Your Weekly Link – News and Updates 5/26/2022

Your Weekly Link – News and Updates 5/26/2022

Table of Contents

  • Message from Rev. Lisa Ward
  • This Week in Worship
  • This Week in Religious Exploration
  • This Week in Music
  • Events and Meetings
  • News and Announcements
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Beyond First Parish

Office Administrator, Susan DeMinico will be out of the office from May 17th thru May 31st.

Office closed in observance on Monday, May 30th for Memorial Day.

Message from Rev. Lisa Ward

Lisa Headshot

Will you breathe with me?

(a recent request from a colleague)

Will you breathe with me?

The enormity of these times cannot be held alone. The despair of growing madness cannot be healed alone. The waves of tragedy cannot be endured alone.

Will you breathe with me?

And summon in that breath the Source of All Being, however you name it – that

Holds All…

Harmonizes All…

Heals All…

Beyond our knowing. Beyond our naming.

We are afraid, numb, discouraged, overwhelmed, helpless, hope-less, confused.

We are loving, generous, kind, gentle, wisely angry, seeking wholeness, persevering.

Take a moment. Right now. Truly. Or very soon, and very often.

Take a moment to breathe in a memory of kindness, fierce love or hope-filled advocacy.

Take a moment to breathe out this healing energy into the world.

Breathe in love. Breathe out peace.

The wisdom of our next steps will come from there.

Breathe in love. Breathe out peace.

This I pray. This I honor. This I embrace and will stay in the hope for humanity.

Fiercely holding you in love, Rev. Lisa

Mona Abo-Zena is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston and lives in Milton with her grand family. Mona’s applied scholarship in P-16 educational contexts seeks to support diverse (i.e., all) children and families acknowledging contextual challenges and resources. From an intersectional framework, she centers the role of religion and spirituality. Mona is a member of Milton Muslim Neighbors.

This Week in Worship

“Re-Imagining Beauty: Islamic Perspectives on Unity and Diversity”

Facilitated by:  Mona Abozena

Worship Assistant: Amy Kavadlo

Music: Tim Steele

Audio: Madeleine Miller

NO SOCIAL HOUR THIS WEEK

Worship Services are hybrid.

Join us in person or on Zoom.

Please see the zoom link below. Please log in at 10:20, to give some lead time for the service at 10:30. You will be muted, but you can communicate through the chat box. If you do not have zoom on your computer, please download it ahead of time. It is free.

Sunday’s offering will go to the service and ministry of First Parish.

This Week in Religious Exploration

This Week in Religious Exploration

This Sunday, children will gather to read A Day for Rememberin’: Inspired by the True Events of the First Memorial Day.  In our games and projects together this week we lift up the idea that “we can also be stewards of the world. This means that we hold up that humans are responsible for the world and should take care and look after it.”

Our last RE class of the year will be June 5th – look for a registration form for next year’s classes in the weeks to come!

This Week in Music

This Sunday plan to arrive early to enjoy a rare chance to hear two violinists, Julia Cash and Barron Clancy. They will be playing “Concert for Two Violins”, BWV 1043 by J.S. Bach. During the worship Grace Allendorf will also be offering “Music Speaks” by Michael Adler and Brad Green. Pat Neves and Claudia Wellington will perform “This Land is Your Land” by Woodie Guthrie.

Don’t forget that this coming Saturday, 5/28 at 8pm will mark the return of silent film organist Peter Krasinski in “A Night of Cinema Magic”. Tickets are $20 general, $10 for seniors and 18 and under. It is not often that you get a chance to experience these early classic movies in the way they were intended, with improvised organ accompaniment. The films to be screened are “The Boat” (Buster Keatron) and “The Freshman” (Harold Lloyd), two classic comedies. For more information visit miltoncommunityconcerts.com.

Events and Meetings

Adaptive Change Meeting with RE Transition Specialist, Lily Rappaport

We have the opportunity to meet with a Religious Exploration Transition specialist at our next meeting to focus on ways to envision building and growing our Religious Exploration Programming as an integral part of our faith community. This will be a zoom gathering, to be held Saturday, June 4th 4:00 pm-5:30 pm. Lily Rappaport is Senior Consultant for the Guild of Interim Religious Educators (GIRE).

The team would like to invite anyone in the Parish to attend & observe/participate in our work/conversations.

First Parish Annual Picnic!

It is almost the end of our church year and we will be gathering to celebrate our community AND send off Rev Lisa on her sabbatical on June 12th from 12:00 pm-2:00 pm

We are having a Pot Luck Picnic this year. To help us be sure we have enough food, can you please use this Sign-up Genius link to let us know what tasty treats you can bring? 

We will have food, fun as well as a few surprises…

Hope you can be there! Please reach out to Leslie with questions: lesliecmacpherson@gmail.com

Link to sign up:

Yard Sale

The Yard Sale will be held on Saturday, June 18th, 9:00 am to 1:00 pmWe need LOTS of volunteers! Please email Jen Pinkus (jennifer.pinkus@gmail.com) if you can help out:

  • staff the donation hours (see below)
  • setup on Friday
  • staff the yard sale tables on Saturday

And don’t forget to pull together all your treasures for sale. Donations can be dropped off at the Parish Hall on any of these days.

