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
- This Week in Religious Exploration
- Events and Meetings
- News and Announcements
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Beyond First Parish
This Week in Worship
“What Membership Means to Me.”
Belonging. We all want to feel like we are part of something. Leslie MacPherson and Jonah Beukman, who are both part of the First Parish Membership Committee, explore what membership — and belonging — means in this Sunday’s service.
Facilitated by: Leslie MacPherson
Worship Assistant: Jonah Beukman
Music: Liz Alvarez
Audio: Nina Truog
Worship Services are hybrid.
Join us in person or 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 go to the service and ministry of First Parish.
Religious Exploration
The fall RE program starts September 18th and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back!
In order to do so, we need all children and youth who plan to participate to register by August 21st. The registration form can be found here.
Do you know someone who might be looking for a faith formation program for their children? We are welcoming new children and youth of any ages. In particular, our preschool and middle school programs currently do not have enough children to run. Please help us spread the word about these programs to your friends and neighbors! Class descriptions are included in the registration form and intersted families can contact Bridget at bridget@sitkoff.net for more information.
Events and Meetings
11th Hour Calling- Monthly Stand Out for Climate Action & Justice
Thursday, August 11, 6-6:30 p.m.
535 Canton Avenue (next to Town Hall)
Even though it’s summertime…. we continue to care about the climate emergency, environmental justice, elimination of fossil fuels from our lives, and municipal response planning wherever you may live. There are efforts to expand artificial turf playing fields in Milton which pose documented environmental and human health risks. Learn more at our August 11 gathering.
Next month’s 11th Hour Calling: Sunday, September 11th
News and Announcements
Summer Building Projects
With fewer meetings and in person events during the summer, we use the summer to tackle some big building projects. This summer is no exception! If you’ve come by First Parish in the last few weeks, you’ll see a number of projects underway.
1. The Link: Painter’s Pride, the company that did the painting and restoration of the Meetinghouse a few years ago, is scraping and painting the Link for us. The doors are getting a fresh coat of paint and the windowsills repaired and painted. It looks like a new building! They’re expected to finish their work this week.
2. The rear of Parish Hall/Kitchen- we’re renovating the rear of the building, where the Carriage House Nursery School students enter, as well as the rear wall of the kitchen. Due to lead paint concerns, we opted to cover the existing wood boards with cement boards- encapsulating the lead, as lead paint can never truly be removed. Our contractor, during this process, found that none of the windows in the kitchen were insulated- and insulated all of them at no cost to us. If you haven’t had a chance to see it, you should come walk by!
3. Stairs: You’ll notice that the stairs at the Parish hall and social worker entrance have been scraped, stained, and new stair treads put on. This process is ongoing, so please be cautious and look for signs as you enter the building. The humidity of the last few weeks has made for long drying times.
4. Wayside Pulpit- While we had hoped this would be a project completed this summer, the new wayside pulpit will be installed in the fall. Permits and approvals are taking a touch longer than we hoped, but we’re still expecting something completed in October.
5. Routine Summer projects: we have a number of things we do each summer, just to make things look a bit nicer for fall. All the carpets are cleaned, the kitchen floor steam cleaned and resealed, paint touch ups through the entrance ways. Microphones and sound lines checked, batteries replaced in listening devices, and routine maintenance on the copier done. If you ever notice small things like this- lights out, a broken door handle, etc- please do let us know.
We hope you enjoy the building improvements!
Susan DeMinico
Church Administrator
Yoga
Monday night Yoga with Elyse is taking a break for the rest of the summer. Yoga will return on Monday nights on 9/12, in person and online. Current yoga students will be contacted about how their remaining sessions will be credited.
Worship Committee – SUMMER SERVICE Schedule
An hour earlier – 9:30am! – in the Meetinghouse and on Zoom. The Zoom Link is NEW for summer services, so please make sure to see the info above.
8/21 Tracey Robinson and Walt Hagenbuch- Joy
8/28 Tom Kemp and Chris Clifford- “I’ll pick door #2, no, no, #3!”
9/4 Elise Henricks and Christopher Clifford- Our Labyrinth
Please contact for more information: Penny (ppartridge@icloud.com) and Katie (katievhay@msn.com)
Volunteer Opportunities
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, August 13th.
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.
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.
Beyond First Parish
The Makanda Project
Jazz on th Green – 2022 Summer Series
Here’s a great opportunity to visit the UU Urban Ministry
Check out the progress on the Meeting House renovations,
Experience the new Peace Garden, and enjoy a wonderful outdoor jazz concert!
All are invited to 10 Putnam St. in Roxbury to see and hear the world-class jazz music of The Makanda Project. There are three concerts scheduled. See flyer below for more info.
Bring a towel or a chair and join us for one of these free shows.
Check out the event webpage and UUUM social media accounts if the forecast doesn’t look friendly.
As a reminder, some staff hours change over the summer.
Lisa Ward- on sabbatical until 11/15.
Rev. Tricia Brennan serving First Parish 8/15-11/15.
Sherri Moldaver- Monday-Thursday 8:30 am-1:30 pm
Kevin Harnden- morning hours
Tim Steele- off for summer, returning to First Parish in Fall
Susan DeMinico- in July and August- Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-4:30 pm at First Parish, Wednesdays 9-3 pm working remotely. On vacation 8/12-8/23.
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.