The Compass, November 26, 2025
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Thank you!
The Hospitality Committee wants to thank everyone who contributed to the successful Thanksgiving potluck luncheon on Sunday. People brought food, washed dishes, and the Sunday School kids decorated tables with place settings and flowers! We all created a festive, warm, and welcoming meal.
Congratulations!
Thanks,
Deb
Photos from Thanksgiving at the Church
Did you miss Sunday service last week? Watch it here!
Social Justice Committee Meetings - New Day!
Join the SJC virtually every other MONDAY at 6:30 PM starting on November 17. Be part of the change you would like to see in your community and beyond.
New Bedford Fall Community Dinner
November 30: Second Annual Reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas
Larry Jaquith, 1944-2025
Laurence White Jaquith was born in Cambridge, MA, on December 26, 1944. He passed away in New Bedford, MA, on November 8, 2025, after a brief illness. Larry grew up in Lexington, MA. He attended Lawrence Academy, Hanover College, Brandeis University, and Harvard University, earning degrees in English literature and theatre arts.
From a young age, Larry followed a creative path, driven by his passion for design, literature, film, and ethnography. While serving in the Peace Corps with his wife, Connie, Larry designed and built their adobe home in the Bolivian village of Coromata Alta, where they shared agricultural techniques with the local Aymara community. Upon return to the United States, Larry led a distinguished career as professor and department chair of theatre arts at Kalamazoo College, playing a pivotal role in designing the college's new thrust stage for the theatre. It was during this time that he began conducting independent research on Maroon culture in Suriname's rainforest, a lifelong interest.
Larry's training in theatre arts provided him with a strong foundation for architectural and museum design. He worked in New York and Philadelphia before returning to New England, where he oversaw multiple architectural projects and produced several independent films. Also an avid gardener, Larry's landscape designs in Michigan and Massachusetts were highly regarded, and he enjoyed consulting with friends and neighbors on horticulture techniques.
A love of literature drew Larry to New Bedford, MA, where he opened Subtext Books, curating rare editions and books about New Bedford's rich history. Subtext Books became an integral part of New Bedford's cultural community, offering book readings and signings, and participating in the New Bedford Book Festival and AHA! New Bedford cultural nights. Larry was an active member of the First Unitarian Church in New Bedford for over a decade, where he served as chair of the Finance Committee. All will miss Larry's clever wit and charm.
Larry was predeceased by his parents, Wilbur and Virginia Jaquith; his sister, Cynthia Jaquith; and his brother, Bruce Jaquith. He is survived by his sister, Diane Jaquith; several nieces; a nephew; his former wife, Connie Jaquith; and many close friends.
A memorial service is planned for the spring at the First Unitarian Church in New Bedford.
Larry selected the following poem by Wendell Berry to share.
The Burial of the Old
The old, whose bodies encrust their lives,
Die, and that is well.
They unhinder what has struggled in them.
The light, painfully loved, that narrowed
And darkened in their minds
Becomes again the sky.
The young, who have looked on dying,
Turn back to the world, grown strangely
Alert to each other's bodies.
Wendell Berry
November 30: Gratitude & The Power of Thank You - How There Are Many Ways to Say Thank You, A Child's Christmas in Wales
Save the Date: Solstice Service 12/21/2025 Hosted by The Way Cool Sunday School
Songs for Rallies and Protests— We need a strong movement for justice and a strong movement needs music!
The Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries is hosting a webinar on December 11, from 8 PM to 9 PM, in which they will share songs and resources to offer courage for the streets, inspiration for your organizing, and grounding for the resistance.
Your hosts are Ranwa Hammamy, Side With Love Congregational Justice Organizer at Unitarian Universalist Association, and Matt Meyer, Itinerant Worship Leader at Sanctuary Boston.
Registration is required and can be completed by following this link.
Collective Abundance
By Melissa Jeter, November 26, 2025
“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world.” Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
My abundance is at home. When I’m out of funds, I know that I still have friends. They’re the kind of people who make a meal and bring it over, just because they were having fun cooking and thought of me. Their joy is in giving.
At my home, I put my hands in the dirt, sowing seeds. When there’s only a little in the pantry, I just might be able to reap a few herbs, some leaves of kale, or lettuce. It might not make a meal, but it brings flavor that enhances the rice, beans, or peas.