Sun,  June 12, before or after church

Mon,  June 13, 4pm-7pm

Tues, June 14, 10am-noon

Wed,  June 15, 3pm-6pm

Thurs, June 16, 10am-noon; 4pm-6pm

The Racial Justice Focus Group invites you to join us in understanding the Widening the Circle of Concern UUA report.

In a nutshell, the report, which reads more like a book than a report, is about addressing the White Supremacy Culture within Unitarian Universalism.

Explore with us why we are engaging in studying the recommendations in the report with the intent of taking action toward implementing the recommendations. For example, many UU churches, have placed BLM signs on their front lawns, now many are adopting or in the process of deliberating adoption of the 8th principle which is about building a “beloved” community and dismantling racism and other systems of oppression within ourselves and within our communities. These are great first steps, but what does it mean to actually “live” the 8th principle?

We meet on the 4th Wednesday of each month from 7-8:30PM. All are welcome. Contact Rev. Lisa for the zoom link: minister@fpmilton.org.

If you can’t stomach yet another zoom meeting, we encourage you to at least pick up a copy of the report to read on your own and provide suggestions or feedback on what recommendations speak to you. Several copies are available at the office. You can also access a pdf, with audio access, here: https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/cic/wideni

Milton Community Concerts

PETER KRASINSKI THIS WEEKEND!:

Saturday evening, May 28 at 8pm: “A Night of Cinema Magic”, a rare opportunity to view two feature silent film classics with live organ accompaniment by Peter Krasinski;

ALSO:

Sunday afternoon, June 12 at 3pm: “Sing For Their Supper” free benefit concert to support Milton Food Pantry and Milton Residents Fund.

Visit for more information.

News and Announcements

Worship Committee – SUMMER SERVICES

Please come in person, when you can, to our hybrid summer services. It’s so supportive of the people who put them together with a lot of care and heart. But come however you can. We will have a screen that shows lay leaders and other participants those of you who have come via livestream. That will be new this summer and will help us feel more connected.

Meanwhile, we hope you will be intrigued by the themes of this summer’s services (some of them still working titles):

In Awe and Praise of Friendship, Simple Gifts – Lessons from the Shakers, Musings on Independence Day, Sing a Song into Prayer, Play, Musings on Creativity, Spiritual Lessons from Nature, Lessons from Basketball, Joy, What Membership Means to Me, Acting Lessons, Our Labyrinth.

*Please note: Apologies to Guy Pugh. I had absentmindedly substituted “Amish” for “Shakers” in his summer service theme until he brought up the mistake. – Penny Partridge

Please contact for more information: Penny (ppartridge@icloud.com) and Katie (katievhay@msn.com)

Volunteer Opportunities

Greeters Needed

Membership wants to reach out to those of you who have done Greeting in the past to help us from now until the end of the year. Please let Leslie Lesliecmacpherson@gmail.com know if you can help us on one of the Sundays between now and June 12thl

We have appreciated your help in the past and hope you can help again. Please sign up here if you are interested.

Main Spring Lunch Program

S&EJ will be taking a break from organizing Mainspring lunch delivery starting in July HOWEVER we still have 2 more delivery dates on June 1st and June 15th so IT’S NOT TOO LATE to sign up!!!

Click to sign up

Fair Foods

Fair Foods is a non-profit program that rescues fresh produce that wwould 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, June 25th.

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 on weekdays from early morning until mid-afternoon.Any questions or for more information contact Tony Dutzik at tdutzik@gmail.com or 617-291-4685

AFAB

Early in December, Carline Desire spoke to our church about AFAB. It is a grassroots organization dedicated to empowering low-income Haitian women and their children. They are looking for a volunteer for mornings or afternoons to help out with office work. For more information and an application, check their website at afab-kafanm.org or call Carmelle at 617-286-0096.

Beyond First Parish

General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Participants worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process. Anyone may attend; congregations must certify annually to have voting delegates.

Multi-Platform General Assembly

General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we conduct business of the Association, explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission and principles. That remains true even when we cannot gather physically. In 2021, GA had more than 4,000 registered attendees participate from remote locations around the world. Although we give up the face-to-face interaction and hugs that are prevalent when we meet in-person, we retain our dedication to community and make our experience more accessible and more environmentally sustainable.

In 2022, we will have the option of meeting online or in-person! For those who enjoyed the convenience and accessibility of remote participation, General Assembly will continue to offer virtual attendance with robust programming and enhanced delegate discussion tools. For those who have been missing the physical experience, GA 2022 will also feature face-to-face interactions, hanging banners, a browsable exhibit hall, meals with friends old and new, local site attractions, and more! Join us June 22 – 26, 2022 online or in-person in Portland, Oregon.

Registration for General Assembly 2022 in-person in here

Announcement of Elections at General Assembly

At this year’s General Assembly in Portland, Oregon, delegates will be given the opportunity to vote on candidates to serve on the UUA Board of Trustees. We, Rebecca Mattis and Beverly Seese, petitioned to be placed on the ballot providing delegates a choice on who will serve as future UU leaders.

Please visit our personal campaign websites, RebeccaMattisUU.Blogspot.com and BeverlySeeseUU.Blogspot.com to learn about our backgrounds and campaign platforms.

We have arranged to hold three Meet the Candidates Townhall meetings on May 25 and June 2.  Details can be found on our campaign websites.

Delegate voting opens June 1.  We encourage you to become informed voters and live into our Fifth Principle, the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.

Visit for https://www.uua.org/ga more information.


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.