First Parish Malden

Elon Musk said “The fundamental weakness of Western Civilization is Empathy.” Fundamentalist Christian Allie Beth Stuckey wrote a book about “toxic empathy.” We don’t believe empathy is bad; in fact it might be our greatest gift. Let’s explore how empathy can be a form of resistance. 

We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion. Today we’ll explore how to live our this UU value in these times.

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 in anticipation of Spring.

So sings Elmore James in his classic blues song. “When things go wrong with you, it hurts me too.” But we appear to be at a time when there is a decided lack of empathy and feeling another’s pain is a sign of weakness, of failure. Empathy is the missing ingredient in this lunatic scenario we’re living through. It can be empowered. It can be grown. And it will save us all.

In tumultuous times, our reptilian brains blink brightly, reminding us that all this is wrong. But joy counters that, enlivens us, and reminds us what we’re fighting for. How do we get more joy in ourselves and our communities, so we survive and thrive together?

Spoken word artist and human rights activist Rafeef Siadah’s poem “We teach life, sir” has become a call to affirm life amidst devastation. What does it look like to teach life when there is so much death? Our Community Minister Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen preaches.

Join Ashley Mulcaire for a service about the holiday Imbolc and what we can learn “in the belly” of the whale.

Join us for this multigenerational sermon raffle winner on the topic of the Disney Movie “Frozen,” featuring music, clips, and stories examining what we can learn Anna & Elsa.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last book was titled “Where Do We Go From Here: Community or Chaos?” and was a book about hope and economic justice. As the inauguration of Donald Trump draws near, many of us on all sides of the political spectrum are wondering the same. What can his final message tell us today?

First Parish member Carey McDonald shares with us their family’s tradition on this fourth day of Kwanzaa.

The holidays aren’t always joyful. We are sometimes missing loved ones, spending the time alone, or generally finding the whole process difficult. Join us as we honor all the feelings of the holidays, even the hard ones.

Winning feels better or doesn’t hurt as much and I have found that I don’t learn as much as when I’ve lost. A chance to take stock, wonder what a church is for, can be for, and to impress ourselves with strength and resilience we might not have known we had. And as ever, Joy is a form of resistance! Community Minister Rev. Ralph Galen leads.

We are waiting on whatever comes next as we process the results of the election and the country’s response. We remember we are all connected, all interdependent. We remember we are not alone. We remember to recommit to the causes of justice and compassion. We remember each other as we wait for what’s to come.

As we gear up for a contentious election, we move into our theme this month of interdependence. Our new shared values say: We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. How can we live that in times like these?

What is a covenant? Victoria Safford says “Congregational Covenants are declarations of interdependence.” We here at First Parish in Malden have a Congregational Covenant, a declaration of we are to exist today, or who we wish to be. This year we are going to re-evaluation that Covenant, and come together to create something new. Will you join us?

You are cordially invited to First Parish in Malden’s Annual Fall Invitational! What is an invitational? It’s an opportunity to find out what First Parish is all about – its community, its people, and what we do together.

This service is part of a larger Unitarian Universalist movement to renew our commitment to the planet. Along with UUs across the country, we will explore how we can become unified in our desire for a healthier world for all. Let us collectively re-imagine a spirit-filled and liberatory future.