• Summer Services Begin at 9:30am. Directions

We hope you will find among us an invitation: to celebrate life together in a caring community, to welcome children in the communal experience, to honor the diverse religious backgrounds of an interfaith constituency, to engage in personal spiritual growth, to be present for others who also search, to cooperate in supporting the community centered in worship, deepened by educational and social opportunities, and to work together with others for a just world. If the journey begins with the first step, we hope it may be in our company.

We, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Andover (affectionately known as the UUCiA), join with one another to create and sustain a caring community which:

• nurtures spiritual growth
• shares our Unitarian Universalist tradition
• values and celebrates diversity, and
• is a liberal beacon, grounded in hope, for a just world.

Our Mission: To Seek the Light of Truth, To Share the Warmth of Love, To Live the Energy of Action

Please read our Mission Statement and our Vision Themes & Provocative Propositions to find out more about what matters most to us.

Our congregation is free and self governing. In North America, Unitarianism and Universalism arose as alternatives to Puritanism in New England and the religious establishments in the middle and southern colonies. It reflected the same impulse in religion that the American Revolution did in political life. We are affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association to support our wider work and outreach. Within the UUA, we are a member of the Massachusetts Bay District, a group of 57 congregations in north eastern Massachusetts.

Unitarian and Universalist traditions in the western branch of human culture extend back to the time of Jesus (in practicing his Judaism, his theology was unitarian). It continued in various forms (usually persecuted as heresy by the majority faiths) until it emerged in such places as Transylvania (with the tutelage of a Unitarian king), Poland, England, and the Netherlands. Consistently we practiced freedom and tolerance, writing the first edict of religious tolerance in Europe, always with an openness to new truth. In time among us, there has emerged a truly global orientation to religious practice, finding among the many branches of world religious tradition insights into our shared humanity and guidance for the spiritual life.

Services begin at 10:30am.

Directions

Rev. Lara Hoke

Welcome!  I am so glad that you have found the website for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Andover, which we affectionately call the UUCiA.  The tagline of this congregation is “A Liberal Religious Voice in the Merrimack Valley since 1847”.  I would go a step further and say that the UUCiA is an important haven in the Merrimack Valley for those who enjoy worshipping in a warm, friendly, and open-minded environment.

The UUCiA provides a spiritual home to many who would not have felt as sustained and supported anywhere else.  This is a congregation of people from different walks of life and different religious backgrounds.  We are people from different cultures, people of different ages and family configurations.

We are people who don’t all believe exactly the same things, but who share core values.   Members of the UUCiA are (as I once heard Unitarian Universalism described) “open to truth and meaning wherever it may be found” just as they “work compassionately for social justice”.

The UUCiA is a proud Welcoming Congregation. (The phrase “Welcoming Congregation” has a particular meaning among Unitarian Universalists. Namely, this congregation has made a commitment to be inclusive and supportive of those who are bisexual, gay, lesbian or transgender; we have made a commitment to work for justice around BGLT issues as well.)

I think you will find that people at the UUCiA care deeply about each other.  I have had the privilege of serving as the half-time minister of this congregation since July 2009, and I never cease to be amazed.

I am so pleased that you have found this website, and hope that you will visit us some Sunday soon.  I hope that you will be as delighted with this congregation as I have been.  In the words of Rumi (found in our hymnal), “Come, come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving… ours is no caravan of despair.  Come, yet again, come.”

We will have a Mini-Auction of homemade soups and deserts made by those of you, either fresh or frozen for either now or later in the year. You could offer a soup or desert every month over the winter or a group of three different kinds – whatever!

We will also have our now very popular Pre-Owned Jewelry Sale so dig into the bottom of that old jewelry box for those rings, broaches, ear rings and necklaces that no longer work for you and get them to Locke Street so your fellow congregants can scoop them up at bargain prices!

Details on the main part of the auction will follow by special email to all members and friends. Thank you all very much and we hope you find the auction both rewarding and fun!

This year, once again, the Allied War Veterans Council denied the Veterans For Peace (VFP) request to join in the “official” Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston. Last year, the Allied War Veterans Council’s reason for denying the Veterans For Peace request was that they “did not want the word ‘peace’ associated with the word ‘veteran’”. In just three weeks time in 2011, VFP pulled their own permit and had the first Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade, which had 500 participants; it was a huge success, garnering front page coverage and editorial articles in all of the major newspapers as well as numerous radio and television reports. The parade included various local peace groups, a marching band, labor groups, and a modest contingent of religious groups and congregations (including some Unitarian Universalists). Perhaps most poignant, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) organization “Join the Impact” joined in the peace parade; VFP invited them specifically knowing that 17 years ago, GLBT groups were also denied the chance to march in the “official” parade by the Allied War Veterans Council. In fact, GLBT groups were the first ones that VFP reached out to and invited. (In spite of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, the Council still does not allow GLBT groups to march in its “official” parade. This year, Join the Impact requested to join the “official” parade and was also denied.)

