Your Weekly Link – News and Updates 2/9/2017

Weekly Link 2-9-17

Church

This Week in Worship

When: 10:30 a.m. in the Meetinghouse
Date: Sunday, February 12, 2017

This month’s theme: Justice

Message from Rev. Lisa

It was a wonderful Friday evening, enjoying a spaghetti dinner, now expertly created by the youth group with helpers and Sara Elizabeth’s skillful leadership. (more on Sara Elizabeth in the YAC description below). Many of us stayed to play board games. Vibrant aspects of community were working the evening: nourishment, comradery, laughter, and sharing stories in a multi-age setting. The youth group also raised more funds for their service project with City Reach scheduled for the Spring.

I was asked recently about the nature of faith communities. In order for faith communities to thrive, we need to nurture spiritual, social and service endeavors to touch the heart, mind and spirit. Wholeness is known through connections with our sacred knowledge, with risking relationships and in our ability to support our interdependent lives. In the giving and receiving of talents, resources and wisdom a faith community sends ripples of hope into our lives and so the world. This happens in many forms, but most of all when we show up for one another. We find that we have much to give and much to learn and much to manifest in the lives that we share. Know that is precious, sacred work. Know that you are what makes this place work.

Blessings Be,

Rev. Lisa

Religious Exploration

Laurel Whitehouse
Director of Religious Education

What’s happening in religious exploration this weekend?

Nursery care will be available from 9:00 am to noon for infants and toddlers.

Our Whole Lives class begins at 10:30 am in the Children’s Church.

Preschool children through grade 7 will attend the first part of the worship service in the Meetinghouse and then move to their classrooms. Please note that classes end at 11:40 am. Children will be walked over to join Social Hour in the Parish Hall at the end of class and need to be met there by a parent.

  • Preschool through grade 1: Spirit Play in the Preschool classroom
  • Grades 2 through 5: Spirited Adventure in the Activity Room
  • Grades 6 and 7: Friends and Neighbors in the Primary classroom
  • Grades 8 and 9: Our Whole Lives class (permission required) from 10:30 to noon in the Children’s Church
  • Grades 9 through 12: Youth Chat will meet from 10:30 to 11:30 am in the Youth room upstairs. Youth Group will not meet this weekend.

Our Spirit Play Children Need Your Help

Our Spirit Play class is in need of adults to act as doorkeeper on seven Sundays this spring. After starting the service in the meetinghouse, the doorkeeper helps the children find their way to the classroom, joins them while they listen to a story, and then assists the storyteller as the children respond to the story with simple craft activities. It’s a great way to get to know some of First Parish’s preschool and kindergarten children.

We are hoping that many of you will be willing to act as doorkeeper for even a single Sunday morning, so that we can share our responsibility for our children as a community. If you would be willing to give your time on one or more Sundays this spring, please visit our Spirit Play Sign Up Genius and choose a date to help out. If you’ve never taught before, or haven’t taught recently, please also fill out a CORI check form and drop it off in the office in advance of your scheduled Sunday.

If you are interested in other teaching opportunities, or taking on a larger role in the education of our children and youth, please talk to Laurel Whitehouse or Bridget Sitkoff – we would love to include more voices in our program!

News and Announcements

InterPlay: Unlock the Wisdom of Your Body

When: This Saturday, February 11 from 1 – 3 pm in the Parish Hall

Interplay is here at First Parish! Rev. Lisa, a certified Interplay Leader, would like to start a monthly group at First Parish.

Interplay is a way of engaging in community to inspire wisdom toward wellness through story-telling, movement, and play. All bodies of any ability are welcome. It is a way to release tension, find your groove and feel embraced in community. Try it for a couple of hours – wear comfortable clothes.

ANNUAL CHOCOLATE AUCTION THIS SUNDAY

When/Where: FEBRUARY 12TH, 2017 – After Social Hour in the Parish Hall

If you have any questions at all, call or email your Humble Auctioneer, Chris Pitt.

Courageous Conversations towards Racial Justice

(formerly known as Dialogue on Race)

Date: Sunday, February 12, 2107
Time: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Parish Hall

Community Potlucks followed by discussion.

If able, please bring a clearly labeled dish for the community potluck.

Following the important work of Milton Dialogues, Milton Reflects and Sacred Conversations at Church of Our Savior please join folks from First Parish Milton Unitarian Universalist, St. Michaels Episcopal Church, Church of Our Savior and Milton for Peace, in the second of a monthly series of opportunities for deepening our understanding about the dynamics of race in society. Even though it is embedded in our culture, speaking about race is not easy.

Join us as we form connections with neighbors and continue this important conversation with a potluck dinner and discussion.

We will be showing the first 6 chapters from “Cracking the Codes – The System of Racial Inequity” to aid in our discussion.
Please contact Debbie Alsebai or call 617-696-1276.

SING FOR THEIR SUPPER RETURNS ON FEBRUARY 26TH

On Sunday afternoon, Februrary 26th at 3pm Milton Community Concerts presents the third annual “Sing For Their Supper”, a free benefit concert featuring ten outstanding opera singers from the Greater Boston community.

All proceeds raised through a free-will offering will go to support the Milton Food Pantry and the Milton Residents Fund. All singers are donating their time and talents for this event, which will feature favorites from opera, musical theater, and the Great American Songbook. Singers featured have sung at the Metropolitan Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and at Carnegie Hall.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to hear some amazing music right here in Milton and support two important local charities!

SAVE THE DATE!

Cafe Blue Hills is returning!

Save Saturday, March 4 evening for a swingin’, rockin’, groovin’ evening of music and good times in our very own Parish Hall!

