First Sunday FEAST(Fellowship, Eating, Art, Sharing, Together) – “Story” – facilitated by Jane Mooney

Service Description:



First Sunday FEAST (FSF) is a combination of a worship service, small group discussion, and a meal woven together to help us delve into what it means to be in community with one another.

Around our table, we welcome all to join together, break bread, and have meaningful conversation. The FEAST includes components from a typical service, such as chalice lighting, music, and readings. We use questions and quotes taken from the Soul Matters monthly themes to help guide our conversation. The questions and quotes are listed below so that you have a chance to give them thought ahead of time.

This month’s discussion addresses the idea of st

Please join us in person or via Zoom for our monthly open discussion format this Sunday, January 5, at 10:30 AM in Fellowship Hall. A continental breakfast will be served. Our Zoom participants are encouraged to join us with their own coffee and breakfast!

Questions

  • What chapter of your life’s story led you to discover First Parish?
  • What moments or aspects of this community bring you the most joy?
  • What keeps you turning the pages of this community’s story? Which characters, themes, or connections resonate most deeply with you?
  • How is the thread of the First Parish story woven into the larger fabric around us? For example, how does the story of the Five Points Cluster- or even Unitarian Universalism as a whole- overlap with our story?
  • If you could dream up the next chapter for this church, what would it look like? What hopes or visions would you weave into the plot?

Quotes
“Storytelling is a way to give someone an experience they haven’t had yet, or maybe didn’t even know was possible.”  ~~ Adrienne Maree Brown

“In the dark depths of long winter nights, spirits slumber, too, and allow their stories to be told – these are the storytelling moons. Elders and storytellers who have been given tales to carry speak softly, reverentially, and the people hear them. The people do not merely listen – they hear. To hear is to have a spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical reaction to the words. Sometimes, at very special times, you have all four reactions and are changed forever. Share stories, fill cold nights with the warmth of your connections, your relationships; hear each other and be made more. That is the power of storytelling.” ~~ Richard Wagamese

“In some ways, it could be argued, each one of us is a community or a collection of stories. That is, in part, what this month’s theme is all about. But we must also ask this question in a broader sense: what does it mean for Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation to be a community of story? Part of what we do, of course, is listen to one another’s stories. We do this in the joys and sorrows portion of our worship service, in informal conversation at coffee hour or while our kids play. We witness shared celebrations of our stories—whether they be baby dedications or memorial services or other rites of passages. We create narratives of what could be in our shared faith in action gatherings and marches. Sometimes just sharing our story and having it be held by others is helpful. Sometimes hearing a story that sounds like yours, but with a different ending, can give you hope. Sometimes listening to someone whose perspective is totally different opens up new worlds and new understanding. In our religious community, we are shaped by the stories we encounter. In our religious community, we create a shared story of who we are and who we may become. “ ~~ Rev. Emily Gage    

“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.” ~~ Hannah Arendt

“What kind of people we become depends crucially on the stories we are nurtured on.” ~~ Nigeria Chinweizu

“The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.” ~~ Harold Goddard
This service will be followed at 11:45 AM by Shawl Ministry in the Parlor.

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