This Week in Virtual Worship

Life Everlasting

Sunday, April 12th, 2020 We will be live streaming online on Sunday. At 10:30 am we will begin a “Facebook Live” video. You do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the video (you can ignore Facebook’s request to open an account).

Just click on the link below and scroll down the page a little and at 10:30 am you will see a live video come up. https://www.facebook.com/FirstParishMiltonUu/ We will also record the livestream and post it on youtube. 

Our youtube account is First Parish in Milton UU.  Please subscribe by hitting the subscribe button on our Youtube channel and you’ll get notifications of when new videos posted.Please be on the lookout for an Order of Worship which will be emailed to you on Friday, 4/10.  We’ve added the offering to the service with a new way to give- text to giving! 

Sunday’s offering will go to the Boston Resiliency Fund .  You can donate anytime between April 9th and April 12th. See below for  text donation instructions.  It will be good to worship together. Do join us on Sunday if you can.

Minister

Rev. Lisa Ward

minister@fpmilton.org

We are beginning to hear that  “social distancing” is helping flatten the curve of Covid-19 infections. We are also straining with this distancing, which must continue on for some time further.  All of us have the intuition, that, eventually, we will find a steadier functioning again, but there is also the weariness that weighs on our confidence in getting through.

By finding ways to connect through cyberspace and  phone, gestures and letters, texts and waving across streets, from car to car, house to house, we are strengthening our being for the long haul.  The  influx of creativity and kindness,  priority of values and what’s essential, is training us to pay attention to our lives and honor them.

It’s important for us to be  gentle with ourselves and each other.  Remember that we are navigating grief, fear, disruption and loss.  It’s also important for us to step up and encourage ourselves and each other. Remember that shared being is a flow of giving and receiving.  Sometimes we’re up to the task, sometimes not.  Sometimes we can help another, sometimes we need that help.

Think of this more as flow rather than a stopped way of living. We are learning every moment and finding new ways to live into the day.  Think of this more as an opportunity to value our lives and each other rather than fighting adversity.  We will find a wellspring of endurance when we choose to love life. 

Try smiling right now and see what you observe in the moment.  Try sighing next, and feel what you connect with in compassion.  Try breathing deeply, then, and find the wonder of your being.

Hang in.  Be safe.  Honor each other.

Sending Love, Rev. Lisa

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I have begun offering a video blog< “Strength in Spirit”, simple and brief offerings of ways to carve out resiliency and or respite in your day.  You can find them on our youtube site.  Search for First Parish in Milton UU.

Religious Exploration

Options for Parent and Children: Our aim is to offer multiple short virtual programs throughout the week so that families feel connected to each other and to the heartbeat of First Parish Milton. We are trying out the following options:

Parent Connection: Sundays at 7:00 pm

Show & Tell: Wednesdays at 3:30 pm

Storytime: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00

Middle School Hangout: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:00 pm (note new time)

See the RE family newsletter for more information about each option and the Zoom links to join in. Each session is password protected, participants will be admitted via waiting rooms, private chat will be turned off, and screen sharing and white board use will be restricted to the co-hosts. We will ensure that two adults are present before children or youth are added from the waiting rooms. Please let Laurel know if you need the family newsletter.

We are all learning and adapting to new ways of connecting and sharing. I welcome feedback about what feels possible and helpful as we experiment with virtual RE.

~ Our bodies may not be touching, but our hearts are still connected.

Virtual Youth Chat: All youth should have received Zoom links to join two online Youth Chat sessions each week. Each session will give youth an opportunity to connect and share what is on their hearts and we will play fun group online games. Please let Laurel know if you need the link info.

Bi-weekly sessions are on Thursdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 1:00 pm. 

Interested in a Netflix Party movie night? Let Laurel or Sara Elizabeth know!

An Invitation far and wide:

#ClapBecauseWeCare Friday, April 10 at 7:00 PM Let’s come together to show our appreciation for all front-line workers: healthcare professionals, grocery store employees, delivery drivers, cooks, food pantry workers, and more. Come out onto your front step, or open your window, and applaud, ring a bell, or bang some pans together for five minutes to express your appreciation.  Church bells will be rung as well. Post a video of your celebration on social media with the  #ClapBecauseWeCareMiltonand make sure that the video is set to ‘public.’ Milton Interfaith Clergy Association will be compiling these into a video to share with healthcare workers and others on the front-lines. Let’s do this EVERY Friday at 7:00 PM, starting now and until we come through on the other side of this.

