The FUUSN Chime


Sunday Reminder

First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton

Share Joys and Sorrows
View the Order of Service

Worship Service

Might We Sit at the Table of the Almighty?


Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 10:15am

Rev. Kevin Peterson


Straddling the public domains of faith, public reason, and politics, the Rev. Kevin C. Peterson is a Boston-based activist committed to advancing justice and good works in the public square. Trained and educated as a community activist, a writer, an organizer, and a public speaker, Rev. Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition, addresses matters of civic life and democracy through public witness and engagement.

He is a policy advocate, community and corporate convener, and a grassroots civic activist comfortable in the classroom and with dialogue on the corners of embattled neighborhoods. Peterson principally focuses upon voter equality and racial equity for African Americans and Blacks throughout the African-American diaspora. He is gifted in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions and corporate problem-solving relating to fairness. His sensibilities around fairness are grounded in a Blues-Jazz-and-Gospel-African-inflected worldview as exhibited through the life of Jesus and others such as Prathia Hall, James Reeb, John Brown, Dr. Gardner Taylor, John Coltrane, Harriet Tubman, James Baldwin, Nimi Wariboko, Cornel West, Ralph Ellison, Martin Luther King Jr., Billie Holiday, August Wilson, Dr. J, Romare Bearden, Toni Morrison, and C.T. Vivian.


Join us in person or on Zoom:

https://bit.ly/FUUSNWorship

RE This Sunday


All Together Sunday: The Plant-Based Eating Club will present on the interconnected web of life and make cornbread.


4th-6th Grade OWL: 4-5:15pm - Downstairs Classrooms

New Member Sunday


New Member Sunday is when we welcome new members from the current church year to sign the membership book and celebrate their membership in ritual during the service. Come and meet our newest members: Felix Alvarez, Kristina Ashby, Bing Boucher, Paul Densmore, Willa Gaebler, Emily Gelbert, Simone Gill, Iah House, Helen Jordan, Finn Konary, Donna LaMontagne, Roger Luckmann, John Morse, James Mosher, Julia Ryan, Katy and Tyll van Geel.

After Service This Sunday

11:30am: Annual Pledge Drive Community Lunch

Parish Hall


Enjoy a bowl of warm vegan chili and munch on gluten-free cornbread as you mingle with the FUUSN community. The Community Lunch will be held following the service in the parish hall. Cost is $5 per person. Free for kids. All proceeds benefit the FUUSN Pledge Drive

12:15pm: Reparations Task Force Reception for Rev. Peterson

Alliance Room


Please join us Sunday, April 7th, after the pledge luncheon for a discussion opportunity with Rev. Kevin Peterson. We are excited to have Rev. Peterson in our pulpit that Sunday. He has been the energetic force behind the move to rename Faneuil Hall  (thenewdemocracycoalition.com) and most recently convened Boston clergy to address reparations from wealthy churches with enslavement histories to redress harms to Boston’s Black community (bostonreparationscommission.org). We will meet in the Alliance Room at 12:15.

5-7:30pm: All8 Arts Workshop

Parish Hall and Kitchen


Youth in 7th grade and older together with adults are invited to participate in an exploration of all eight UU principles through photography, creative writing, fine art, collage, digital art, and sculpting. Members of our Racial Justice Ministry team will be facilitating this program. CORRECTION: This workshop is open to pre-registrants only, no walk-ins.

Corrections to Wednesday's Newsletter

Community Lunch Helpers Wanted!


The link to volunteer for the Community Lunch on April 28th was incorrect. Volunteer here for April 28th.

Call for Delegates for General Assembly


Dear FUUSN community—


This is a call for delegates to represent FUUSN at this year’s General Assembly (GA), which will take place virtually from Thursday June 20 through Sunday June 23, 2024. GA is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in which delegates worship, witness, learn, and make policy for the UUA.


The theme of this year’s GA is Love Unites, Stories Ignite. “In a world filled with division and challenges, the theme for this year's General Assembly is a powerful reminder of the core principles that unite us as Unitarian Universalists. 'Love Unites, Stories Ignite' celebrates the profound impact of love as a binding force that transcends boundaries and fosters connections within our faith community and beyond. Our faith has always been rooted in the power of storytelling, and this year we'll explore how our stories can ignite change, inspire compassion, and help us build a more just and equitable world." [GA website]. 


This year, one particularly important issue up for a vote is the replacement of Article II of the UUA bylaws which states the association’s purpose and principles. FUUSN’s Board of Trustees is currently engaging the congregation in discussions of this issue.


As a FUUSN delegate, you will attend the general or business sessions and participate in any votes that are taken. As a delegate, the costs of your GA registration are covered by FUUSN.


For more information about GA, please see: https://www.uua.org/ga


If you are interested in becoming a FUUSN delegate, please contact Andy Dale.


Yet Another Phishing Alert


Once again, someone is impersonating our ever-popular Rev. Parisa. This is a confirmation attack, when someone already has your email address and is trying to determine whether it's valid. DO NOT RESPOND. You can tell this isn't from Parisa because the email address is not a FUUSN address.

Submit News and Events

Have a news item you want to share? Want to schedule a FUUSN Event? Please use our web forms! Note that any event using physical space at FUUSN must be approved by Fran, and until you receive confirmation from her, that event will not be scheduled or added to our Events calendar.


Submissions to the newsletter must be sent in by the previous Tuesday at 9am. Submissions to the Order of Service must be sent in by the previous Thursday at 9am.

Submit News
Submit an Event

FUUSN Contacts


First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton www.fuusn.org | 617-527-3203

Facebook  Email