Enjoy delicious desserts and the company of good friends. If you would like to perform yourself, or know someone who does, please contact Dianna Wilson. If you would like to contribute a dessert, non-alcoholic beverage or a decor item, let Deb Larson-Venable know.

Proceeds will be given to a worthy cause.

Live Our Values, Give Our Values – Stewardship News

Each week we will have a Faith in Action commentary from our various committees in The Link and Sunday Announcements leading up to Commitment Sunday, March 12.

Faith in Action
Youth Adult Committee (YAC)
Lisa White, Chair

Live Our Values, Give Our Values. Whatever values we live, whether we realize it or not, we are modeling them for the youth of our church community. Our children watch us closely for cues about living their own values.

This year’s Youth Group is a small but enthusiastic squad, which has accomplished so much already this year, and has some exciting activities planned for the rest of the year.

The Youth Group hosted the pancake breakfast on Ingathering Sunday, put together a Halloween haunted hallway, offered a holiday giftwrapping service, and coordinated a Christmas cookie drive for workers at fire and police stations and hospitals. We’ve also put on three spaghetti suppers, raising over $500 to support the City Reach service trip we’ll be doing in April. Future events include a toiletries and clothing drive, the Easter egg hunt, collaborating with the Caring Committee to send care packages to college-age youth, and the Youth Service.

As busy as we’ve been, there’s more we could do. Our energetic and resourceful Youth Advisor, Sara Elizabeth, serves as friend, counselor, (and sometimes therapist!) to our youth, in addition to coordinating and supervising all of these activities. (A shout out to Alex Engel, who volunteers his time every week, as the second adult, helping us to meet the Safe Congregation requirements.) Sara Elizabeth’s hours are limited by our budget, however. One very specific need is to pay her for some hours over the summer so that we can hit the ground running when the church year starts in September. Without an increase in the Youth Group’s budget, we’ll continue to need to wait until September to start planning for the year.

Have you been upstairs to the youth room recently? It’s a sanctuary for the youth, but it is in bad shape! Replacing broken couches, adding shelving, and freshening up the décor would signal to the youth that we care about their surroundings and the work they organize there.

By giving to support our values, we set a powerful example and increase the likelihood that our youths’ actions will reflect their own values.

Thank you for keeping this in mind as you determine your pledge amount.

Still Time to Sign Up for a Stewardship Conversation

Please go to the link below to sign up for a gathering . We have scheduled them at a variety of times and on a variety of days with the hope that one of them will work for you.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8TcEUTaZofaT0tWB6jy427feA5d71MzUAIyDGbufYV8gn-Q/viewform

Choose from the following dates: (If you signed up via paper, please also sign up electronically)

  • Monday, February 13, 6:30-8:30 pm, Jen and Dave Erbe-Leggett’s house. Dinner and child care will be provided.
  • Wednesday, February 15, 10:00-11:30 am, Moustafa and Debbie Alsebai’s house. Light refreshments will be served.
  • Thursday, February 16, 7:30-9:00 pm, Brigitte and Eric Miller’s house. Light refreshments will be served.
  • Tuesday, February 21, 1:30 – 3:00 pm, Mark and Patricia Ostrem’s house. Light refreshments will be served.
  • Friday, February 24, 12-1:30 pm, Tracey Robinson’s house. Lunch will be provided.
  • Sunday, February 26, 12:00pm, Chase Parlor. Child care provided.
  • Tuesday, February 28, 7:00-8:30 pm, Jeff Stoodt’s and Lisa White’s house. Dessert and beverages will be served.

Check out the Social Action Flyer

Found on the Information Tables in the Parish Hall and Stebbins Parlor. Most Sundays, the Social Action Committee will also have information available on their table during social hour.

RENEWAL HOUSE – TOILETRY DRIVE Extended through February 12!

Bring your contribution this coming Sunday.

Thank you for your donations!

Join for our next volunteer date taking place on Saturday February 11, 2017.

  • Other dates are March 11th, April 8th and May 13th.

The Third Sunday Collection

This third collection of the month will be for the Greater Boston Food Bank, which operates from a 117,000-square-foot Yawkey Distribution Center in South Boston.

Volunteers from First Parish Milton needed make and serve meals to the clients at Father Bill’s on the following dates in 2017:

When: Saturdays Feb 25, March 25 and April 23

Please come to the SAC table at coffee hour for more details.

Kiki

Kiki’s Corner

The Members Page on FP Milton’s website is full of information. We reorganized it last summer. This is a password protected section of the website. Fun fact: The Members Page also contains the Covenant.

There are six sections: First three — Top from left to right:

  • Congregational Leadsership (resources for lay leadership)
  • Congregational Meetings (warrant and annual meeting information for past 2 years)
  • Community Resources (includes the directory)

On the bottom from left to right:

  • Donate (online pledge form and electronic payment set up)
  • Forms (room reservations, etc.)
  • Religious Education (registration and other forms).

Feel free to explore and if you think of things you would want to see added, let me know. We are always looking to improve.

STAY CONNECTED

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

EVERY SUNDAY

Worship, 10:30am in the Meetinghouse

Silent Prayer & Meditation, 9:00am in the Children’s Church

THE SUNDAY PLANNER

Please consider volunteering for important Sunday worship positions like ushering, hosting social hour, providing flowers for worship, and lighting the chalice. Sign Up Here!

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

  • Monday – Thursday 10:00 am – 3 pm
  • Other times by appointment

MINISTER OFFICE HOURS

  • Tuesday – Thurday 10:00 am – 3 pm
  • Other times by appointment

The Church office is closed on Fridays.