Join us for Sunday Worship

Gather with your beloved spiritual community in person or on Zoom at 11:00 am

In Person: Following the science, everyone attending in person worship is required to wear a high quality mask (N or KN 94 or 95) at all times while indoors. We strongly encourage you to be vaccinated and keep your boosters up to date. Please click here for more on our latest COVID safety protocols.

On Zoom: For those who would like to participate in Sunday Worship on Zoom, please meet us in the Arlington Street Zoom Room! Join with video at tinyurl.com/ASCZoom or participate by phone by dialing (929) 436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is 895 886 6876.

Submit Candles of Joy & Sorrow

Download the Order of Service

Download Sermon Bingo

Complete a Connection Card

Fill the Virtual Collection Plate

Join the Arlington Street Zoom Room

Make your Pledge for 2022-23

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Flowers on the High Pulpit

Would you like to make a gift of flowers for the entire congregation to enjoy on a Sunday morning? You can make your dedication in memory, in honor, or in celebration of someone or something you love. You can have flowers delivered, bring your own (a minimum of two dozen flowers is perfect for our huge space), or a member of the staff will purchase them (~$50). Please email our congregational administrator, Jess (JAcosta@ASCBoston.org), to claim your date! Thank you!

Weekly Events

Beloved Conversations - Within

Register February 1st through 28th for spring term

Session runs March through May

Beloved Conversations, a UU program for people seeking to embody racial justice as a spiritual practice, has opened registration for their Spring term of "Within." Celebrate Black History Month by registering during February. The term runs March through May and has separate BIPOC and White sections. Not sure if Beloved Conversations is right for you or need financial help? Contact the ASC transformation team transformation@ascboston.org or Rev. Kim.

Monday Mettā

Every Monday ~ 12:00 pm

Join Rev. Kim for a half hour of Lovingkindness meditation. She will give brief instructions, then we'll join in sending Lovingkindness to ourselves and to the world. No meditation experience necessary. Bring your open heart!

Join with video at https://zoom.us/j/8958866876 or participate by phone by dialing (929) 436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is always 895 886 6876.

Poems to Go On

Every Monday ~ 4:00 pm

"You can use a poem the next time your life threatens to become too crowded or too empty, or too anything, to give you some feeling of order or companionship. A spell against 'chaos and old night.' I hope some of these will do you some good." ~ Vermont poet James Hayford

Come gather in the Zoom room for a feast of poetry!

Alone together, here we are,
stranded in our shared nowhere,
marooned in space, while, free from time,
meanings proliferate and chime
as words, unfettered, dance and rhyme.
             ~ Rachel Hadas, "In the Cloud"

Please bring a poem to share, or feel free just to listen. Please come whether or not you think you like poetry! Feel free just to listen or bring a favorite poem. We'll have the opportunity to read aloud and share what these poems mean to us. All are welcome!

Join with video at tinyurl.com/ASCZoom or participate by phone by dialing (929) 436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is 895 886 6876.

The Wednesdays: Wordsworth

Four Wednesdays: February 8th and 22nd ~12:30-2:00 pm in the Arlington Street Zoom Room

If you had to choose a single person to epitomize the Romantic Movement, who better than Wordsworth?

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

That’s the Romantic Movement in a nutshell. Wordsworth is also an important reason why we keep diaries of our dreams, why we exhibit children’s art, and why we endure miserable weather in hopes of identifying birdsong. Wordsworth is the great promoter and guide of “Mother Nature,” believing fervently that “she” has power to calm us and restore us to sanity. Here’s the beginning of a sonnet:

It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a nun
Breathless with adoration.

For much more great poetry — and lively conversation! — join Prof. Alan Helms and Rev Kim for four The Wednesdays: Wordsworth. Highly recommended text: All are welcome!

Roam at your pleasure among all the poems in the book, but in each session we’ll focus on the following:

Week 3: the first three books of The Prelude

Week 4:
She was a Phantom of delight
Resolution and Independence
Composed upon Westminster Bridge
The world is too much with us
It is a beauteous evening
Milton! thou should’st be living at this hour
The Solitary Reaper
I wandered lonely as a Cloud
Elegiac Stanzas
Ode [Intimations of Immortality]
Surprised by Joy!

It's Tea Time! You Are Invited!

