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

“Liberation”

Easter Sunday

Worship Assistant: Tom Kemp

Greeter: Natalie Monroe

Music: Tim Steele

NO Social Hour

Audio: Brynne Mershon

Sunday’s offering will be given to The Association of Haitian Women in Boston. AFAB-KAFANM’s mission is to empower Haitian women by helping them develop their individual and collective capacity to improve social, economic and political status and thus be able to effect positive changes in their life and their families’ lives.

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.

This is quite a time for Abrahamic Faith Traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam). Cherished observations to mark the celebration of seminal times in each tradition are underway.  Holy Week,  centering on the Christian belief of the  death and resurrection of Jesus, began last Sunday with Palm Sunday to continue through  Easter Sunday. Passover, centering around the Exodus of Hebrews from Egypt and the formation of a Jewish people, began at sundown on Wednesday, April 5 and will be observed through the evening of April 13. Ramadan, centering around the beginning of the revelation of the Qu’ran received by the Prophet Muhammad,  began the evening of Wednesday,  March 22, to conclude the  Evening of Thursday, Apr 20. 

In various ways, and through the varied cultural heritages, these faith celebrations speak to liberation and saving grace, spiritual reflection and growth, relational health in community and honoring the Divine.  

One might wonder why there is so much religious unrest, bigotry and violence when the seminal aspirations are directed toward hope for the world.

This points to the caveat of organized religion, dogma and exceptionalism. We are human beings approximating our meaning, seeking the truth of being, finding the assurance of faith in our potential to sync with Source wisdom. When we think we have all the answers, we make arrogant and sometimes harmful choices. When we think we have the only avenue to the divine, we respond with tunnel vision. When we claim our stakes and insist on boundaries that leave “unbelievers” out, we invite dehumanization.

Celebrate wisdom, yes. Honor community, yes. Find ways toward celebration and generosity of spirt, of course. And remember, we humans don’t have it all figured out.

Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa

Next Sunday (April 16) is our annual “Unity Sunday”, when First Parish and First Congregational worship together, a tradition of more than 100 years. The Rev. R.G. Wilson-Lyons, Rev. Lisa Ward and Youth Counselor Eden Johnson will be co-leading the worship service at First Congregational. This is a multi-generational service: all ages are welcome. TAKE NOTE: The service begins at 10:00 am

Music For Sunday

This Easter Sunday we welcome trumpeter Daniel Hirsch, who will be playing along with the Meetinghouse Choir and three soloists on a rousing anthem called “Sing a Mighty Song”, by Greg Gilpin. Our soloists (Carina DiGianfilippo, Grace Allendorf, and Daon Drisdom) will also be offering some fun ensembles by Henry Purcell and William Boyce.

Religious Exploration

There will be regular RE classes this Sunday along with the Annual Easter Egg Hunt after worship service.

In celebration of Union Sunday, children from First Congregational Church will be joining us. 

Our PUDDLESTOMPERS enrichment program will focus on conservation and stewardship of the earth through appreciation of seeds that grow into plants that provide clean air, insects, and worms that keep our soil healthy, and the role we can play to protect the many life cycles that contribute the health and well being of the planet and all its creatures.

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, April 27^th 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Milton Youth: Their Strengths and the Risks They Face

Nangeroni Conference Room, BID Hospital – Milton

Every three years, the Milton Coalition examines the status of Milton youth through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, with an emphasis on substance use. Join us as we share these results, compare them to our past evaluations, and discuss next steps.

Masks are required. This meeting is open to the public.

Events and Meetings

11th Hour Calling Monthly Stand Out for Climate Action

Tuesday, April 11, 6:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

535 Canton Avenue (next to Town Hall)

It will be warmer, brighter, and “Rush Hour” on Canton Avenue. This offers a visible way to message passersby. Gather, drum, bang, sing, chant, wave. BYO posters and percussion. We care about the climate emergency, about environmental justice, about promoting clean renewable energy, and about municipal climate action. TOGETHER is the operative word.

Climate action update: Milton Select Board is now “populating” the official Climate Action Planning Committee with appointments from a list of applicants. It was gratifying to know this opportunity resonated so widely.

We stand out to focus upon:

• Green 100, Milton’s Community Electricity Aggregation Program (CEA–it’s not too late to sign up)
• Aligning Milton’s Building Code with what’s needed now to build smart, renewable, and fossil-free to reduce our town’s greenhouse gas emissions
• Voting in Town Elections (april 25) as informed climate activists — take every opportunity to pose questions, listen, and learn.

Drop Offs for Ramadan Reminder

First Parish is collecting food, dry goods, and hygiene items. All items must have ingredient labels with current expiration dates.

Most-needed Items:

Healthy snacks for kids

Juice boxes

Peanut butter & jelly

Shelf-stable milk

Rice

Canned soup

Personal care items: toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap (unscented), shampoo, body wash

Mac & Cheese

Pasta & sauce

Canned fruit or vegetables

Dry or canned beans Condiments (incl. salt & pepper) Salad dressing

Cooking oil / Olive oil

Diapers (size 5 & 6), baby wipes

All donations can be dropped off between NOW and April 21st . There will be marked bins in both the Carriage House and in narthex to store items.

