This Week in Worship

Be That Guide

Rev. Lisa WardSunday, January 26, 2020

Minister

Rev. Lisa Ward

During our worship services, we often have an opportunity to hear a  2 minute faith reflection from a parish member, or as I like to say, one of our resident theologians (which you all are).  The sharing is varied, from present observations to faith journeys, from stories of how First Parish came into one’s life to a cherished moment in the congregation.  Every sharing is a gift of a glimpse of a life in this community. 

The reason these are such poignant moments in our worship services is that a person’s authenticity in reaching for meaning and connection has beauty about it.  It is a calling to our hearts, an inspiration of a shared moment.  You do not have to be “wise”, “right”, “dynamic”,  or“creative” ….in other words, you do not have to be impressive, simply genuine.  And, in the spirit of the worship service, it is not a time for partisan politics, selling wares, or “shoulding” on others.  It is a time for “I believe”, or “I wonder” or “I am grateful for” or “I have learned”.

These moments carry with them a power beyond your words because they are generously received by the congregation.  We want to get to know one another.  We know the richness and wisdom in sharing our stories.

There are slots open for our upcoming worship services.  Please consider sharing just a glimpse of your faith journey with the larger community.  I can provide guiding questions to help you frame your sharing.

Please contact me (minister@fpmilton.org),  if you are willing to contribute a faith reflection on an upcoming Sunday. This really will help enrich our faith community.

Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa

Religious Exploration

Nursery care will be available from 10:15 to 11:45 am in the Link hallway for infants and toddlers up through age 3.

Religious Exploration classes will meet on Sunday, January 26. All children from preschool through grade 7 will begin in the Meetinghouse and then move downstairs to their classrooms.

Preschool through grade 1 will be enjoying Spirit Play in the Preschool classroom. The story this week will be Changing Woman, Changing World. 

Grades 2 and 3 will be focusing on Principle 1: Each and Every Person is Important this week as part of the Passages program, meeting in the Primary classroom. 

Grades 4 through 7 will be continuing the two-year Friends and Neighbors curriculum, learning about various faith traditions. Our focus this week will continue to be on Islam and the Hajj pilgrimmage to Mecca. This group meets in the Activity room. 

Grade 8 is participating in the Coming of Age program this year.

Coming of Age (for grades 8 through 10) will first attend the entire worship service at 10:30 am on Sunday, January 5. Then the class will meet from noon to 1:30 pm to discuss the service elements and rituals and then work on a project for our next fundraiser.

Save the Date: The youth group will be hosting a breakfast for dinner and game night on Friday, February 7. Set-up begins at 5 pm. We will be sending out a signup for groceries and helpers. Following the event, there will be a youth late night until midnight!

Upcoming Dates to Note:

• 2/19 Coming of Age Trip to Sanctuary Boston
• 3/14 Youth Group Overnight
• 3/15 Youth Led Worship Service

MUSIC SELECTIONS

This week the Meetinghouse Choir will be collaborating with violinist Julia Cash on a setting of the Prayer of St. Francis, by Randol Alan Bass. Julia will also be providing music by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms throughout the service. Come early so you don’t miss a note!

Events, News & Announcements

Do you ever listen to the Moth Hour and think, “I wonder if I could ever tell a story like that?”

You can! You are cordially invited to a free storytelling workshop and open mic event designed to help you embrace your inner storyteller and connect to each other by sharing stories.

When: Saturday, January 25, 2020, 6pm-9pm

Where:  Parish Hall, First Parish Unitarian Universalist, 535 Canton Avenue, Milton, MA

6-7pm:  Storytelling workshop led by Now Listen Here producers and Moth storytellers, Julie  Baker and Bart Thompson. This no-pressure, introductory class will help you learn how to find, develop, and deliver a compelling and true 5-minute story with no notes.

