First Parish in Waltham UU

06/21/2026

Today, on Father’s Day, we honor and celebrate all who offer guidance, care, protection, encouragement, and love in fathering roles. Your energy, effort, courage, and wisdom is seen and appreciated.

We also recognize that this day can hold many emotions. For some, it is a day of gratitude and joyful connection. For others, it may bring grief, longing, complicated relationships, or the absence of someone deeply missed.

Wherever this day finds you, may you be held in compassion. And may we all take a moment to honor those who have helped shape our lives with care, wisdom, and love.

06/18/2026

Have you hit the play button on this month's playlist on Fourishing Together yet?
It's waiting for you on Spotify at

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RnSMNyMx5ysXh4hPeWz5A?si=mD2X6pIPTKqRo3ztJwPJkA

and on our YouTube channel at

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvXOKgOQVYP7b7AouJG1OGjflI8el8rv_&si=_jiGaoz5o1gH1WEQ.

06/12/2026

Pulse was more than a nightclub. It was a place of joy, belonging, community, and refuge. We honor those whose lives were taken 10 years ago on June 12, 2016, and we hold close the survivors, loved ones, and LGBTQIA+ communities forever changed by that night.

May their memory continue to call us toward a world where every person can live openly, safely, and fully as themselves.

06/07/2026

Our “Sunday Questions” invite you into a space of deep listening.
So, in addition to answering the question, spend some time asking how your inner wisdom might be trying to speak to you through the question. Often it helps to ask yourself: “How might Life or my inner voice be using this question to reconnect me with an important memory or offer me a message of comfort or challenge?"

06/05/2026

We along with the UUA send our unwavering support for Unitarian Universalists (UU) in uniform and our UU military chaplains. We recently learned the Department of Defense (DOD) has removed 180 separate religious affiliations from the US military’s list of religious affiliation codes. This eliminates the code for Unitarian Universalists, as well as Humanists, Atheists and Pagan traditions, and many others. Along with dozens of other religious traditions, UUs will be categorized broadly under “Other” in military’s religious affiliation codes.

Please note this decision does not directly impact the status of our UU military chaplains, who are authorized through a separate faith-based endorsement process with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). What it does mean is that Unitarian Universalist service members will not be able to select their specific religious identity in their personnel records. This may make it more difficult for our uniformed UUs to access the spiritual care that they need.

At this time, we are diligently working with our UUA counsel and partners in a variety of faith traditions to craft a strategic response that faithfully represents our values and demonstrates clear support for our UU service members and their families, as well as all those who are impacted by this DOD policy.

We will share more information when it is available. But today, we declare that no government action can erase our faith nor lessen the powerful and necessary grounding it provides for those who serve.

Read the full statement at the link in the comments.

06/04/2026

06/03/2026

This Pride Month, we celebrate the joy, resilience, and beauty of LGBTQIA+ communities.

In "The Q***r Beatitudes," Tim Atkins (also known as Sister Sweet Suffering Tea of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence) offers this blessing:

"Blessed are we, the whole q***r family,
for love is our birthright, and joy is our inheritance."

May we continue building a world where every person can live, love, and flourish as their full self. 🌈

Read "The Q***r Beatitudes" at the link in the comments.

05/25/2026

Memorial Day invites many kinds of remembrance.

Today, we hold gratitude and care for all who served in the military, including the many Unitarian Universalists who gave of themselves in service to their country and communities. We honor those who died in war and military service, and the loved ones who carry their memory forward.

We also hold close the immeasurable human cost of violence—lives lost, families changed forever, communities shattered, and generations shaped by grief.

Veterans For Peace calls for a deeper kind of remembrance: one that resists turning this day into a celebration of militarism and instead asks us to reckon honestly with the human cost of war.

At a time when war and suffering continue across the globe, may we remember that every life carries inherent worth and dignity. And may we continue the work of building communities grounded in compassion, justice, and peace.

Read the full statement from Veterans For Peace at the link in our bio.

05/22/2026

Let music lead you into this month's theme.
Find our playlist on Awakening Curiosity on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7lyJOADL1BGLRkUsDMZTN0?si=sqQ0T3LAQzCC7AVc82u_Vg
and on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvXOKgOQVYP5kn3HyVYHGuECb-sArn-Xu&si=H1urQKyztOy8cCzq