Rev. Lisa Ward has been our settled minister since August of 2016. Ordained in 1992, Rev. Lisa has served congregations in New York City, Queens, White Plains, NY and Harford County, MD. A graduate from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, she has engaged in social justice initiatives throughout her career… 
Table of Contents
- This Week in Worship
- Message from Rev. Lisa
- This Week in Religious Exploration
- Events and Meetings
- News and Announcements
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Beyond First Parish
Christmas Weekend at First Parish
We are offering 3 services Christmas weekend: 5:00pm on Christmas Eve, 10:00pm on Christmas Eve, and 10:30am on Christmas Day. Please see the details below.
All ages welcome at all services.
First Parish Christmas Eve Pageant
5:00 pm – All ages are welcome
Due to the expected cold temperatures, we are moving the Christmas Pageant INDOORS.
The pageant is a participatory, family-friendly event. The cast is easily expandable to include extended family or friends, even at the last minute! Please join us as a member of the audience or a late addition to the cast.
If you’d like to join the cast, contact Steve Yakutis (steve.yakutis@gmail.com).
The pageant will be held at 5:00 on Christmas Eve starting in the Meetinghouse, followed by a hot chocolate reception for cast, crew and attendees in Parish Hall.
This is an in person only service. If you’d like to join ius by Zoom, please join us at 10pm. Service info below.
Christmas Eve- 10:00pm Indoor/Hybrid Meditative Service
Our traditional candlelight service- come into the meetinghouse or join on Zoom where we will share reflections, sing carols, lift up the prayerful message of peace for the world.
Worship Associate: Lisa White
Lighting of Advent Candle: Lisa White & Charlie Franich
Usher: Tom Kemp
Audio: Nina Truog
The offering will be given to the MICA Refugees Resettlement fund.
Christmas Day- 10:30am service
Join us Christmas Day for an in person only service in the Sanctuary.
Happy Solstice. Believe it or not, the sun is inching back into longer stays during our days. The movement of the seasons are ever with us, internally and externally.
I’ve heard many people comment that this is a strange holiday season for them. Something is different, something unfamiliar. It’s important for us to remember that we’ve been through years of collective trauma; navigating covid and loss, threats to democracy and increased violence. We’ve also had an opportunity to look at our lives and how we live them. So much is stirring within about the choices we make and the way we use time. The state of flux is more subtle, yet still very much about us.
I’ve also observed that appreciation for community and just plain gathering is also on the rise. People seem grateful, simply, to see one another, connect with one another, be grateful for one another. The busy-ness of gathering is not as present. The simple sense of home is.
This weekend we will be gathering in three different ways to uplift the strength of goodwill amongst us. The interactive pageant will be inside (details above) at 5 pm on Saturday. The 10 pm candlelight service will also be inside with poignant music and musings. And Sunday, the doors are open at 10:30 am. We will have an informal Christmas service with stories, singing and the gift of music by Claudia Wellington. Come be cosey together Christmas morning. Pajamas welcome.
The pageant and Christmas day are in-person only. Our hybrid service will be the 10 pm Christmas Eve service. (Details above).
This is a vibrant beloved community. Take each other in. Know your beauty.
Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa
MUSIC ON CHRISTMAS EVE AT 10PM
There’s lots and lots of music to look forward on Christmas Eve at 10pm. The Meetinghouse Choir will be offering four selections, Grace and Daon will each be singing solos, and guest violinist Hannah Solomon will be adding to the festivities. And plenty of carols to sing!
Religious Exploration
Worship services on December 25th and January 1st will be multi generational.
On 1/8, our workshop series continues with a visit from the Ecotarium with their “Turtle Travels” program. Please mark your calendars, and invite friends!
How do turtles survive in different habitats? How might their behavior change when humans move in? Meet a live turtle, handle real turtle bio facts, and gather information about turtle adaptations and life cycles in this interactive program! We will also take on a real-world conservation issue to develop a parcel of land while still keeping the needs of local turtles in mind.
Events and Meetings
11th Hour Calling
Monthly Stand Out for Climate Action & Justice
Wednesday, January 11, 6:00 p.m. -6:30 p.m.
First Parish Church lawn
Standing out publicly states that we care about the climate emergency; community action; environmental justice;100% clean, renewable energy to power our lives; and municipal response planning wherever we live. Show up, drum, chant, learn. BYO posters and percussion. It will be dark: dress reflective/neon; headlamps; flashlights.
What’s all this talk about an 8th Principle?
