Every day people are being challenged to look beyond the safety of their own private world, and pay attention the experience of our companions on the journey. Here at First Parish the scaffolding is coming down from our steeple. What will this newly restored icon mean for us and for our community in the months to come? Join Rev. Anne Mason when she will ask, “If Not Now, When?”

This Sunday the sanctuary choir will sing Brian Tate’s bold “Take Down These Walls,” and Ysaye Barnwell’s poignant “Would You Harbor Me?” For the introit, Austin Burns will sing Gabriel Fauré’s beautiful art song “En Prière.” During the centering music and postlude, Rip Jackson will play an original composition of his called “New England Marshlands” and a “Meditation on Emily Dickinson.”

Click here to listen to last week’s sermon by Rev. Anne Mason, “Far from Perfect.”

This Sunday at noon, please join together to dedicate new memorial bricks and to honor our loved ones who are no longer present on earth, but who live on in our hearts and memories. Weather permitting, the service will be in the Memorial Garden, which has been maintained over the summer by the Memorial Garden Committee and a group of faithful volunteers.

May the truth that sets us free

and the hope that never dies,

and the love that casts out fear,

lead us forward together,

until the Dayspring breaks

and the shadows flee away.

This Sunday, and on the first Sunday of every month, the Social Action Ministry Committee will place a food donation basket in the sanctuary for non-perishable food donations to benefit the Lexington Food Pantry. This basket serves to remind us that there are hungry people in Lexington, and that we can make a difference. Please place non-perishable items into the basket in the sanctuary on the first Sunday of each month or during office hours in the basket outside of the main office.

Please contact Lynne Yansen or Tom Wanderer for more information.

Minuteman Indivisible takes great pride in having helped to sink the latest Senate’s downward spiral toward undermining what’s left of the healthcare system in the US. But Senator McConnell’s effort may be delayed for a week or a month or two, but he says that they are not finished yet.

We have collaborated with the Harvard Medicine Indivisible group to offer a forum, Healthcare in America: What’s Next? this coming Monday, October 2nd right here in our sanctuary. We have three experts on various aspects of the healthcare question to be part of a panel and then take your questions.  What is possible as a next step? What is required for a viable US healthcare system that isn’t already in place with the Affordable Care Act? Although we did not know what the disposition of the latest Senate Repeal & Replace bill was going to be at the time that this forum was planned, the failure of the Graham-Cassidy proposal clears the decks for a very constructive discussion Monday evening.

Please join us.  You can RSVP (free) here so we can plan for the right number of people. Contact Pete Tasker for more information.

Tomorrow evening, Thursday, September 28th, is the kick-off event for the new Thursday Evening Adult Programs! All are welcome to a drop-in facilitated conversation lead by Rev. Anne Mason and Lisa Maria Steinberg, Director of Religious Education. Let’s discover together what we hope to learn about Unitarian Universalism. Join us from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.

On the following Thursdays – October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2 and 30 – come view the fantastic DVD series Long Strange Trip with us to learn about Unitarian Universalism’s development as a progressive faith tradition from early Christianity to the Transcendentalists of New England and beyond. What is the story of Unitarian Universalism? How did two distinct faiths rooted in Christianity become a faith home for Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, humanists, and more?

Popcorn will be served during the movie and a brief discussion facilitated by Rev. Anne Mason and/or Lisa Maria Steinberg, Director of Religious Education, will follow. RSVP to the Facebook event for the October 5th viewing here.

Please join Satt Oishi’s family at his memorial service on Saturday, October 7th at 4pm at First Parish. If you plan to attend the reception following the service at The Summer Shack in Cambridge, please email Jane Foley in the church office or call 781-862-8200 x1. The family extends an invitation to all.

Creative Callings, a fiber arts community at First Parish, begins meeting again for a low-key time of fellowship, creativity, and sharing of ideas for the upcoming church year.

Please note that the time and dates have changed! This year Creative Callings will be meeting on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 1:30pm in the parlor. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 4th.

All are welcome! Just drop by or email Karolyn Eisenstein to join the email list.

Click this button to benefit First Parish when you shop at Amazon.