This Week in Worship

June 27, 2021

Sermon: “10 Things Poetry Has Done for Me””Poetry has helped me hold onto a single moment or important history,claim a complicated identity; connect with, celebrate, or mourn others.And more.”

Facilitated by:  Penelope Partridge 

Worship Associate:  Amy Kavadlo

Music:  Liz Alvarez

Audio Engineer:   Brynne Mershon &  Madeleine Miller

Service will be held live in Meetinghouse as well as on Zoom.

Please see the zoom link below. Please log in at 9:20, to give some lead time for the service at 9:30. 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 be dedicated to the services and ministry of First Parish.

At the Unitarian Universalist Minister’s Association conference this week, our UUA President, Susan Frederick-Gray, spoke of the importance of creating faith communities that are “grounded and growing”. “Grounded and growing”….nice phrase.  This is similar to the UU faith formation image of “roots and wings”: we find our ground of being in which creativity, curiosity and connection thrives.

As we venture back into embodied worship and in-house gatherings, bit by bit, we have the opportunity to bring what we have learned about what sustains us, what gives us hope, what strengthens resolve and resilience, what opens to the new.  We have more community building tools, as well, due to internet gatherings and imaginative connections.

As I leave on vacation for July, I find myself releasing expectations of the shape of our transitional return to campus as a faith community.  So much has begun to grow in this last year together.  So many possibilities.  There are also challenges of becoming a vibrant multi-generational community and of expanding our communication techniques and processes, both within the congregation and beyond our doors.  These times give an opportune invitation to reform, revision, and remark on what our faith community can be.

I have no doubt that we can find ourselves grounded and growing, an offering so needed as a vital part of the spiritual and civic dialogue of these times.  May we believe in our mission’s welcome to build a just and healthy world, with faith, love, and compassion.   Let’s see what happens as we combine our talents, our wisdom, our heart and our hope.

Blessings Be, Rev. Lisa

Summer Schedule

Vacation:  June 28 – August 3

In office weeks of August 2nd, 9th and August 16th

Study Leave August 23rd-30th (available for pastoral concerns)

Contact Amy Norton for pastoral concerns: amy.norton@comcast.net

Religious Exploration

Children, Middle School and High School: Programming will resume next fall. Wishing all families a summer full of moments of connection, beauty, and spiritual renewal!

~ Our bodies may not be touching, but our hearts are still connected.

Molly B. Nolan Joins the Staff Team in August

We are pleased to announce that Molly B. Nolan will join the staff team this August as Transitional Director of Religious Exploration for the 2021-2022 Church year. As we are still in such a fluid time, with constant adjustments to the pandemic while returning to a hybrid  in-house/remote church life, we welcome Molly as an active part of this next transitional year.  This is a ¾ time position, one year renewable.   There is much that we can discover together as we build an inter-generational community of learning and growing. Molly is originally from suburban Philadelphia.  She began life as a Roman Catholic.  She is a graduate of Merion Mercy Academy, and attended Albertus Magnus College in New Haven for two years. She then attended  the New York Restaurant School, worked in restaurant kitchens, ran a gourmet shop and catering operation and finished out her culinary career as a baker.  Molly became a member of the Unitarian Society of New Haven and soon after became involved in religious education there.  She has extensive experience both as an RE volunteer and professional.  She has served as a volunteer teacher, adult program facilitator, RE Committee member,  chair of the combined Children & Youth and Adult RE Committee and then of the separate Children & Youth Committee and Adult RE committees.  As an RE professional, Molly has taken almost all of the Renaissance modules and many other trainings offered by the UUA.  She has served two congregations in Connecticut as DRE.  Molly is finishing a degree in Religious Studies and Family Ministry through Charter Oak State College.  She was vegetarian for many years and vegan for the last five.  Molly continues culinary interests with vegan cooking, baking and canning.  She lives in Durham, CT with precious feline babes, Myrlie and Joycellen, knitting and listening to jazz and classical music, and learning the frame drum.

MUSIC THIS WEEK

Liz Alvarez will be leading music this Sunday.

Table of Contents

For Events, News and Announcements 

1. No Service on July 4th

2. Pledges

3. Milton Community Electricity Aggregation

4. Meditation

5. Yoga

6. Worship Committe News: Summer Worship

7. SJ&E Action Committee News

8. Office Summer Schedule

NO SERVICE ON JULY 4th! After a one week break, summer services will resume on July 11th.Please see the Worship Committee section for planned services. Have a happy and safe 4th!

2021-2022 Pledges

Thank you to all the generous First Parish members and friends who have made pledges for our next fiscal year, starting July 1, 2021. I wanted to remind everyone of how we in the office handle pledges.