7pm: Light refreshments and soft drinks

7:30-9pm: Open Mic Storytelling. We open the doors to a public storytelling event. Stick around to hear fantastic tales from seasoned and beginning storytellers or put your name in the jug to possibly tell your own story.

MANY THANKS!

Thanks to your generosity during last Saturday’s MCC benefit concert, “Rockin’ With Renaissance Men” raised a total of $1886 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I am so grateful to you for this outpouring of support for such a worthy organization that does such important work.

Tim

Solar Panel Legacy Project Kick Off at Coffee Hour

This Sunday 1/26 after the service the Solar Panel Legacy Project Group will kick off fundraising for Solar Panels!

Pledge Forms will be passed out in the church bulletin and will be available at our Coffee Hour table which will be a regular feature on Sunday’s until we wrap up the campaign on 5/1 or when all the panels have all been spoken for.

 Each Panel is $800 and can have up to 4 names on it or you can buy a 1/4 panel for $200 with one name.  Your pledge is payable over 3 years. Think of who you want to bequest a panel too.  Each time we receive a pledge we will ring a bell to celebrate!  I am excited to be buying a panel for myself and one each for Shareen and Ayla.

First Parish has helped shaped each of us and we want to be remembered as leaders in a sustainable future.

Our committee is looking for a few others members and ideas on how to display our pledges. Stop by our table at coffee hour to learn more.

Racial Disparities in Healthcare

Part 1: Looking Back

Time: Tuesday, January 28th, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Church of Christ (330 Edge Hill Road, Milton, MA 02186)

Courageous Conversations will provide a general introduction to the racial disparities in healthcare. We will examine historical practices, discriminatory research, and events that have led to the disparities we face now.

Visit www.courageousconversations-milton.org to RSVP

Sunday, February 9

22nd ANNUAL FIRST PARISH CHOCOLATE AUCTION

St. Valentine’s Day, when we celebrate the patron saint of Chocolate, is once again just around the corner.  At First Parish, that means it’s CHOCOLATE AUCTION time again! 

Be at Church on Sunday FEBRUARY 9th for the Chocolate Auction.  This event, which has become an annual tradition at First Parish, will take place in the Parish Hall right after the worship service.  ALL members of the congregation are encouraged to bring some goodie of substance for the auction.  Items may be home-produced or purchased.  Chocolate is the essential ingredient.  [For those of you who have a sweet tooth but not a chocolate one – some year perhaps someone else will do a Non-Chocolate Auction, but this is not that event…]     Please plan ahead – think NOW about what you might be able to contribute.   Items should be attractively presented and ready to be carried home (meaning – don’t expect to get the plate or dish back).  A small card or label identifying the item and any information (ingredients – especially whether there are nuts or nut oils, name of maker (you or your family), interesting recipe history if any) – will be very helpful and much appreciated by Your Humble Auctioneer. 

Items to be auctioned are brought to the Parish Hall before church on the morning of the Auction, where they will be on display before the service and immediately after, before the Auction starts.  Each item will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.  Children are permitted to bid, but only under the direct supervision of a parent, please.  There will again be a Kids’ Raffle, with raffle tickets available for $1 each immediately before the Auction! 

Be there!  Bring a guest  – the more bidders, the merrier!

Live Our Values, Eat Our Chocolate!

Any questions at all, call or email Your Humble Auctioneer, Chris Pitt

 The youth group will be hosting a breakfast for dinner and game night on Friday, February 7. Set-up begins at 5 pm. We will be sending out a signup for groceries and helpers.

While we enjoy comfort food, burrow into our couches under a pile of blankets and hibernate a bit, we also notice that the sun is getting a little brighter, and we know that the seeds of life are quickening within the earth.

Imbolc, “in the belly”, is the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.  It is celebrated as Candlemas in the Christian liturgical calendar when candles are blessed, as St. Brigid’s Day in Ireland, and by pagans as a time of honoring the pre-Christian Goddess Brigid as healer, keeper of the hearth,  and muse of the arts.   It is a fire festival celebrating warmth, purification and the spark of inspiration in the midst of winter’s icy grip.

