Weekly Update

The email newsletter of First Parish in Lexington is published on Wednesdays at 4 pm. Submissions are due on Mondays at 10 am. Email submissions or inquiries to the church office.
  • Sunday Service

    Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the mystery of the winter holidays. What better way to do that than to spend time in quiet contemplation of the holiness in the heart of time? Please join us this Sunday at 10:30am when Rev. Anne calls us to “Ponder Nothing Earthly Minded.”

    For this Sunday, the music at First Parish in Lexington will celebrate the theme of Advent. The sanctuary choir will sing Stephen Paulus’ mystical setting of “Gabriel’s Message” and J. S. Bach’s jubilant “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying” (from Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140). Tenor soloist Austin Burns will sing Handel’s magnificent “Comfort Ye” and “Every Valley” from his masterpiece Messiah. Organist Rip Jackson will play Bach’s joyful “Wachet Auf, Ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645” (from the Schübler Chorales) and Louis-Claude Daquin’s thrilling “À la venue de Noël” (from Livre de Noëls).

     

    Click here to listen to last week’s sermon by Rev. Anne Mason, “Still Aspiring.”

  • Special Plate Collection

    December’s monthly special plate collection will go to “Believe in Success,” a new program of the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry. This program has been created to meet the needs of domestic abuse survivors, who are in shelters or have recently been in shelters, to transition into the work world and to help them develop a vision for their career paths. The students meet for 20 hours a week, for three months. The program was developed by a group of Unitarian Universalists with various experiences and expertise with this population, and included First Parish members Connee Counts and Al Jacobson. There is no model for this type of program, which offers a well-thought-out, creative, compassionate effort to provide learning and growth for people who have experienced trauma in their personal lives.

    Program elements range from yoga and meditation, financial planning, and career development, to art therapy, practice interviews, and adult literacy. ESL is offered to Spanish and Chinese-speaking students. First Parish’s Minister Emerita Helen Cohen has been teaching a weekly course on adult literacy in the program and says: “It has been an immense learning and growth experience for me. I have met 13 diverse and fascinating human beings whose intelligence, warmth, courage, and humor have enriched my life. And these students are very grateful for a program that addresses their concerns in such a rounded, thoughtful, and hands-on manner.”

    “Believe in Success” will have its second term with new students beginning in February. The Social Action Committee hopes that First Parish will generously support this innovative program, and invites you to meet with Greta Hagen, who will represent the UUUM and “Believe in Success” to describe this work at the beginning of the service, and with Connee, Al, Helen, and Social Action Chair Elaine Hylek at 12:00 following the service in the parlor.

    Click here to learn more about Believe in Success.

  • Newcomer Drop-In

    Are you new to First Parish? Unitarian Universalism? Want to know more about our worship, music, social justice work, or religious education? Please join Rev. Anne and the Members and Friends Committee on Sunday, January 21st in the minister’s office at 11:45am to learn more about the church, UUism, and how you can be a part of this vibrant congregation. All are welcome!

  • Fall Clean Up

    Related imageAll are welcome to stop by the church this Saturday morning, December 9th, to help clean up the grounds of leaves and other fall debris before the winter sets in. Bring a rake and join Dick Fleiss, Jim Gross, and Bob Kvaal at 9:00am.

     

  • Munroe Saturday Night

    Celebrate the Season with “Christmas Music Through the Ages” on Saturday, December 9th – Presented by Munroe Saturday Nights!

    Celebrate the season with beautiful vocal and keyboard (harpsichord, piano and organ) holiday music from the medieval, renaissance, baroque, romantic and modern eras. Musicians Austin Burns, Rip Jackson, David Meharry, and Elizabeth Walsh will present a glorious evening of music that will delight your senses.  The performance takes place at First Parish in Lexington, 7 Harrington Road, at 7:30 PM on Saturday, December 9th.  Many well-known carols will be sung in their original form, including “Stille Nacht,” “Coventry Carol,” and “O Holy Night.”  In addition they’ll present theatrical and video favorites including “White Christmas,” music from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and keyboard selections including Corelli’s “Pastorale” (from the Christmas Concert) and Daquin’s “A la Venue de Noël – and much more!

    To make reservations, contact the Munroe Arts Center at http://www.munroecenter.org/munroe-saturday-nights-msn.html or 781-862-6040.

  • 325th Suncatchers for Sale

    Want to commemorate the fabulous 325th celebration of First Parish? Buy one of these beautiful, glass suncatchers! They come in blue or green and make great ornaments. You can purchase them for $10 each on Sunday during social hour or at the office Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to 4:00pm.

     

  • A Christmas Carol Reading with Dan Fenn

    All are welcome to come on Sunday, December 10th at 4:00pm around the fireplace in Parker Hall for Dan Fenn’s annual reading of A Christmas Carol. There will be light refreshments, and if you come with little ones (or big ones!) who may prefer to keep their hands busy while listening to Dan’s fantastic telling of the story, there will be simple crafts and coloring available. Bring your friends and neighbors to this wonderful holiday event.

  • Unity Group Luncheon and Program

    Unity Group

    Monday, December 11, 2017

    12:00 Socializing

    12:30 Lunch

    1:30 Program

    If your last name begins with A, B, or C, please bring a dessert, and if your last name begins with any other letter, bring a main dish, side dish or salad.

    Program

    Come join us for a Christmassy celebration of the winter season! 

    We will have happy readings and a carol or two.  If you have a Christmas poem you would like to read, please call Anne Collins at 781-861-8263, and come prepared!

  • Winter Clothing Drive a HUGE Success!
    Many, many thanks to all for making this year’s clothing drive such a success.  While we started out slowly, we really picked up speed!  We can be proud that the donations we sent to WATCH, CDC included:
    4     boots
    18   hats
    7     scarves
    1     women’s wool socks
    10   kids’ gloves
    13   women’s gloves
      5   men’s gloves
    12   kids’ jackets and pants
    15   men’s jackets
    30   women’s coats/jackets
    Bravo!  And thanks to all!
  • Soul Matters – December

    December’s Theme: What does it mean to be a people of HOPE?

    We’re entering the darkest part of the winter, a good time for stories!  What’s one story you know that illustrates the effects of hope?

     

  • This Week at First Parish
    Wednesday, December 6
    Creative Callings 1:30 p.m. Parlor
    Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
    Master Singers Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
     
    Thursday, December 7
    Meditation Group 4:00 p.m. Parlor
    Woodworker’s Guild Holiday Party 6:00 p.m. Parish Hall
    Scrabble Club 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
     
    Friday, December 8
    Master Singers Rehearsal 7:00 p.m. Sanctuary
     
    Saturday, December 9
    Committee on Leadership Training 8:00 a.m. Common Room
    Munroe Saturday Night 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
     
    Sunday, December 10
    Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Sanctuary
    “Believe in Success” Meeting 11:45 a.m. Parlor
    Newcomer Drop-In 11:45 a.m. Minister’s Office
    Children’s Choir Rehearsal 11:45 a.m. Yellow Room
    “A Christmas Carol” Reading 4:00 p.m. Parker Hall
    OWL 4:00 p.m. Common Room
    SHYG 7:00 p.m. Common Room
    Monday, December 11    
    Staff Meeting 11:00 a.m. Minister’s Office
    Unity Group Luncheon 12:00 p.m. Parker Hall
         
    Tuesday, December 12    
    Board Meeting 7:30 p.m. Green Room
    Empty Sky Sangha 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
     
    Wednesday, December 13    
    History Committee 1:30 p.m. History Room
    Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
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