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
This Week in Worship
“Love is a Many Gendered Thing”
Worship Assistant: Elise Henricks
Usher: Owen McGonagle
Greeter: Dianna Wilson
Faith Reflection: Leslie MacPherson
Music: Tim Steele
Audio: Nina Truog
Social Hour: Amy Kavadlo & Jen Pinkus
Sunday’s offering will go towards the service and ministry of First Parish.
Masks are strongly recommended in the meetinghouse; masks are still required for those who have not been vaccinated. Respect and consideration should be given to all regardless of their masking choice.
The death toll is nearing 20,000 in Turkey and Syria, due to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Tens of thousands are injured, homeless or still missing. A devastation of this size is hard to imagine. Being in an area fraught with political controversy, civil war and US sanctions, it seems to lend toward minimalist coverage in our standard media.
In researching how to respond, many Western organizations do not have service partners in the area. I lift up gratitude for the NGO’s and International service organizations that are ready to respond; ever ready in most parts of the world. I leaned into one of my go-to’s – Doctors Without Borders,-then found the recommendations from the UU Service Committee (see an article below) of organizations that are intent on reaching those in need.
A friend wondered aloud the other day how one can believe in a benevolent God when such a tragedy can occur. I offered that the earth shifted, that was all (on a cosmic level). This wasn’t a divine judgment or abandonment. We are not the center of the universe. Natural disasters for humans are not done to humans. Life is larger than our ego-centric causes.
However, we are born to respond – to receive the gift of life and respond. Universal benevolence is in full view. Millions are focusing their concern on this devastating event and doing what they can. I mourn that we spend too much time on human centered conflict and competition, when we all could help one another navigate this changing, shifting, transmuting world. There will be some who will project God’s wrath on this earthquake and aftermath. Ignore that drivel. The earth simply shifted and now its time for us to respond, to the best of our abilities.
In faith and love, Rev. Lisa
The UU Service Committee has researched ways to support rescue and relief efforts in Syria and Turkey in response to the devastating earthquake. For their recommended relief organizations go to this link.
Music For Sunday
This Sunday Jeff Stoodt will be offering a solo by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, “The Rainbow Connection”. Grace Allendorf will also be providing a solo written for a wedding service, “God Gives Me You”, by Florence B. Price. Florence Price (1887-1953) was a prolific composer and pianist who studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. She was the first black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra, in 1933.
Religious Exploration
On February 12th, we are having another workshop and all children (and friends!) are invited to attend. Description below:
Matt Steinberg, professional drummer and music teacher will be joining us for a special youth drum class. There will be fun drumming games for all to participate in, including a favorite of Mr. Steinberg’s students: Drum Tennis. Additionally, the children will learn improvised and traditional African rhythms with a focus on unity and collaboration.
Events and Meetings
11th Hour Calling
Monthly Stand Out for Climate Action & Justice
Saturday, February 11, 6-6:30 p.m.
535 Canton Avenue (next to Town Hall)
[Canceled if snowing or sleeting]
Gather, drum, chant, learn. BYO posters and percussion. Dress for darkness. Thank you to Milton’s Select Board, which unanimously approved the formation of a 9-member Climate Action Planning Committee as soon as possible. This is a critical first step in aligning our town with Massachusetts law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Progress!
Chocolate Auction, Sunday, February 12th @ 11:45 am in Parish Hall
A poignant event this year, as we honor the dedication of Chris Pitt, co-founder with Dottie Pitt.
Search out favorite recipes and bring a chocolate dish for the auction and/or a readiness to bid.
Book Drive
You may donate gently used and new paperback (NO HARDCOVER) books in the following categories:
Nonfiction: dictionaries (in all languages), thesaurus, almanacs, trade skills, business, hobbies, self-help, sports, spirituality and books by LGBTQ authors and people of color.
Fiction: Westerns, thrillers, mysteries, science fiction.
To learn more about the program, visit prisonbookprogram.org
Boxes will be located in narthex or you can drop thru slot by office door. Drop off deadline is March 3rd.
UU Elevator Speech Group is happening again!
Last spring, Membership held a series called the Elevator Speech, meaning: if you were going to try to explain to someone what being a UU means during the length of an elevator ride, what would you say?
We are doing it again! Everyone is welcome to join us for a virtual conversation on three Wednesday evenings in March from 7-8:30. We will meet on March 1, 15 and 29th.
Last year’s group found it to be an empowering experience. If you are interested in joining us, please email Leslie: lesliecmacpherson@gmail.com
News and Announcements
Learning about climate change and what we can do about it
First Parish Milton is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions on the church campus by 2035. Greening our church campus, however, is just the beginning. Learning more about climate change and how we as individuals can take action to improve the health of our planet is a key part of our “Getting to Zero” commitment.
The Getting to Zero education team invites you to complete a survey to help us learn about the congregation’s specific interests so that we may provide information, workshops and “doable individual actions” to address climate change.
Visit us at the Social & Environmental Justice table during social hour on Sunday where you can complete the survey and talk to members of the team. OR click button below to fill out the survey online.
The survey will continue to be available on the S&EJ webpage on the FPM website.
Stewardship Month is Here!
The Stewardship Committee suggests that you ask yourself these questions in order to help you decide how much you can afford to give towards our upcoming FY2024 budget which begins on July 1st, 2023:
Why am I here?
Why do I give to this community?
Where does this community fit into my overall yearly giving?
Do I feel involved in the life of this church by my giving?
For how many years has my level of giving to this community remained the same?
Where would I like to see this community go in the future?
How can I help it get there?
Submit your FY2024 Pledge here
Feel free to give any feedback you would like to any of us on the Stewardship Committee
Charlie Franich pemaquid@aol.com
Mallory Digges maldigges@gmail.com
Eric Miller r.eric.miller@gmail.com
Mark Ostrem marko105@aol.com
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.
All sessions will be on ZOOM and the link will be emailed to you prior to the session for which you register.
Feb 12th 7:00 pm ZOOM
Feb 19th 12:00 pm in person in Parish Hall
Feb 26th 12:00 pm in person in Parish Hall
Black Lives Matter Banner
During last weekend’s storm, the “Black Lives Matter” banner located by the Wayside pulpit ripped, and could not be repaired. We removed the banner and ordered an exact replacement. We expect it to arrive next week. We will get the new banner up as soon as possible.
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, February 11th.
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 February 15th 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 !!
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.