A Time for Remembrance and Hope

Once a month, the entire offertory plate collection is donated to a charity nominated by a member of First Parish. September’s recipient is YouthBuild, a national and international organization whose mission is to help under-educated, under-employed, and poor youth, aged 16-24 years, develop the tools to be productive citizens in their communities.

YouthBuild helps to, “unleash the positive energy of low-income young people to rebuild their communities and their lives, breaking the cycle of poverty with a commitment to work, education, family, and community.” Learn more about this organization at www.youthbuild.org.

Donations on Sunday, September 18th, will be gratefully received and generously donated to this organization. Two young participants in the YouthBuild program in Belmont will be joining us. Please bring a check made payable to First Parish Church, Lexington.

Bring your family and join Rev. Anne Mason and Sadie Kahn-Greene from 5-7 pm on Saturday, September 24th for pizza and fun. All ages are welcome to join together to play games, tell stories, eat pizza, and explore more options for family programs this year. For more information and to RSVP please contact Sadie at skahngreene@yahoo.com or sign up here.

All are welcome to participate in an informal group of members and friends who enjoy fiber arts. We gather in the church parlor each first and third Wednesday from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm for a low-key time of fellowship and sharing of ideas. Bring a project you are working on — e.g. knitting, crocheting, embroidery, weaving, macramé, beading — or a project you would like to start but need a boost from friends.

Just drop by or email Karolyn Eisenstein at k.eisenstein1@gmail.com to join the email list.

The Web Site team has been working over the summer to produce a new site. One of our hopes as we go forward is that the web site will be timely and reflect current happenings and projects. To do this effectively, we would like lots of pictures. Please bring your phones and cameras to First Parish events and take pictures! Of course, pictures of children will not be published unless we have consent, as well as adults. You can send photos to fplexphotos@gmail.com

From your Ad Hoc, One-Year Kitchen Committee – Amy Breiting, Carolyn Fleiss, and Marty Kvaal:

Have you ever felt distaste upon entering our kitchens? Dirty sponges? Unwiped counters? Old food composting itself in the fridge?  Maybe even a former mouse? Well, take heart. We’re on it…organizing the cleaning and our weekly look-sees.

Some new and/or approved ways of doing kitchen beginning this month:

• Switch to paper towels, sanitation spray, and synthetic scrubbers for cleaning counters and tables and washing dishes.

                           NO MORE SPONGES.  NO MORE COTTON DISH CLOTHS.

• Deep cleaning” of the kitchens by a professional crew three or four times a year. This new expense has been approved by the Board.

How YOU can help keep the kitchens tidy and sanitary:

• Sanitize counters, sinks, and tables after every use. Bottles of sanitizing spray and paper towels are in wire baskets in the kitchens.
• Wash/dry/ PUT AWAY all your dirty dishes before leaving the kitchen. Leave counters clear.
• Label your food in the fridge with name and date so it doesn’t disappear into the trash.

We’ll keep you updated occasionally about what we find on our weekly walk-throughs. We’ll be keeping our eyes out for dust, mice, and dirty dishes. Ideas and suggestions welcome.

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