Upcoming Worship Services

Every month, from September through June, we and other UU congregations focus on a specific theme. You can read more about these monthly themes at the links in the menu on this page.

Below are descriptions of our upcoming services. If you see none, that simply means that the descriptions are not yet available.
Next Regular Service
Next Regular Service

The Schedule for 2023 UUCM Summer Services

Summer worship services this year are varied in type and time. Some will be in-person only services at the church at 9:30 am. Some will be Zoom only services at 10:45 am which will feature a live-streamed program from the Monadnock Lyceum with discussion to follow. Four will be services of rest and reflection offered as a video which can be accessed at any time during the week. The final service on September 10th will be a multi-platform service at the church for those who will not be at Ferry Beach. You may attend in-person or on Zoom. Each week a reminder of the service will go out to members and friends with the time, format and topic.

Next Summer Service
  • June 25th at 9:30 am in Fireside at UUCM: Informal service and discussion led by a facilitator
  • July 2nd : Our Senses in Summer: a reflective service offered as a video which can be viewed anytime that week.
  • July 9th at 9:30 am in Fireside at UUCM: Join us for an informal service that offers both time away from the pace of the world and an opportunity to connect and talk. The basic elements of worship will be in place, giving participants a chance to share and meditate.  The facilitator will offer a simple, familiar phrase to launch a discussion which will focus the service.
  • July 16th: at 10:45 on Zoom: Join the Monadnock Lyceum program Nature Writing by Matthew Boulton. Join us as we watch the Monadnock Lyceum program together. In this talk, Matthew Boulton will explore this dimension of such writers as Henry David Thoreau, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, and Thich Nhat Hanh, in discovering how particular practices of walking—far from being mere pastime or exercise—may form the basis of transformative, humanizing ways of life. To be fully human, these writers argue, is to go for a walk. And, to go for a walk is to open the door to an array of spiritual, tangible, everyday benefits. Stick around after the presentation for a short discussion. 
  • July 23rd: Water in Summer: a reflective service offered as a video which can be viewed anytime that week. It is about how we experience water in summer – how it looks and feels as well as how it moves us both physically and spiritually. These services last about 25 minutes and include images, music, poetry and a meditation intended to let you relax, engage your memories of summer and take a time out from your otherwise busy day.
  • July 30th: at 10:45 on Zoom: Join us as we watch the Monadnock Lyceum program Out of the Shadows: Remembering New Hampshire’s Black Past. In this talk, JerriAnne Boggis invites us to look at our state’s history through fresh eyes. As Executive Director of New Hampshire’s Black Heritage Trail, Boggis is committed to sharing the stories of our Black communities and residents, including America’s first Black female novelist and the first Black person voted into public office. Such heroes, along with the 2003 discovery of the African Burial Ground in Portsmouth, led to the creation of this Trail and a fuller understanding of our true history. **Stick around after the presentation for a short discussion. 
  • August 6th at 10:45 on Zoom: Join us as we watch the Monadnock Lyceum program The Freedom to Read: Why Banning Books Is a Threat to Democracy, by Summer Lopez. Amid rising polarization, American schools have become battlegrounds where books that discuss racism, sexuality, gender, and history are disappearing from library shelves after challenges from parents, school boards, and legislators. Summer Lopez, an officer of PEN America, will discuss the historical context and why freedom to read and write is essential for democracy. Summer Lopez is PEN’s Chief Program Officer for Free Expression, overseeing efforts to document and fight against book bans and educational gag orders.
  • August 13th at 9:30 am in Fireside at UUCM: Join us for an informal service that offers both time away from the pace of the world and an opportunity to connect and talk. The basic elements of worship will be in place, giving participants a chance to share and meditate. The facilitator, Nancy Baker, will offer a simple, familiar phrase to launch a discussion which will focus the service.
  • August 20th: Stargazing: a reflective service offered as a video which can be viewed anytime that week. are all stardust.  We came from the stars, and we find spiritual comfort and mystical possibility in them.  This service takes you to the night sky in poetry, famous paintings, timeless tales, soothing music and meditation for about 25 minutes so you can relax and take a time out in your busy life. These services last about 25 minutes and include images, music, poetry and a meditation intended to let you relax, engage your memories of summer and take a time out from your otherwise busy day. 
  • August 27th at 9:30 am in Fireside at UUCM: Informal service and discussion led by a facilitator
  • September 3rd: The Woods in Summer: a reflective service offered as a video which can be viewed anytime that week. This is the final summer service in video format, posted on YouTube to view between Sept 3-10. It is about how we shelter our spirits in the woods in summer – how we meander or climb or sit in silence while we let go of the world around us and let the woods nurture us in peace. The woods embrace us without prejudice and show us that we can be stretched physically and spiritually. This service lasts about 25 minutes and include images, music, poetry and a meditation intended to let you relax, engage your memories of summer and take time out from your otherwise busy day. Click here to view.
  • September 10th at 9:30 am at UUCM: Come, Come Whoever You Are, with Nancy Baker in the Sanctuary and on ZoomWhat do we mean when we say welcome? Are we reaching out or gathering in? As we bring our summer services to a close, we’ll consider how we make new beginnings while cherishing the memories that make us strong and purposeful and loving. This is a full service with supporting media and a familiar liturgy. Whether you have been coming to UUCM for years or are wondering what we are all about, you are not just welcome, you are a valued addition to our evolving congregational self.

