebrate the joy and love that they bring to our lives. We look to the story of Easter as one of hope and resurrection for all people in our midst. 

Join us for our Annual Malden Reads service where we will be discussing the themes from the book “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng. This book explores, through a dystopian fiction lens, authoritarianism’s impact on families, the dangerous of xenophobia, and the power of resistance. You do not have to have read the book to enjoy the service, but the service will be followed by a discussion of the...

Join First Parish member Suad Mammadkhanli and Rev. Otto for a service on the holiday of Nowruz, also known as the Iranian or Persian New Year and as a celebration of the spring equinox. Suad shares her experiences and celebration of this holiday from her native Azerbaijan, where traditions of pakhlava-baking, wheat-sprouting and festive jumping over the fire brought families and friends together...

Alice Walker says “resistance is the secret of joy” but the inverse is also true. Joy is the secret of resistance. In these tough times we often focus on resistance and forget to be joyful together. But Joy is essential! Our joy is what scares them, our joy is what we are fighting for. Join us to hear about some of UUSC’s joyful resistance and to learn about how you too can lean into joy in these...

Because we are imperfect people in an imperfect world, we will always feel tension and conflict between the world as it is, and the world as it should be. Our Universalist ancestors teach us to Love the world anyway. How might Universalist Love stories help us to make things better by loving what is broken?

In honor of Black History Month, we recall some of the stories that shape our country, our faith, and our world and why they are important to everyone.

Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned a Beloved Community of love and justice, where the races would be reconciled, and the deep and terrible wounds of racism finally healed. Let’s explore, this MLK Day weekend, what that looks like in this day and age, for our congregation, our community, and our world.

Author Rebecca Solnit says “Hopefulness is risky, since it is after all a form of trust, trust in the unknown and the possible.” We are in what some might call a moment of darkness. What does hope look like in these times? How can we embrace hope even when it feels hard or like we don’t know where we are going?

As we end our month of telling ancient stories, member Paul Kuttner examines the question of why we are still telling some stories hundreds or thousands of years after they were first told. What do these stories do for us? How to they change over time? And what are the stories that we never got to hear?

A minor Jewish festival of lights has become a major commercial holiday in the United States. In December, Hanukkah comes second only to Christmas, with Hanukkah themed decorations and cards sitting to the side at department stores next to Christmas decorations all December long. But do you know what Hanukkah is actually celebrating? What’s the ancient story it is based on? We’ll learn about the s...

In the advent season, we anticipate the coming of joy and possibility. In hard times, feeling joy and anticipating joy can feel like a major risk. Sometimes it feels safer to shrink our hopes and expectations. What can we learn from the Christmas and advent season about opening up to the vulnerability of joy?

In times like these, it can be difficult to sustain hope for the future. Yet sometimes the best way to imagine new possibilities is to remember the past. The history of Middlesex Fells offers some clues. Our guest this morning in Professor Dan McKanan, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Senior Lecturer at Harvard Divinity School.

Going to church is good for you. People who go to church live longer according to a Harvard study. But it’s more than that. Are you wondering if church is for you? Do you need convincing that coming back to church is a good idea? Do you want to attend more? Join us for a service about why you should come to church (without the guilt!).

Have you ever tried to explain Unitarian Universalism to other people? It can be challenging! Or perhaps you don’t even quite know what it is yourself. Let’s talk about what Unitarian Universalism is and why it’s named what it is. Not sure if you are a UU, this is a service for you!

At the end of October many traditions honor their beloved dead. At the end of our month of “Stories of the Dead” join Rev. Otto and CUUSP for Samhain, the Pagan holiday that recognizes that the veil is thin between the living and the dead at this time of year. You are invited to bring items and photos that remind of your loved ones who have passed to the great beyond as we continue to build our al...

At the end of October many traditions honor their beloved dead. At the end of our month of “Stories of the Dead” join Rev. Otto and CUUSP for Samhain, the Pagan holiday that recognizes that the veil is thin between the living and the dead at this time of year. You are invited to bring items and photos that remind of your loved ones who have passed to the great beyond as we continue to build our al...

We don’t know what happens to people when they die, but we do know something about what happens to the people left behind. In this transition full of mystery and the ultimate unknown, what can we know for sure about what happens after death?

Cole Arthur Riley writes, “the world can be terrible and still dare to be beautiful.” These times are heavy, and sometimes it can be easy to spend our time only with the terrible. Join Rev. Aisha to explore where we still find glimmers of beauty, and how they can fortify us in these times. 

Two years after the deadly attack in Israel, we discuss that and everything after. The UN has affirmed that what is happening in Gaza is a Genocide. What are we to do? This month also begins our theme of Stories of the Dead. This month we will be building altars to those we love who we have lost. Feel free to bring an item of a picture any Sunday this month to place on our altar. We are also colle...

Community Church of New York, a UU church in New York City, has been rethinking how they do church. They call it “Disrupt Church.” These times call for radical different ways to do church. Join us as we explore what those might be.

Water has many stories to tell. Of rain cycles and river and oceans. Of baptisms and mikvahs. Of water as a place to gather to connect us. As a place of fun and relaxation. As a place of distruction. Listen to the stories in the water.