September 2024

29 Aug September 2024

Posted at 14:59h in Upcoming Events by

Sunday worship at 10:00am in the Sanctuary

Services are live streamed on the CHANNING YOU TUBE CHANNEL and available for viewing afterwards.

 

No Service Sunday, September 1st, Enjoy a Labor Day Weekend outing or picnic.

Sunday, September 8: Process of Becoming

Rev. Bill Zelazny

Author Anaïs Nin said in one of her essays that “Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” The city of Newport, Channing Memorial Church, this congregation and each of us have gone through many changes over the years, and this year will be no different for each of us and for this church.  It’s important for us and this church to not get caught up in stagnation.  On this opening Sunday, Bill will reflect on the process of change that involves casting a critical look at where we are presently as an individual and as an institution and where a new beginning might be ripening.  

Coming Back Ceremony:  Everyone is encouraged to bring a small vile of water or a flower, pebble, or leaf from their home which we will bring to a ceremonial table during the service representing combining our home and our church lives.

Music: Jan and Bill have arranged for festive Caribbean steel drum music for our opening service.  Put on a Caribbean or Hawaiian shirt or blouse to add to the fun of our return to regular church services.  Note: if your hearing is sensitive to exuberant music, you may want to bring ear plugs. 

The Annual In-gathering Potluck lunch:  After the service, come together for our annual Welcome Back Potluck Luncheon.  This year it will be held in and outside the Parish Hall. Bring some food to share.

Sunday, September 15: A Wider Welcome           

Rev. Bill Zelazny

When we speak of hospitality in our church we are really addressing issues of inclusion and exclusion.  Hospitality has an inescapable moral dimension to it.  It’s the community’s job to figure out how we can stretch our welcoming and ourselves into the margins to broaden our ability to be inclusive. Inclusivity is not ‘How do we make you a part of what we are?’ but ‘How can we expand ourselves, sometimes into new territory to become more of what the people we wish to welcome are.

 Sunday, September 22: Gardening in your Small Patch Makes all the Difference    

Rev. Bill Zelazny

Volunteer service is a spiritual practice. By engaging in acts of service or justice work individuals have the opportunity to embody their faith in practical ways. This Sunday, Bill will help us consider how working in our small corner of the world can make a difference in the bigger world. 

 Following the service, we will hold our annual community and volunteer fair.  Get a beverage and explore the many opportunities available to everyone to make a difference in the community and at Channing Church.

Sunday, September 29: Looking at the Forgotten Side of UUism        

Rev. Bill Zelazny

Many Unitarian Universalists congregations observe special cultural and religious day like Christmas, Passover, Pagan Winter Solstice, and Martin Luther King Day among others. We Unitarian Universalist have our own special day in September – Universalism Day.  On September 30, 1770, John Murry, a British Universalist minister who had been expelled from England for preaching a Universalist message, gave his first Universalist sermon in the United States.  This Sunday Bill will look at the Universalist side, the often-forgotten side, of our religion. 

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