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… 
This Week in Virtual Worship
What do We Value?
Sunday, April 5th, 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, 4/3. We’ve added the offering to the service with a new way to give- text to giving!
Sunday’s offering will go to The Elizabeth Stone House. The Elizabeth Stone House partners with adult and child survivors of domestic violence to help them achieve safety, stability and overall well-being. You can donate anytime between April 2nd and April 5th. See below for for text donation instructions.
It will be good to worship together. Do join us on Sunday if you can.
Minister
Rev. Lisa Ward
It is, indeed, remarkable how absence can make the heart grow fonder. I find my heart expanding in gratitude for this community and the creative, courageous care you give one another. See just a few of the examples in the articles of this link.
News, these days, is bracing us for even harder times ahead and a longer duration than hoped. Don’t despair. You have the endurance for this. It may not feel like it, but you do.
Some simple reminders:
1. STAY IN THE MOMENT. We can get lost in the “what ifs” – they are unending. Try and shed the need to control the future. We are in a time of uncertainty. We are all dwelling in the unknown. Pay attention to the moment you are in and do the next thing you need to do, one moment after another.
2. ALL IS IN FLUX. We are experiencing radical disruptions in our lives: economic, social, and even spiritual. Our responses to this will vary from a sense of inconvenience to trauma. This is not a time for perfectionism nor expectation. Honor the difficulty of these times and take care of your spirit, which includes asking for help if you need.
3. WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. Try and shed competition and comparison. Covid-19 has shown us the true reality: our common humanity. Be gentle with yourself and others. You are not alone.
It is a privilege to hold you in prayer and to navigate these times together.
In Faith, Rev. Lisa
*************************************************
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. Feedback is encouraged about what feels possible and helpful. We are experimenting with the following options:
Parent Connection: Sundays at 7:00 pm beginning April 5
Show & Tell: Wednesdays at 3:30 pm beginning April 8
Storytime: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 pm beginning April 7
Middle School Hangout: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:30 pm beginning April 7
A family newsletter will be going out with more information about each option and the Zoom links to join in.
~ Our bodies may not be touching, but our hearts are still connected.
Virtual Youth Chat starts today! All youth should have received a Zoom link to join an online Youth Chat session at 7:30 pm this evening, March 26. Please let Laurel know if you need the link info. We expect this session to last approximately one half hour to give youth
an opportunity to connect and share what is on their hearts in this moment.
We will be offering Virtual Youth Chat twice each week. The next session will be on Sunday, March 29, at 1 pm.
Interested in a virtual Netflix movie night? Let Laurel or Sara Elizabeth know!
An Invitation far and wide:
#ClapBecauseWeCare
Friday, April 3 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.
Events, News & Announcements
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.
You can also simply use the links below:
Thursday Zoom link
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 511 861 902
Sunday Zoom link
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 989 977 950
Last Sunday’s Donations
Last Sunday, we collected donations for Father Bill’s & Mainspring.
Thanks to your generosity, we were able to donate $397 to this week to help the homeless during this crisis.
From today (4/2) through 4/5, we are accepting donations for the Elizabeth Stone House.
Sunday’s offering will go to The Elizabeth Stone House. The Elizabeth Stone House partners with adult and child survivors of domestic violence to help them achieve safety, stability and overall well-being. You can donate anytime between April 2 and April 5th.
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.
GREEN GLEANINGS ~ EARTH MONTH
It’s officially Spring, and we’ve made it to April, Earth Month. Wednesday, April 22 is the fiftieth (50th) anniversary of Earth Day. Even though we will only be able to celebrate it “virtually,” First Parish’s Social and Environmental Justice Committee shares the following with you — may it activate, educate, inspire, us all. Take the Earth Day Daily Challenge, 3 weeks’ worth of everyday actions leading up to Earth Day. Be well.
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
Helping the homeless, hungry, and hurting
IT TAKES A VILLAGE….
These are challenging times. Many of you have reached out to inquire,
“What can we do to help?”
There are things we can each do as individuals/families as well as
projects that S&EJ is coordinating to engage our whole “village.”
Here are ideas – please do what you can.
Last week, 4 FPM families cooperated to provide 100 bag lunches to Mainspring in Brockton.
We want to try to make deliveries of 80-100 bag lunches to Mainspring, every other week during this crisis.
We have collected a supply of disposable gloves, paper lunch bags, individual snack and dessert packages.
BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP!
NEEDED: 7-10 volunteers to provide 10-15 sandwiches and 10-15 pieces of fruit.
Our next delivery date is Wednesday April 8.
Peter Schneider is coordinating the delivery with Mainspring
contact him for details by email: peterlschneider@gmail.com
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
TOILETRIES – Shampoo, soap, toilet paper, etc.
FOOD – Cereal, canned soup and canned fruit (not peaches)
CLEANING SUPPLIES – Paper towels, cleaning products, hand sanitizer
Next drop-off is this Saturday, Apri 4, 8:30-10:30 (earlier is best)
Go to south side door at Parkway United Methodist Church
158 Blue Hills Parkway, Milton
Elizabeth Stone House partners with survivors of domestic violence
to achieve safety, stability, and overall wellbeing thereby contributing to
the strength, resiliency, and health of the community.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Diapers – all sizes
baby wipes
toilet paper
cleaning supplies
arts and crafts for kids
coloring books and crayons
Twin bed sheets (new, in original packaging only)
For donations of items listed above, FPM member
Jim May will coordinate collection and delivery.
Contact Jim at 617-838-0600 for details.
In addition, on Sunday, April 5, the FPM Sunday offering
will go to the Elizabeth Stone House to help with
critical needs during this challenging time.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
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