The poet David Whyte says that “We are here essentially to risk ourselves in the world.” For 325 years members of this congregation have been committed to our ‘risky’ ideals of the world. What foolishness to truly believe that we can create a community of love and justice! What happy foolishness to give our time, our talents, and our treasure to this noble experiment of ours. And what joy it is to come together and celebrate what we have given of ourselves to make this dream a concrete reality. What the rest of the world may consider to be foolish, we know is a sacred, powerful, and life-changing commitment. Preaching today is Rev. Anne Mason.

Rev. Anne Mason, Worship Leader

There will be Sunday school for Pre-K through 8th grade. The nursery will be open for babies and toddlers.

This Sunday, the First Parish Children’s Choir will sing Stephen Schwartz’s exciting “Light of the World” (from Godspell) with Sarah Beuttell, Lindsay Korn, McKenna O’Hare Gibson, and Ella Taibi singing the solo parts and Regie O’Hare Gibson on percussion. The sanctuary choir will sing Brahms’ glorious “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” (from Ein Deutsches Requiem) and Brazeal W. Dennard’s lively arrangement of “Great Day,” with soloist Austin Burns. For the centering music, Rip Jackson will play on the organ Louis Marchand’s soulful “Récit de Nasard” (from Grand Suite in C Major) and William Boyce’s festive “Voluntary in D Major.”

Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour before bed on Saturday. You won’t want to miss Sunday’s Celebration Service!

The week has arrived for the pledge drive events! All are invited to attend.

• Friday, March 10th, 7 PM at the Parish Hall: the annual Pledge Party, with refreshments and entertainment
• Sunday, March 12th, 10:30 AM in the sanctuary: Celebration Sunday.

Please bring your pledge card to one of these events or pledge on-line by clicking here.

The annual pledge drive brings in about two-thirds of the funds that provide worship and music on Sundays, pastoral care throughout the year, children and adult religious education programming, and community outreach. Our goal this year for the pledge drive is $393,000, which will come from roughly 160 households.

Your Annual Pledge Drive Team (Bob Coyne, Marsha Fox, Bob Gibbons, Katie O’Hare Gibson, Tom Rich, and Erik Svenson)

All are welcome to participate in an informal group of members and friends who enjoy fiber arts. On Thursday, bring your knitting, crocheting, beading or other fiber work and meet in the church parlor from 2:00 pm to 3:45 pm for a low-key time of fellowship, creativity, and sharing of ideas.

Just drop by or email Karolyn Eisenstein to join the email list.

Please come to the next Unity Group luncheon and program on Monday, March 13th, when First Parish’s own Regie O’Hare Gibson will talk, rap and sing about what it means to get into the swing of our human condition in his presentation:

Letter and Spirit: The Rants, Chants, and Coos of a Literary Musician

Social time begins at 12, and the program starts at 1:30.

Literary performer and educator, Regie Gibson, has lectured and performed in the U.S., Cuba and Europe. He’s been published in Poetry Magazine, Harvard’s Divinity Magazine, and The Iowa Review, among others. He’s received the Walker Scholarship for Poetry from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center; a YMCA Writer’s Fellowship; The Massachusetts Cultural Council Award for Poetry; and a Lexington Education Foundation Grant. His volume of poems, “Storms Beneath the Skin” has received the Golden Pen Award. Regie has performed with, and composed texts for, The Boston City Singers, The Mystic Chorale, and Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society. His poem, “This Building of Democracy” hangs on the wall of the Lexington Community Center.  He is the host of First Parish Lexington’s “Voices on the Green,” Music and Storytellers Series, described as part Ted Talk, part Moth Story, and part house concert.

With great joy,
the Board and Members of First Parish in Lexington,
invite you to join us for the installation of
the 24th settled minister of our congregation

The Reverend Anne H. Mason

Sunday, March 26 at 4PM
First Parish in Lexington
7 Harrington Road, Lexington, MA
Reception to follow

With any luck this is my final Weekly Update devoted to the annual pledge drive!  I and the other members of the Stewardship Team are hoping that everyone can pledge by this coming Sunday, March 12th. You can bring your pledge card to the special Sunday service that is planned for the 12th; or bring your pledge card to the March 10th pledge party (7 PM at the church); or mail your card to the church; or pledge on line by clicking here. If you did not receive a pledge card in the mail last week, Stewardship Team members will be at the party Friday night and in church on Sunday with a pledge card for you.

The annual pledge drive brings in about two-thirds of the funds that provide worship and music on Sundays, pastoral care throughout the year, children and adult religious education programming, and community outreach. Our goal this year for the pledge drive is $393,000, which will come from roughly 160 households.

Thank you for your generous pledge to First Parish.

