This Week in Worship

Sunday, June 21 @ 10:30 am in the Meetinghouse

Flower Communion

The Flower Communion is one of those rituals that I grew up with and which I believed was quite old. I was amazed when I discovered that it was created just a few years before my father was born. The whole ritual feels ancient doesn’t it, and I suppose that it was intended to. The giving of flowers has been something that I would imagine humanity has done since we first walked beneath the sun, thus fashioning a ritual celebrating the beauty of the earth and our connection with each other only makes sense. I am so happy to be sharing this ritual with you all. I hope that you can make it and I ask that you bring a flower with you to the service on Sunday.

Please stay after the service for our ALL CHURCH PICNIC!!!!

SUMMER SERVICES BEGIN! June 28th and run through August 30th

The 10:30 am Sunday morning worship services will be led by myself and by various members of our congregation. We have a wealth of talented friends and members who will share their interests, talents, passions, music, art, and spiritual practices. I do hope that you come to summer worship. The summer services will be held in the Parish Hall. No nursery provided but we will have arts projects available.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Next week I and about 5000 other Unitarian Universalists will be gathering in Portland, Oregon for the yearly business meeting of the Association. I’ll tell you more about it when I return, what I want all of you to know is that during my time away, if you have a pastoral emergency please feel free to call me on my cell phone 781-475-9891, I will have a local colleague “on call” if needed.

See you in church (with a flower!)

Rev. Hank

Flower Communion Sunday is JUNE 21. Please remember to bring some flowers for the communion part of the service. For those of you that have the gift of a green thumb and a lovely garden, please consider bringing extra flowers to share with the congregation

SUMMER SERVICES BEGIN SUNDAY, JUNE 28 — Same Time (10:30 AM) New Location (Parish Hall)

Religious Exploration

Sunday, June 21

NO Religious Exploration during the summer. We will be back in the Fall!
Please go online and register your child/children.
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Our Passages class had their ceremony this past Sunday — Congratulations to Molly, Colin and Xavier for a wonderful job!

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Registration for Religious Exploration 2015 – 2016 is now open!

You can register online at the Members Page or stop by our table during coffee hour, register your child, ask questions and get involved!

The RE Committee held their retreat this past week and are excited to share the RE Vision. Please stop by the RE Bulletin board and take a look at the calendar for 2015 – 2016. Please remember it takes a village to run a successful RE program. Ask us how you can help! You can contact Lisa White, RE Chair or Miriam Saavedra, Religious Educator with any questions.

Social Media Release Form

We love posting pictures on Facebook and the website. We have learned, however, it is best practice to have written authorization for all (adults and children). Forms will be on the RE table during coffee hour this Sunday and online soon! Please complete written authorization and leave it in the name tag basket in the Parish Hall foyer.

Thank you,
Church Office

News and Announcements

Litha – Summer Solstice 2015 June 20th — Reaching for the light, rooted in the earth

The heat makes the earth shimmer under our feet, and the rain steams as it hits the ground. The hot breath of the sun fills our lungs; and the fertile smells of blossom, decay and growth are the bouquet of life.

Summer solstice marks the time when the sun ‘stands still’, offering us our longest daylight and our shortest night. Please join the Great Blue Hill CUUPS pagans for a celebration of joy as we walk the stone labyrinth on the grounds of the beautiful Mary B Wakefield Charitable Trust on Brush Hill Road in Milton at 6:00pm on Saturday, June 20th.

Walking a Labyrinth is like accepting an invitation to pray, meditate, contemplate, dream, celebrate or play. It is a place to find inspiration, satisfy a curiosity, examine metaphor, mythology or simply a place to explore on the Summer Solstice, a day “betwixt and between” spring and summer.

Things to bring:

• a flowing scarf or simple musical instrument (tambourine, etc)
• a flower or a fist-sized rock to add to the labyrinth
• non-alcohol libation or snack for our usual pot-luck social back at the Parish Hall after the labyrinth ceremony (approx 7pm)

With questions or to let us know if you are likely to attend, contact Mark Whall at 617-282-4075.

Flower Communion Sunday and Church Picnic June 21, 2015 — Be part of the fun and fellowship.

FISCAL YEAR ENDS JUNE 30, 2015 — PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FULFILLED YOUR FY 2015 PLEDGE

Please contact Kiki if you need to get details about your situation

REMINDER: Notices for The Link must be submitted by 5pm each Tuesday. Please keep the notice to one paragraph. We welcome a small graphic or photo. This deadline allows us some time to review the information, and prepare The Link and the Order of Worship. Community Events are listed if there is room available. Depending on the length of the announcement, it may be edited to fit our space limitations. We need to have the deadline met and the email sent to both email address to assure that your announcement is in The Link and Sunday Announcements. We aim to have The Link finalized by noon on Thursday as well as having announcement printed by then. The office is closed on Fridays.

MSPCA Angell receives donation from children of First Parish Milton

The children elected to donate proceeds from Children’t Church offerings to a worthy organization. This year’s recipient was MSPCA Angell. They received a Certificate of Appreciation and some other momentos from them. Check out the bulletin board between the Director’s office and the Nursery to view the items. You will also see the last art project from the Passages Class.

Kiki’s Corner

Summer Season at the Office

The office will be open during the summer. Office hours will be Monday – Thursday 10:30 am – 2 pm from June 22 through September 3. Rev. Hank Pierce, Kiki Giatis, Miriam Saavedra and Kevin Harnden all will be taking time off and vacation during the rest of June, July and August. Tim Steele and Sara Elizabeth Santa Cruz will return in September. Hank will be away for General Assembly from June 22 – June 29, Kiki will be away June 25 – July 5, Miriam will be away July 3 – 7. Miriam and Kiki will not be working on Sundays throughout the Summer.

If you have an emergency pastoral care issue while Hank is at GA, please call his cell (781.495.9891)

The Link will be published each week. If you are planning to visit the office, please call ahead to make sure someone is around.

Last Call. Check the Parish Hall entryway and coat racks to claim items left behind. There are eyeglasses, sweaters, mittens, and a number of miscellaneous items. The items will be permanently disappearing over the summer.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow First Parish on Facebook and get updates, poems, announcements and more. You’ll be glad you did!

EVERY SUNDAY

Worship, 10:30am in the Meetinghouse

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

THE SUNDAY PLANNER

Please consider volunteering for important Sunday worship positions like ushering, hosting social hour, providing flowers for worship, and lighting the chalice. Sign Up Here!