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 Reverend Lisa
- Music Info
- RE
- Events
- Social & Environmental Justice
- Beyond First Parish
- Actions for Justice and Democracy
This Week in Worship
Unity Sunday at United Congregational 10:00am
“The Gifts of Diversity”
Led by
R.G. Wilson-Lyons & Shelly Davis
*Please note this Sunday, May 4th Worship will be held at United Congregational Church at 10:00am service
(across the green at 495 Canton Ave)
Nursery care and RE classes (EXCEPT Passages) will be held at United Congregational. Passages will meet at 10am at First Parish.
If you choose to watch online please click here and click on “Our Latest Newsletter” top, right hand corner and scroll down to How to Worship with Us.
This Saturday is the first Community Arts Festival at First Parish. Scores of artists have brought their pieces to be auctioned, some on commission, as a church fundraiser. There will be wine and cheese and music and lively conversation. Do consider carving out some time to drop by between 6:30 and 9:30 that evening.
Art is essential to a healthy society. It enlivens imagination and reduces isolation through layered connections. It brings us to places of being and seeing that expand our horizons. It’s also, apparently, one way to enhance the human brain’s function.
We need times of celebration these days. Celebration of community and of human possibility. Both are offered in this festival, named “Milton Creates!”.
More information is listed below in this newsletter. I hope to see you there!
Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa
Music This Week
This Sunday, May 4th, is a particularly meaningful and exciting opportunity for the congregations and choirs of First Parish and United Congregational churches to combine to celebrate Unity Sunday. We will be meeting across the green at the United Congregational Church (at 10am!). The combined choirs will be singing two selections under the leadership of Dr. Matthew Larson. Songs included are: “Oh Happy Day,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” and Josh Grobban’s “You Are Loved.” The hymns will be “God of Change and Glory” and “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
On Sunday May 18 at 3pm Milton Community Concerts will also be presenting its final concert of the season, a FREE concert featuring a renowned string quartet called the Boston Public Quartet. For more information visit Milton Community Concert website.
RE This Week
Unity Sunday is on May 4th 10:00am at United Congregational at 495 Canton Ave. Nursery Care will be available and all RE classes except Passages will meet at United Congregational at 10am.
Passages will meet at First Parish at 10:00 am.
News & Announcements
SEEKING LAY LEADERS FOR SUMMER SERVICES
Sometimes just coming up with a good idea for a summer service is all you need to get started. On a recent Sunday, First Parish folks came up with some inspiration. If any of these ideas motivate you to try a service, please contact Lisa White (lisawhite1250@gmail.com) or Steve Yakutis (steve.yakutis@gmail.com).
summer solstice celebration
protest songs
history of First Parish through pictures and music
group meditation/meditation through movement
advancing advocacy for our values with more activism
music from the teal hymnal/favorite hymns
six degrees of separation: what is the one thing that connects you to FPM? /what brought you to FP?
the resistance and its part in saving democracy
your personal journey
principled opposition
restoring humanity’s balance with nature
history reframed through historic sites
something interactive and kid friendly
Keep the coffee percolating!
Social hour hosts needed for:
May 25th
Click HERE to sign up. Thank you for your hospitality!
Gatherings for your Spirit
If there is a topic you would like to explore with others, feel free to contact Rev. Lisa to discuss possibilities. minister@fpmilton.org
Navigating the Political Climate Next meeting May 7th
Will meet via Zoom on the first Wednesday of the month 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
We will meet once a month to help each other sort through the impact of the political climate and share ways to ground ourselves.
Contact Rev. Lisa at minister@fpmilton.org if interested.
Events
Milton Creates!
A Community Arts Festival at First Parish
Saturday May 3rd, 6:30pm-9:30pm
We’re just over a week away from this fabulous evening of art, fine crafts, live music, wine, cheese, and raffle prizes. An immersive experience, where you can bid in both live and silent auctions and help raise funds to support First Parish’s programming and our commitment to community outreach.
How to participate:
- Volunteer to set up, clean up, or organize.
- Invite your friends and show up for an evening of art appreciation and comradery with friends, old and new.