In the spirit of community,

Tom Rich

Board Chair

Please bring your hearts and minds to this conversation on racial justice. Sponsored by the Lexington Human Rights Committee, join Rev. Anne and the Lexington Area Interfaith Community as they lead conversations and workshop ideas on what we can do to have a meaningful impact on the lives of those living and working in our town. Share stories and explore how you and your neighbors can work together to build a more racially just community.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Parish Hall, Sacred Heart
718 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421

Do you have WordPress skills? Are you a Facebook fanatic? Do you think First Parish would benefit from widening our social media outreach? The Communications Team is looking for a few tech-savvy people to help grow First Parish’s social media presence in the world. We invite anyone interested, including our youth, to contact us if you can put your social media skills to use for First Parish.

Training is available through the online course site, Udemy. First Parish has registered for the course, Church Social Media and Membership Growth, with instructor Peter Bowden, a church social media and growth consultant.

Please contact Lee Jeffers Brami, Communications Co-lead, at leejbrami@gmail.com. I know we have many parishioners of all ages with highly developed technical skills, and any help is appreciated!

It takes a village to run a fair! A volunteer sign-up sheet will be on the piano during social hour starting this Sunday. Volunteer opportunities include helping with the books, plants, jewelry, publicity, cafe, electronics, collectibles, baked goods, and more.

Have you started your spring cleaning? Or ridding your attic/basement of stuff you no longer want or use? No place to store those books from your winter reading? Have you given up dressing up? Or downsizing to smaller quarters?

If so, think MAYFAIR. It’s coming on Saturday, May 13th. Please consider donating items to the Mayfair selection of jewelry, collectibles, white elephants, books, and other good stuff.

More info will follow. Just please don’t toss it; donate it!

Amy Breiting

Marty Kvaal

Mayfair Co-chairs

The Social Action Ministry (SAM) at First Parish comes from our Unitarian Universalist faith based on the values of love, justice, community and responsibility. We do this within the supportive environment of our broader church community and the mission of First Parish “…to act on our values to serve the larger community and create a more just and loving world.”

News from UU Organizations

UU Mass Action

We hope you will join others from First Parish as we put our faith into action by gathering with UUs from across the state for UU Mass Action Advocacy Day.

When:  April 11th, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Where: Arlington Street Church & The State House

Inspiring worship, speakers, and conversation with your state legislators.

Keynote speaker: Rev. Paul Robeson Ford, Senior Pastor of the Union Baptist Church, Cambridge

Worship leader: Rev. John Gibbons, Senior Minister at First Parish in Bedford

Musician: Rev. Fred Small, Climate Justice Minister, Arlington Street Church

Now until March 20th: $25 Standard Registration and $12 Reduced Fee

Starting March 21st, the Registration Fee is $35

Register HERE

For more information go to  http://www.uumassaction.org/

To connect with other First Parish folks who are attending contact Stephen Shick mailto:stephenshick04@gmail.com

UU Urban Ministry

The following is from a letter that Susan from the UU Urban Ministry sent to Al Jacobson and members of First Parish:

“Thank you so much for the lovely gift baskets you delivered to the Urban Ministry for people we serve through our youth program and our affordable housing community. The bags were so thoughtfully created and the individuals who received them felt so touched by your generosity. Thanks for all the support you offer to the work we do in Roxbury and we trust that you know – we could not do this work/ministry without you and your support and thoughtfulness. Many good wishes to you in 2017.”

Exciting New Volunteer Opportunity Believe in Success A Job-Readiness Program for Survivors of Domestic Violence We have good news — and YOU can be a part of it! Please come to our open house on March 27 to learn how you can get involved in Believe in Success, a new UU Urban Ministry program that provides domestic violence survivors with “first step” life and career/professional pathway skills that will prepare them for “next step” skills training, entry-level work, or education. Monday, March 27, at 6:00 pm at the UU Urban Ministry 10 Putnam St. Roxbury, MA 02119 We are looking for volunteers to serve in a variety of roles, such as mentor, teacher, career coach, career panel participant, yoga instructor, wellness program leader, and childcare provider.   We will be identifying many more volunteer roles and activities as we continue developing the curriculum. Believe in Success will launch in September, 2017. Please join us at this open house to learn more! For more information, please contact Associate Director Rev. Susan Chorley at schorley@uuum.org or 617-318-6010 x 219

Do you practice earth-based spirituality, paganism, or Wicca? We’re looking for people in our congregation who engage with these spiritual practices and might be interested in having support from Adult Programs in honoring this part of our UU sources in this community. Please contact Lisa Maria if you want to talk more at dre@fplex.org or 781-862-8200 x3.

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