This September is a time to try new things, as we come together as a community with new dynamics and new leadership.

On Sunday, you may notice a bit of a different format in worship. The time for prayer will now occur earlier in the service, and the children will leave worship at two different times in the service. The youngest children, from preschool to 1st grade, will depart worship after the Time for All Ages, at the same time that the choir is gathering to sing the anthem, to head off with Michelle for their activities during Spirit Play. The older children and youth, from 2nd to 8th grade, will stay through the prayer time so that they can light candles for their own joys or sorrows. During the second hymn, they will leave with Sadie for their Chapel time where they will participate in activities based on our monthly worship theme. Nursery care will remain available for the entire service, as always.

We hope that this new structure will enhance our older children’s experience of worship, as they are valuable members of this congregation and we long for them to participate in our rituals. Please know that we plan to have time to discuss this as a congregation at the Congregational Conversation following worship on October 9th.

See you in church,

Rev. Anne

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.

The Social Action Committee will resume monthly meetings this Sunday, September 18th immediately following the service in the Parker Hall. Here are some action items of their upcoming work.

Communities Without Borders
Amy Archibald, COO of Communities Without Borders, is coming to First Parish on Sunday, September 25 at noon. She will present to interested students and families what a service trip with CWB looks like — with slides, stories and specifics. PLEASE COME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT PROJECT!

Baton Rouge Flood Recovery Donation Information
The Social Action Committee will be collecting monetary donations for the victims of Baton Rouge, LA. Rev. Nathan Ryan of the Baton Rouge UU church has recommended checks be directed to: “Together Baton Rouge” (100% of funds go to recovery and rebuilding at the local level) Your check can be given directly to Elaine Hylek on Sunday, Sept 18 or Sept 25 OR placed in the Social Action mailbox in church (in the designated envelope). Alternatively, you could also mail the check to Elaine at 4 Ryder Lane Lexington. All checks will be collected and sent to the designated organization “Together Baton Rouge” on October 1. Thank you for your generosity.

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War film screening
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War is a new documentary produced by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky, the Sharps’ grandson. It is the story of Rev. Waitstill and Martha Sharp, Unitarians who traveled to Czechoslovakia to help those trying to escape the Nazis as part of an effort by the American Unitarian Association. The film will be aired on PBS on Tuesday, September 20th. You can learn more about the film at www.defyingthenazis.org.

The First Church in Belmont will be showing the film on Friday, September 23rd at 7pm in their Parish Hall followed by a discussion. The Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee have linked the Sharps’ mission to the present day refugee situations.

Any questions for the Social Action Committee, please email Elaine Hylek at Elaine.Hylek@bmc.org.

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.

The Coming of Age program is a rite of passage for 9th and 10th graders to engage in a process to articulate the understanding of their personal beliefs. A valuable Unitarian Universalist tradition, the Coming of Age process and culminating worship service is cherished as a way to celebrate our youth’s independent minds and their growing understanding of spirituality and faith.

An orientation for the program will take place on Sunday, September 25th from 5:45 – 7:00 p.m. in Parker Hall and is open to all youth in 9th and 10th grades and their parents/guardians. Meet the leaders, find out more about the schedule and expectations, and get your questions answered.

Please RSVP to Katie Camire, Youth Coordinator, at youth@fplex.org.

In collaboration with Munroe Saturday Nights and the Friends of Caritas Cubana, on display in Parish Hall for the month of September are works by Cuban artists and photographs by Andrew Child, including the one pictured here. Please enjoy these colorful representations of Cuban art.

The 2016-2017 season of the Munroe Saturday Nights performing arts series opens on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at 7:30 pm at First Parish with “Cuba: Memory, Art and Action – An Evening to Benefit Friends of Caritas Cubana.” For more information, go to the Facebook event page.

Rev. Anne now has regular office hours. You can call her in the office during these times at 781-862-8200 x2.

Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Monday and Thursday evenings by appointment.
Tuesday will be a study and writing day.
Friday will be a day off.

To schedule an appointment, please email minister@fplex.org.

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

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