First Congregational Parish, Unitarian in Petersham

02/01/2025

Rev Eric Wasileski will be with us again this Sunday, February 2nd with an exciting program Existentialism and You. Marc Erwin and I will be providing the music, and some of our friends from the Universalist Church in Orange will be in attendance. Eric has roots in both churches and is helping us to come together for the strength of both churches. He's excited about the service and so am I. We hope you can join us at 10:30am for the service and for coffee hour afterwards. Then next week we'll be having a music service led by Loyall Allen. Songs of Love is becoming a tradition for our church to celebrate Valentine's Day, and to lift our spirits in the cold of winter. We'll be combining some standard love songs with hymns of love and opportunities for everyone to sing love into their hearts, which I think we could all use a bit of lately. Hope to see you soon, Rini Kilcoyne Acting Program Director.

04/29/2024

LISTEN TO HIS INTERVIEW.

Student and Jewish peace activist Elijah Kahlenberg was caught up in police violence against anti-war demonstrators.

03/23/2024

Miriam Jones Obituary
Miriam "Mimi" Hellen Jones

Petersham , MA - Miriam 'Mimi' Hellen Jones passed away at her family farm in Petersham on January 24 at the age of 74, from undiagnosed cancer. The daughter of Fred and Sue Hellen, Mimi was a lifelong public servant, environmentalist, and social justice advocate. After graduating from Mahar, Mimi moved to Washington D.C. graduating from the University of the District of Columbia and Catholic University Law School. She served in local government and lived in D.C. for more than 50 years. She was a staunch advocate for D.C. statehood (note the citizens of D.C. pay federal taxes but are not represented in the House or Senate). Mimi's passion was the natural world; a passion she embraced when she moved back to Petersham to care for her mother.

Mimi served on the Board of Mt. Grace Land Trust, working to preserve forest and farmland for future generations. She also volunteered with Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op and the Petersham Unitarian Universalist church. Mimi believed that to "make a difference here locally would make a difference globally."

Mimi is survived by her daughter Linda Teel (William Teel) of Maryland and her son Evan Jones (Diana Jones) of California; grandsons (Linda) Darius, Paul, and Donovan and (Evan) Malcolm and Niko; her mother Sue Hellen; her sisters Beth Brault and Nancy Hellen (Stephen Crowley). The family will celebrate Mimi's life at the farm in Petersham on June 29th. In place of flowers, donations may be made to The Mount Grace Land Trust (mountgrace.org).

Published by Athol Daily News on Mar. 20, 2024.

02/27/2024

It is with our hearts full of sadness that we announce the passing of a valued member of our parish who also served on the Parish Committee - MIMI HELLEN JONES

PHOTO CREDIT: Mimi Jones
Photo of an early morning sunrise at her home.

01/18/2024

Greetings Petersham UU members
ANNUAL MEETING is this Sunday, January 21st, at 12:30 in the Church Dining Room. Please plan to attend to be sure there is a quorum.
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This Sunday's Service: come to the Service at 10:30, before the Annual Meeting, to hear Asmaa Elkabti present "A Palestinian Reflection on Gaza"

12/31/2023

Greetings members of the Petersham Unitarian Church congregation.

Please note that the ANNUAL MEETING is scheduled for JANUARY 21ST after the church service.

Snow date: January 28th.

It is important that we have a quorum of course, so hope to see you there!
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🕊SUNDAY'S SERVICE, December 31st - "Resolutions for Peace & Serenity" - Rini Kilcoyne, with music by Marc Erwin. Come spend your New Year's Eve morning with peaceful reflect

12/25/2023

“Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war.” - Pope Francis

10/22/2023

All services held at 10:30 each Sunday in the Church unless otherwise noted. For instance, please note that the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will be a vesper service held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 19th.

Sunday, October 22nd - Kevin Mooney "Chakra Rebalancing", with Cathy Tyng, organist

Sunday, October 29th - Katja Esser "Day of the Dead, Honoring Our Ancestors and Loved Ones" Bring pictures, and/or objects belonging to the dead. NOTE: To be held in the Davis as a sharing circle.

Sunday, November 5th - tbd

Sunday, November 12th - Rini Kilcoyne "Veterans Day" with Marc Erwin, musician

Sunday, November 19th at 3 p.m. - Interfaith Thanksgiving Service with Rev. John Pastor leading our town church communities, joined by Rev. Geoffrey Smith and members from the three churches in town. Cathy Tyng, organist
❗️PLEASE NOTE THE TIME OF THIS SERVICE❗️

☕️🥧All services are followed by coffee and conversation. Your contribution of baked items or fruit are always welcome.

09/06/2023

Our first service is September 10th, at 10:30 in the Sanctuary - the traditional Water Communion, rejoining us as a community. Please bring your water from summer escapades to add to the community bowl.

🧣📿🪑And don't forget about the Town-Wide Yard Sale on Saturday, Sept. 9th. Any donations of items to be sold will be gratefully accepted, and should be left off at the Davis on Friday, Sept. 8th, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 pm. We also welcome volunteers to help with set-up and clean-up. Please contact Pam at 978-724-3466 if you'd like to take part in this fundraising effort.

06/05/2023

Greetings - here is our schedule of church services for the glorious month of June, ending with the traditional Flower Communion before we break for the summer. Please join us. Services start at 10:30 in the Sanctuary*, and we gather for coffee and conversation immediately after each service.
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🌱June 11 - Katja Esser will present an interactive service in the round.
*NOTE* This service will be held in the Davis Memorial Hall.

🕯June 18 - Kevin Mooney - "Forgiveness"

🌻🪻June 25 - Rini Kilcoyne and Parish - "Flower Communion" (please bring a flower or two from your field or garden to share)
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Thank you for your continued support.

As we close out this part of our church year, a special thank you to Pam Chevalier, who provides the flowers in the Church every Sunday, plus! organizes and does most of the baking for our Coffee Hour after services.

And another special thank you to Rini Kilcoyne, who picked up the unexpected challenge of arranging for all service presenters and topics from January through June, thereby preserving our goal of joining in community, and holding service, each Sunday.

If you have any questions, please contact one of us on the Parish Committee - Robin Koenig, Chris Eaton, Mimi Jones

05/08/2023

HONORING REV. WAITSTILL & MARTH SHARP with a special tribute by the Sharp's grandson, Artemis Joukowsky III, was presented at the First Congregational Parish, Unitarian in Petersham on Sunday, May 7. Larry Buell assisted in the presentation.
Reverand Waitstill and Martha Sharp are renowned for their courage in defying the N***s just prior to and during WW II by rescuing people targeted by the Third Reich: Jews, intellectuals, gypsies, and g**s who otherwise would have suffered consequences from the Holocaust.
Following the Service, a plaque was unveiled, honoring Reverend Sharp who served the Petersham Unitarian congregation from 1967 to 1972.
The event was followed by a showing of the documentary: "Defying the N***s: The Sharps' War", a film directed by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky III. Artemis introduced the film and was available for questions afterward.