This Week in Worship

Ingathering Sunday – Sunday, September 10, 2017 @ 10:30 am in the Meetinghouse

The first Sunday after Labor Day kicks off our full service church year at First Parish. We start with a pancake breakfast! We then gather outside the front of the meeting house at 10:30 am and enter in, singing a familiar hymn. Come, be a part of the celebration of our vibrant community embarking on our full service church year. All ages are welcome.

Minister Rev. Lisa Ward

As we enter into September, a time when parents, guardians and children are in back-to-school mode, with the spirit of supporting our future leaders and educating our young toward civic agency, the Trump administration announced a plan to end DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Eight hundred thousand young adult and youth immigrants, whose only steady home has been the United States, have now been told that their trust in our government, to reveal themselves as “dreamers” two years ago, was unwise; that we, as a nation, are not trustworthy.

One of the most important principles of a thriving, honorable democracy is that a minority’s rights must be protected as ardently as the majority’s rights. Yes, “dreamers” are not citizens, but they are active participants in our society, having contributed as much as any citizen to the life of this nation for most of their lives. With the recent transgender ban in the military, also betraying the trust of military personel who revealed their humanity a year ago at the peril of their jobs, and now the DACA disintigeration, we are seeing minority groups targeted cruelly, simply for political maneuvering.

This is one powerful reason why it is important that we come together to strengthen our values of interdependence, dignity, integrity and compassion. It is important that we support each other through learning, growing, deepening as healthy cells in the body of the world. We will find the right action with one another. We will know the true value of our lives in the fierce humility of honoring life for all peoples.

It is good to come together. It is good to claim our collective voice for the good of the whole.

This I pray, amen.
Rev. Lisa

Religous Exploration

Religious Exploration
Laurel Whitehouse,

• Nursery care will be available from 10:15 to 11:45 am in the Link hallway for infants and toddlers up to age 3.
• On Sunday, September 10, all children from preschool through grade 8 will attend the entire multigenerational Ingathering worship service in the Meetinghouse.
• Our youth will be hosting the annual Pancake Breakfast before the September 10th service. Please join them at 9 am in the Parish Hall. Attendance is free and the food and fellowship are fabulous!
• Religious Exploration classes will begin meeting on Sunday, September 17. All classrooms are located downstairs. Preschool through grade 5 will focus on Bible stories this year. Preschool through grade 2 will be enjoying the Spirit Play program in the Preschool classroom. Grades 3 through 5 will be exploring the Super Heroes: Bible People curricula, meeting in the Primary classroom. Grades 6 through 8 will be continuing a curriculum called Friends and Neighbors which is based on the former Neighboring Faiths program. This group will meet in the Activity room.

Register your child or youth! The Religious Education Committee requests all families to register their children and youth before classes begin on September 17. Paper registration forms are available on the RE bulletin board in the Link hallway.

Child care opportunities at FP Milton: Please email restaff@fpmilton.org if you are interested in being part of the child care team. We have occasional opportunities during the year for child care assignments after the service on Sundays or on afternoons/evenings throughout the week. In your email please give us your first and last names, email address, cell number, and confirm that you have completed a babysitting certification program.

Music News!

ALWAYS MORE ROOM IN THE CHOIR LOFT . . . . .

If you’ve ever thought about the possibility of singing in the church choir, why not give it a try this year? There is no audition required. All you have to do is show up at 8:45am for rehearsal on September 10th and join in the fun, while at the same time contributing in a huge way to the morning worship experience. And you don’t need to commit to singing every week if your schedule doesn’t allow it; just sing when you can.

If you think you might be interested please contact Tim Steele. Feel free to contact Tim if you would like to share your musical talents in any other way during this church year.

OUR NEW HUNSAKER SOLOIST, JENNIFER SGROE

We have a new soprano Hunsaker soloist to welcome on September 10th. Jennifer Sgroe will be replacing Tammy Ryan, our soprano soloist for the past two years. Jennifer is one of the leading sopranos in the Boston area. She has a doctorate in vocal performance from the University of Kentucky, and last year was an Assistant Professor and Head of Vocal Studies at Dean College in Franklin, MA. You can visit her website at jennifersgroe.com.

News and Announcements

Sunday, September 10th at 9:00 am
Pancake Breakfast before the Ingathering Service!

