Table of Contents
- This Week in Worship
- Briefly with Bev
- Religious Exploration
- Music
- News & Announcements
- Events
- Social & Environmental Justice
- Beyond First Parish
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Sunday Service October 25th
“Got Democracy?“
In 1949, poet Langston Hughes wrote a powerful poem called Democracy. At the time it was a direct, urgent, and inspiring demand for the recognition of equal rights and freedom. Hughes’ work continues to resonate as a call for justice, emphasizing that democracy is not a promise for tomorrow but a right to be claimed today.
Worship Associate: Dottie Pitt
Greeter: Mallory Digges
Social Hour: Didi Emmons & Elizabeth Mennes
Flowers: Mallory Digges
Audio: Jeremiah Sitkoff
This week’s offering will be given to the Immigrant Family Services Institute. The Immigrant Family Services Institute provides targeted academic support and enrichment services, using an holistic approach that addresses the unique challenges of immigrant children as a way to maximize their full potential in school and beyond. Karl Montina, Social Services staff person, will speak on their behalf.
*Prayers
If you are attending the service on Zoom and would like a prayer included, please email Rev. Bev at minister@fpmilton.org by 5:00pm on Saturday.
Briefly with Bev
Briefly With Bev:
Thoughts on the Road
Driving over 1500 miles in 5 days plus attending a wedding and finding a whole bunch of geocaches gives you a lot of thinking time. Some thoughts are not very profound. For example, starting out we saw signs on the highway for Marlborough, where we live, and Southborough, Northborough, and Westborough but no Eastborough. And what is a Marl anyways? And what are we north and south and west of, I wonder? Yes, how we name or
label things is confusing at times.
This makes me wonder why some Unitarian Universalist congregations are called First Parish and others First Society and a fewer number First Church. And why do some only have Unitarian in the name while others only Universalist when they all belong to the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations?
So, if you are still reading, thanks. And here is one more thing that occurred to me that I really want you to think about. Both on the way to and from this wedding in Ontario, Canada, we drove a less than direct route totaling about an extra 500 miles. We did this so we could find geocaches in seven counties of NY State that we had not yet found a geocache in. You might say I am a bit obsessed with geocaching, and Donna is a saint for indulging my obsession. But I would say I am enthusiastically passionate about geocaching. And an extra 8 hours of driving is not too much to cut in half the number of counties I have left in NY to find a geocache.
So, here is my question. What connected to First Parish Milton, Unitarian Universalist, are you passionate about? What encourages you to go the extra mile for your faith community? How far will you go to positively enhance your experience or the experience of others? What are you willing to do to lift up your passion towards First Parish Milton for the entire world to see?
Just a few thoughts from the road.
With Love and Peace,
Rev. Bev
Religious Exploration
THIS SUNDAY IN RE CLASS Dress warmly for RE Class this week because we will be outside!
Building and grounds committee chair, Beth Gray-Nix, will visit RE and lead us in planting bulbs in the courtyard so we can celebrate the changing seasons and plant our intentions for a beautiful spring.
NEXT WEEK: MUSE PAINTBAR
We are going to Muse Paintbar on Nov. 1 from 3-5pm!
THIS EVENT IS RSVP ONLY and not drop in!
- .Last week in RE Class we packed 60 Warming Center Welcome Kits for guests of the Providence based Project NOD Warming Center. We are planning a delivery and service project trip and you are invited ! Here are the details:
- WHEN – Sunday Nov 15, 2-5pm
- WHERE – Meet at 372 Wayland Avenue Providence, RI 02906 at Community Church of Providence
- WHAT – We will deliver the 60 bags we made as well as the 18 coats collected at the Sacred Play Night and we will serve by organizing, sorting, cleaning, and decluttering at the direction of the project staff/volunteers. Also note, will be working in a church basement and kitchen that is only accessible by stairs. PS: Yes you can still bring items to donate please drop in church office by Sunday morning Nov 15 and let Susannah know.
- WHO – Any age person who is able/ready to work on a sustained service project in a messy setting are encouraged to come (children should be supervised by a caregiver at all times). As I have more detail on tasks we will do I will send them.
- WHY – We will help clean and organize in any way we can to help the shelter be ready to open for the season. This for the Project NOD Warming Shelter that helps keep people warm and safe on the coldest nights. Everyone is offered a meal and place to sleep and breakfast in the morning. Why Providence? Two reasons, 1) Susannah is connected to this project and was able to coordinate with organizers 2) Milton, Massachusetts, does not have a dedicated, permanent overnight warming shelter located directly within town limits. Residents in need of emergency shelter or a warming center during cold weather can access nearby facilities in Quincy and Boston such as Father Bill’s which FPM also supports and we hope to visit as well in the future. For now. Milton Public library is planning to put in a generator that would help the Library offer emergency warming center services, and so as part of RE Class we imagined and drew up how helpful we thought that could be in and delivered those pictures to the library to help promote this possibility!
