Durham Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

03/24/2026

Sound Meditation: Bloom with Spring
Sunday, March 29th at 10am
Durham, NH

Led by the incomparable Peggo Horstmann Hodes

Transformational is the word used most often to describe Sound Meditation with Peggo Horstmann Hodes. Using the resonant vibration of crystal bowls, tuning forks, shakers, chimes, an ocean drum, a gong, and her voice, a sacred
space is created in which stress melts and hearts open.

The power of vibration helps people to travel to a place of deep relaxation and peace within themselves. People feel expanded
and amplified, energized and renewed. As one participant said, “It was sound bath bliss.”

This presentation will include some practical and
scientific context for why and how Sound Meditation works, followed by the receptive experience of Sound Meditation.

Peggo Horstmann Hodes (Northern Lights Vocal Ensemble) holds an M.A. in Elementary Education from Lesley College and an M.M. in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory. Peggo has been on the faculty of Concord
Community Music School for nearly 40 years doing all things vocal, including voice teacher, Voice Department chair, past director of Songweavers and current director of Northern Lights Women’s Vocal Ensemble. Peggo is an expressive soprano soloist and also performs folk music and original songs with her husband, Paul Hodes. Peggo has added to her long experience with voice and vibration by becoming an Advanced Biofield Tuning practitioner, using the power of vibration to bring coherence and healing to the body, mind, and emotions.

Durham Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is family friendly and open to all. Parking on Madbury Road is free on Sundays. Join us after the service for coffee and snacks in fellowship hall!

03/08/2026

Sunday, March 15 at 10am - “Who Am I Going To Be?” is a universal question asked by young people, the answer to which is deeply influenced by opportunity and circumstance.

It is also the name of a documentary made a decade ago by Fellowship member Christopher Dunning in collaboration with a small team of NH filmmakers, following the journey of high school-aged refugees who settled in the Granite State
with their families.

We’ll watch excerpts from the film, and discuss how it came to be made, how things have changed in the decade since, and consider the question, “Who am I going to be?”


Durham Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is family friendly and open to all. Parking is free on Sundays and childcare is available during the service.

03/01/2026

We will hear from several spiritual leaders about how and why we can welcome even difficult experiences.

Influences include:
🔹poet Rumi
🔹Frank Ostaseski, author of “The Five Invitations, Discover What Death Can Teach us About Living Fully”
🔹Buddhist Monk Pema Chodran

Join us Sunday, 3/8 at 10am!


Durham Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is family friendly and happily inclusive of all. On street parking is free on Sundays. Childcare available during the service.

02/22/2026

In “A Reminder of What We Share,” Pat Uribe-Lichty names the chalice as something grounded and human. Not magic. Not mysterious. A symbol of our faith, community, and courage, and a hope we choose to practice—even in chaotic times.

When the world feels unsteady, the chalice calls us back to our commitments: to each other, to justice, to acting boldly.

Read the full piece at the link in the comments. 🕯️

02/21/2026

How we care for our dead has a tangible impact on the earth. Join us Sunday, February 22 at 10am as Lee Webster leads us on an exploration of Sustainability After Death.

From industrial body care outsourcing to concrete vaults to flame cremation, we have distanced ourselves from processes that are having an impact on our culture and environment in significant ways.

Join us as we explore the principles of sustainable funeral options that seek to promote climate resiliency, address funeral poverty, and create community.

We’ll also learn about what’s happening here in New Hampshire to bring sustainable burial to our area.

Lee Webster is a nationally recognized public speaker and author of several books and articles on funeral reform, including home funerals and green burial. She has served in major leadership positions of the Green Burial Council, Conservation Burial Alliance, National Home Funeral Alliance, National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, and is the director of New Hampshire Funeral Resources & Education,
President of Natural Burial New Hampshire, and is a co-creator of the Funeral Partnership.

02/13/2026

10am Sunday, 2/15 — a can’t-miss service and fantastic music

Maria Pinto: What Fungi Have Taught Me

“Love one another well and beware the coming flood, fire, or famine. Learn from me how to work with those who appear vastly different from you. Learn to relish the interspecies dens that some of you have worked so hard to abolish.” That is how Maria Pinto answered the question “if you could speak [with] the voice of a mushroom…what would it most want to tell us right now?” asked by a journalist from the Harvard Divinity School Center for the Study of World Religions.

