This service offers a time for meditation, reflection, and  renewal through music, brief words, and silence. Come sing, light a candle, and nurture your spirit during this nontraditional worship experience - and bring a friend! There will be a rehearsal from 6 to 6:45 pm for singers who would like to learn the harmonies to the chants we will sing.

We are also looking for instrumentalists interested in participating, but would need to know in advance who is able to come. For more information, please contact Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger at 603-410-4830 or michael@concorduu.org.

This year's Samhain Ritual will be a traditional "Rite of Remembrance," in which we honor our ancestors and remember our beloved dead. You are invited to bring a photo or other personal item to place on the altar during the rite. This ritual is appropriate for children, however, a portion of it may provoke restlessness among younger kids.  A quiet children's activity will be provided for those who need it.

As long as it's not raining (or snowing!) we will be outside in the grove, with a fire.  Please dress for the temperature..

If the weather insists on having its own way, we'll be snug and dry inside the church.

As always, the ritual will be followed by a pot-luck social hour to which you are invited to bring a snack or drink to share. 

The Auction is a church wide effort. Member donations of services, personally crafted articles including food, and a wide variety of events will be up for bid. These donations are auctioned to the highest bidder in either a silent or live auction.

How can you contribute to the success of the Auction? First, donate an item that will entice generous bids. Second, buy tickets, invite your friends and their checkbooks, come for dinner and drinks, listen to great jazz, and  , bid on all of the fabulous items that are on offer. There are great bargains to be had! Tickets will be for sale in the Parlor from October 7 to October 28 before and after church. No tickets will be available the night of the auction so we can plan for dinner.

See attachments for Auction Donation Form, which we need completed no later than Social Hour on October 21st. Need ideas for donations? We have had donations of vacations, babysitting, fabulous meals, entrees for the freezer, kayaking adventures, desserts, trips to the airport, custom hooked rugs and paintings, car detailing, flowers, room painting, garden help, and so much more.  You might consider combining your donation with another person’s to increase the interest and the value: for example, adding babysitting to an evening at the movies might be more valuable than the babysitting or movie alone.

You don’t want to miss the ALL NEW JAZZED-UP AUCTION!  Put on your Mardi Gras beads, fill out a donation form, buy your tickets, and get ready for the most fun event of the church year.

The Power of Listening

An Evening of Spiritual Classical Piano

Open to the public.

Suggested donation $15 ($10 for seniors & students)

About Knut Erik Jensen

Norwegian pianist Knut Erik Jensen has performed over 100 solo concerts featuring Norwegian and international music on the North American continent since 2007. He has performed in 18 states, including performances at Rice and St Thomas Universities in Houston, TX sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, at the Steinway Gallery in Reno, NV, at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, at the University of Texas at Dallas, at the Kerr Cultural Centre and Steinway of Phoenix in Scottsdale, AZ, at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, at the University of Walla Walla, WA, at the Rozsa Centre at the University of Calgary, Mostly Nordic chamber music series in Seattle, and at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, BC, as well as at numerous Sons of Norway groups and churches throughout the US and Canada. Mr. Jensen was also the guest soloist in Edvard Grieg´s A-minor Concerto for the 2007-8 Season opening of the Minot Symphony Orchestra in North Dakota. In May of 2009, he performed the same concerto with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova in Eastern Europe. Two weeks later he completed his master's examination concert at the University of Trondheim, Norway playing Alexander Scriabin´s piano concerto with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded two CDs of Norwegian piano music: "Edvard Grieg - Anniversary Collection" and "Nordic Elegance." His recent project was a multi-talent program featuring accordion and classical singing in addition to the piano.

Performing Works By:

Bring a Friend Sunday (sponsored by the Family Ministry Committee)

“Radical Hospitality,” Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger.

Hospitality is about making others feel welcomed. Hospitality is about turning that welcome into a way of life, as individuals and as a community. Radical hospitality challenges us to extend that way of life beyond what is easy and comfortable. Today is “Bring-A-Friend” Sunday. Take a look around. Who might be yearning for connection, for a way to deepen their spiritual journey, for a way to make service to others a part of their family culture? Be the one to open the door. Extend the invitation that could change a life, many lives, the world.

Please join us for the Dances of Universal Peace @ Concord UU, held the third Sundays of each month from 7 - 9 PM. This starts our third year of monthly dance circles and the circle is growing!

The practice of the Dances of Universal Peace cultivates harmony in body, mind and spirit. This community practice includes focus on breath, listening, feeling, seeing and silence. An atmosphere of heart centered peace and harmony is created. The Dances of Universal Peace are led by Sarah-Elizabeth Whitcomb and Jenaabi Finlay with musical support of guitar, harp, flute, recorder and drum.  The Chapel will be open a half hour prior to the start of the dance. All are welcome to join us as leaders and musicians connect and create space together.

Come, come, whoever you are! Bring yourself, an open heart and a friend to the dance circle! For more information please contact Sarah-Elizabeth Whitcomb at 365-0852 or sarah_elizabeth@me.com or Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger at michael@concorduu.org or 410-4830.

Keep updated, “like” our facebook page: facebook.com/DUP-ConcordUU.

This on-going Adult Enrichment group meets every week on Tuesday evenings for one hour of meditation including a reading.  Come, sit, listen, and meditate with us.

