Mosses are tiny plants that are often ignored. Yet for all that they are overlooked, they turn out to be quite beautiful. I'll read from Robin Wall Kimmerer's book on moss, and tell you a little about my own explorations of these remarkable plants.

The annual water ritual is our chance to reconnect after summer. Please bring a small amount of water that represents your summer. (It doesn’t have to be actual water from an actual place; you can use tap water.) This ritual symbolizes how we come together, each bringing our separate lives to our First Parish community.

During the 1960s, Rev. Dana Greeley, president of the UUA, promoted internationalism and interfaith cooperation. He considered this effort to be a moral and spiritual endeavor, and a way to find hope for the future. Should internationalism be one of our spiritual concerns today? (Based on a question asked during last year's Question-and-Answer sermon.)

Guest speaker, Rebecca Reid, will explore the rapid rise of artificial intelligence by sharing stories from her middle school English classroom in Boston. Through personal experiences, ethical guardrails, and Unitarian Universalist values, we will reflect on how AI acts as a mirror of our society and how we can navigate technology with intentionality and care. Rebecca Reid is entering her 10th year as a Special Education English teacher in Boston Public Schools, where her dep