Today we celebrate Earth Day, both rejoicing in the beauty of the Earth, and looking at our responsibility to care for the Earth.  Robert Armstrong, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative and member of First Parish, will have a sermon dialogue with Rev. Anne as we explore the intersection of Climate Justice and our UU faith.

Rev. Anne Mason, Worship Leader

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

Are you new to First Parish and/or interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism? Please come to the New UU Class, which will be held on Saturday, April 22nd from 9:00am to 12:00pm. The class is for new visitors to First Parish, new members, and anyone wanting a refresher! The class will include discussion about UU beliefs, the Seven Principles, the Six Sources, and the UU symbol – the flaming chalice. We will cover the benefits and responsibilities of membership at First Parish, what our motto Love, Seek, Serve means, our mission, and our covenant and why it is different from a creed. We will also speak about church governance and opportunities for connection and service.

Please contact Rev. Anne Mason at 781-862-8200 x2 or minister@fplex.org or Polly Erickson, Members & Friends chairperson, at polly.erickson@rcn.com.

Sunday, May 7, 2017, at 3:30 PM

First Parish in Lexington
7 Harrington Rd. Lexington, MA

Suggested Donation: $20/adults; $10/Students and Seniors

(More if you can and less if you can’t – all are welcome!)

First Parish in Lexington will present a Broadway Cabaret on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 3:30 PM. The concert will feature the First Parish sanctuary and children’s choirs and soloists, guest singers, and a pit band (piano, drums, electric guitar, electric bass, trumpets, horns, flute, saxophone and clarinet) performing solo and choral music from Broadway including selections from Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, Annie, West Side Story and Show Boat. Suggested donation: $20/adults; $10/students and seniors (more if you can and less if you can’t – all are welcome!). For more information call the church at 781-862-8200 or visit www.fplex.org.

Last call! Wondering how you can help with the Broadway Cabaret?

There will be a reception following the concert, and donations of finger food such as brownies, fruit, cupcakes, veggies, and other small, healthy items are needed. Please contact Hazel Graham if you can bring something and what it will be.

Email Hazel here if you can contribute.

Submissions for the May issue of the Focalpoint are due to Jane Foley by Friday, April 21st at 5:00 PM.

Click here to email the office.

Mayfair will be held this year on May 13th, less than a month away! This is our big spring fundraiser (and also a source for many a Mother’s Day treasure!).

Please think about how you can help make the Fair a success.  How about:

~ baking some delicious goodies or other comestibles?

~ planting seedlings or re-potting plants?

~ making espresso at the coffee bar or serving delicious lunch to our shoppers?

~ selling on Saturday or sorting and pricing on Friday day and evening?

~ setting up before or cleaning up after?

You don’t need to do everything, just help out with something. We can use whatever time you can give.

We also need items to sell!  Please start now to put aside items in these categories:

~ Jewelry

~ Treasures and collectibles

~ Books, CDs, DVDs

~ White elephants

~ Plants

~ Your plastic and paper bags for folks to carry home their purchases.

Drop-off for donations at the church will be on Thursday, the 11th, and Friday, the 12^th.

Sign up sheets will be at the piano on Sunday or you can be in touch with Amy Breiting or Marty Kvaal.

Click here to go to the Signup Genius online account for Mayfair.

This year the jewelry table will offer an ‘All New’ selection — nothing left over from prior years! BUT it is up to us to dig into that collection of forgotten and unloved gems and accessories (purses and silk or silk-like scarves) to make this work. We will treat your valuables with respect making sure they are carefully valued to bring the best price.

You can drop off your items each Sunday starting April 23rd and all throughout the weeks before until Friday May 12. Jane will also receive things at the office when she is there. We encourage early drop offs to lessen the build up of donations at the last minute.

Ask your sisters, mothers, friends, and neighbors for their long neglected jewels and accessories and invite them to refresh their own collections by coming to the sale.

Team members: Lynne Yansen, Deb Lapides, Carolyn Fleiss, Lee Brami, Trelawney Goodell, Linda Coyne, Meg Newhouse, and Edie Ruquist.

The next meeting of the Nonfiction Book Group will take place on Tuesday, April 25th at 7:30pm in the Parlor.

The discussion for this month will be on the New Yorker article  “A Science of the Soul” by Joshua Rothman, a Profile of Daniel Dennett from the March 27 issue of the The New Yorker. You can access the Dennett article online by clicking here.

All are welcome!

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.”

UU Urban Ministry

First Parish will be hosting an information meeting about Jericho Road Roxbury, an exciting UU Urban Ministry program matching your professional skills, experiences, and UU values with the needs of non-profit organizations in the Roxbury/Dorchester community.

What: information meeting to learn more about opportunities to work with non-profits and help them grow their business.
No commitments, just come and hear.

Where: First Parish Lexington, 7 Harrington Road

When: April 27, 1:00 pm, lunch will be served

Who: women and men, young and older adults, active and retirees who are members and friends of Follen Community Church, UU Bedford Church, and First Parish Lexington.

Flexibility & Support
• Project-based
• Finite-time commitments
• Remote and on-site consulting
• Follen Church, First Parish in Bedford, and First Parish in Lexington support group

Utilize Your Skill Sets & Professional Experiences
• Marketing
• Web-development
• Accounting and Finance
• Business Strategy
• Governance
• Risk Management
• Fund Raising
• Sourcing

Contact/RSVP: Marci Butman, Follen Church, mbutman@gmail.com; Robert Schmalz, First Parish in Bedford, schmalzrobert@comcast.net; Al Jacobson, First Parish Lexington, aljacobson@comcast.net

“Listen my children and you shall hear…”

…Dan Fenn’s presentation, “What Really Happened That Day?”

In case you missed Monday’s presentation by Dan during Lexington’s Patriots’ Day festivities, here is your opportunity.

Click here for the audio presentation, courtesy of Bill Pittore.

The Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society is currently holding a denomination-wide fundraiser to repair and restore the memorial stone for the Rev. William Ellery Channing at Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Channing’s 1819 Baltimore Sermon crucially defined and celebrated the emergence of Unitarianism, and his advocacy for education, reason, justice, and compassion led the first generation of our movement. Brochures for this project are available this morning at the piano. Donations can be made either through Faithify: https.//www.faithify.org/projects/help-preserve-channings-monument/ (where the contribution will be augmented by other UUA donors if the goal of $5000 is met), or by check to the UUHHS (memo line “Channing Memorial”), 670 High Street, Dedham, MA 02066. Please see Helen Cohen if you have a question. The deadline is April 26.

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