Ms Pinto is a writer, naturalist, and educator based in the Boston area. She was born in Jamaica and raised in South Florida. She is the author of the recently released book Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival (UNC Press, 2025), about which Publishers Weekly had this to say: “Naturalist Pinto celebrates the interconnectedness of the natural world in this joyful mix of memoir, science, history, and adventure.”

After reading an excerpt from her book, Maria will engage in a discussion about her work both on and off the page.

20 Madbury Road
Durham, NH

02/04/2026

On Sunday, February 8th join us as several of our Fellowship participants read and reflect on some of their favorite poems. 📖

Bring a friend and come enjoy!

01/28/2026

Join us February 1st for our 10am Service:

“... and when I die” led by Thomas Pistole.

Many people avoid conversations about death, yet they often have strong feelings about their own death. In this interactive program participants will be invited to share their hopes and expectations about events and activities leading up to and following their passing. Volunteers will be encouraged to write these down and share them with those likely to be directly involved in their death.

04/21/2025

Announcements from this Sunday's program, April 20, 2025

Dear Friends, Please see this week's announcements.

As a follow up to our talk this Sunday by Maggie Fogarty on supporting immigrants in our community, there is an opportunity next Sunday to learn more:
Would you like to know how to advocate for and help immigrants in our community at this challenging time? The Seacoast Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition (SISC) needs you! Whether you are new to this work or want to build on your skills, this meeting and training is the right place to be. Come learn about:
· How SISC helps the newest members of our community
· Different ways you can get involved
· How to intervene safely and effectively if you witness a threatening situation (Active Bystander training)
Also: Refreshments, fellowship, building community and connection
Sunday, April 27, 2-5:15 p.m.
Temple Israel, Portsmouth
Register at tinyurl.com/SISCApril2025
Learn more about the Seacoast Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition.

Recognition of New Members and Children Dedication
On Sunday, May 11, we will have a brief ceremony to recognize new members, both those who have joined this year and those that joined last year. People who have joined by Sunday, May 4 are invited to participate. Email Tom Reichhold, our membership chair, or Chip Noon, our Board President, regarding joining our Fellowship and Tom Reichhold or Thomas Pistole regarding the recognition ceremony. At this month's board meeting we agreed to hold a new member recognition each year in May.

We will also include a children's dedication on that day. All children, regardless of age, are invited to participate with their families. See Tom or Thomas for more information.

Age of Champions Health & Wellness Fair
This event will be held on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UNH Hamel Rec Center in Durham. The Age of Champions Health & Wellness Fair is a community-oriented intergenerational wellness event, made possible by the Center on Aging and Community Living in partnership with UNH and several vendors and sponsors from throughout the New England region. The event introduces the community to informational resources, organizations that serve older adults, demonstrations, and workshops to engage participants in the joy of healthy aging.

This event also includes the UNH Age of Champions Wildcat Inspirational Awards. Our own Joyce Sheffield is a past recipient of this award.

Next week's Program
Next Sunday, Craig Werth, minister and musician, will speak on "Circles of Sonic Sanctuary," finding and binding with each other through music and song.

Sponsor: Seacoast Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition Time: Sunday April 27th 2-5:15 PM Location: Portsmouth - Registrants will be notified of the specific location on Thursday 4/24

03/29/2025

Seeking truth, meaning, and justice together!
Please join us in our peaceful sanctuary on Sunday, March 30, 10 - 11 am. Betty Crepeau will guide the discussion on taking action on the five key priorities our members recently identified:

🏠 Collaborate with Durham Community Church on local housing, immigration and healthcare access
🌈 Support and advocate for LGBTQ+ communities
🕊️ Support efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East
🤝 Support Seacoast Interfaith Sanctuary Coalition
🌎 Partner with 350NH for sustainable energy

Bring your ideas, passion, and commitment to turn our values into action. We invite you to join us for the social hour immediately following the service.

All are welcome. All belong.
20 Madbury Road, Durham, NH.

As Unitarian Universalists, we bring our whole selves, our full identity & our expansive hearts to create a force more powerful than one person or one belief system.

03/22/2025

“The existence of god or gods is perhaps the most provocative subject in human history," Dan Moran said on March 16 when he spoke to us about his journey from a devout Irish Catholic kid to agnosticism, and how abandoning the faith of his father and forefathers made all the difference in his life. Dan is the author of 17 collections of poetry and was appointed poet laureate by the Legislature of Suffolk County, New York.
https://www.danielthomasmoran.net/