For more information, contact the Church Office.

More than Breadcrumbs (In Person and Online)

Rev Julie Lombard and The Worship Team

The Merriam-Webster dictionary tells that the meaning of heritage is property that descends to
an heir. Today, we are the fortunate heirs and we will look at the heritage that surrounds us –
we’ll consider our building, our property, and all our spiritual belongings that we value and hold
dear. We will also consider our siblings in faith with our partnership church in Transylvania.
We’ll ponder our linked heritage as well as how it calls us on now to live out a faith that we
share in ever changing ways. Come, consider the abundance of wealth that others have left us
to be the stewards of and care for as we safeguard our tradition for the next generation. We
want to be a friendly place for any and all who seek a liberal tradition that offers freedom
beyond the most churches.

The theme for the month of October is The Gift of Heritage.

To attend in person:

Masks are optional.

To attend virtually:

Join Service HERE. Meeting ID: 950 7947 9709. Passcode: 017672. To dial in, call: (646) 558-8656 or find your local number here.

Link will be active starting at 10:15 AM, to allow everyone to log on.

Our UU Heritage — Family Sunday (In Person and Online)

The Worship Team

Join the Worship Team as we continue to explore our monthly theme. In addition to being Pumpkin Festival Weekend, this week we recognize Indigenous People’s Day on Monday, and National Coming Out Day on Wednesday. How do these observances inform our identity as UUs? What can we draw from our various personal heritages that we can bring to UUCM? What are we leaving to pass on as our heritage to the coming generations? Join the Worship Team as we consider these and other questions.

Today is our monthly Family Sunday, so children are welcome to remain in the service with their families, and no children’s circles are offered.

The theme for the month of October is The Gift of Heritage.

To attend in person:

Masks are optional.

To attend virtually:

Join Service HERE. Meeting ID: 950 7947 9709. Passcode: 017672. To dial in, call: (646) 558-8656 or find your local number here.

Link will be active starting at 10:15 AM, to allow everyone to log on.

Where’s Justice in Central America? (In Person and Online)

Rev Julie Lombard and The Worship Team

Before the pandemic, the minister from the Marblehead, MA UU Church and I took a small group of young adults on a service trip to Guatemala. My eldest child, Annie, was among the young adults. There, we worked in a city orphanage, set up bunkbeds in one countryside village, and installed much needed cisterns in another countryside village. During National Hispanic Heritage Month, come, hear of young UU travels through a land in which many Hispanic peoples have marched through on a path to a better life. The story behind our siblings from Central America comes with a long history of devastating poverty and people seeking work after years of Colonialism. Hear how their story changed us.

The theme for the month of October is The Gift of Heritage.

To attend in person:

Masks are optional.

To attend virtually:

Join Service HERE. Meeting ID: 950 7947 9709. Passcode: 017672. To dial in, call: (646) 558-8656 or find your local number here.

Link will be active starting at 10:15 AM, to allow everyone to log on.

When Our Time Comes (In Person and Online)

Rev. Peter Friedrichs and The Worship Team

What constitutes a “good death,” and is there even such a thing? When you hear the phrase “death with dignity,” what comes to mind? This Sunday guest pastor Rev. Peter Friedrichs will invite us to consider how our Unitarian Universalist values can inform our thoughts and feelings around our own death and that of those we love. Following the service, Rev. Peter will lead a discussion about the important mission of the NH Alliance for End of Life Options and how UU’s can support the organization’s work to enact legislation to legalize medical aid in dying in New Hampshire

Rev. Peter Friedrichs is a UU pastor who retired in 2022 after serving for 16 years as Lead Minister for the UU Church of Delaware County in Media, PA. He is a member of the Board of the NH Alliance for End of Life Options and lives in Keene with his wife of 42 years. Rev. Peter is also the author of And the Stars Kept Watch, a novel published by Atmosphere Press in 2021 that examines the impact of grief and loss on our most intimate relationships. He is an ardent advocate for the rights of all people diagnosed with a terminal condition to make their own decisions about when to end their lives.

The theme for the month of October is The Gift of Heritage.

To attend in person:

Masks are optional.

To attend virtually:

Join Service HERE. Meeting ID: 950 7947 9709. Passcode: 017672. To dial in, call: (646) 558-8656 or find your local number here.

Link will be active starting at 10:15 AM, to allow everyone to log on.

All Souls: Remembering (In Person and Online)

Rev Julie Lombard and The Worship Team

All Souls are welcome to this unique celebration of life. We set aside this special day to remember the departed. This ritual of remembering is not only a spiritual practice, but also a way we celebrating our heritage. There are many customs that stem from a diversity of cultures that celebrate All Souls; some decorate graves, other light candles, and some bake cakes or breads. The sentiment is the same- we honor the souls in our lives that now live on in our heart. Please bring a special memento or picture to add to our altar of memory. If you are joining us on zoom, feel free to build an altar at home and remain open to the fact that some may choose to remember a dear one from another species (pets). Together, we will build a sacred altar of memory and love in their honor and for our healing hearts.

The theme for the month of October is The Gift of Heritage.

To attend in person:

Masks are optional.

To attend virtually:

Join Service HERE. Meeting ID: 950 7947 9709. Passcode: 017672. To dial in, call: (646) 558-8656 or find your local number here.

Link will be active starting at 10:15 AM, to allow everyone to log on.