Once, as a child, I heard my grandmother exclaim, “I had enough rice and beans during the depression to last a lifetime!” In her home, I never had rice or beans—but I’d see her making baked macaroni and cheese with lots of butter and at least three kinds of cheese. My grandfather would walk in the back door, leading into the kitchen, carrying bunches of greens, collards, turnips, maybe a few sweet potatoes. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my grandfather had been in the country on the land where my great-grandparents had lived. Later, my grandmother would fuss about him being “out there,” but he liked putting his hands in the dirt. He loved his blue pickup truck. He loved seeing me and my brother as children out in the country.
At home, relationships were generative. There was concern for well-being, food for the soul, and rest for the body. I could easily rest. I could lie down on the couch in the parlor and fall into a deep sleep.
My grandparents are now ancestors, but they taught me about creating a home of abundance. They remind me that I’m loved when I am in my own garden. When my friends agree to water my garden—and I water theirs—we are creating and holding abundance. Collectively, we hold us: that, too, is abundance.
Prayer
Let the presence of Grace be revealed when we reorient ourselves to each other. May we embrace the wisdom of our Ancestors speaking to us in the traditions we’ve continued. Let us breathe the Breath of Abundance, knowing There is enough. We are enough. Let us circle back home to regenerate for the journeys to come. Amen. Ashe. Blessed be.
Please share these events with your family and friends, and consider attending yourself. We would love to see you!
FREE Events Happening at UUNB
Being Human is canceled on Friday, November 28. Join us Friday, December 5, at 11 AM.
Support the church for the holiday market by sharing this event with your family and friends & stopping by on the day of.
Confirmed vendors are:
New Bedford Pottery
Brenda Pires
Caribe Creations
Caitlin Gifford
Wendy Gilbert
Sandhill Farm Local Honey
Elizabeth Murray
Sarah Hope Vintage Clothing
Patricia Duarte
Lori Cyr
Green Cottage Works
Jennifer Fields
Donna Cordeiro
Wicked Handmade
Handpainted Shells
Jack & Stones
Community Partners:
New Bedford Child and Family
Our Thrift Shop will be open for the duration of the Holiday Market.
This will be the last Open Mic with Infinity Productions for the foreseeable future. We are looking for someone to step up and volunteer to keep this event going. If you are interested, please send an email to admin@uunewbedford.org.
Ticketed Events: A portion of the sales from these events will benefit the restoration of the Tryworks Auditorium
Saturday, November 29 in Tryworks Auditorium
Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Please use the parking lot door toward the rear of the building on 8th Street.
The calendar on our website shows everything happening at UUNB. Updates are displayed immediately, so you will always know what is planned.
Note: Vigils for Love are quite intentionally not political in nature. We do not hold political signs, just positive messages of love, support, and solidarity.
Our Mission is to encourage diversity and mutual acceptance and work for positive change in ourselves and our community.
"We envision a congregation in which we practice the principles of our faith. We seek to enjoy peaceful reflection and inspiration in intellectually and spiritually satisfying church services. We aim to embrace the people and efforts of our church community by supporting our children and their programs, our committees and their goals, our staff and their efforts on our behalf, and each other."
Our Promises
Each person is important.
Be kind in all you do.
We help each other learn.
We search for what is true.
Each person has a say.
Work for a peaceful world.
The web of life’s the way.
Build the beloved community, free from racism and oppression.
First Unitarian Church in New Bedford
71 8th Street, New Bedford, MA 02740
(508) 994-9686
Administrator ext. 10
Minister ext. 13
Karen cell: (508) 441-9344
Thrift Shop ext. 12
Board Members & Officers
Steve Carmel, President
Charles Morgan, Vice President
Deborah Carmel, Treasurer
Elise Rapoza, Secretary
Rochelle Pettenati, Clerk
Trustees
Mary Rapoza
Camilla Brooks
Jack Vitale
Committee Chairs
Charles Morgan, Religious Education
David Godinez, Outreach (interim)
Pamela Sherman, Thrift Shop
Carlton Dasent, Finance & Endowment
Bett Low & Mary Rapoza, Garden
Ed Rooney, Religous Services
Steve Carmel, House & Grounds
Tonianne Wong & Isaiah Kidney, Social Justice
Staff
Rev. Karen LeBlanc, Minister
Yasmin Flefleh-Vincent, Director of Religious Education
Randy Fayan, Director of Music
Jessica DeCicco-Carey, Administrator
Tony Gonsalves, Facilities Manager
John Manning, Sunday Sexton
Mari Fay-Martin, Sunday School Teacher
Sam Angelini, Sunday School Teacher
The Thrift Shop is open Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10 AM to 1 PM
(508)994-9686 ext.12
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