This Week in Virtual Worship

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Sunday, August 27 , 2020 9:30am

“Telling Your Story“

 During this service Julie will talk about the spiritual, personal and creative growth she has enjoyed and witnessed since joining the storytelling community. She will encourage attendees to participate in fun, interactive storytelling activities during the service.

Facilitated by: Julie Baker

Worship Associate:  Joe Ayoub

Music:  Liz Alvarez

Sound Tech: Madeline Miller

Virtual Social Hour Host: Jenn Pinkus

ZOOM LIVE-STREAM WORSHIP PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE TO 9:30AM

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.

Please be on the lookout for an Order of Worship which will be emailed to you on Friday, 8/28.

Sunday’s offering will be dedicated to the services and ministry of First Parish Milton.

We’ve added the offering to the service with a new way to give- text to giving!

We will continue having a social hour after services. Just stay on the Zoom worship call.

It will be good to worship together. Do join us on Sunday if you can!

Out Of Office

Rev. Lisa Ward on vacation August 24th-Sept. 1st

Solar Panel Update

After months of diligent planning, education and fund raising the solar panels have arrived!!

As a treat during these unusual times, drive by First Parish and see the solar panels being installed on the many roofs.

See your donations and commitment towards climate justice in practice here on our campus. 

It has been a long road filled with hours of volunteer time and congregational learning to get to this point and we should be proud.

If you bid on items at the chocolate auction or made a donation towards a panel or panels you have made our campus greener and less dependent on fossil fuels.

Hope you will be in town on September 12 as we parade in our cars around the church to celebrate this monumental time in our churches history. Details for this socially distanced celebration will be forthcoming.

If you have not turned in your solar panel pledge or paid your 2020 commitment amount please get those in to the office as soon as possible. It is not too late to be recognized on the the Solar Panel Legacy project.

Blessings and may the Sun continue to shine on First Parish Milton.

-Debbie Alsebai (-:

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

Events, News & Announcements

“Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution — more so thanopposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what tohang on to.” – Lisa Cron, Wired for Story

Julie Baker is a long-time member of First Parish, a Moth storyteller, andco-producer of Now Listen Here storytelling workshop and open-mic series.She is leading Sunday’s summer worship service about the power ofstorytelling. Check your mic and turn on your video for what we hope willbe a fun, interactive Zoom service.

Service Opportunity from the Milton Resident’s Fund

The Outreach Commission of Saint Michael’s Parish in Milton, in conjunction with The Milton Residents’ Fund, is working to collect much needed school and health supplies for Milton children to be successful with the upcoming hybrid/remote school year.

An Amazon wishlist has been created by Milton Residents’ Fund Coordinator, Noreen Dolan, who will organize and distribute the supplies to Milton families experiencing a financial crisis during these stressful times.

If any member of the First Parish Milton community are interested and able to assist by purchasing supplies, please visit the amazon link to the wishlist. The Milton Residents Fund is also continuing to gratefully accept grocery gift cards to Shaws/Star Market or Stop & Shop for Milton Families as the weekly school meal pickup service is ending August 31st.  Any gift cards can be mailed to First Parish attn: Milton Residents Fund, 535 Canton Avenue, Milton, MA 02186..

Seeking photos for our Ingathering Service!

Please submit a photo of yourself for a photo slideshow during our Ingathering worship service in September. Choose a photo of a summer activity, a favorite hobby, or any photo you’d like to share. Family group shots or individual photos are welcome. We hope to get photos of as many folks as possible.

Please send your jpg photos by September 7 to fpmiltonre@gmail.com.

Where Are We In the Cultural Shift Toward Racial Justice? Bi-weekly Conversations by Zoom with Rev. Lisa and Debbie Alsebai Wednesday, September 2nd 7:00pm – 8:30 pm

The isolation due to Covid-19 and the stark, unequivocal events of racialinjustice in this nation has encouraged a widespread willingness to examinewhat is needed for true equity and justice for all.

Let’s answer the call.Part of the work is seeing more clearly.  This does not call for shame and blame, but for the courage of discomfort and openness to new choices and new changes. What does it mean that history is white washed?  How does white privilege play out, even among well-meaning liberals?  What is the networking of systemic racism?