Join the First Parish CUUPS as we light the fires, sing in the returning sun, and celebrate our own illumination and inspiration.

Imbolc Ritual:   Saturday, February 1st 3:00pm-Parish Hall

All are welcome; Pot Luck feast following the ritual.

Green ACTION Gleanings

Talking about Climate Change, Part 4 

Last week’s Link newsletter introduced the science metaphor of “The Ocean as Climate’s Heart.”  This week’s FrameWorks Institute topic is about understanding how EXCESS CO2 LEADS TO “OSTEOPOROSIS” OF THE SEA. 

When the ocean absorbs excess Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, it changes the ocean’s chemistry, resulting in “ocean acidification.” This reduces the amount of Calcium Carbonate available to sea creatures for building strong shells and bones.  This disrupts the food chain and the ocean’s ecosystems.

Takeaways from this and previous weeks’ “Gleanings” are that [1] everything, land and sea, is connected and interdependent, and that [2] just as we are causing Climate Change, we can solve it working together – doing so gives everyone a healthful sense of agency and purpose.  Keep talking!

Next Green Action Team meeting will meet on Thursday February 6th at 6:30 PM in the church library.

Bring a dish to pass and enjoy an evening meal in someone’s home with fellow parishioners! No agenda– just a pleasant evening and conversation. Members and non-members alike are welcome. Suppers are planned for the following dates at the home of Myrtle Flight (in Milton)

Friday, Feb 21, 6 – 9 PM 

Sunday, March 15, 5 – 8 PM

Monday, April 13, 6 – 9 PM

Sign up during coffee hour following any Sunday service, or contact Debbie Alsebai (617-821-9460) or Richard Venable (617-792-4124

PLAN YOUR OWN MEMORIAL SERVICE

March 7 — 1 – 3:30

Facilitator: Rev. Lisa Ward

A true gift that you can give your loved ones is to offer suggestions for planning your memorial service.  At a time when they will be struggling with grief, some clarity supports their gathering to honor your life.  We will walk through several possible aspects of a memorial service, offer resources and devote time to explore your unique being – your unique voice.

Please rsvp to the office: office@fpmilton.org, if you plan on attending.

FIRST PARISH AUCTION

COMING SOON! The best deals this side of the Neponset! That’s right… the First Parish Auction is set for Saturday, March 28^th from 6-9 pm.

The event includes both silent and limited live auctions, hors d’oeuvres, bar and fellowship. 

Mark your calendars and invite your friends! 

DONATIONS NEEDED: Whether you’re at the car wash, nail salon, yoga class or local restaurant, these are all good places to ask for a donation to support First Parish. Requests for donations are best received from regular customers.  Also, don’t overlook your attic or basement for a special donation to the auction. (No yard sale items please.) Be part of the Auction by contributing a gift or service. 

VACATION HOMES WANTED: Please consider contributing time at your “special place” and share it with another First Parish family. Such a gift provides significantly to the Auction’s success. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Interested in having fun early in 2020 while raising the necessary funds to support the ongoing work of First Parish? Join our energetic team! We still need assistance in the following area: Donation Coordination, Food/Beverage Coordination, Set-up/Clean-up.

TO DONATE AND/OR VOLUNTEER: Contact Lynne Stack  lmstack258@gmail.com 508-944-4014

                        Mallory Digges maldigges@gmail.com  508-962-1924

June 24, 2020-June 29, 2020, Providence RI

Early Bird Registration is now Open!

Click here for more informaiton.

Snow Cancellation Information:

If the Milton Public Schools close for snow, so does First Parish. Sundays we realize are trickier.  We will call it by 8 a.m. on Sunday.  Look for cancellations in three places.  If you don’t see cancellation information, we are open.

~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.

~Check our website, www.fpmilton.org.  We put a banner on the home page with closing information.