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Worship Services HERE
Worship services are at 10AM every Sunday. On Sundays when our minister is not preaching, the worship committee organizes Lay Services, where a guest minister, church member, or community member enters the pulpit. This is an opportunity for our minister to spend time with their family and/or attend ministerial and spiritual retreats and for our congregation to open our minds, hearts, and thoughts to other points of view.
No two worship services at First Parish are alike. Services address elements of life, humanity and spirituality, and draw on a variety of religious and spiritual practices from across the globe and history. Through music, readings, poetry, prayer, meditation, ritual, and sermon, we strive to provide a rich and full spiritual experience. Children typically join us for the first 20 minutes of the service and participate in a Time For All Ages before heading upstairs for Religious Exploration classes, though they are always welcome to stay for the entire service. We welcome the sounds and vitality of our youngest members at all times!
Special Services
As with all Unitarian Universalist congregations, First Parish has its own services and rituals rich with tradition despite not having a creed. Outlined below are some of the special services that take place at First Parish. For more information on timing of these, please check out our calendar.
Water Communion
The first service of our church year, celebrating our many lives coming back into community after summer vacations. Click here for more info on this UU tradition.
Solstice and Equinox Services
Unitarian Universalists honor the spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and encourage us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
Cornbread and Cider Communion
An inter-generational autumn service before Thanksgiving, celebrating our wider community through a communion ritual that draws from the riches of the land.
Pageant of the Nativity
The Nativity Pageant has been running at First Parish in Portland since 1926. Non-denominational in nature, it uses a combination of music, historic text, and tradition to honor the birth of one of history’s great prophets and the birth of each child that is born. The story is told in music and readings while the cast, bit by bit, creates a tableau that replicates a Fra Angelico-style painting. Some of the costumes have been created from fabrics brought back from the Holy Land by nieces of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Light bulbs in the 30 sconces in the church are replaced by candles. It is a truly magical hour in which we quiet our hearts and remember the spirit that this holiday represents. This special worship service was written by the Reverend Vincent Silliman, minister of First Parish from 1926-1938.
Candlelight Christmas Eve
An inter-generational service early in the evening honoring and celebrating Christmas with stories, music, singing, and prayers. December 24.
Martin Luther King Sunday
A justice service in honor and memory of The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
Earth Day
A service dedicated to our Great Mother Earth.
Easter Sunday
Powerful themes of renewal and transformation lend weight and gladness to our Easter worship traditions.
Music Sunday
A service entirely dedicated to music. Our music director, church choir and musicians combine their talents to create a memorable experience.
Flower Communion
A springtime ritual and beloved Unitarian Universalist practice. Congregants bring a bloom or two to add to a communal floral arrangement, and are encouraged to take a different bloom home with them. Click here for more info on this beautiful tradition.
Rites of Passage
Services that celebrate Child Dedications and New Member Dedications are joyous additions to the church year. We also offer a Bridging Ceremony at the end of the church year for youth who are graduating from high school.