Donations to be distributed by Interfaith Social Services in Quincy. This project is brought to you by Milton Muslim Neighbors (MMN), Milton Interfaith Clergy Association (MICA), and Milton Public Schools (MPS). For more info, please contact Tahra at tmg726@gmail.com.

News and Announcements

We sincerely thank you for your generous gift to the organizations below. We are so lucky to have your support.

3/24 Sunflower of Peace Foundation $1,363.48

3/31 The Voices Project/Syria Campaign $414.06

3/31 Fund for Global Human Rights, Inc. $414.06

First Parish will Share the Plate on April 30^th with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to support the Mother’s Day Walk.

In addition, we will be making plans to establish sign-ups for a First Parish walking team on Mother’s Day.

SEJC

NO FUTURE GAS 4 MASS CAMPAIGN

UU Mass Action Network, Mass Power Forward, and other climate justice organizations want to send Gov. Healey 10,000 signatures by Earth Day ’23 demanding NO FUTURE for gas infrastructure in our state. This is particularly urgent for front-line Environmental Justice communities in Springfield and Longmeadow, MA facing an Eversource pipeline expansion project right now. 

Add YOUR signature here

Let’s aim for 500 if you share this with 5 friends.

Our UU environmental justice and climate values require it! 

Urge Governor Healey to halt new gas system expansions until the state has a concrete plan for a just transition to a clean — and green — energy future. Please sign!

Job Opportunity at First Parish Milton for a Family Ministries Director

FP Milton seeking a ¾ time Family Ministries Director (FMD) to co-create, innovate, and administer a Religious Exploration (RE) Program for all ages.

This position presents an opportunity to work with a congregation seeking a new religious exploration model for all ages. Current goals are to maintain an RE program for children and youth as well as to integrate family ministry, adult faith development, and intergenerational community building.

A detailed job description can be found here. Cover letter and resume should be sent to REsearch@fpmilton.org by April 15, 2023.

Thank you for your interest! We look forward to hearing from you soon!

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, April 15th.

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.

Sign up here!

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 April 19th and then every other Wednesday throughout the year. We will meet in the lower parking lot between 12:40 pm 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 !!

Sign up here

Beyond First Parish

ONLINE UU THEOLOGY SERIES – OPEN TO ALL!

Wednesdays, April 12 to May 17 9:00 pm – 10 pm, Eastern time on Zoom

The Faith Forward program out of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas is excited to offer an online session of our UU Theology series for all congregations. This series explores theological concepts through a Unitarian Universalist lens and helps participants clarify and act on their beliefs.

To register, email Faith Forward Coordinator Rev. Lora Brandis: lbrandis@dallasuu.org

Since we are subscribers to Faith Forward, this is a FREE event.

Please share this invitation with anyone who you think would be interested.

You can also reach out to Leslie with questions;

lesliecmacpherson@gmail.com

Community E-Waste Collection

Save the Date-Tuesday April 18, 2:00 pm-5:00 pm

Milton Academy’s Sustainability Coordinator, Linnea Engstrom, extends a town-wide invitation to spring clean and recycle your electronics. Read all about EarthDay – 4-2023.pdf here for a comprehensive list of acceptable items (no CRT [tube] TVs). Spread the word.

Louis D. Brown Peace Institute

Mother’s Day Walk for Peace

UUUM is happy to again be supporting our friends at LDBPI this year with their Mother’s Day Walk for Peace event on May 14th. This is a great event that benefits from the support of a number of our member congregations – Milton included! Again, we are glad to be doing our part to help our community partner.

This year, UUUM is excited to be hosting two events with LDBPI on April 12th that will feature both Rev. Clementina – (Tina Cherry – LDBPI’s Executive Director who has spoken at First Parish, Milton) and Rev. Mary Margaret Earl (who also has spoken at FPM). Both of the below events are wonderful opportunities for our greater community to come together, hear about their work, and share ways that we can support the Mother’s Day Walk. 

• Breakfast with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Wednesday, April 12th; 10am-12pm at the UU Urban Ministry
• Evening with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Wednesday, April 12th; 6pm-7pm via Zoom 

City Life/Vida Urbana – Opportunity to Help a Community Partner

Our friends at City Life/Vida Urbana, a grassroots organization that promotes tenant rights and advocates on behalf of those facing eviction, reached out to ask for the help of this community. CLVU is planning an upcoming mailing to 2,000 people – to make them aware of their rights and available resources – as they face losing their homes. CLVU needs help preparing this mailing, and have asked for our help.

On Saturday, May 13th from 10:00am – 12:30pm we will be meeting at the UU Urban Ministry with folks from CLVU to assemble this mailing.  Can you join us?  Email Vinnie Myles at vmyles@uuum.org to RSVP.

 UU Urban Ministry – 188th Annual Meeting -May 25, 2023

An “Annual Meeting packet” will follow.

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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 – 2:00 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
• Silent Prayer & Meditation, 9:00am in the Children’s Church

EVERY THURSDAY

Silent Prayer & Meditation, 7:00 pm in the Children’s Church (Note new time)

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.