1. If you pay by Vanco or another automated payment through your bank, you may want to review your pledge amount and make sure it’s still an accurate number. Many people increase their pledge yearly, but forget that if you want to pay your pledge in 12 equal installments, you need to change the monthly amount. We in the office are more than happy to help you with changing your Vanco account- but require your express permission to do so.

2. Sunday Contributions:  We assume that any contributions that come in on Sundays are gifts to the church, separate from your pledge. If you would like us to put your Sunday contribution towards your pledge, please contact Susan at manager@fpmilton.org.  [mailto:manager@fpmilton.org]

3. If you want to set up an automatic pledge, and need help- we’re happy to send you instructions on how to do so. Just email the office  at office@fpmilton.org[mailto:office@fpmilton.rg] Thank you for your commitment to First Parish!

Milton Community Electricity Aggregation

Finally! The Town of Milton is launching its own *Community ElectricityAggregation (CEA) program*, which Town Meeting approved in 2018.  Similar voluntary programs are functioning well in over a hundred Massachusetts communities (including Boston), reducing air pollution, greenhouse gases(GHGs) and other toxic byproducts. Milton’s program will promote a healthier future by offering residents and businesses three vetted options (100% / 10% / baseline basic) for electricity supply *using pollution-free, NE regional/ renewable resources *with rates which are fixed through November 2024. Visit the program website https://miltoncea.com/  to find the information you need to know and watch for additional literature in your mailboxes.  Milton Public Library CEA Info NightTuesday, June 29, 6 – 7 pm. 25-minute presentation / Q & A.

Meditation 

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

Thursday evenings at 6:45 pm-7:15 pm 

Sunday mornings at 9:00am-9:30am

Newcomers and friends welcome.

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

Yoga classes are now hybrid !6:30pm on Monday evenings  You can come into Parish Hall with  guest yoga instructor, Jayne Ogata.  Or if you choose to continue with Zoom, link below:

If you have never joined, you are invited to try your first class for FREE !

Worship Committee News

2021 Summer services ‘Lay Leaders & Themes

• 6/20    Rev. Lisa Ward, On Behalf of Fathers: A Father’s Day Sermon
• 6/27    Penny Partridge, 10 Things Poetry Has Done for Me
• 7/4      No Service
• 7/11    Robert Johnson-The Buddha and the Universe
• 7/18    Leslie MacPherson, What Covid Has Shown Me
• 7/25    Jim May, Stories from Stone House
• 8/1      Katie Vhay, Being Present
• 8/8      Jeff Stoodt, The Benefits of Being Religious Rather than Spiritual
• 8/15    Elise Henricks, Making Meaning: Handcraft as a Spiritual Practice
• 8/22    Joe Ayoub, TBD
• 8/29    Jennie Mulqueen, Emerge with a Song
• 9/5      Elise Henricks and Penny Partridge, Our Labyrinth

From S&EJ: Social Action Committee News

Fair Foods is a non-profit program that rescues fresh produce that would 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, July 10th  If you want to volunteer please sign up on Signup Genius by Thursday evening before the event. Start time and locations vary depending on FairFoods’ needs, but typically start between 8:00 and 10 a.m. at Fair Foods’ warehouse in South Boston. You can sign up to volunteer on Signup Genius.  Any questions or for more information contact Tony Dutzik at tdutzik@gmail.com

Last chance this spring for Mainspring lunches – June 30!!! We have decided to take a break this summer from our bi-weekly lunch program. Our last delivery before the break will Wednesday June 30th.   Please signup if you are able to help – volunteers still needed!!! The Social & Environmental Justice team will be discussing future plans for supporting Mainspring at our summer retreat.  Many thanks to all the generous volunteers who have helped make the lunch program a success over the last 14 months. You are the best!   For more info contact Peter Schneider at peterlschneider@gmail.com  or Pat Gallivan at plgallivan@verizon.net  for instructions;  if you already know the drill, signup on our schedule Mainspring SignupGenius – please include number of lunches you will bring in the note field – do not use “quantity” field.

OFFICE SUMMER SCHEDULE

Rev. Lisa Ward, Minister

Vacation:  June 28 – August 3

In office weeks of August 2nd, 9th and August 16th

Study Leave August 23rd-30th (available for pastoral concerns)

Contact Amy Norton for pastoral concerns: amy.norton@comcast.net

Susan DeMinico, Office Manager

office hours coming soon

Vacation August 16-August 19

Sherri Moldaver, Administrative Assistant

In the office on Monday-Thursday 8:30am-1:30pm

Vacation days: 6/28, 7/14 & 7/15, 7/26, 8/2

Molly Nolan, Inerim Director of Religious Education

Position starts August 2nd

Tim Steele, Music Director

Back in the Fall