Meditation returns

We have resumed a group meditation practice which will be available 

online Sunday mornings at 9am and Thursday evenings at 6pm.  

This is a time for us to gather together, in spirit, 

even if we are not physically in the same space.  

This is a time for quiet reflection:

Some of us practice mindfulness meditation, 

others take time to rest in silent prayer, 

some choose to simply ease into a shared and peaceful quiet.   

If you are interested in joining us please email Tracey Robinson 

at tdr02186 @ gmail.com and I will send you an official invitation.  

Last Sunday’s Donations

Last Sunday, we collected donations for The Elizabeth Stone House.

Thanks to your generosity, we were able to donate $425.84 to this week to help the during this crisis.

From today (4/9) through 4/12, we are accepting donations for the Boston Resiliency Fund. The emerging priorities of the Boston Resiliency Fund are to provide food for children and seniors, technology for remote learning for students, and support to first responders and healthcare workers in the City of Boston.

HOW TO GIVE: Simply text (617) 539-7576 with the amount that you’d like to give. Do not add words, simply put the amount. You’ll get an automatic text message back, asking you to do a 1-time set up to create an account with your credit card/debit number. After the one time set-up, you can simply text the number with an amount to give, and it’ll be automatically debited from the account of your choosing. This is contained and safe — it goes directly to a designated First Parish account. We will write one check of the compiled donations to the organization.

Volunteering in a changing world

IT TAKES A VILLAGE….

The Social and Environmental Justice Committee has found several opportunities for volunteering – check these out:

FPM Mainspring Lunch program is up and running! By the time you read this article, FPM will have delivered its second batch of brown bag lunches to Father Bills/Mainspring on April 8.  Five families contributed 100 lunch bags!  AND the BEST NEWS is:  YOU haven’t missed your chance to participate!! Looking for new volunteers for our delivery on April 22!  Contact Peter Schneider peterlschneider@gmail.com for details.

Boston Cares is the largest volunteer agency in New England.  Its mission to organize opportunities for volunteers is an essential part of a strong and vibrant community – especially important during times of crisis. As a leading volunteer mobilizer, Boston Cares stands ready to recruit, train, and place volunteers in community roles, working with partners to identify and promote community needs. 

Interfaith Social Services of Quincy is dedicated to improving life for South Shore families in need.  ISSQ relies on volunteers, donors, and community partners to deliver compassionate, client-centered programs focused on hunger, mental health and emergency assistance.  

Brookwood Community Farm is looking for greenhouse helpers for spring planting!! BCF strives to restore underutilized farmland for agricultural purposes, while maintaining and cultivating the ecological richness and diversity of the land. The farm is committed to involving local communities through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, educational, volunteer, and employment opportunities.  

Reminders from last week’s LINK:

Check out community donation programs:

Milton Food Pantry – contact Cynthia Guise for details

Elizabeth Stone House – contact Jim May for details

Are you interested in a laptop to join in on Zoom presentations or to check out our virtual worship services ? 

One of our parishoners is giving one away ! It’s an older HP with Windows 7.

Please contact Sherri in the office to arrange for pick-up.

First Parish Crafters Are Making Masks!

Lynn Stack, Lisa White, Jenny Pinkus, and Carla Kindt put quilts on hold and have made about 40 masks to date that are being provided to folk in the medical frontline. They are using directions that Deaconess provided. Go to this link:

https://www.deaconess.com/How-to-make-a-Face-Mask .

Lynn is happy to talk you through the directions: lmstack258@gmail.com

Penny Partridge is also involved with a local group making masks. Feel free to contact her for more information: ppartridge9@icloud.com

There is a SEVERE SHORTAGE of all types of blood products

(Whole, “Power Red,” Platelet, AB Plasma, etc.)

Milton is conveniently located between TWO American Red Cross Blood Donation Centers:

Dedham – 180 Rustcraft Road

Weymouth – 208 Main Street

ONE MUST SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO DONATE — easy online

https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?order=DATE&range=10&zipSponsor=02186

“There is no substitute for human blood, and it is the blood that is already on the shelves that saves lives.” and, “It is important to note: there is no evidence that this coronavirus is transmissible by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transfusion transmission for any respiratory virus, including coronavirus.” (Boston Children’s Hospital Blood Donor Center)   

Many hospitals have blood donor centers on-site, for example, Children’s Hospital Boston’s “give pints for half-pints” program:

https://www.childrenshospital.org › ways-to-help › donate-blood