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 Rev. Lisa
- This Week in Religious Exploration
- News and Announcements
- Events and Meetings
- Social & Environmental Justice Committee (SEJC)
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Beyond First Parish
This Week in Worship
“Nourishing Our Faith”
Worship Assistant: Dottie Pitt
Audio: Nina Truong
Flowers: Allison Zippay
Social Hour: Richard & Deb Venable
Please join us for service at 10:30am.
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.
This week’s offering will go towards the service and ministry of First Parish.
In 1879, Unitarian forebear Julia Ward Howe wrote a “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in the wake of her experience of the brutality and devastation of the Civil War. “Arise, all women who have hearts,” she begins, “whether your baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: ‘We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience…From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, “Disarm, disarm! The sword is not the balance of justice.”
The full text can be found here:
Realizing that mothers, especially in her time, were the people who primarily raised their children in their formative years, Julia wanted women to come together internationally to claim the common needs of peace, understanding and justice.
Though such a general congress was not formed, Ms. Howe proposed a women’s day for peace in 1872, which was celebrated on June 2 for the next 30 years. In 1913 Congress then declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother’s Day.
So this Sunday, when the Hallmark imperative of Mother’s Day captures the attention of much of the nation, remember that the cause of peace was its original intention. What’s more, see below for an opportunity to put that cause toward action in the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace.
Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa
Dear First Parish Friends,
Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday and I hope you can join us for this important annual event right in our neighboring Dorchester area; it is a longstanding tradition at First Parish. Participating with my kids has been a great way to live into our faith and values, and it was by coming to First Parish that I learned about the history of Mother’s Day and how it is rooted in a movement for peace. The walk usually takes several hours, so probably good for ages 10 and up.
Click on the register tab. Join our 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.
Warmly, Jennie Mulqueen
Music This Week
This Sunday the music will highlight the contributions of women, and mothers in particular. The postlude was written by Marianne von Martinez, a composer and pianist who was a contemporary of Mozart and Haydn in the late 1700’s. Elaine Daiber and Grace Allendorf will present a duet called “Roots and Wings” by Missouri-native Sherri Porterfield. Grace will also be offering a solo from the musical WORKING, by Stephen Schwartz and Craig Carnelia called “Just a Housewife”. This musical was based on the book by Studs Terkel called “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do”.
RE This Week
UU Summer Fun Registration!
It’s time to formally register for our UU summer fun! Follow this link to register. If you signed up on the “Express Interest” form, we still need you to officially register with this link! Per the recommendation of the Religious Education Committee, we are shifting our age range to also welcome preschoolers whose older siblings will also be attending our summer fun and/or who attend Spirit Play but may not be entering first grade. Please reach out to Louise (re@fpmilton.org) with questions about this new policy. We continue to want to be flexible and accommodating, while still prioritizing safety and a quality experience for all involved.
News & Announcements
SAVE THE DATE
The Annual Meeting will take place on Sunday, May 19th after worship service in Parish Hall. You must be present to vote. See you there!
Summer Services Are Just Around the Corner!
Consider sharing something of yourself with the congregation this summer—there are just a few dates remaining for these lay-led services. Services start at 9:30 and can be as unorthodox as you’d like—even outside! Please contact Steve Yakutis at steve.yakutis@gmail.com or Lisa White at lisawhite1250@gmail.com if you’re interested or want to learn more.
Events & Meetings
May 18th Storytelling Event
Attention tellers of tales, fish stories, anecdotes and other ephemeral memories of lives well lived:
We are having another story hour on Saturday May 18 at 4PM. Our format is simple: come with a 5 minute long tale related to the theme, which this month is “Rivalry”.
You can also just come listen, though we found out from our first gathering on April 27 that all who came shared a story. Stories beget memories which beget stories. Come and be a part!
Annual Yard Sale is June 22nd
Save your stuff!
Save some time on your calendar to help out.
Looking forward to working with everyone on this fun event!
Social & Environmental Justice Committee (SEJC)
May 15th is the next date!
S&EJ (Social & Environmental Justice committee) is looking for volunteers the first and third Wednesday of each month to contribute lunches. We hope to deliver 70 lunches twice a month to support shelter guests.
See updated instructions on the Mainspring SignUpGenius page and signup whenever you can help out.
We are counting on your support!
Beyond First Parish
Courageous Conversations Towards Racial Justice’s next read will be “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” by Richard Rothstein.
We will meet on Zoom on Tues 5/14/24 and 5/28/24 from 7:00 pm-8:30 pm
For 5/14/24 we will read through Chapter 7 and we will finish the book on 5/28/24.
It is not readily available at the Milton Library or the Boston Library (online at least) without a wait, but used copies are available at BooksRun and new and used at Amazon.
Ibram X. Kendi in “How To Be an Antiracist” pointed out that policy is either racist or antiracist. This new book seems to add support of this concept.
For Questions and or the Zoom link please reach out to Debbie Alsebai at alsebai@verizon.net.
AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
Sponsored by
Milton Interfaith Clergy Association
Thursday, June 27th 1:00 pm-6:00 pm
Congregation Beth Shalom of the Blue Hills
18 Shoolman Way
Milton, MA 02186
The blood drive will be live and ready for scheduling by March 18th.
To schedule appointment on or after Mar 18 please visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code: MICA
Or call 1 (800)-Red-Cross
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.