The youth of First Parish will help us kick off the congregational year with a great breakfast before our first regular fall worship service. Please come and reconnect with one another while munching delicious pancakes and bacon! No cost to attend! Breakfast begins at 9:00am in the Parish Hall.

Committee Chairs (and/or Committee Members): The tradition is that each committee helps out providing one pound of bacon. Please remember to bring your contribution on Sunday.

Rev. Lisa will be sorting out the library to increase user-friendly reference in the next couple of weeks. If you are interested in helping, please contact her.

Join us Saturday, September 16 for a Welcome Back Family Potluck and Ice Cream Social

When: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the Parish Hall

Start off the church year by coming to a Welcome Back Family Potluck and Ice Cream Social. Enjoy good food and conversation.

Ice Cream provided!! Bring your favorite topping!!

Feel free to bring your favorite potluck dish. Or if you need more direction, bring the item associated with the first letter of your last name. A-F = Appetizers, G-M = Salad or Sides, N-Q = Drinks (non-alcoholic only), R-Z = Entrees.

Questions? Contact us.

Saturday, September 23rd at 6 PM

It is the time of the Autumn Equinox. The fields are nearly empty because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter. Pagans celebrate Mabon as one of the eight Sabbats and the 2nd Harvest on the wheel of the year (celebrations based on the cycles of the sun).

It is Thanksgiving! It is time to respect the impending dark while giving thanks to the sunlight. And what better way to give tribute to the Sun, than to share the wonderful memories of our Summer!

Please join The Great Blue Hill CUUPS on Saturday, September 23rd. at 6 PM at First Parish in Milton. Keeping in our new(er) tradition of a Water Ceremony, bring with you a small vessel of water that holds positive energy, a happy memory of your summer that just passed. It doesn’t have to be from that particular place but bestow upon it that energy and bring the story behind it with you.

As always, our celebration will conclude with a feast from our gardens, fields and vines so please bring a dish and drink to share!

Social Action Committee News

Upcoming & Ongoing Events

We are starting our second season of volunteering at the UU Urban Ministry on the 2nd Saturday of the month. First Parish volunteers will meet at First Parish Milton travel to Roxbury together to help distribute food for Fair Foods,Inc. Please plan to meet in the First Parish parking lot by 10am.

Fair Foods is a non-profit food rescue organization dedicated to providing surplus goods at low or no cost to those in need. Since 1988 we have rescued and delivered millions of pounds of fresh produce and quality building supplies to low income communities throughout New England and around the world.

Check out the Social Action Bulletin Board for the most recent need for volunteers.

FMI|Marvin Venay

Kiki’s Corner

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at Ingathering Sunday activities or another time in September.

The Congregational Life bulletin board outside my office looks a little different this year. We will be keeping large calendars (2 months at a time) to reflect all church events (The September Potluck, All Church Council, etc.) If your group or committee’s information is not reflected in the calendar currently including regular committee meetings, please let me know. The calendaring process was started at the All Church Council last June and we are refining information as we receive it from various committees and groups. If you are curious about the calendar and are not at church, you can view it on the website, www.fpmilton.org. Click Calendar under Important Links.

STAY CONNECTED

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

REMINDER THE LINK DEADLINE IS TUEDAYS

“Brevity Matters” – Peter Bowden, Social Media Guru and wise UU

Deadline for submissions is Tuesdays. You need to address email to both office@fpmilton.org and director@fpmilton.org to assure your announcement will be included in the weekly Link. Written announcements for the Sunday Order of Worship are derived from the announcements for The Link. We, from time to time, will also publish non-church events with a connection to a member of the church. Your submission may be edited due to space requirements. We recommend that you submit no more than 1 – 2 paragraphs.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

Monday – Thursday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Other times by appointment

MINISTER OFFICE HOURS

Tuesday – Thurday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Other times by appointment

The Church office is closed on Fridays

SUMMER SUNDAYS

June 25 – September 3
Worship, 9:30 am in the Children’s Church
Silent Prayer & Meditation, 8:30 am in the Children’s Church
No Religious Exploration Program , Nursery Care, Choir Rehearsal

Beginning Sunday, September 10

Worship, 10:30am in the Meetinghouse
Choir Rehearsal (most Sundays) at 8:45 am
Silent Prayer & Meditation, 9:00am in the Children’s Church

EVERY THURSDAY

Silent Prayer & Meditation, 6:30pm in the Children’s Church

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