Once we begin to recognize what we’re carrying, another question emerges: What might we be ready to set down? Drawing on Buddhist teachings about non-attachment, we’ll explore how holding tightly to old hurts, expectations, resentments, and even our stories about ourselves can keep us from living fully in the present. What might become possible when … Continue reading Setting Down the Backpack

We all carry invisible backpacks filled with memories, expectations, disappointments, wounds, and gifts gathered along life’s journey. Some of what we carry has become so familiar that we hardly notice how it shapes our lives and relationships. As we explore our monthly theme of healing, we’ll consider how the courage to look inside our backpacks—with … Continue reading What’s in Your Backpack?

Regardless of the election outcome, there will be a need for healing and humility, a need to tend to what is bruised and hurting, a need to be together to remember the humanity we share, our fears and tears, our loves and hopes, and the longing for joy and acceptance.

At a time of deep political division, when disagreement too often gives way to contempt, how might we begin to heal the wounds within ourselves and between one another? As we approach Election Day, we’ll explore how compassion, accountability, and a renewed sense of agency can help us move beyond fear and helplessness toward hope. … Continue reading Visions of Healing

What does it mean to be “ProVoice”?  Inspired by the courage of LGBTQ+ people who have claimed the right to say, “This is who I am,” we’ll explore the courage it takes for all of us to speak our values, listen deeply to the voices of others, and participate in the life of our communities.  … Continue reading ProVoice & Proud

What is our Land Acknowledgement all about? On this day before Indigenous Peoples Day, the Land Acknowledgment and Kin Exploration (L.A.K.E.) group will speak to the ideal of living into the words that we hear at every Sunday service: “…to honor the land and the people (the Abenaki) who have stewarded it for generations.” Hear … Continue reading Becoming Kin

Belonging asks more of us than simply being present—it takes courage to “show up,” to share something of who we really are, and to allow ourselves to be seen as whole and imperfect people. When we risk vulnerability and discover that we are still cherished, we can move from observing community to participating in it, … Continue reading Show Up

On April 4, 1827, a group of congregants from the First Congregational Church decided to found the Second Congregational Society (Unitarian), later renamed the UU Church of Concord.  What theological divisions lead to the split?  What was the religious context that led to similar separations throughout New England?  How were the disagreements navigated?  What might … Continue reading Birth of the Concord UU

What does it mean to belong to a community where we are not simply welcomed, but cherished?  To cherish someone is more than to accept them, more even than to love them in some abstract, universal sense.  To cherish is to hold someone as precious – to recognize that there is something in them worthy … Continue reading Cherished Belonging

Time for new beginnings as the life of our congregation resumes and creates the rhythms and harmonies of our regular church year.  Join us in our beautiful sanctuary for our annual water communion service for a sense of renewal, welcome, and belonging with hearts opened by music and ritual, invited by friendly faces and a … Continue reading New Beginnings: A Water Communion Service