Every Wednesday ~ 4:00 pm

Make a cuppa, find a comfortable seat, and come take a civilized late afternoon break with your ministers and one another. Our next prompt is "What’s one of your favorite things about where you’re from?" All are welcome!

Join with video at https://zoom.us/j/8958866876 or participate by phone by dialing (929) 436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is always 895 886 6876.

Kundalini Yoga Class

Every Wednesday ~ 6:00 pm

Experience fun exercises and poses, breathing techniques, chanting, meditation, and deep relaxation in this unique class. Moving energy through your body brings positive change and growth. There is a $10 charge that goes to the church. Please email office@ascboston.org for Zoom access. All are welcome!

Higher and Friendly Powers: Transforming Addiction and Suffering

Wednesday, February 8th ~ 7:30 - 9:00 pm Register here; the Zoom link will be emailed to you.

Our own John O'Connor's sister, Peg O'Connor, has a new book: Higher and Friendly Powers: Transforming Addiction and Suffering. Drawing inspiration from American philosopher and psychologist William James (1842-1919), Peg argues for a far more spacious conception of higher power than is traditionally encountered in twelve steps programs. Join Rev. Chris Jablonski (First Church in Belmont), and Intern Minister John O’Connor (Intern Minister at First Church), and Rev. Kim for an engaging panel discussion.

Arlington Street Writes! Hosted by Trisha Zembruski

Every Thursday ~ 5:00 pm

Trisha invites you to the spiritual practice of writing inspired by Zen meditation, based on Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones. No writing experience necessary – all you need is paper, pen, and willingness! All are welcome!

Note: This meeting is NOT in the Arlington Street Zoom room. Join by video at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83346276104? or participate by phone by dialing (929) 205-6099. The meeting ID is 833 4627 6104.

Drop In Session with ASC Transformation Team for Racial Justice

Sunday, Feb 12th ~ 12:30 pm ~ Perkins Room or via Zoom

During the 2022-23 church year, the ASC Transformation Team for Racial Justice has been working on the application for ASC to participate in the AMONG phase of Beloved Conversations, which will begin in Fall 2023, if we are approved. AMONG is focused on the institutional, systemic anti-racist change needed in our congregations to move us closer to Beloved Community. At this drop in session, we're seeking input on the areas of congregational life to focus on as we move in the direction of anti-racism/liberation. All are welcome. Questions to transformation@ascboston.org

Attend in person: We'll gather in the Perkins room.

If attending via zoom, note this is not the Alringoton zoom room, join with video https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82409958201 *If you're in a breakout room after worship, you'll need to leave and join this (different) Zoom link at 12:30*

Reparations: Past, Present, and Future

Monday, February 13th ~ 7:30 pm, Temple Isaiah, Lexington, in person and on Zoom

Temple Isaiah’s Reparations and Equity Committee has assembled a compelling, thought-provoking and expert panel to examine reparations throughout time. Panelists are Miriam Asnes, Margie Yamamoto, and Na’tisha Mills, with Rev. John Gibbons as moderator. For more informations click here. To register click here.

Buddha's Belly ~ The Buddhist Book Discussion and
Arlington Street Meditation Center

Tuesday, February 14th ~ 6:00 pm
Buddha's Belly and Arlington Street Meditation Center (feel free to come to one or both) meet via Zoom every 2nd and 4th Tuesday.

6:00 Buddha's Belly: Buddha's Belly is our book discussion group that explores a variety of books from Buddhist teachings. For our next meeting, we will continue reading Walpola Rahula's What the Buddha Taught. Please read through chapter 7. All are welcome!

7:00 Arlington Street Meditation Center: Our gathering includes seated meditation, a brief reading from Buddhist teachings, and conversation. Beginners and experienced meditators from all traditions (or none!) are warmly welcome. If you'd like to print out the words to the Mettā (Lovingkindness) phrases, which we repeat together at the close of the Arlington Street Meditation Center gathering, you'll find them here. If you don't, no worries; even if you don't know them as we begin, you'll know them by the time we finish!

Join with video at https://zoom.us/j/8958866876 or participate by phone by dialing (929)436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is always 895 886 6876.

