This Week in Worship

Sunday, September 15, 2019

10:30am – 11:30am in the Meetinghouse

“Sacred Ground”

A day to honor the ground on which we live and have our being: Earth.

Minister

Rev. Lisa Ward

On August 28th, Greta Thunberg, Swedish youth climate activist, arrived on the shores of New York City, having crossed the Atlantic in a zero emissions yacht.  She journeyed to our shores to attend the United Nations Youth Climate Summit, which will take place on Saturday, September 21, leading up to the full UN Climate Action Summit to begin the following Monday.

Ms. Thunberg, at age 16, has inspired youth around the globe since her solo climate strike in front of the Swedish Parliament nearly a year ago. Millions of youth, from 150 countries, have led similar witnesses and strikes throughout the year.  Youth climate strikes are being planned world-wide for September 20th and 27th , in solidarity toward the urgency of our future on earth as a species.

Greta Thunberg has been diagnosed with asbergers syndrome,  a form of autism.  She expressed on a recent television interview (CBS) that she believes her neuro-diverse condition is an advantage in her activism.  “I don’t care about social codes,” she offered, “(This cause} is helped by people who can think differently.  We need to think outside the box, outside the current system.” She emphasized that civic leaders need to step out their comfort zones.   “The planet is outside its comfort zone,” she said, “so we need to step out of our comfort zones to prevent consequences.”

Greta is deeply grounded in her advocacy and engages in undaunted, inspiring efforts to speak truth to power.  “You cannot focus on what you can or cannot say,” she assures, “we must speak clearly about what is happening.”

This Sunday, along with Unitarian Universalist congregations throughout the nation, we will be focusing on the earth and our stewardship therein.  Activities and witnesses are in the making throughout Boston and locally later this month.  Stay tuned for more information closer to the Climate Summit.

Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa

Religious Exploration

September 15 will be a Children’s Church Sunday. Children from preschool through grade 8 will begin in the Meetinghouse and then move to the Children’s Church for a multi-age worship service.  

Religious Exploration classes will begin meeting on Sunday, September 22. All classrooms are located downstairs. Preschool through grade 1 will be enjoying Spirit Play in the Preschool classroom. Grades 2 and 3 will be exploring the UU Principles during the fall and the Passages program beginning in January, meeting in the Primary classroom. Grades 4 through 7 will be continuing the two-year Friends and Neighbors curriculum, learning about various faith traditions through videos and visitors. This group will meet in the Activity room. Grade 8 will be participating in the Coming of Age program this year.

It is time to register your child or youth for classes this fall! The Religious Exploration Committee requests all families to register your child or youth before September 22. Please use this link to our online form: Online registration form (or paper registration forms are available on the RE bulletin board in the Link hallway).

Child care opportunities at FP Milton: Please email restaff@fpmilton.org if you are interested in being part of the child care team. We have occasional opportunities during the year for child care assignments after the service on Sundays or on afternoons/evenings throughout the week.  In your email please give us your first and last names, email address, cell number, and confirm that you have completed a babysitting certification program.

Youth Chat will begin on Sunday, September 15. Youth are invited to begin arriving at 10 am to make a hot beverage and settle in. Formal Youth Chat programming runs from 10:30 to 11:30 am three Sundays a month.

Coming of Age for grades 8 through 10 will also begin on September 15 with an Opening Worship for youth and their parents from 6 to 7 pm in the Children’s Church. Ongoing COA classes will be held in the youth room from noon to 1:30 on most Sundays. All COA youth need to link up with a mentor before September 22.

MUSIC THIS SUNDAY

The music this Sunday celebrates our relationship with the earth and nature. The Meetinghouse Choir will be offering a movement from EARTH MASS by Kim Oler, called “The Blue Green Hills of Earth”. The offertory will feature an upbeat duet arrangement of “Peace Like a River”, arranged by Joel Raney.

Events, News and Announcements

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is involved in hurricane relief initiatives in the wake of Dorian in the Bahamas. You can send donations through this link:

https://donate.uusc.org/give/248548/#!/donation/checkout

Save the Date!

All Church Council

Friday, October 4th

Parish Hall

6-8pm

Inviting committee leadership to attend to exchange info on committee activities and to provide input on FP plans for the coming year.

EXPLORING AGING TOGETHER

Introductory Meeting: Wed., Oct. 9, 11 – 1 (Bring a bag lunch.)

Location: Chase Parlor (adjacent to the kitchen)
Co- facilitators for this meeting will be Rev. Lisa and Penny Partridge.

What can we learn from each other as we age? We all have stories within us of facing the unknown and navigating changes, of adjusting to loss and appreciating what’s before us. We are forming a discussion group for people sixty and older. Timing and frequency will be up to the group. Topics will come from interests of the members, with help from relevant curricula and books. Please contact the office at office@fpmilton.org if you are interested.

The Autumn Equinox is a magical time when nature’s color pallet changes to autumn hues of the warming colors of summer’s end.  It is a time when days and nights are of equal length and time for you to bring your life back into balance too.  It is a time of gratitude, turning inward, and seeking out what has been hidden as we prepare for the shorter days to follow.