This Adult Enrichment program is led by Beck Anamin, and meets Thursdays, weekly.  Yoga is a multipurpose tool for improving a lifetime: the essence of Yoga is nonphysical inner development. To varying degrees for each individual, Yoga brings inner quiet, peace of mind, character strength, and spirituality. We each relate to it and its many physical and inner benefits in ways that suit our individual needs and personalities.

This Mindful Yoga program cultivates the abstract benefits. It encourages a quiet, mindful awareness while doing a full range of classical postures. Postures improve health through strengthening, purifying, and toning of the body, as well as of the nerve, and energy systems. Improved health, self-confidence, and a feeling of well-being, foster the inner results. Although the postures are a valuable tool, their improvement of the body is a byproduct, not the goal of Yoga practice.

Appropriate for a range of students, the approach is sufficiently safe, gentle, and even-paced for new students, while providing depth, variation, and practice options for experienced students.

Back by Popular Demand!  Come join us for a night of Games and Chocolate. Plan to bring a board game or two or your favorite card game. Bring along a dessert or snack to share as well. We'll get together for a quiet evening of games and yummy treats and fun. This is truly an event for all ages. Bring your grandparents or your neighbor or come by yourself and make a new friend. Come one and all for a relaxing evening together!

Church Council is a gathering of church leaders.  We meet to discuss the work of the various committees of the church, to identify common areas of interest and ways that we can help each other.  On Oct. 14^th, we’ll gather at 12:15 for a light lunch and then meet from 12:30 until 2:00.  Each committee is urged to send a representative who can give us an update on his or her group.  The meeting is open to any interested members or friends of the church.  Please let Cheryl know you are coming (cheryl@concorduu.org) so we can plan lunch.

Did you know that that our Community Plate, which is passed during each Sunday service, collects an average of $500 each week during the regular church year? That's more than $2000 each month that goes to important projects outside of our church's operating expenses.  In addition to collection money, the CSC is involved in Community Outreach projects, collecting food, helping children at the Boys and Girls Club choose and wrap holiday gifts for their parents, buying turkeys for baskets, participating in the Crop Walk and many others.The Community Service Committee (CSC) would love to have you on board, whether it's for one event or the entire year. We also need requests from the congregation for our plate donations (forms available in theoffice.) We should be proud that our church donates to community projects, which include healthy meals for children and adults, community gardens, women rights, peace actions, food banks, summer day camp tuition, animal welfare, environmental programs, hospice and so much more.

You can participate in our work, whether or not you are on the committee or can attend monthly meetings. Here are some of the areas where the CSC needs help:

• Collect and deliver food

• Souper Bowl Sunday

• Wrap gifts at the Girls and Boys club

• Take meeting notes

• Talk with church members about requesting funds from our Community Plate

• Help write a mission statement

You can be any age (think poster making, collecting cans of food, dressing up as a can of food).  To learn more, contact Deb Bruss by email: deborahbruss@mac.com. If you don't have email, leave a message at 856-7529.

Do you have friends who fit the UU mold that are not currently going to any church or may be disillusioned with their current church?  Well, now is the perfect time to introduce them to Unitarian Universalism in a welcoming yet non pushy way.  Michael will be preparing a service with this in mind.  Many of us have friends who have been curious about our religion or even stated that they were UUs at heart.  All they need is a little help from their friends to connect.  We have something special at our church.  Please make the effort to invite those friends who you think are kindred spirits to our UU faith.

Service for All Ages

“Feeling & Expressing Gratitude,” Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger & Kristin Nelson.

It feels good to be appreciated and thanked. It is important to be gracious when being thanked. Feeling and expressing gratitude is essential to our spiritual and communal well-being. Paraphrasing Meister Eckhart: “If the only spiritual practice you do well in your entire life is feeling and expressing gratitude, it will be enough.”

“Prisons, Race, and Money,” Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger & Cheryl Bourassa.

U.S. crime rates have declined over the past three decades, yet our prison population has quadrupled since 1980. The United States now has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world and 70% of inmates are non-white. The proliferation of private prisons threatens to substitute corporate profits for the public good as we struggle to find alternatives to our immigration policies and the failed “war on drugs.”

We will be gathering again on October 15th to view "Lives Worth Living."  It's another inspiring film.  Please see attached flyer for posting.  And remember that we are meeting in our new location at Temple Beth Jacob in Concord.

Lives Worth Living is a documentary about the dramatic battle for the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in America's history.  The film  traces the development of consciousness of the pioneers who realized that in order to change the world for themselves and all people with disabilities, they needed to work together. This film is an oral history, told by the movement's mythical heroes themselves, and illustrated through the use of rare archival footage. Echoing footage of Martin Luther King marching in Selma, we see protestors climb from wheelchairs and drag themselves courageously up courthouse steps; we watch as quadriplegic activists maneuver their chairs in front of public buses that are not equipped to accommodate them.   Lives Worth Living offers us an opportunity to be fortified and inspired, demonstrating how human rights can be won through nonviolent social justice movements.

Free to all

Please arrive after 6:45 pm, find on-street parking on Broadway and settle into a comfortable chair for the film which starts promptly at 7 pm.

Co-sponsored by Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service NE, Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, NH UCC Peace with Justice Advocates, Temple Beth Jacob, American Friends Service Commitee NH and NH Peace Action

For more info contact:  LR Berger 496-1056