WEST PARIS — As we welcome autumn, we also welcome deeper meanings of nature, like wrapping ourselves in a warm scarf. All are welcome! Worship services are held every Sunday at 9 a.m., with music by Tom Coolidge, followed by coffee hour.
October 2: “Twilight and Evening Star” led by Cynthia Reedy. As the Earth moves in its orbit and tilts a little bit more away from the Sun each day, we move into the twilight time of the year. How can the lessons of the autumnal season help us navigate and welcome the twilight time of our lives? There is much beauty to be found in these shortening days and there is much to celebrate as we greet the long-shadowed evenings.
A frequent speaker at the First Universalist Church of West Paris, Cynthia Reedy is a third-generation Unitarian and was raised to recognize and celebrate the beauty and wonder of the world around us. She recently retired from a happy career teaching science and language at Hebron Academy.
October 9: “Celebrating Indigenous People’s Day” led by The Rev. Fayre Stephenson. Monday, October 10 will be Indigenous Peoples’ Day. On this day of reconciliation and healing, we will celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ strides toward reclaiming justice. From historic land-back cases to strong Indigenous women in power, there is great progress to celebrate.
October 16: “Making “Aging” Renewable” led by Maryli Tiemann, a familiar visiting speaker. Maryli is a member of the Brunswick UU Church, interested in humor, Buddhism, and poetry. This time she’ll be sharing thoughts on transitions, like growing older: Growing and seeing ourselves as resources. And how churches, going through a similar transition these days, might just have what our communities are thirsting for. We’ll also make time within the service for Reverberations, sharing our stories and thoughts about these perspectives for ourselves, our church, and this area of Maine.
Oct. 23: “Sacred Nature” led by The Rev. Fayre Stephenson. Once we saw ourselves as vitally part of the sacred interdependent web of all that there is, today humanity’s spiritual relationship with nature is too often broken. Using Karen Armstrong’s book, Sacred Nature, as our guide, on this Sunday we’ll consider the spiritual insights and practices that can help us reclaim our primordial link to nature, a link that is essential to our own well-being and to restoring the planet.
October 30: on this Sunday our congregation will join with the Universalist Church of Paris, 36 Pine St., Paris for their worship service, which starts at 9:30 a.m. Refreshments following the service. For more information about the church and services, please contact Marta Clements, 674-2143, mclements96894@roadrunner.com, or Bob Clifford at 674-3442, bobarlen@megalink.net. To learn more about the Unitarian-Universalist Association, visit http://www.uua.org/.
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