About Us

First Sunday Speakers

Just about every first Sunday of the month, one of our members speaks to the congregation about their spiritual journey - what led them to Unitarian Universalism and what they have learned along the way.

We hope you enjoy reading about the journeys of some of these "First Sunday Speakers."

May 2008

My spiritual journey began in a small, Dutch Reformed church in upstate New York where my family attended service every Sunday. It was the kind of place where we’d stand and drone the hymns slowly together. As a teen, it became clear to me that this was not what I was searching for spiritually- I wanted to be awakened and emotionally involved. I wanted an interactive faith... [more]

February 2007

I resisted doing a spiritual journey talk because I don’t think of myself as a religious person. But I’ve enjoyed the introspection required to speak today and have immensely enjoyed the conversations with friends about their belief systems which I might have missed if I weren’t speaking today. So do say “yes” when Joanna calls!

My story is a simple one. I was raised a Roman Catholic in Memphis, Tennessee. Catholics were a tiny minority in Memphis, and we protected ourselves from Protestants by attending Catholic school and vigorously practicing our faith. We were not cafeteria Catholics... [more]

June 2006, Barbara Stewart

In China, 2005 was the Year of the Rooster. In Epsom, where I live, it was – for me – the Year of the Sacred Cow.

It didn't start out that way. Instead, it began with my decision to read the Bible and go to church. Those who know me found this either amusing, baffling, or cause for premature rejoicing, depending on their religious orientation. Years of Sunday school left little impression on me, and I've spent most of my adulthood avoiding church interiors, except to admire the architecture, scout for men, or get married. Nevertheless, something propelled me, in January of 2005, to investigate the faith I had been raised to accept. I chose a small Congregational church in Epsom and persuaded my sincerely agnostic daughter Madeleine to accompany me... [more]

April 2005, Craig Whitson

In one of his recent sermons, Marcel described himself as a “Christo-Buddhist Unitarian Universalist”. I thought I would try out this approach to define my own “religious position”. First I consider myself “by nature” a Christian. Also, I’ve been drawn by Vedic traditions – especially Buddhism. And, of course, I’m a Unitarian Universalist – I love our principals and the wide range of beliefs that individuals bring to our “faith”. That makes me a Unitarian Universalist Buddho-Christian. But then I must acknowledge that I’m not sure about all of the above and had to add the word agnostic. So….I’m an Agnotic Unitarian Universalist Buddho-Christian.... [more]

March 2005, Bob Soule

The story of how I came to be a Unitarian-Universalist can be told in six words - I was brought up a Unitarian. Starting when I was about four-and-a-half, my family l ived across the street from the First Church in Roxbury, Unitarian. This church was founded in 1636 by Rev. John Eliot, Apostle to the Indians, who was also involved in starting Harvard College in 1636, and the Roxbury Latin School in 1645... [more]

December 2004, Chris Soule

This is my church. I belong here. It feels like home to me.
I own her and she owns me. You…own me. I grew up here.
From infant to long haired teenager to adult.
I’ve lived in different cities and traveled the world but I never have really left this place.
I can think of no other place where I can stand-up to speak or sing and feel completely assured I will be accepted, warts and all... [more]

October, 2004, Cathie C.

I began this experiment called life in a small town in Southern Idaho where, there is real competition between the Methodists and the Mormons. I was raised a Methodist so I recall when church school started in the fall, we would know which church had the most registered for Sunday School that year, so that number would be the one to beat for the next year. Looking back, I think that is sort of silly. But then maybe that is how the competitive spirit is developed. Anyway, church was what everybody I knew did on Sunday mornings... [more]

June 2004, Joanna Henderson

It was the perfect stroke of luck.  It was a gift that fell into my lap without warning or  work on my part.  The year was 1955.  I was a teenager.  The place was Nashua. For months I had desperately wanted to be part of AUY - American Unitarian Youth - the youth group of all Unitarian churches in this country at that time.  AUY was THE  place to be on Fridays nights. It was the gathering spot.   It was hot and  It was  cool.   Most of my friends  belonged to AUY.  They were Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Methodist and Lutheran .  They were welcomed and they took part in all of AUY’s social and spiritual activities... [more]

April 2004, Sam Vachon

Let me start by saying I grew up in a large religious family in a small town here in New Hampshire.  I am one of 9 children; my Mother was very faithful to her church and beliefs.  During her life she was a Sunday school teacher for 30 consecutive years and assistant treasurer for 11 in her church.  The church we attended every Sunday was the Calvary Bible Church.  Lets just say the bible was used every Sunday there and there was no interpretation, it said what it said and that was the word of God according to the minister.  From this I learned that God would punish me for all the things I did wrong and even if no one saw me do it God would know... [more]

March 2004, Lorraine Ellis

In the beginning, there was Christianity, with eight years of perfect attendance at Sunday School. Then came adolescence, when logic asserted itself and belief in God and the divinity of Christ were put to the test. My questions were met with advice to simply accept these teachings on faith. Eventually the fear set in: "If God is real and I don't believe in him, I'm going to Hell...." [more]

January 2004, John Warner

I grew up in a strongly fundamentalist Christian background, yet today I am profoundly disappointed with Christianity and do not consider myself a Christian.  I still accept that Jesus was an exceptional man and that he represented a way of looking at the world and living in it that should be emulated by all of us. However, I do not believe that the Christianity of the modern world, particularly the evangelical side with their narrow-minded certainty, is truly big enough to encompass what we know about the universe today, let alone what we might expect to know in another 100 years...  [more]