First Church Unitarian

Topics: Pilgrims

Pilgrims

“All We Kindred Pilgrim Souls?”

May 16, 2021

As we have talked about over the years, our congregation is (strange as it may seem) descended from the Puritans. You might recall that the Pilgrims (or “Separatists”) who landed in Plymouth in 1620 are a particular subset of the Puritans. For our Auction Sermon, our own church historian, Joyce Williams, has asked me some interesting questions. Namely, How did the Separatists (or Pilgrims) of Plymouth Colony and the Puritans of Boston get along? Did they merge? I found some interesting information to share, and some thoughts about what we might learn from it all.

“Tisquanta’s Gift”

December 1, 2019

The guest preacher at First Church Unitarian in Littleton, Massachusetts on December 1, 2019 was the Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs. Rev. Dr. Grubbs’s sermon was “Tisquanta’s Gift”. Description: “According to written sources, an American Indian came among the settlers in the Plymouth Plantation soon after arrival and taught them essential knowledge that was key to their survival. Who was this mystery man whom the English speaking Pilgrims called Squanto?” The Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served congregations in Indiana, Quebec, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, and California. He is presently serving as Minister at Large of the Tuckerman Creative Ministries for Justice and Healing. Clyde honors his Native American heritage (Texas Cherokee) which informs his spiritual understanding and practice, and his anti-racist and anti-oppressive commitment. He has worked for peace, justice, and equality since he was in the Unitarian Universalist youth movement, Liberal Religious Youth.