Welcome to Second Parish

We are delighted that you have found us and hope that you will feel at home on our website and ultimately at our church.

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As Unitarian Universalists, we are open and welcoming to everyone. We believe that learning, worshiping, and working together will help us in our constant quest to serve others and to appreciate the mysteries of life.

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Our Sunday morning service is at 10 am. We will be worshiping together in person, and you may also join us through our livestream.  Please consider visiting us to explore what Second Parish has to offer.

We are open in person and online!

We resumed in person services in September with our traditional Water Communion. While we are joyful about returning to our beloved sanctuary, we are mindful of the ongoing risk of COVID and ever vigilant about protecting our congregation, our wonderful minister, our music folks, and our volunteers. To that end, we ask that all who attend in-person services wear a mask and maintain social distance from those who are not in your family group. To assist with this, we will have masks available for adults and children at the entrances and we will cordon off every other pew. Please do not share pews outside your family group.

Sunday Adventures will be held out of doors when possible and in Cushing Hall if it rains.

At this time, we will not have a coffee hour in Cushing Hall but we do encourage everyone to gather outside on the front lawn after the service for a few minutes of fellowship, weather permitting.  We hope to resume coffee hour in some form at a later date, including a Zoom component for our long distance friends.

If you are unable to attend in person, our Sunday services will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Instructions for joining are below.

Everyone 
Is
Welcome

For toddlers to 6th graders, we offer a religious & spiritual program that emphasizes kindness, honesty, courage, compassion, and love. 

Click here to learn more!

Upcoming Sermons

December 5  Where Do You Find Christmas? (in person and livestream on Youtube & Facebook)

10:00am-11:00am

For committed Christians, the story of Jesus’s birth offers a rich theological and spiritual holiday. But for others without that commitment - living in a materialistic society - the spiritual aspect of the holiday can prove elusive. This sermon will explore how people of varying beliefs and practices might develop the Christmas spirit. Music will be provided by Mark Slawson, organist.

December 12  Special  275th Celebration Service: Serving in Hard Times (in person and livestream on Youtube & FB)

10:00am-11:00am

 In this sermon, we will celebrate Second Parish’s 275th anniversary with a closer look at our first minister, Rev. Daniel Shute. In considering the upheavals of the late colonial and revolutionary period during which he served the church, our focus will be on how he met the challenges of caring for his congregation and contributing to his community. Mezzo-soprano Susannah Thornton will be our guest soloist.

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December 19  Christmas Pageant (in person and livestream on Youtube & Facebook)

10:00am-11:00am

Our Children’s Christmas Pageant this year features - as you have come to expect -  a unique approach! The children have made a quilt that tells the Christmas story and will use the quilt to give us their understanding of what happened in Bethlehem long ago. Soprano Gabrielle Coyne will provide Christmas Carols.

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December 19  Light for Long Nights (in-person only)

4:00pm

For a quiet, contemplative experience of the Christmas holiday, “Light for Long Nights” will offer a respite from excitement and anticipation as we meet for consideration of some of the losses that may color our holiday season. Mezzo-soprano Susannah Thornton will be the guest soloist.

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December 24  Counting On Christmas: A Children's Christmas Story (livestream on Youtube & Facebook)

3:00pm- 3:20pm, EDT                               

This special puppet show featuring Leigh Baltzer and Newton will be live-streamed to share the story of Christmas with children using the Sunday Adventures Christmas Quilt. Sherman Whipple will be our guest musician on guitar. 

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December 24  Outdoor Circle Worship (in person only)

4:00pm- 4:20pm, EDT

We will hold an informal Outdoor Circle Worship  in person, gathering on the lawn if weather permits, to sing some carols, hear a reading, a prayer, and light candles as we sing “Silent Night.”

December 24  Christmas Eve Service (livestream on Youtube & Facebook)

5:00pm - 5:45pm, EDT

Our traditional Christmas Eve service of readings of the Christmas story from the Bible and music of the season will be held on line only, so you can sing out with gusto at home! Our guest musicians will be mezzo-soprano Susannah Thornton, and  trombonist Doug Wauchope. The offering will be donated to DOVE, a multi-service organization in Quincy that assists victims of dating and domestic violence and their children. 

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December 26  Circle Worship:  Cushing Hall (in person and on Zoom, not on Youtube or Facebook)

10:00am-11:00am

We will gather in Cushing Hall for an informal service to talk about the transition from Christmas to the New Year. What do we try to accomplish during this week? Can our Christmas energy and our New Year energy intersect? If Christmas brings us feelings of hope, how is that hope expressed in such customs as New Year’s Resolutions? We invite our long distance friends to join us for this service through Zoom. Mark Slawson will provide piano music. 

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If you ordered a Christmas wreath, they will be available for pick-up the first weekend in December.  Cash or checks are preferred, but we will be able to accept credit cards.

We will be at Second Parish:

Friday, December 3 from 1 to 3 pm

Saturday, December 4 from 9 am to 12 pm

If these times are not convenient, please email Susan Weisenbeck to arrange another pick-up time:  susan.weisenbeck@verizon.net

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If you have not ordered a wreath, we have a couple of extras available.  Please email Susan with inquiries. Our wreaths are the traditional 12-inch door-sized wreath decorated with greens, holly, cones and one of several choices of bow.

Wreath prices:

$45 for a custom-decorated wreath with cones, holly and native greens, or

$25 for a wreath with just a bow. 

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Grant Opportunity

As part of our 275th anniversary celebration, we are offering mini grants of $275.  As our covenant calls for “service to our neighbors”, five grants will be awarded to those applicants who best answer the question: “What could I do with $275 to serve the community or a neighbor?” This award is open to all: adults, children, town officials, churches, town clubs and organizations.

We were very pleased to receive over 20 excellent grant applications.  The grant committee is currently reviewing submissions and will publish their decision shortly.

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Prior Services

Our worship services were live streamed on YouTube and Facebook during the COVID pandemic.  Click the links below to view prior recordings.

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Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SecondParish

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YouTube Channel:

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8xj6Ffk47Z9ZxI2UtKeBYA

Thank you for your support!

Your contributions help support the work of Second Parish. To donate, you may mail a check to:

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Second Parish

685 Main Street

Hingham, MA 02043

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Or click the button below to donate through PayPal.