As we approach eleven years of US war in Afghanistan and as the threat of conflict with Iran looms, a march for peace is timely—as is a march for equality, jobs, and justice! This year, Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade organizers anticipate 2,000 people marching, including multiple marching bands; peace groups; social justice organizations; a labor contingent; an “Occupy Everywhere” contingent. Organizers hope that there will be floats. And most of all, we hope that this year there will be a large religious contingent, and lots of Unitarian Universalists! As last year, we will step off a mile behind the “official” parade. Though our official start time is 2 p.m., it is likely that we will step off closer to 2:30 p.m. The parade route is just short of 3 miles; last year it took about 1 ½ or 2 hours to march. There will be a Duck Boat and trolley available for those unable to walk the distance of the parade. We will start at the Broadway MBTA station and end at the Andrew MBTA station.

All we need is for you to join in standing on the side of love. Please join me if you are able! If some folks from the UUCiA come with me, we can potentially leave together from 6 Locke Street after the March 18 Sunday Service. If you would like to join me, or if you have any questions, please let me know (cell 508-615-1686 orminister@uuandover.org). It should be a fun day. On St. Patrick’s Day, we’re all Irish!

In faith and peace,
Lara

Each focuses on a different aspect of the spiritual life, framed by the lyrics of Carolyn McDade’s song ‘Spirit of Life.’ Like the song, the workshops are designed to be welcoming to Unitarian Universalists of many spiritual and theological persuasions. Participants are invited to claim an inclusive definition of spirituality and recognize the spiritual aspects of their lives. Reflecting, speaking, and listening are core activities in each workshop.”

The workshops will be modified to fit into four sessions, which will be “The Stirrings of Compassion: Caring for One Another” (April 24); “Blow in the Wind, Rise in the Seas: Nature and Spirit” (May 1); “Giving Life the Shape of Justice: The Spirituality of Working for Change” (May 15); and “Wings Set Me Free: Hopes, Dreams, and Expanding Vision” (May 22).

All are welcome! Lara asks that you let her know if you plan to attend so that she can plan accordingly. It would be best if you can come to all four sessions, but coming to at least three would also work. If you have questions or want to let Lara know you’ll attend, please contact her: minister@uuandover.org.

This year, once again, the Allied War Veterans Council denied the Veterans For Peace (VFP) request to join in the “official” Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston. Last year, the Allied War Veterans Council’s reason for denying the Veterans For Peace request was that they “did not want the word ‘peace’ associated with the word ‘veteran’”. In just three weeks time in 2011, VFP pulled their own permit and had the first Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade, which had 500 participants; it was a huge success, garnering front page coverage and editorial articles in all of the major newspapers as well as numerous radio and television reports. The parade included various local peace groups, a marching band, labor groups, and a modest contingent of religious groups and congregations (including some Unitarian Universalists). Perhaps most poignant, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) organization “Join the Impact” joined in the peace parade; VFP invited them specifically knowing that 17 years ago, GLBT groups were also denied the chance to march in the “official” parade by the Allied War Veterans Council. In fact, GLBT groups were the first ones that VFP reached out to and invited. (In spite of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, the Council still does not allow GLBT groups to march in its “official” parade. This year, Join the Impact requested to join the “official” parade and was also denied.)

As we approach eleven years of US war in Afghanistan and as the threat of conflict with Iran looms, a march for peace is timely—as is a march for equality, jobs, and justice! This year, Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade organizers anticipate 2,000 people marching, including multiple marching bands; peace groups; social justice organizations; a labor contingent; an “Occupy Everywhere” contingent. Organizers hope that there will be floats. And most of all, we hope that this year there will be a large religious contingent, and lots of Unitarian Universalists! As last year, we will step off a mile behind the “official” parade. Though our official start time is 2 p.m., it is likely that we will step off closer to 2:30 p.m. The parade route is just short of 3 miles; last year it took about 1 ½ or 2 hours to march. There will be a Duck Boat and trolley available for those unable to walk the distance of the parade. We will start at the Broadway MBTA station and end at the Andrew MBTA station.

All we need is for you to join in standing on the side of love. Please join me if you are able! If some folks from the UUCiA come with me, we can potentially leave together from 6 Locke Street after the March 18 Sunday Service. If you would like to join me, or if you have any questions, please let me know (cell 508-615-1686 orminister@uuandover.org). It should be a fun day. On St. Patrick’s Day, we’re all Irish!

In faith and peace,