FCU’s Racial Justice Action Committee (RJAC) Film & Discussion Series presents:

“TILL”

Saturday, March 25, 6 PM*, in the Vestry

“TILL is a profoundly emotional and cinematic film about the true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was brutally lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. In Mamie’s poignant journey of grief turned to action, we see the universal power of a mother’s ability to change the world.” — Rotten Tomatoes

This free film series explores the lives and experiences of the “other” and expands our awareness of our neighbors as well as often marginalized individuals and groups. All are welcome. Please join us for a lively discussion and refreshments.

*This film is 2 hours and 10 minutes long.

Please join us for another multi-platform (streaming live online, and also in-person in the sanctuary) worship service! Former FCU minister the Rev. Fred Small returns to our pulpit for the first time since 2008! His service description: “‘The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence,’ wrote Trappist monk and peace activist Thomas Merton. ‘The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. . . . It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.’ As we work together for social and environmental justice, how do we remain grounded in a peaceful spirit? What can we learn from trees?”

To participate online, members and friends can click HERE shortly before 10 a.m. and enter the website password to receive a link to participate in the worship service. All are welcome to join the worship service live on our YouTube channel HERE (but the YouTube link will not allow you to interact as the Zoom link will).

A Unitarian Universalist pastor, singer-songwriter, and former environmental lawyer, Rev. Fred Small is Minister for Climate Justice at Arlington Street Church, Boston. He was ordained in 1999 by First Church Unitarian in Littleton, where he served as minister until 2008.

On FRIDAYSs at 2 p.m., Rev. Lara Hoke will lead “Loving-Kindness Sangha Meditation Practice” online. Participants are welcome to stay and meditate the entire time, or leave as they wish (or need) to do. The link for online participants will be: https://tinyurl.com/LovingKindnessSangha

All are welcome! No need to RSVP. Lara will be there, with as many – or as few – people who participate each week.

Curious about the name? “Loving-kindness” is a feeling and expression of compassion, mercy, tenderness, and an unconditional love toward all beings; it is a term used in some religious traditions, notably Buddhism. (Our own blue/teal hymnal includes #1031, “Filled with Loving Kindness”, with lyrics based on a traditional Buddhist meditation.) “Sangha” is actually a Sanskrit word meaning assembly, congregation, or community, and it is used in several religious traditions, most notably Buddhism (but also Jainism, Sikhism, and more). So the name means something like “an assembly of people aspiring to compassion and unconditional love toward all beings” sharing meditation practice.

The FCU Racial Justice Action Committee
Presents “The 1619 Project—in Six One-hour Episodes followed by a discussion on these Sunday evenings: 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/21, and 6/4, from 6 PM until 8 PM. Sessions will be in-person in our Vestry.

Session Two (4/2)Race examines the construct of race as a political invention created to justify exploitation of African people during slavery and promote white supremacy, while tracing the impact that has had on Black women’s bodies and reproductive lives.

The FCU Racial Justice Action Committee
Presents “The 1619 Project—in Six One-hour Episodes followed by a discussion on these Sunday evenings: 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/21, and 6/4, from 6 PM until 8 PM. Sessions will be in-person in our Vestry.

Session Three (4/16): Music From Motown’s wide popularity to funk’s rebellious independence to today’s genre-breaking musicians, “Music” celebrates the “uncapturable spirit” of Black music and maintains that Black music IS American Music.

The FCU Racial Justice Action Committee
Presents “The 1619 Project—in Six One-hour Episodes followed by a discussion on these Sunday evenings: 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/21, and 6/4, from 6 PM until 8 PM. Sessions will be in-person in our Vestry.

Session Four (4/30) Capitalism: Nikole Hannah-Jones’ family and current labor battles are the lens for “Capitalism”, which explores how slavery formed the bedrock of American capitalism and how this foundation of brutality continues to permeate our deeply unequal economic system.

The FCU Racial Justice Action Committee
Presents “The 1619 Project—in Six One-hour Episodes followed by a discussion on these Sunday evenings: 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/21, and 6/4, from 6 PM until 8 PM. Sessions will be in-person in our Vestry.

Session Five (5/21) Fear: A family’s tragic loss. A dramatic day in the life of a protester. “Fear” explores how modern policing, surveillance and the criminalization of Black Americans draw roots from the slavery era fear of Black rebellion and centuries-long quest for freedom.

The FCU Racial Justice Action Committee
Presents “The 1619 Project—in Six One-hour Episodes followed by a discussion on these Sunday evenings: 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/21, and 6/4, from 6 PM until 8 PM. Sessions will be in-person in our Vestry.

Session Six, final (6/4) Justice: Through Nikole Hannah-Jones’ family story and one Georgia
community fighting for restitution, “Justice” examines the historical events that denied Black Americans the opportunity to build generational wealth and what is owed to descendants of slavery.