This Week in Virtual Worship

Sunday, May 10th, 2020

“Nurturing New Life ​“

Rev. Lisa Ward

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 are posted.

Please be on the lookout for an Order of Worship which will be emailed to you on Friday, 5/8.  We’ve added the offering to the service with a new way to give- text to giving! 

Sunday’s offering will go to the Interfaith Social Services of Quincy —  Founded in 1947, Interfaith Social Services is dedicated to improving life for South Shore families and individuals in need. Their unique approach relies on a team of volunteers, donors and community partners to deliver compassionate, client-centered programs focused on hunger, mental health and emergency assistance.  ISSQ is providing essential services and support during the COVID crisis to individuals and families who need food and supplies for daily life.  The work of ISSQ is threatened by the closure of their thrift shop which provides significant income for their work. For more info go to:  https://interfaithsocialservices.org

You can donate anytime between May 7th and May 10th. See below for  text donation instructions.  It will be good to worship together. Do join us on Sunday if you can.

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Below in the Link: 

1. Minister’s Message

2. RE Message

3. Saying good bye to Sara Elizabeth

4. Annual Meeting via Zoom

5. Clapping for Medical Professionals

6. Sunday Donation Info

7. Mother’s Day Virtual Walk-a-thon for Peace

8. Solar Panel Update

9. Green Gleanings

10. Meditation Info

Minister

Rev. Lisa Ward

minister@fpmilton.org

In the midst of navigating COVID 19, news breaks this week of  the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, 25.  Mr Arbery was killed on Feb. 23 in a neighborhood outside the coastal port city of Brunswick, Georgia, by a white father and son. He was simply jogging while black.  The sunken feeling in the stomach, that this level of racism still exists, lands hard.

Wanda Cooper, Ahmaud’s mother, was asked whether she had seen the video of the murder of her son. She replied: “You know, I saw my son come in the world, and seeing him leave the world, it’s not something that I’ll want to see, ever.”

This Sunday is the annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace to raise funds and affirmation for the work of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a center of healing, teaching, and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss. (see walk information in an article below).  As Wanda Cooper so eloquently describes, when your family or circle of friends is impacted by violence, the process of reconstituting one’s life is long and hard. It is a wound that never fully heals.  It takes communities of justice and support, and regular assurances of love and kindness.

First Parish in Milton has participated in this walk for many years.  Please do consider supporting the efforts of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute (virtually this year). Also remember that your assurances, kindnesses and efforts of love and justice, in whatever situation, help heal our world.

It is good to be in community.

With Love, Rev. Lisa

Religious Exploration

Options for Children and Middle Schoolers: We are offering multiple short virtual programs throughout the week to help families feel connected to each other and to the heartbeat of First Parish Milton. Based on parent feedback we are exploring new dates and times for some of our online offerings:

Storytime: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:00 pm

Show & Tell: Wednesdays at 4:00 pm

Middle School Hangout: Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00 pm

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

As Sara Elizabeth winds up her final weeks as Youth Advisor (after seven years!) we are preparing a video farewell for her which we will show during the annual meeting on May 17. Please add a video “hug” by clicking on this link and sharing your thanks, favorite memories, and best wishes. We encourage everyone – young or older – but especially current youth, former youth, and parents – to record a short farewell message by May 15. Parents, please reach out to current and graduated youth as we don’t have all their email addresses.

We need everyone’s help to make a fun and meaningful goodbye gift for her! Laurel and the Youth Adult Committee

Events, News & Announcements

The Annual First Parish meeting this year, not surprisingly, will be held by Zoom teleconference.  While this is not ideal, we have had wonderful Sunday services using Zoom (huge thanks to Eric Miler) and are confident that the Annual Meeting will run smoothly.  We want this change in format to be as uncomplicated as possible and are working plans that allow members to participate, vote, ask question – everything that would normally happen – while sitting in your living room.  Even though its broadcast over Zoom we hope that otherwise it will feel similar past Annual Meetings.

The meeting warrant with zoom information will be sent tomorrow. If you don’t receive it by Friday evening, please contact the office.

If there are any questions about how to use Zoom, ask questions or vote – any questions at all about the technology – please let us know.   We want everyone to participate.  Feel free to send an email to office@fpmilton.org or call 617.698.6329 with questions, concerns or for assistance.