We’ll meet every other week to share stories, examine articles and short videos, and encourage one another to further see the culture we have been taught to navigate.  This is a hope-filled endeavor.Please join us and invite your friends.

A zoom link will be sent out the week of the conversation. Interested?  Contact the office: office@fpmilton.org

Building Bridges !

Exciting Youth Summer Project !!!

Saturday, September 12th

(raindate Sept. 26th)

First Shift: 10:00am-11:30am or 2nd shift: 12:00pm-1:30pm 

Church of the Holy Spirit, 525 River St., Mattapan

Youth between 6th and 12th grades from Mattapan, Milton, Hyde Park & Dorchester are invited to create a Heart as a fundraising activity to support Essential Workers.  For additional information please contact:  Debbie Alsebai @ 617-821-9460 Social Distancing will be maintained and masks must be worn. Cleaning will take place between shifts.

Let your love shine on NEPONSET NEIGHBORS TOGETHER FUND

to support residents in:

• Mattapan
• Milton
• Dorchester
• Hyde Park

Uncle Sam needs you to Volunteer! For the following S&EJ sponsored activities: in

First Parish is pleased to be joining the Reclaim Our Vote Campaign to help end voter suppression in this year’s critical election.

Postcards will be sent to people of color in the southern states. The focus at this point is Texas, as strong volunteerism has covered other campaigns.  Our goal is to send another 1,000 postcards in the next 2 months. We will provide the postcards, labels, script and addresses. Writers will be responsible for paying the $.35 postage per card. If you have volunteered already and would like more postcards please register on link below. To order postcards through our church, click here. 

Questions? Contact Cynthia Guise at clguise@comcast.net

Mainspring lunch program – HELP needed! 

For our delivery on  September 9th – Volunteers acquire food and pack 10-20 lunches and deliver to the church between 12:45-1pm on Delivery day. One team lead drives all the lunches to the shelter in Brockton.

 If you can help, please contact Peter Schneider at peterlschneider@gmail.com for instructions or if you already know the drill, signup on our Mainspring Signup

Genius website – please indicate number of lunches you will bring.

Currently, volunteers are needed on Fridays 10:00 am and on 9:30 am Saturdays at First Parish in Dorchester,  though details vary by week.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Tony Dutzik at tdutzik@gmail.com

The Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, including violinist and First Parish memberJulia Cash, is offering an online chamber music concert on August 27th at7pm. The concert will feature Julia in the Mozart Clarinet quintet withBoston Pops Clarinetist Ian Greitzer. It was recorded right here in Miltonin Julia’s lovely back yard.  Go to the website onthe 27th-29th and it should be available.

First Parish has restarted  Monday night yoga classes- virtually via Zoom! Elyse, our yoga instructor for many years, will be teaching Mondays from 6:30-7:30pm.

Elyse describes her yoga classes as slow flow Vinyasa with modifications offered to allow for all levels. Use your breath, poses and meditation to regulate your nervous system and allow yourself to come up for some air. This class is open to all- even  if you never attended the in-person yoga classes before!

Cost for the yoga classes: $15 for one class, or 8 for $80. If you previously paid for yoga classes that were cancelled due to the pandemic, we are honoring those payments.

If you are new and need to pay for classes, you can do so with ease from your cell phone. Text (617) 539-7576 and the amount you are paying with the word “yoga”- so a text message would say “$15 yoga”.

For those of you that have already set up text giving with us, it is the same phone number and system, so you will not have to set up another account. If you haven’t set up text for giving, when you text the number, it’ll prompt you to create an account. Once you create the account, giving really is as simple as a text message. You can always mail a check to the church (putting yoga in memo line) if that is more comfortable for you.

Meditation continues ….

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

Thursday evenings at 7:00pm 

Sunday mornings at 8:45am

Newcomers and friends welcome.

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

OFFICE SUMMER SCHEDULE

Rev. Lisa Ward, Minister

Vacation: Aug. 24 – Sept 1

Susan DeMinico, Office Manager

Summer hours:

Tuesday and Wednesday 8:30-4:30,  Thursday mornings

Sherri Moldaver, Administrative Assistant

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

Laurel Whitehouse, Director of Religious Education

Tim Steele, Music Director

Back in the Fall