WORSHIP SCHEDULE
April 3rd — “Promise of the April Fool?” TED & Response by Steve Wills
April 10th — “The Language of Love & Justice – Respect” Rev. Richards
“Sticks and stones may break our bones.” But, words still have consequences. One would be wise to understand what and why some words or word combinations imply philosophically and theologically, like “human resources, “ or “medical customer,” etc. Words provide clues about our ideals, our beliefs and inform our actions.
April 17th — “My Spiritual Journey with the Shakers” — Christopher Coyle
April 24th — “Earth Day” — Kathy Richards
EVENTS upcoming
Spring Fair Planning Meeting — this Sunday, April 3rd, after church
First Church Coffee Stand during the River Rat Parade on Saturday, April 9, 2016
selling Donna’s Muffins and Donuts which are baked, not fried.
All helpers welcome! The Coffee Stand will be on the front lawn.
Board of Management Meeting — Sunday, April 17th, after coffee hour.
We are collecting food for the Salvation Army. Please leave your non-perishable donations (before the expiration date please) in the basket in the Coffee Hour room.
Spring Fair — May 21, 2016
IN CLOSING
On this Day In UU History
Hosea Ballou (April 30, 1771-June 7, 1852), called the “Father of Universalism,” was born in Richmond, NH. Ballou has one of the most dramatic calls to ministry.
Preaching at the 1794 Universalist Convention in Oxford, MA, young Ballou finished his sermon and without warning, Rev. Elhanan Winchester (a highly regarded, elder minister) slapped the Bible against Ballou’s chest, pronoucing: “Brother Ballou, I press to your heart the written Jehovah!” and demanding that Ballou be charged as a minister right then and there. He was.
That same year, Ballou became the Pastor of the Universalist Congregation in Dana, Massachusetts until 1801 (7 years). In 1803, Ballou was a member of the committee that drew up the Winchester Profession, named after the town of Winchester, New Hampshire, claiming “Holiness and Happiness are inseparably connected.”
Ballou lived up to all those grand expectations His book “The Treatise on Atonement” argued that an all loving, infinite God would never condemn his children to hell for eternity. Ballou rejected the concept of Atonement, using a Unitarian understanding of God.
He founded the Second Universalist Society of Boston, and held that position for 35 years until his death in 1852. Much of modern UU thought, both Universalist and Unitarian, finds it’s original themes in Ballou’s theology.