Spirituality

At First Parish we speak of two movements: the movement within, to our inner lives, and the movement without, to service and outreach to others. It’s natural to think of our spiritual lives as part of the former movement—the private, internal life of prayer, meditation, or other spiritual practice; or the moments of inspiration when we feel connected on a deep level with something greater than ourselves in nature, humanity, loved ones, or God.

But our spiritual lives are evident also in the other movement. The movement outward in service and outreach expresses and embodies our spirits. The benediction we say here on Sunday mornings expresses this dual spirituality. When we say, go out into the world in peace, hold onto what is good, we are sending ourselves off each in our own spiritual spaces. When we say, return to no person evil for evil, strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the suffering, we are reminding ourselves that our inner spiritual lives have an outward consequence and that it is real. Maybe what our children say together is simpler and just as on the mark: “We are Unitarian Universalists, with minds that think, hearts that love, and hands that are ready to serve.”

There are many paths. We sing and pray and meditate in worship and take its inspirations home with us. The Wright Tavern opens opportunities from yoga to lectures to workshops that provide space for spiritual deepening. We put our money where our hearts are by supporting the church as well as those in need from natural disaster or poverty. We work for social justice and equity with social action and Jericho Road. We contact and comfort members and friends at times of crisis in their lives. Covenant groups, affinity groups, men’s and women’s groups, and daily meditation in the chapel turn our attention inward and open us to each other. We nourish the growth of spirit in our children and youth; we see and hear it in their voices and faces as they sing in choirs and conduct worship in their Coming of Age service. The life of the spirit—of each of our spirits, of our collective congregational spirit, and of the greater spirit that holds and informs us all, however each of us envisions and experiences it—really underlies all we are and do together here.