This Week in Worship

Sunday, November 1 Worship @ 10:30 am in Meetinghouse

Theme: Vision

“On Halloween of 1999, sitting at a café overlooking the port of Honfleur, in Normandy, we watched a bizarre exercise of cultural cross-fertilization unfold before our eyes. Halloween is only a few years old in France. It’s not an easy custom to adapt, partly because French urban structures don’t lend themselves to trick-or-treating. In Honfleur, the local authorities found a way to surmount these logistical obstacles. They organized a Halloween parade so local children could trick or treat in mass in the cafes and shops along the port.

People, of course. draw on the models they already have. Halloween in Honfleur looked and sounded more like a labor strike than the traditional children’s ritual we were accustomed to. The children marched in a crowd between police cruisers, and their little fists raised, chanting, “We want candies! We want candies!” And what did they do as they proceeded down the port? They actually stormed all the restaurants and cafes ordering all the merchants to hand over the goods. We were stunned to see this hostile pack of rampaging ghosts and ghouls. They were having fun though, but even more surprised to see the grown up French going along with it. So much for trying to teach an old country new tricks.” – from ‘60 Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong’ by Jean-Benoit Nadeau & Julie Barlow

My friends Julie and Jean captured something very important in this piece about Halloween in France, a nation which had never celebrated it until fairly recently. What they witnessed was that even when a culture is “invaded” by another cultural phenomena like, France by Halloween, that other culture makes it its own. Our celebration of Halloween, is placed on top of the Christian All Saints and All Souls days which were placed upon the religious festivals of the Earth centered religions. Halloween, or Samhain in Gaelic, marks the quarter day, halfway between fall and winter. A time of growing darkness, when the boundary between this world and the next could more easily be crossed. So we once again are reminded of the spiritual origins of this holiday and the need for us to understand the reasons for rampaging ghosts and ghouls

This Sunday I am pleased to have members of the Great Blue Hill Coven of Unitarian Universalist Pagans assist with worship. As part of the service we will spend time remembering those people in our lives who have died in this past year. You are invited to bring with you some token of that person that will be brought up during the service and placed on the center table at the front of the church.

See you in church,

Hank

Religious Exploration

Sunday, November 1st

Children’s Church

Dear Parents of First Parish kids –

Next Sunday will be the first service of the year in our Children’s Church. It will be a service which will model the one in the big church and the theme is Remembrance. We will be discussing this tradition of Dia de los Muertos and building an altar as part of the service. We will be remembering those we have lost, whether person or animal, so if the children could bring with them a picture, stuffed animal for representation, special food or item that is meaningful, it will help us create a meaningful and beautiful altar. If one of your children would like to add music to the service, please let me know and we will include that, too.

Children’s Church is *your* church. We create worship together. If you haven’t met me, I am the Chair of the Worship Committee at First Parish and I have the luck to be able to lead your children’s worship in our monthly services in the “little church”. If you have questions about either this service or Children’s Church, please email me.

Hope to see you on Sunday.
Blessings,

-Leslie MacPherson Artinian,
Worship Committee Chair

News and Announcements

Halloween / Dia De Los Muertos Dance Party

Friday, October 30th @ 7pm – 9pm

The RE Committee is hosting its 6th annual Spooktacular Dance Party

All ages are welcome to enjoy DJ music, a haunted house, and scrumptious desserts. Bring a dessert if you’d like to contribute one. Add to our Dia de los Muertos altar of remembrance with a picture or memento of a loved one who has passed. Wear a costume and come join the fun! Contact Jen Leggett or Miriam Saavedra with any questions.

Great opportunity to see our talented youth!

Thursday, November 5 & Saturday, November 7

Will Macmillan. Colette Nourie, and Katie Steele will be performing in Milton High School’s production of 42nd Street.

For information, show times and how to purchase tickets follow this LINK.

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Thanks to all who came out on Sunday to support the Milton Public School music programs by attending the concert “Right on Your Doorstep”.

Through your help and generosity Milton Community Concerts was able to
raise $1174 for this worthy cause.

The Search Continues

News from the Ministerial Search Committee (MSC)

October has been another busy month for the Ministerial Search Committee. Thank you for participating in the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop and being open to exploring new ways of making First Parish even more welcoming, while enhancing our own sense of belonging. This workshop is an essential part of our search process and something ministerial candidates look at closely. The substantial participation (40 people spent most of the day at church that Sunday!) help our church look its best!

Next month, we will finalize and publish materials for prospective ministers, create a list of interview questions, and assemble photos and videos.

Please remember that for our committee to do our best job, we need to know what you’re thinking. If you’d like to share your ideas simply contact one of us.

Your Ministerial Search Committee:

Debbie Alsebai, Charlie Franich, Franc Graham, Elise Henricks, Jim May, Brigitte Miller, and Tracey Robinson.

Art Wall in The Link

Enjoy the paintings of our own Myrtle Flight.

Kiki’s Corner

Missing – Our 10 foot step ladder. If you have used it in the past few months in the building, please let us know where you stashed it. We haven’t found your hiding place. If you borrowed it to use outside the church, please return it to us. It is stored in the Sexton’s Closet. If we don’t have it back within the next couple of weeks, we will need to buy another one.

Thanks Tucker Smith for the gorgeous fall arrangement that graces
the front of the Meetinghouse.

STAY CONNECTED

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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!