The First Universalist Church of Essex

06/12/2026

Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport

06/12/2026

06/08/2026

Bring your flags & signs of hope to this Peaceful standout. ☮️🇺🇸

06/08/2026

MINISTER'S MUSINGS
Dear Ones,

This month we’ll be talking about how we flourish when we are together, act together, dream together right here in Essex. Debbie Frontierro and I are part of a group that’s doing this statewide, the Strategic Planning Team for MCAN. MCAN is the Massachusetts Community Action Network, a group of faith-based activist groups of which ECCO (Essex County Community Organization) is a part.

Since last fall, the group has planned a number of actions. Our wider goal is to hold up a progressive religious voice in opposition to White Christian Nationalism. More specifically our goal has been to work with Governor Maura Healey to make sure she is doing all she can to help protect our immigrant neighbors. Our actions are part of what led her to sign an executive order banning ICE from using state properties and to propose the PROTECT Act.

Some of the Strategic Planning Team met with her recently. She is encouraging us to be that alternative religious voice, and to encourage people to use the portal she established to report any misconduct by federal agents. Anyone can make these reports, but immigrants may be reluctant to do so. One thing we, as people of faith, can do is to file those reports here.

At our strategy team meeting last month, we discussed how we have been working within the realm of what’s politically possible, which is where politicians act. We feel Governor Healey is doing all she can without risking losing federal aid for safety net programs. We will keep working with the governor, being that progressive religious voice.

However, we are feeling called to go beyond what is politically possible to what is morally or ethically necessary. We are feeling called to go beyond simply reacting to what the administration is doing to articulating our shared values, and laying out a liberal religious agenda.

We are organizing an event for July, date to be determined. If you might be interested in being part of that, please let me know. Progressive people of faith, across religions, need to be together, dream together, and act together so that every person in our country (not just the historically privileged) can flourish.

Blessings,

Tess

06/04/2026

MINISTER'S MUSINGS
Dear Ones,

A few weeks ago I was browsing through the selections from the PFLAG resources in our social hall. They’re downstairs, on the wall with the outside door. One is a book This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. I brought it home and eventually got around to reading it.

It is deliciously well-written account of a family whose youngest of five sons, at three years of age, announces that they want to grow up to be a little girl. The parents cope and come to terms with this news, eventually realizing that as a boy their child is sad and withdrawn, but as a girl wearing dresses and doing girly things, she is incandescently happy. So they support the happiness.

There are some major setbacks along the way, but what I love about the book is how the parents keep learning together—making mistakes, sure, but also learning. We’re not given a guidebook for how to raise our children, are we? No chapters on what to do if…. So often we thrash around a bit until we find our way.

The best we can hope for is good support as we do this, and that is what PFLAG is for—to support families as they learn how best to love and support their GLBTQ relations. This week I learned that Alan Budreau, a member of the congregation who recently died, and his wife Diana started the PFLAG group which continues under Tom Duff’s leadership.

What a legacy Alan left, and Tom carries on. Without them, our congregation would not be where it is today and that book would not have been downstairs for me to find.

It’s back down there now—feel free to borrow it!

Blessings,

Tess

05/22/2026

"Curiosity killed the cat!" "Stay curious!" There are different ways of looking at Curiosity, which is our theme for May. Is it a mindset that helps us to grow, or an attribute that creates problems? What do ancient myths tell us? Join us as we explore together.

05/22/2026

MINISTER'S MUSINGS

Dear Ones,

Last week White Christian Nationalists rallied in Washington D.C. Their agenda is to make our country into a “Christian nation” once more. But was it ever? Twenty years ago, white evangelical minister and theologian Gregory A. Boyd published a book called The Myth of the Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church. In recent interviews he and others have said the book seems even more relevant today than it did back then.

In the book, Boyd, who identifies as an Anabaptist and as a sort of Universalist, defines “Christian” as someone who follows the teachings and example of Jesus. He says by that definition, the United States has never been a Christian nation! He writes, “Slaughtering, enslaving, cheating, conquering, and dominating are not the sort of activities Jesus engaged in!” Jesus always turned away from worldly power and instead focused on the world of the spirit, and Boyd thinks that’s what Christians should do as well.

I read Boyd’s book in 2007 and there was much that I didn’t agree with. His theology is very different from mine and his stances on social issues are often opposite of mine. But still, there were times when I wanted to shout “Hallelujah” in agreement with him. It is a bit reassuring to learn that some white evangelicals do not support their Christian Nationalist peers. And of course liberal or progressive Christians stand with him and us as well. We are not alone!

So, as the angels so often say in the Bible, “Do not be afraid.” It never does much good does it? Breathe. Be calm. And we’ll figure out a response.

Blessings,

Tess

05/19/2026

One of the things we've tried to do with Cape Ann Pride is make sure that we offer multiple types of events over multiple dates "around" Pride season (typically Pride Month/June) with some events appealing more to some cohorts than others.

We're proud of that, and it has worked the past two years, and the feedback has been positive.

It also makes it more of a challenge to "market" and communicate about everything, and we understand that it's easy for people to loose track of what might most interest them, especially given the wonderful growth of so many other regional Pride groups.

So, we'll keep re-posting this overview in the hope that it helps you find what appeals to you most, set your calendars, buy your tickets, make your reservations, etc.

The sooner you do, the sooner we'll know that this approach is worth pursuing--so, THANK YOU!