Please RSVP if you plan to participate so we can plan what tasks we can accomplish :)
Registration is open for a fundraising event hosted by RE and led by new member Gretjen Helene called Pysanky as Talismans: the Art of Gift Giving which will be 1-4pm Nov 29th Sunday in Parish Hall. Using the traditional Ukrainian Pysanky wax-resist process, as well as the deeply rooted symbolic meanings written on the eggs, we will create gifts of abundance and beauty for your loved ones. Come with nothing and leave with colors, aromas, kits to continue creating thereafter, and gifts to give to your family and friends in the holiday season. The wax-resist dying process starts with placing wax where you would like to retain the base color. Then a subsequent color is dyed and wax is then placed upon this color to retain it. Each layer or color + wax then retains all the colors together upon the surface and in the final magical moment the wax is removed to reveal all the colors. We will venture deep within traditional symbolic meanings so that students can write/create an eggs that embody talisman wishes for recipients. We will also talk about techniques for varied color affects and combinations. Students will take home the Talisman egg creations they made in class, as well as their Pysanky beginner’s kit so they can continue creating more gifts at home! Since we will be using candles and hot wax, this event is designed for ages 12+ This course is being offered as a fundraiser! This will cover the cost of the course, the materials and donation in support of First Parish Milton and Sunflower of Peace. MINIMUM DONATION $145. Gretjen Helene (mixed media/photography) is donating her time and expertise to lead this event. She is a professional photographer and fine art/sculptural photographer who works with traditional alternative photographic processes as well as in a documentary style.
RSVP NOW!
Want more ? Find all things Kids and Youth on the RE Linktree. For more information on any of the above contact Susannah at redirector@fpmilton.org or call 470-223-0337
Music
This Sunday the Meetinghouse Choir will be singing an anthem on a text by Langston Hughes, “I Dream a World”. This anthem was composed by Andre J. Thomas in 2001, and is dedicated to “the mighty souls who gave up their lives that we might come together in peace”. During the offertory a trio of singers, Pat Neves, Jennie Mulqueen, and Charlie Franich will be offering a Bob Marley song called “Get Up, Stand Up”.
MCC CONCERT ON November 8th
Please mark your calendars for Sunday, November 8 at 2pm for the next Milton Community Concert. This concert is a world premiere of the music for a brand new musical written by local composer Carol Koffinke, called “Faces of Love”. It will feature six outstanding singers, and the composer will be present to introduce the program. The cost of a ticket is PAY AS YOU CAN. We hope to fill the Meetinghouse for this fun event. Visit MCC
News & Announcements
Please join us for the All Church Council on Friday, October 23rd at 6:00 pm in the Parish Hall. We request that at least one representative from each committee attend, but all church members and friends are welcome! In addition to learning about committee priorities for this church year, we will have a facilitated exercise by Rev Bev, and an introduction to the Breeze app by Jen Pinkus and Lisa White. The meeting will last from 6-8 p.m.
We will have a light supper of pizza and salad. Please join the fun.
Any questions about the meeting? Please contact Nancy Devine at Ndevine11@gmail.com
Events
Join Us For The Annual Potluck Harvest Supper
November 7th 6:00pm-9:00pm
First Parish’s beloved tradition with wonderful food, conversation, and community.
Click here to sign up to bring a potluck dish.
Social & Environmental Justice
Wednesday, November 18th is the next date
As in the past, First Parish will be making and delivering lunches to MainSpring (Fr. Bill’s Brockton site) at two locations in Brockton. We have been asked to provide 70 lunches on the third Wednesday of each month. The drop-off location is in the lower parking lot of FP, and will take place between 12:40pm and 1:00pm.
Click here to Sign up
Beyond First Parish
The UCC, our neighbors across the green, have invited us to a special benefit concert! Check it out:
The Message
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
The CCTRJ Book Group will be reading “The Message” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The author takes us on three pilgrimages—to Dakar, Senegal; Columbia, South Carolina; and Palestine—exploring how the stories we
tell can either expose or distort our realities. Please join us for a discussion on untangling ourselves from destructive myths and embracing the
liberating power of truth.
October 26th: Time and location TBD (in person vs on Zoom)
Discuss Part IV.
Please register Here or email CCTRJbookgroup@gmail.com
Stay Connected
Follow First Parish on Facebook and get updates, poems, announcements and more. You’ll be glad you did!
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
Monday – Thursday 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Other times by appointment
MINISTER OFFICE HOURS
Tuesday – Thursday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Other times by appointment
The Church office is closed on Fridays
Sundays through mid June
- Worship, 10:30 am in the Meetinghouse
- Choir Rehearsal (most Sundays) at 8:45 am
SIGN UP GENIUS (formerly known as the Planner)
The link to SignUp Genius is: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D44ACA728A02-64605820-copy#/
You can sign up for one our our Sunday volunteer positions.