In This Issue
Concord Ave. Reconstruction
The town will be milling and repaving along Concord Ave. from the post office to Cottage St., starting September 24 and going about a week. There will be no parking on Concord Ave. during this time and parts of Concord Ave. will be reduced to one lane. Please plan your trip accordingly!

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First Church groups & committees
The next issue of The Unitarian is September 29, 2015. The deadline for submissions is noon on Wednesday, September 23.
E-mail submissions
(maximum 75 words) to [email protected]

 

Sunday, September 27: Finding the Truth
The festival of Meskel is an Ethiopian Christian holiday which celebrates the finding of "the true cross" by Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. This true cross is unlikely to have been "real". Our path includes finding the truth, our own truth, and allowing it to be at least temporarily or operationally "true" but perhaps not real.

Services are at 9 and 11 a.m.; childcare is available.
From the Senior Minister, Rev. David Bryce
Rev. David Bryce
"It's bigger on the inside!"
        In the series "Doctor Who," the doctor travels in a vehicle called the Tardis, which can travel anywhere in time and space.
     The Tardis disguises itself as a British police call box. This is a (now) old-fashioned item that was still in use when the Doctor Who series began.
        One notable property of the Tardis is that it is bigger on the inside. Much bigger.
        This is because the
Tardis is "dimensionally transcendental."
        Religion, as well, is dimensionally transcendental. To "outsiders" (non-members) any religion appears smaller than it really is. But those within the religion can see depths and dimensions that outsiders are blind to.
        Religion speaks to the transcendent in the universe; it speaks (in some instances) to the transcendent beyond the universe. It speaks to that which cannot be contained in words or rituals, which cannot be contained within perception or understanding. Those within any given religion can be helped by it to see the Holy, the Sacred, the ineffable. Or they can be helped to see some part of that. (The Holy is itself much larger than any one religion.)
        So before I judge any other religion, no matter how silly or irrational it might appear to me on the outside, I want to be sure that I remember that I may be missing the "dimensionally transcendent" aspects of it.
        It is also true that people are bigger on the inside. The inner universe of any person is vast; it is wide and deep. The intellectual self of each individual can investigate the outer regions of the universe and the smallest bits of atoms; it can conceptualize and thinks about religious truths and myths.
        I also know that emotionally people have great depth. They are so much more than one can see from the outside.
        May we remember that wondrous and miraculous things lie within every religion on earth, and within every person on Earth. And that means that they are also within our religion, within our congregation, and within every person here. And that means they also are within us; within you and I.
        In the words of our vision statement, let us see the holiness within each other that is so much bigger than we can fully know.
Music & RE Program News
Adult Programs
The Fall Adult Programs Brochure is here!
 
There is still time to join the following new groups:
  • Small group ministry - Wed., Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Women's group - Thurs., Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
And to have a good time:
  • The Book Group will discuss Euphoria by Lily King on Wed., Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Library
  • Hootenanny/Jam Session with Jon Svetkey on Thurs., Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall.  Bring your instruments!
  • Women's Fall Potluck Supper - Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Upper Hall.  Bring a dish to share and your favorite beverage.
  • Men's Fall Potluck Supper - Friday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m., Upper Hall. Bring a dish to share and your favorite beverage.  
Important Issues:

Join for a screening of the PBS "Frontline" program "Being Mortal" dealing with end of life decision-making. Tuesday, Sept. 29, 7:15 p.m., in the Parish Hall. The program will be followed by small group discussions.

Events & Announcements
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Partner Church Pilgrimage Planning: Sunday, September 27, 12:30 p.m. in the Library.
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Belmont Against Racism & Belmont World Film present "The Aryans," September 28
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News & volunteer opportunities from the UU Urban Ministry
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The latest Parish Board minutes are online and are posted on the Lower Hall bulletin board.