Upcoming Worship Services
May 10 A Plea for Peace: The First Mother’s Day
Rev. Dr. Craig Rubano
Before the 1908 Anna Jarvis beginnings of what has become, since 1914, Mother’s Day, there was the original Mother’s Day Proclamation of 1870, uttered by abolitionist and Unitarian Julia Ward Howe as a protest against the brutality of war. We’ll take a page from Howe and center our multigenerational service both on the caretakers in our lives, and on peace.
Music: Helen Kho
May 17 Preparing the Soil: Lessons from Thomas Potter
Rev. Craig Hirshberg, Murray Grove Board President, and Rev. Carol S. Haag, Murray Grove
Thomas Potter, our Universalist pioneer, was a farmer on the Jersey Shore in the 1700’s. But there is a much deeper story about Potter’s preparation that launched the beginning of Universalism in our country. During these difficult times, we can learn a few things about keeping love at the center from our Universalist prophet.
Music: Michael Rosin, Music Director
Rev. Craig Hirshberg is President of the Board of Trustees at Murray Grove Retreat and Renewal Center, where she hosts meditation classes, retreats, and other spiritual development activities. She is Minister Emerita (and founding minister) of the UU Congregation of Somerset Hills. A graduate of Drew Theological School and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, she received her spiritual direction training at Shalem in Washington DC and from the Rowe Spiritual Direction Program. Rev. Hirshberg has served on the board of the UU Trauma Response Team, being deployed in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Before her retirement, she served as Executive Director of UU FaithAction NJ.
Rev. Carol Haag retired after 13 years as the religious educator (DRE and MRE) with The Unitarian Church in Summit, NJ. She is a strong advocate for Universalism as the central, vital force in our Unitarian Universalist movement, and has served on the Murray Grove board, as member, President, and Stewardship Committee Chair. She believes that Universalism embodies the critical message of inclusion for our time.
May 24 Try to Remember: A Memorial Day Service
Rev. Dr. Craig Rubano
On this weekend when we honor those who died in service to the ideals of this nation, we will explore how memory is related both to our theme for the month of May, curiosity, and to the curious adage “curiosity killed the cat.” And Rev. Craig may just bring a bit of The Fantasticks (the longest-running musical in history) to the table.
Music: Brian Gilmore, Guest Musician
May 31 What I Learned on Sabbatical: Part Two (Perú!)
Rev. Dr. Craig Rubano
On March 22nd, I shared stories from what I learned in my sabbatical travels to England and Scotland in a search of my ancestral roots. In part two of this series, I share stories from sabbatical travel to Peru in a trip back to my childhood roots. It was during those adolescent years in Peru that I truly was set on the trajectory that makes me the “me” I am today.