#ClapBecauseWeCare

Friday, May 8th 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.

Last Sunday’s Donations

Last Sunday, we collected donations for the Lous D. Brown Institute.

Thanks to your generosity, we were able to donate $615.47.

From today 5/07 through 5/10, we are accepting donations for the 

Interfaith Social Services of Quincy — Founded in 1947, Interfaith Social Services is dedicated to improving life for South Shore families and individuals in need. Their unique approach relies on a team of volunteers, donors and community partners to deliver compassionate, client-centered programs focused on hunger, mental health and emergency assistance.

ISSQ is providing essential services and support during the COVID crisis to individuals and families who need food and supplies for daily life.

The work of ISSQ is threatened by the closure of their thrift shop which provides significant income for their work. For more info go to:  https://interfaithsocialservices.org. 

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.

First Parish Milton has been participating in the Walk for Peace for many years.  We will have a team “virtually walking” again this year and hope you will join us.  The Mother’s Day Walk for Peace is a celebration of our potential to create more peaceful communities. Every year, families from across the state and region unite toward peace. Join us this Mother’s Day online! 

by virtual way, the Louis D brown institute is inviting us to…… 

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE WALK

1. Reach out to local papers and let them know you are participating. 
2. Tell your friends about the Walk! See Frequently Asked Questions here.
3. Ask your contacts to support your participation in the Walk. (see sample fundraising letter here)
4. Encourage your co-workers to participate and your employers to become a sponsor.  
5. Be social, share mothersdaywalk4peace.org  on twitter and facebook!  #mothersdaywalk4peace    
6. Change your facebook profile photo or banner to the image here.

Here are ways you can “virtually” walk:

Tune in to www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org 9:00am-9:45am on Sunday, May 10.  It will be a live broadcast with 2 anchors from NE Cable News, along with guest speakers.  No Zoom involved, just watch on their website. You are invited to share photos or send in comments on the facebook page. (search for: Louis D. Brown Peace Institute).  If you would like your photo or video of walking to be included in the live broadcast, send your photo contribution during the broacast on Sunday.

For more information or to register for the FPM team, go to the website: http://www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org.  Sounds like the registration is a bit complicated so if you have problems,  contact Pat Gallivan.

SOLAR PANEL UPDATE

Nothing is easy, especially in a pandemic, but we wanted to let you all know that, due to extended back and forth with Eversource, the timeline for installation of First Parish’s solar panels has been pushed back to the summer. Installation is now scheduled to take place in July with the system being turned on in time for the start of the new church year in September.

Resonant Energy continues to work to secure the necessary permits and utility approvals for the job and we’ll keep you posted as things progress.

Feel free to reach out to Tony Dutzik at tdutzik@gmail.com with any questions.

 Green Gleanings

Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods an online lecture by author Prof. Richard B. Primack 

Monday, May 18, 7 p.m.

Most people know Henry David Thoreau as a writer and botanist but he was a climate change scientist, too! More importantly, what would Thoreau tell us to do about global warming if he were alive today?

Join us at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18 for a fascinating, virtual (Zoom) discussion with acclaimed author and Boston University Professor Richard B. Primack on the local impacts of climate change. Register for this free event on Milton Public Library’s website miltonlibrary.org or call 617-333-0924 to receive the access link and pertinent information.

For the past 17 years, Professor Primack and his B.U. team have been using Thoreau’s records from the 1850’s and other Massachusetts data sources to document examples of the seasonal biological effects of climate change, including the often-neglected autumn season.

As a primer for the May 18th lecture, Milton Library’s executive director Will Adamczyk will lead an optional online discussion of Prof. Primack’s book on Wednesday, May 13, at 7:00pm.

Pre-registration (see above) is required for both events. Co-sponsored for Earth Day 2020 by Milton Public Library, Blue Hills Climate Action Coalition, and Sustainable Milton with grant funding from Milton Junior Woman’s Club.

Meditation continues ….

All are welcome to join for 30 minutes of silent meditation/prayer on 

Thursday evenings at 6pm 

Sunday mornings at 9 am

Newcomers and friends welcome.

Here are the links — these should remain consistent every week 

but note that the link for Thursday is different from Sunday!

Please contact Tracey at tdr02186@gmail.com if you have questions or want to join us!