- Check out the catalog. Imagine one of these exciting and evocative pieces of artwork on your walls.
Milton Creates! 2025 by Milton Creates! 2025 | BetterWorld
For more information contact: jennifer.pinkus@gmail.com
The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace (MDW4P) is a beloved Boston tradition honoring the lives of our loved ones who have been murdered. It is the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s (LDBPI) largest fundraising event to grow and sustain our services, advocacy and training.
This year’s theme is “Cultivating Cycles of Peace.” In our society, we are constantly looped into cycles of violence that overshadow the transformative power of peace. We have the agency to cultivate these cycles by empowering survivors, supporting returning citizens and their families and investing in Generation Peace, the young people shaping the world.
Thank you for walking with us on Mother’s Day as we Cultivate Cycles of Peace in our communities. With your help, we can reach our goal of $600,000 together by Mother’s Day, May 11, 2025!
Click on the register tab. Join First Parish team by search for FP Milton UU team to join our team. Once registered, you will be given your own fundraising page to send out to friends.
Click to Donate Only
Social & Environmental Justice Meeting
May 14th 7:00pm
Will be held in the library and via ZOOM
Annual Meeting
SAVE the Date
Sunday, May 18th
Held in Parish Hall, starting 11:45am
MCC FINAL CONCERT ON 5/18 AT 3:00pm
On Sunday, May 18 at 3pm Milton Community Concerts presents its final concert of the season featuring a renowned local string quartet, the Boston Public Quartet. This FREE concert is called “Source Code: Music She Wrote”, and will feature music celebrating five landmark women composers from the late romantic period to the present. Two of the composers, Florence Price and Amy Beach, lived in Boston. Other music will be presented by Fanny Mendelssohn (Felix’s older sister), and Grammy winner Jessie Montgomery. Founded in 2007, the Boston Public Quartet is dedicated to normalizing the amplification of historically excluded voices in classical music: musicians, composers, students, and audience members. It was created to connect, inspire, and innovate as an ensemble-in-residence in Boston’s diverse neighborhoods.
SAVE the date and save your stuff!
Annual First Parish Yard Sale
Saturday, June 21
More info to follow!
Bike Drive (with Bikes not Bombs) June 21st
A truck will be on site and we will collect any used/donated bikes for their bike refurbishing/ recycling efforts.
More info to follow
Social & Environmental Justice
Next date: May 21st
S&EJ (Social & Environmental Justice committee) is looking for volunteers the third Wednesday of each month to contribute lunches. We hope to deliver 70 lunches a month to support shelter guests.
Please sign up whenever you can help out by clicking on button below.
We are counting on your support!
Beyond First Parish
“LIGHT TRESPASS” WARRANT ARTICLE.37 at MILTON TOWN MEETING MAY 5
Do you experience glaring overnight light intrusion from a neighbor’s property? Security lights? Porch lights? Garage lights? Some, or all? What’s a nuisance to humans is a killer to nocturnal wildlife and an ecological threat to insects. Light reduction — not elimination, to be clear — as proposed by Warrant Article 37 would help restore and preserve Milton’s biodiversity and quality of residential life. Be an advocate: contact your precinct’s Town Meeting Members AFTER April 29 local elections and BEFORE May 5 Town Meeting. For the full text: Draft Warrant Article: General Bylaws Amendment re: Light Trespass.
TIP: Did you know that a yellow-tinted LED bulb is the least attractive to nocturnal bugs and the safest alternative to a white bulb in exterior fixtures? Show some love to bugs.
Actions for Justice and Democracy
Coming up this week…
ELEVENTH FOUR CALLING for DEMOCRACY
Sunday, May 11th rain or shine
- 6:00 p.m. Gather in front of First Parish
- 6:11 p.m. Steeple Bell ringing (11 minutes) with participant percussion & vocal response
- 6:30 p.m. Conclusion (no potluck or program following)
Meet, greet, sing, share, chant, drum, stand up, stand out!
Bring your signs (“G-rated”), flags, and sound-makers.
Families are welcome. Mothers are especially welcome. Invite others.
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.