As a community that welcomes diversity, we are dedicated to exploring various religious traditions and ideas in our Sunday services and various special services throughout the year, such as celebrations of the Solstices, Christmas, Passover, and more.
Each week, we strive to embrace the value of human expression with stories, sermons, music, and art.
All are welcome.
Join us Sundays at 10am in person or on Zoom (links below).
To contribute to the Sunday collection, click here.
Our April worship theme is: Hope is freedom.
Sunday, April 5, at 9am
Traditional Easter Service
Rev. Annie Gonzalez
Join us on Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/FPBTraditionalEaster2026
It’s Easter! It’s Passover! The birds are singing! Green is peeking out of the cold ground, and we return to the stories of our religious ancestors for inspiration. The historic communion silver will make an appearance. Join us! Rev. Annie will be preaching about what it takes to win freedom and how not to lose hope when it seems that violence is winning. Favorite hymns will be included, and the adult choir will be singing music by Dolly Parton and George Gershwin reflecting the uplifting mood of the service. Oh! And one more thing! Don’t forget to wear your Easter bonnets!
Sunday, April 5, at 11am
All Ages Easter Service & Egg Hunt on the Common!
Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger, Rev. Annie Gonzalez, and Nathan Sellers, Director of Faith Development for Children
Join us on Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/FPBAllAgesEaster2026
Celebrate the spring day with this lively, all-ages service coordinated by First Parish’s Director of Faith Development for Children, Nathan Sellers and Rev. Annie. Through engaging stories, reflection, and interactive elements, we’ll explore how hope shows up both in our efforts for justice and in our need for renewal—reflecting on freedom, healing, and the courage it takes to move and to pause, trusting that both are essential parts of a hopeful life. The morning will feature joyful music from our Youth Choirs.
Sunday, April 12, at 10am
I Call That Mind Free
Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger
Unitarian Universalism celebrates the independent mind and the individual’s right to discern what is true. How do we preserve our intellectual freedom in the face of official lies, junk science, internet conspiracies, and AI deepfakes? How do we seek the truth in love when facts themselves seem up for grabs? Join us for a reflection on the intersection of reason, freedom, truth, and integrity.
Sunday, April 19, at 10am
Freedom and Interdependence: Earth Day Service
Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger & the Environmental Justice Committee
Join us for a service honoring the beauty and resilience of our Earth and our UU value of interdependence. What is the difference between freedom when we conceive of ourselves as isolated independent beings and freedom when we understand ourselves as part of the interdependent web?
Sunday, April 26, at 10am
Let the Storm Rage On
Rev. Annie Gonzalez
What do senior citizens, women in their 40s, and Queen Elsa from Frozen have in common? It’s that, in different ways, they are learning to let it go! We’ll explore the liberation to be found in giving fewer, ahem, cares while still caring deeply about what matters.
Congregational Announcements
To submit a Friday email and/or Sunday bulletin announcement
- Please read the announcement guidelines
- Send your request via the Google form or assistantadministrator@uubedford.org
Submissions are due at NOON on Wednesdays.
Past Services
2025–2026: The overarching theme for this worship year is “Hope.”
April 2026
“Hope is freedom”
- Fri. April 3: Tenebrae (Good Friday) Service (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
March 2026
“Hope is a verb!”
- Sun. Mar. 29: On Loneliness (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Mar. 22: It Matters What We Do: All Ages Service (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
- Sun. Mar. 15: Tea Parties and Mud Ball: Stewardship Sunday Service (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Mar. 8: International Women’s Day Service: Hope Is Not a Lottery Ticket (Eileen Campbell, International Justice Mission)
- Sun. Mar. 1: Call and Response: Process Theology, Hope, and One Tiny Barking Dog (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
February 2026
“Hope is about winning the imagination battle.”
- Sun. Feb. 22: Awe and Everyday Wonder (Rev. Jo Murphy, Executive Director, UU Mass Action)
- Sun. Feb. 15: Minneapolis, Part Two (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Feb. 8: Making Our Dreams a Reality (Worship Team)
- Sun. Feb. 1: Give Them Not Hell, But Hope (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
January 2026
“Hope is a leap into the unknown.”
- Sun. Jan. 25: On Lowering the Temperature (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Jan. 18: To the Light of Human Conscience (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
- Sun. Jan. 11: My Phone, My Frenemy (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Jan. 4: A Vision for the New Year (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
December 2025
“Hope is a gift.”
- Sun. Dec. 28: Make Space for Hope – Burning Bowl (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Christmas Eve: Family Service (3:30pm), Traditional Service (8:00pm)
- Sun. Dec. 21: As We Await the Dawn (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Dec. 14: Regifting Hope (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Dec. 7: A Mixed Bag (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
November 2025
“Hope looks like not giving up.”
- Sun. Nov. 30: On Heritage Americans (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Nov. 23: Wonderful World (Worship Team)
- Sun. Nov. 16: Try Everything (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
- Sun. Nov. 9: One Last Sermon (Rev. Bill Schulz)
- Sun. Nov. 2: We Shall Not Be Moved (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
October 2025
“Hope is knowing you are enough.”
- Sun. Oct. 26: Ancestors Memorial Service (Worship Team)
- Sun. Oct. 19: What Is Too Much? (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
- Sun. Oct. 12: All That Can Be Saved (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Oct. 5: Enough and Never Enough (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
September 2025
“Hope is openness.”
- Sun. Sept. 28: Facing Ourselves, Open To Change (Rev. Annie Gonzalez)
- Sun. Sept. 21: Hope Looks Like Welcome (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Sept. 14: A Meditation on Hope (Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger)
- Sun. Sept. 7: Ingathering