New Member Class

Wednesday February 15th ~ Meet ASC ~ 6:00 pm

All interested newcomers are warmly invited to our next new member class. In this session we learn a little of Arlington Street’s history, polity, and practices; and meet some of our illustrious leadership and staff. These classes are a wonderful opportunity to deepen your relationship and knowledge of Arlington Street, and to discern whether you are ready to join. All are welcome! Please contact rcorey.ascboston@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Join with video at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4419290135 or participate by phone by dialing 1 (646) 558-8656. For either option, the meeting ID is 441 929 0135.

Cecilia Zabala in Concert

Friday, February 17th, 7:00 pm ~ Croma@Arlington Street Church

Join our friends at Ágora Cultural Architects for the first event of their spring season! Cecilia Zabala is an Argentinian singer, composer, and guitarist. Throughout her prolific career, she has expressed her musical creativity using her guitar and voice, creating original compositions that blend sensitivity, emotion, technique, and intuition. Her music draws on a rich mixture of influences, from Argentinian folklore, the contemporary language of the twentieth century, jazz, tango, and Brazilian music. Zabala will be accompanied by the talented duo of Sol y Canto. Learn more and purchase tickets via Eventbrite

The Prudential Committee ~ Our Governing Board

Tuesday, February 21st (and every third Tuesday of the month) ~ 6:00-8:00 pm

Come experience how the business of the church gets done. Our Prudential Committee members are Lois Hartsough chair; Tom Anderson co-chair; Greg Hyde, Dan Mouhot, Sandy Dixon, Kevin Tyrrell, Rachel Corey, Alan Kemp, and Bob Sessions. Doc Kinne (clerk), Liz Teixeira (Treasurer), and our ministers also attend "the Pru." Though only our elected Prudential Committee members may vote, everyone is welcome!

Join with video at https://zoom.us/j/8958866876 or participate by phone by dialing (929)436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is always 895 886 6876.

Transformation Team for Racial Justice Meeting

Tuesday, February 21st, and every third Tuesday ~ 7:00-8:30 pm ~ Zoom
All are welcome! Learn about and engage with ongoing efforts for transforming ourselves and our church. Questions can be sent to transformation@ascboston.org

Note: This meeting is NOT in the Arlington Street Zoom room. Join with video https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82409958201

Vegan Cooking with Jenny

Sunday, February 26th ~ 5:00-6:00 in the Arlington Street Zoom Room

Join our own Jenny Hoefler and Rev. Kim for the next installment of the Great Arlington Street Baking Show! It's time for a cozy winter meal. We'll be making cream of mushroom soup!

Jenny Zooms in to Arlington Street from Maryland. She writes, "I am just a regular person (no culinary background). I started taking vegan cooking classes in the spring of 2019, then transitioned to being fully vegan and have been cooking vegan food ever since. I have seen a big improvement in my health and also feel I am following the Unitarian Universalist principle of 'a free and *responsible* search for truth and meaning' by eating a vegan diet."

Here are the ingredients for Jenny's cream of mushroom soup. You will need:
¼ cup UNSALTED cashews
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
1 medium potato (fist-sized)
1 medium onion (fist-sized)
1 package mushrooms (227 grams) of your choice — I use regular button mushrooms
1-2 TBS bouillon** paste or powder — make sure the bouillon is vegan (and gluten-free, if necessary)
1 TBS flour (gluten-free flour can be used)
1 TBS olive oil
¼ tsp ground sage
¼ tsp black pepper

*I use “Better Than Bouillon: Seasoned Vegetable Base” (found in a small glass jar with black and gold label / black lid)

Necessary equipment:
*Blender or food processor* (Please note this is required to create the creamy texture for the soup)
Frying pan
Soup pot (to hold approx. 5-6 cups liquid)
Knife and cutting board
Mason jar or other heat safe jar
Ladle
Measuring spoons and cup
Spatula and whisk are helpful but not required

Jenny will walk us through all the steps. Aprons, everyone!

Gay Men's Coffee Connections

Thursday, March 2nd ~ 6:00 pm (and every first Thursday)

Join Anthony, Darrell, and Phillip to discuss a prompt. Feel free to listen or engage in discussion about our experiences as gay men. The upcoming conversation prompt is, “What’s the best gift you’ve been given, or the best gift you’ve received?”

