Your Weekly Link – News and Updates 1/11/2018

Weekly Link 1-11-18

Church

This Week in Worship

Sunday, January 14, 2018
January Worship Theme – Truth
Worship at 10:30 am in the Meetinghouse

A memorial service for Graham Curtis Strang will be held on:

Saturday, January 13 at 11:00 AM at First Parish in Milton

535 Canton Avenue, Milton, MA

A reception will follow the service. All are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Milton Community Food Pantry c/o Parkway Methodist Church; 158 Blue Hills Parkway, Milton, MA 02186

Rev. LisaMinister

Rev. Lisa Ward

Next Monday, I will be joining colleagues of the Milton Interfaith Clergy Association (MICA) as we sponsor a town wide Rev., Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. The program is hosted by Concord Baptist Church, 180 Blue Hill Road in Milton and starts at 6:30 pm. MICA has been leading this initiative for 20 years. We engage a creative partnership with the Milton Public Schools, St. Agatha and St. Mary of the Hills Schools and with the support of Town Selectmen, the Police Department, the Milton Times, Milton Academy and the Anti-Defamation League.

For the first time this year, we are also coordinating a *community-wide day of
service* from 11 am to 2 pm. Volunteers can work hour long shifts at either a *Milton Community Food Pantry Storage Rehab” or a *Collicot/Cunningham Woods Clean Up “. Sign up for the service projects can be found on the “Welcome to First Parish” bulletin board in the link.

I am so pleased to be a part of MICA. I believe we are endeavoring to engage a nourishing civic community. It resonates the MLK excerpt we are using this year as inspiration:

“In a real sense all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be… This is the inter-related structured of reality.”

Blessings Be, Rev. LIsa

Religious ExplorationReligious Exploration

Laurel Whitehouse, Director of Religious Exploration

Nursery and toddler care is available every week in the Link hallway from 10:15 to 11:45 am. This year our caregivers are Daisy and Grace. Stop by and say hello!

Religious Exploration for Sunday, November 12: Preschool children through grade 8 will attend the first part of the worship service in the Meetinghouse and then move to the Activity room downstairs for a special program on the ripple effect of small changes making a big difference for the better in our world. Please note that our activities end at 11:40 am.

See the Youth Yacking column for news on grades 9 through 12 this week.

Register your child or youth! The Religious Education Committee requests all families to register their children and youth. Paper registration forms are available on the RE bulletin board in the Link hallway.

Time to bring back your Guest At Your Table boxes! Please bring in your Guest At Your Table boxes this Sunday, January 14. The children will be counting the contents and learning about the various efforts supported by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to promote justice and fairness worldwide. Change is welcome, or you may include a check payable to the UUSC with GAYT on the memo line. Let’s see how big a ripple for good we can make with our combined small change!

Youth Yacking

Sara Elizabeth Santa Cruz, Youth Advisor

This Sunday there will be no youth programming. High school aged youth are encouraged to attend worship service.

See you next week!

News and Announcements

meeting

FUN Raiser Meeting in the Parlor at 11:45am this Sunday, January 14th.

3rd Annual Care Package Drive for our Young Adults

The Caring Committee and the Youth Group are teaming up for the third year to provide care packages to our young adults. This would include youth who are now in college, recently enrolled and serving in the armed forces, completing a year of community service like AmeriCorps, or off on their own just starting a first job. There will be a signup at coffee hour or you can send name, address, and any dietary restrictions to Amanda Tobey or 508-579-5118.

Also, we would graciously receive monetary contributions to offset the shipping costs and/or goods to fill the care packages.

The deadline for all donations is Sunday, February 4. Packages will be mailed/delivered the week of February 12.

Calendar of Events

Calendar Event Dates may have changed due as a result of last week’s snowstorm.

Saturday, January 13

Green Team Workshop

1:30pm – 4:30pm – Meetinghouse

“Our Place in the Web of Life” led by Rev. Lisa Ward

Join the Green Team: Saturday, January 13 for Workshop #2, 1:30pm, Meetinghouse

Thanks to all who were able to gather to view An Inconvenient Truth Sequel. It was followed by a breathing meditation, food, prayer, and reflection. Rev. Lisa will follow up this coming Saturday, January 13 at 1:30 in the sanctuary. If you were unable to attend, you can find the film on Amazon, but it is not necessary to see the film in order to attend this follow up. Educational workshop #2 of 5 will look more specifically at mindfulness and consumer habits. At the conclusion of the five workshops in May, the Green Team will identity if FP wants to pursue Green Sanctuary Certification, and, if so, 3-4 projects the congregation is willing to take on. These projects will need to cover four areas of congregational life: Worship & Celebration, Sustainable Living, Religious Education, and Environmental Justice.