Join the Great Blue Hills Chapter of CUUPS on Saturday, September 21^st at 3 pm at First Parish Church Milton, as we commune with the cyclical nature of time, and prepare ourselves to embrace the mystery of the darkening year.

Our ritual will include the traditional Water ceremony, so please bring with you a small vessel of water that holds positive energy, a happy memory of your summer that just passed.  It doesn’t have to be from that particular place, but bestow upon it that energy and bring the story behind it with you. 

As always, our celebration will conclude with a feast from our gardens, fields and vines so please bring a dish and drink to share!

“To Return is To Become”

Blessed Be

The Roots and Fruits of Protest Music from Negro Spirituals to Hip-Hop

Directed by: Dr. Dennis Slaughter, PhD

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 17th from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location:St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (112 Randolph Ave, Milton, MA 02186)

Brother Dennis will explain the history of protest songs and how they have been used in America through presentation and music. Join us in an interactive evening where members of the audience are invited to listen to and participate in protest songs.

Save the Date

Changing the Race Dance: A day of story-telling and creative engagement

Led by artist, activist and musician, Soyinka Rahim

Saturday, October 5th, 10 am – 3 pm

Morning Session: 10am-Noon; then a lunch provided, and related session: 1-3pm.

First Parish in Milton: 535 Canton Ave., Milton, MA 02186

Summer Projects- the Wrap-up!

by Susan DeMinico

As summer comes to a close, we look forward to welcoming everyone back to services in the meetinghouse this Sunday. While the pace of summer services slows a bit June-August, the pace of projects for office staff speeds up! In the summer, we have the opportunity to do projects that are difficult during the year when so much of our space is utilized 7 days a week. The projects we completed this summer:

–Meetinghouse External Painting- Two sides are completely done. The crew will be finishing the two remaining sides in late September, once the humidity dies down a bit. The two completed sides contrasted with the incomplete sides is stark. It’s going to look great when done. 

– Parish Hall Repair and Painting– We had to repair a wall damaged by the ice dams, all the walls, ceiling, trim are getting a fresh coat of paint. The room looks so bright and welcoming. 

–Stebbins Parlor– The crumbling ceiling in Stebbins was replaced, and ceiling and walls painted. We refurbished and repaired the table in Stebbins parlor as well as repaired and reupholstered the two antique chairs. The space looks brand new. 

– Window Replacement– In the youth room, we had two small windows that were difficult to open, and undersized for a safe escape in case of a fire. We replaced the two windows with one larger sliding window that opens left to right. The space is much safer for our youth.  

–New Gutters– To the right of the parish hall, the gutters and downspouts were consistently overflowing and causing water damage on the walls. We redesigned the gutter and downspouts to draw water away from the parish hall walls.

–External Wall Replacement– After we fixed the gutters, we replaced the external walls that were damaged by the water. 

–New Phone System– if you called First Parish a lot, you’d notice there was a lot of squeaking on the lines, and our voicemail didn’t always work. We replaced the aging phone system with a VoIP system. We have voicemail! We can transfer calls! It’s been a joy for the office staff.

–New Server– Over the summer, our server started to have issues with stalling out and stopping. We decided to purchase a small server that will suit our current needs, but the goal is update more of our programs to be cloud based.

A very productive 12 weeks of work! I hope you all enjoy these updates!

Last Chance to Sign-up for Church Directory Photos!

First Parish Members ~ You are probably aware that the church has been working on creating a new directory for all of us to use. We had our first photography session in August and the other two dates are coming up quickly. There are still a lot of you who have yet to sign up.  If you have been meaning to “get to it”, THIS IS IT!  You are running out of time. Spaces are available on Friday, September 13th from 2-9 pm and on Saturday, September 14th from 10 am-5 pm. Please go online and select a spot. We want all our faces represented!!  Reach out to Leslie if you have any questions. lesliecmacpherson@gmail.com

Please use this link to choose your spot:

https://booknow-lifetouch.appointment-plus.com/yr4jj9pk/

Yoga!

Mondays, 7:30pm-8:30pm

Parish Hall

Pay at the door

Slow flow vinyasa class that uses poses, breathing, meditation and focus to introduce ease. Modifications given for all levels.

Questions? Contact Office@fpmilton.org

Claiming Our Spiritual Leadership

Saturday, November 2, 2019

9:00am-3:00pm

Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester

90 Holden St

Worcester, MA 01606

For more information click here

Contact Rev. Lisa at minister@fpmilton.org if you would like to attend.

UU Retreat for Women

Womensphere, a Unitarian – Universalist women’s group in south-eastern New England, invites ALL women to the 2019 Fall Retreat “Circle of Women – Circle of Friends” at Senexet House in Woodstock, CT, on Saturday Sept. 28th – Sunday, Sept. 29th. Come, explore ritual in our lives and honor Gaia and our world. Join singing, dancing, crafts, games, meditation, and sharing. 

For more details, email bcdwomensphere@gmail.com

Milton Change Makers Fundraiser

Protest and Change Through Music , Story, Song

Food-Drink-Raffle-Entertainent

Thursday, October 3, 2019 

7-10pm

Milton Arts Center

334 Edge Hill Rd, Milton, MA 02186

Suggested donation $20

more info: email kdghoran@gmail.com