First Parish in Needham Unitarian Universalist

Bringing best practices home

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:47:25 +0000

As with any professional, one of my more important obligations is to keep up with the latest trends in my field and to work on growing as a professional. In fact, the folks at First Parish know this so well that they offer me a generous “professional development” allowance as a part of my overall [read more...]

Unitarian Universalists in New Orleans

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:04:12 +0000

First of all, my apologies for not posting in a bit. The interruption began as planning for the big Youth Group service trip to New Orleans began to pick up (after our intern minister, Christian Schmidt became a father), then I was on full-time trip chaperone mode, and since getting back I’ve had several challenges [read more...]

When holy days cross paths…

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:48:25 +0000

As many of you know, one of my favorite blogs is On Being Both by Susan Katz Miller. In her writings, Katz Miller discusses life within an interfaith family, something familiar to many First Parish members. This week she writes about handling the intersection of Passover and Easter this year when the two important holidays [read more...]

Teaching is a Selfish Act

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:00:42 +0000

From this week’s RE Newsletter: Teaching is a selfish act. Yes, you read that correctly. Teaching is a selfish act. I was just thinking about this very thing yesterday while leading a discussion with students in an ethics class that I teach at Endicott College. As a part of a segment on the ethics of [read more...]

Acts of Faith

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:30:20 +0000

I want to introduce all of you to Dr. Eboo Patel. His book, Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, is the Unitarian Universalist Association’s 2011-2012 Common Read. He’s also authored a short article in this month’s UU World Magazine entitled “If we don’t invest [read more...]

Soulful Worship

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:12:04 +0000

This past week I attended a two-day retreat with a number of my DRE colleagues from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. We met to discuss best practices and to learn from some leaders in our profession about a number of things pertinent to our job, including a wonderful presentation on the intersection of religious [read more...]

It’s International Women’s Day – Celebrate with Bad Romance!

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:21:33 +0000

Less than a lifetime ago, in 1920, women finally secured the vote in the United States after a long and difficult battle. Many of those most active in the move for women’s suffrage were, not surprisingly, Unitarian and Universalist women like Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe and Susan B. Anthony who helped pave the way [read more...]

The Unitarian Astronomer

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:23:13 +0000

Maria Mitchell of Nantucket, Massachusetts (1818-1889) Maria Mitchell was born as one of 10 children into the Quaker family of William Mitchell and Lydia Coleman Mitchell on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Cape Cod. Because Quakers believed in intellectual equality for women and in education, Maria was well-educated and attended a number of schools [read more...]

Guided Meditation

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:52:40 +0000

I wanted to share this guided meditation with you all. Whether you read it silently to yourself, or you choose to share it with family or friends – perhaps as opening words at a meeting or group – I hope you find a sense of peace within these words by Emmy Lou Belcher. [read more...]

Black History @ Home

Mark LaPointe, DRE — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:51:20 +0000

Chances are pretty good that your children will study Black History and Culture this month in school and church. They’ll learn about the contributions of famous African-Americans, the trials of slavery, and the hard-won successes of the Civil Rights Movement. They may even study African-American art, music and literature. Ideally, these lessons are integrated throughout [read more...]