Monday, January 15

Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

Events planned by:

See Rev. Lisa’s Message for more details.

11am – 2pm – Milton Community Food Pantry Storage Rehab at the Parkway United Methodist Church in Milton
6:30pm – Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration and Courageous Conversations, Concord Baptist Church in Milton

Saturday, January 20 – NEW DATE!

Fair Foods – 10:00am

Meet at First Parish

Fair Foods Inc. rescues surplus fruits and vegetables from Boston industry source and distribute the food to those in need. (www.fairfoods.org)

Sunday, January 21

All Church Council

noon – 2 pm @ Parish Hall

The first All Church Council for 2018 is Sunday January 21 at noon in the parish hall. If you are interested in First Parish Milton, where we have been, where we are going, and how you can be involved, you are invited, so please come and join us.

In the past, the chair person or a representative from each committee would gather to report to the other committees on activities, plans and visions for the year ahead.

As we begin a new year in our congregational life under the leadership of Reverend Lisa Ward, please know that all are welcome to come and listen, come and have their voices heard.

Come and find out for yourself what is happening. Come and find out how you can be a part of this vibrant community. You do not need to be on a committee, just be interested in who we are and what we might become. Come please come.

Saturday, January 27th

10 am – 1 pm

Bystander Intervention Training

First Congregational Church of Milton, 495 Canton Avenue, Milton

Sponsored by:

February 2, 2018

Spaghetti & Games Night

Parish Hall

March 2, 2018 – NEW DATE!

Spaghetti & Karaoke

Parish Hall

March 3, 2018 – NEW DATE!

First Parish Orientation

9:30am – 12:30pm – Parish Hall

Snow Cancellation Guidelines at First Parish

Just a reminder

For normal business hours and days:

The campus will close If the Milton Public Schools close.

We will assess our ability to be open for evenings and weekends based on the parking lot and walkways being plowed. We will make the call about Sunday worship by 8 a.m. that morning.

Look for cancellations in these three places:

Channel 5, WCVB television. Look for First Parish – Milton. Check their website if you want to get automatic, direct notification through the TV station. www.wcvb.com.

Check our Facebook page. First Parish Milton UU. We will post cancellations there. Our Facebook page also feeds our Twitter account @FPMilton.

We will announce cancellations as a banner on our website homepage, www.fpmilton.org.

KikiKiki’s Corner

The office will be closed Monday, January 15 for the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

We survived the first snowstorm of the new year! Please thank Kevin Harnden, our sexton, for all the work he did to clear all the walkways around the campus last week. He also makes sure our parking lots are done well by our snow plower.

Please note throughout The Link there are event dates have changed primarily as a result of the snowstorm. When in doubt, check the calendar on the website, fpmilton.org.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow First Parish on Facebook and get updates, poems, announcements and more. You’ll be glad you did!

REMINDER THE LINK DEADLINE IS TUEDAYS

“Brevity Matters” – Peter Bowden, Social Media Guru and wise UU

Deadline for submissions is Tuesdays. You need to address email to both office@fpmilton.org and director@fpmilton.org to assure your announcement will be included in the weekly Link. Written announcements for the Sunday Order of Worship are derived from the announcements for The Link. We, from time to time, will also publish non-church events with a connection to a member of the church. Your submission may be edited due to space requirements. We recommend that you submit no more than 1 – 2 paragraphs.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

Monday – Thursday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Other times by appointment

MINISTER OFFICE HOURS

Tuesday – Thurday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Other times by appointment

The Church office is closed on Fridays

SUMMER SUNDAYS

June 25 – September 3
Worship, 9:30 am in the Children’s Church
Silent Prayer & Meditation, 8:30 am in the Children’s Church
No Religious Exploration Program , Nursery Care, Choir Rehearsal

Beginning Sunday, September 10

Worship, 10:30am in the Meetinghouse
Choir Rehearsal (most Sundays) at 8:45 am
Silent Prayer & Meditation, 9:00am in the Children’s Church

EVERY THURSDAY

Silent Prayer & Meditation, 6:30pm in the Children’s Church

SIGN UP GENIUS (formerly known as the Planner)

The link to SignUp Genius is:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090d44aca728a02-sunday?1472051612751