Join with video at https://zoom.us/j/8958866876 or participate by phone by dialing (929)436-2866. For either option, the meeting ID is always 895 886 6876.

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ALL SOULS

A Campaign for the Preservation of Arlington Street Church

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Letter from Kim

The scaffolding on the Boylston Street side of the meeting house, erected to reach the roof for restoration and repairs (photo credit: Jon Andersen-Miller, Chair, Restoration Committee)

Dearly Beloved,

An email arrived this week from composer Shoshana Jedwab celebrating the fifth birthday of her viral composition, Where You Go (I Will Go, Beloved). Our Executive Minister, Rev. Beth Robbins, chose this piece to close her ordination on May 6th, 2018, and thanks to Director of Music Mark David Buckles, we’ve sung it ever since! Shoshana writes, “During tumultuous 2017, I understood that my song Where You Go was called to this moment in history.” The single was released on both the anniversary of the Muslim ban (2017) and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (1945).

The words of the first verse, which we sing at the close of the service each Sunday morning, say

Where you go, I will go, Beloved
Where you go, I will go
For your people are my people,
Your people are mine
Your people are my people,
Your divine my divine

Shoshana Jedwab recorded additional verses, which begin, “Where you go, I will go, refugee / Mother Earth / children / ancestors.” Listen here (click on the black arrow); I’m pretty sure you’ll love it!

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This Sunday, we’ll open the service with the exuberant hymn, Morning Has Come:

Open our eyes to see that life abounds
Open hearts to welcome it among us
The light of love here shines upon each face
May it bring faith to guide our journey home

followed by the astonishingly pantheistic See Not Afar for Beauty (penned by
Unitarian minister Minot Judson Savage in the late 1800s!):
In wonder-workings or some bush aflame
We look for truth and fancy it concealed
But in earth’s common things Love stands revealed
While grass and flowers and stars spell out G*d’s name

The Arlington Street Church Choir sings the African American Spiritual Over My Head; Mark David Buckles (banjo) and Julie Metcalf (violin) sing The Rainbow Connection, originally performed by Kermit the Frog (the late, great Jim Henson) in The Muppet Movie; and my sermon is called Awe (Goosebumps). Our final hymn is Blue Boat Home:

The wide universe is the ocean I travel, And the earth is my blue boat home. Until then, and always, I wish you … goosebumps!

Faithfully yours, with love,
Kim

p.s. Beloved Conversations, a Unitarian Universalist program for people seeking to embody racial justice as a spiritual practice, has opened registration for their spring term. Celebrate Black History Month by registering this month! The course runs from March through May and has separate sections for people who identify as BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and white. Not sure if Beloved Conversations is right for you or need financial help? For more information, contact the Arlington Street Transformation Team for Racial Justice (Transformation@ASCBoston.org). In addition, the Transformation Team is holding a hybrid meeting after the service a week from Sunday (February 12th) — more information on that next week. All are welcome!

p.p.s. Rev. John Gibbons, our Community Minister for Good Trouble, is … making good trouble! As a founding member of the New Democracy Coalition, Rev. John is working to change the name of Faneuil Hall; Peter Faneuil was a slaveholder. Here’s an article that ran at boston.com on January 13th and here’s Tiziana Dearing’s interview on WBUR with Rev. John and his band of good troublemakers from Monday (it begins at 32:56). Thank you, Rev. John! Here’s to good trouble in our good name!

To read Rev. Kim’s pastoral letters to the congregation during the pandemic, please click here.

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Our Shared Responsibility During the Global Pandemic

Friends, these are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary generosity. Many income-generating events and rentals have had to be cancelled or postponed, putting a huge strain on the Arlington Street budget. Our ministers and staff are continuing to work; our goal is to continue to pay them. Please help sustain the church by making a special online gift or by texting GIVE to (617) 300-0509. Also, please consider setting up automatic payments via bank transfer or credit card to pay your pledge. Our treasurer, Liz Teixeira, (treasurer@ascboston.org) would be happy and grateful to assist you with this process! Together though apart, we can thrive! Thank you for your steadfastness and support!

  Unitarian Universalism

  If you are new to Unitarian Universalism,
  “Voices of a Liberal Faith — Unitarian Universalists”
  is a great introduction. Click here to watch
  this ten minute video!