As a Unitarian Universalist congregation, First Parish in Milton affirms and promotes seven principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. Our congregation’s Racial Justice Task force is supporting a movement within the UUA to adopt an 8th principle focused on racial justice. To that end we will hold a series of listening circles in January where members and friends can learn about the proposed principle. We hope you can join us.
Sign up at coffee hour or on-line (URL to be announced)
Sunday, January 15 – 12:00 Parlor
Wednesday, January 18 – TBD, Zoom
Sunday, January 22 – 12:00 Parlor
Thursday, January 26 – TBD, Zoom
Sunday, January 29 – 12:00 Parlor
A Souper Supper of Gratitude
Saturday, January 21st, 5 to 9pm in the Parish Hall
The Stewardship Committee of First Parish invites you to mark your new 2023 calendars for Saturday, January 21st, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, when we are planning a congregation-wide gathering to celebrate our mutual support of First Parish with music, soup, and expressions of gratitude for the work so many of us are doing to keep First Parish a vibrant beacon of hope.
Our plan is to keep the meal simple but hearty—soups, salad, and bread, plus a few appetizers and desserts. We’ll have some entertainment, and through the evening we will open the microphone for folks to voice their gratitude to anyone they would like. The liquid refreshments will include wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, and we hope to have childcare available.
So start now to think about whom you would like to recognize. We will keep you posted as details develop.
The Stewardship Committee—Charlie Franich, Mallory Digges, Eric Miller, and Mark Ostrem
News and Announcements
We sincerely thank you for your generous gift to the organizations below. We are so lucky to have your support.
UU Urban Ministry $ 717.38
UU Mass Action $ 847.80
Thrive Gulu, Inc. $ 937.86
**First Parish Office will be closed on Monday, December 26, 2022**
Volunteer Opportunities
Hospitality Committee in Need of Social Hour Hosts
The hospitality committee needs your help for 2023! We’d like to continue to offer hot beverages and snacks after Sunday services each week. Thank you in advance for your help!
Please consider signing up in sign up genius if you are interested. And as always thank you to all those who have helped in the past.
Social & Environmental Justice Committee in Need of Reps for Info Table
Weekly S&EJ information table in the Parish Hall. Beginning at the close of Sunday services until 12 noon.
Fair Foods
Fair Foods is a non-profit program that rescues fresh produce that would otherwise be wasted and uses it to feed our communities. We volunteer together unloading and sorting food and packing bags once a month.
The next volunteer date is Saturday, January 14th.
If you want to volunteer, please sign up on Sign up Genius by Thursday
evening before the event. Start time and locations vary depending on Fair Foods’ needs, but typically start at 8:30 a.m. at their warehouse at 70 Amory Street in Roxbury.
Other volunteer opportunities are also available at Fair Foods, especially on Friday and Saturday mornings. Contact Tony Dutzik at tdutzik@gmail.com or 617-291-4685 with any questions or for more information.
First Parish Milton volunteers provide bagged lunches to MainSpring adult shelters in Brockton twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. Members of the Social & Environmental Justice committee will make the delivery to Brockton.
Volunteers are needed to acquire food and pack 10 lunches and deliver to the church between 12:45 pm-1:00 pm on Delivery day. One team lead drives all the lunches to the shelter in Brockton. Please note how many meals you are making in comments. We are looking for 70 lunches for each delivery day. Lunches should include sandwich, fruit, drink, snack/chips and sweet/cookies.
The next delivery day will be on Wednesday, January 4th and then every other Wednesday throughout the year. We will meet in the lower parking lot between 12:40 and 1:00 PM.
If you haven’t made lunches in a while OR if you are a new volunteer, sign up on MainSpring Sign Up Genius or contact Pat Gallivan at pl.gallivan@verizon.net for more info.
Thanks to all the volunteers that have made this program a success for more than two years !!
Beyond First Parish
GIFT BOOKS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
“Milton Grows!”is a year-long programming initiative of Milton Public Library. Two book discussions will take place in 2023. January (date TBD) will feature Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland and special U.N. Climate Envoy). The second, March TBD, will be Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy (professor of “bugs,” author. lecturer).
These inspirational books are aligned with our congregation’s social and environmental endeavors so consider gifting, or getting, or checking them out! Register on the EVENTS tab at Milton Public Library’s website.https://miltonlibrary.org/
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, 9:30 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: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090d44aca728a02-sunday1
You can sign up for one our our Sunday volunteer positions.