- Sunday Service
At the beginning of the High Holy Days, we celebrate the music and the faith which Jewish refugees brought to America. How is it for our refugees now? What would it be like if we were to truly make room for people of all faiths, encouraging them to be themselves fully, in this culture, rather than asking them to assimilate? Rev. Anne Mason will explore how our culture be better for it in her sermon, “Don’t Ask Me Not To Fly!”
There will be Sunday School for Pre-K through 8th Grade. The nursery will be open for babies and toddlers.
The sanctuary choir will sing Jerry Bock’s serene “Sabbath Prayer” (from Fiddler on the Roof) and Jonathan Larsen’s joyful “Seasons of Love” (from Rent). Guest soloist Natalie Brierre will sing Bob Merritt and Jule Styne’s energetic “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (from Funny Girl). For the centering music and postlude, Rip Jackson will play John Williams’ poignant “Theme from Schindler’s List” and excerpts from George Gershwin’s powerful “Rhapsody in Blue” on the piano.Listen to last Sunday’s sermon by Rev. Anne Mason, “Is It Possible?”
- Memorial Garden Service this Sunday
The Memorial Garden provides a quiet sanctuary where we can enjoy the healing beauty of nature and recall the lives of First Parishioners and our loved ones. Located next to the Old Burying Ground, the Garden’s green plantings and the granite path engraved with names of loved ones convey the message that those who are gone from our physical presence are still with us in memory.A brief service will be conducted in the Memorial Garden on Sunday, October 2nd right after the regular church service. If the weather is inclement, the service will be in the Sanctuary. We will dedicate new memorial bricks and remember our loved ones. All are welcome to attend.
- Note from the Board
I’m very pleased to announce that your First Parish Board has appointed four parishioners to the Shared Ministry Evaluation Committee — Brian Herrick, Board member Dave Juitt, Marty Kvaal, and Tony Siesfeld. The Board greatly appreciates their willingness to serve on this committee. The congregation voted to create the committee at last June’s Semi-Annual Meeting. As stated in the church Bylaws: “A Shared Ministry Evaluation Committee will be appointed by the Parish Board for the sole purpose of evaluating the minister’s performance and the strength of congregational engagement in the shared ministry.” Previously, the Committee on Ministry (now disbanded) had both an evaluative and ministerial support function. With this Bylaw change, we have a committee focused solely on evaluation and a separate committee (the Ministerial Support Committee) that provides support to Rev. Anne.Please join me in thanking Brian, Dave, Marty, and Tony.
In the spirit of community,
Tom Rich
Board Chair
- Nonfiction Book Group – Sept 29th
On Thursday, September 29th at 7:30 pm in the Parlor, please join in discussing Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harar.Sebastian Junger blurbed about Sapiens: “Thank God someone finally wrote [this] book.”
“Sapiens tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language.” (Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, The World Until Yesterday, and Collapse)
All are welcome, whether you have read all, part of, or just want to learn more about the book. Contact John Oberteuffer for more information.
- Unity Group October Meeting
The Unity Group is a very active, inclusive, and welcoming group of women from First Parish and the wider community who meet once a month for lunch, companionship, and a program. Men are also welcome to join or come as guests. Members provide the lunch — no reservations necessary — just come as a guest, if you would like to get acquainted with the Group.
Please come to the next Unity Group meeting and program on Monday, October 3rd in Parker Hall. This month’s program is:
This is who we are!
Would you be willing to tell us something about yourself? …a memory from your childhood? …a favorite pet? …a special relationship? …an adventure? It doesn’t need to be happy, it can be happy, or sad, or even scary!
12:00 Socializing
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Program
If your last name begins with J, M or P, please bring a dessert. Everyone else, please bring a main dish, side dish or salad.
It’s time to pay dues for this year. Please mail a check for $35 made out to Unity Group to Shirley Stolz, 2139 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421.
- This Week at First Parish
Wednesday, September 28
Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary Thursday, September 29 Meditation 4:00 p.m. Parlor Nonfiction Book Group 7:30 p.m. Parlor Friday, September 30 Saturday, October 1 Art Show Preparation 10:00 a.m. Parish Hall Sunday, October 2 Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Sanctuary Children’s Choir Rehearsal 11:45 a.m. Sanctuary & Parlor Memorial Garden Service 12:00 p.m. Memorial Garden Monday, October 3 Unity Group Luncheon 12:00 p.m. Parker Hall Tuesday, September 27 LREDA New England Chapter Meeting 9:00 a.m. Parish Hall & Sanctuary Music Committee 3:00 p.m. Common Room OWL Parent Orientation 6:30 p.m. Parker Hall Finance Committee 7:30 p.m. Parlor Insight Meditation 7:30 p.m. Common Room - The Great Fall Auction
Save the Date! The Great Fall Auction — an amazingly fun church-wide event and important fundraiser for the church — is scheduled for November 19th, at the church. The evening includes a live auction, silent auction, highly entertaining guest auctioneers, and food and beverages. Childcare will be available.To make this event successful, we need folks to:
– donate auction items. Popular items include dinners and tastings hosted at parishioner’s homes, stays at parishioner vacation homes, and hosted special events.
– volunteer to help with the auction. The auction doesn’t just happen by magic! It takes many hands, and there are an assortment of opportunities to help with the auction, including helping with food and beverages, setup, logistics during the auction, and cleanup.
More information on how to donate items is forthcoming. In the meantime, please direct questions, donations, and offers to help to fallauction@fplex.org.
The Great Fall Auction team: Toni and Pete Tasker, Margie and Bob Gibbons, and Tom Rich
- Are You a New Empty-Nester?
How do you feel now that one/all of your kids are off to college or out on their own? Join us in this group meeting to talk about the changes, challenges, and joys of having either one child or your youngest leave the nest this year. Your family structure is different now; how is the change affecting you? This discussion group will meet on October 12th at 7:30 pm in the Common Room. If there is interest, further meetings will be scheduled.Facilitators: Cindy Anderson and Jane Eckert
- First Parish to Host New England Region UUA Leadership Conference
Looking for an exciting opportunity to help out our UUA district and learn all about church leadership — for free?We are excited to be hosting the New England Region UUA Leadership Workshop: Cracking the Leadership Crisis on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016 from 10 am to 3 pm.
We need 3-5 hospitality volunteers to help throughout the day: in the morning for set up, during lunch break, and for clean up after the event. Volunteers will be able to attend the workshop for free. Information about the workshop is below.
If you are interested, please email Jane Foley in the office or call her at 781-862-8200 x1.
Church leadership is not all it’s cracked up to be. Too often, leadership looks like paying bills, reviewing minutes, and making decisions that at least some people won’t understand, and many people won’t even know about. At its best, church leadership is a profound experience of spiritual deepening. Bring a team to join other congregational teams in exploring how to:
Release worry and anxiety about burnout and having “not enough” volunteers
Anchor leaders in a profound sense of purpose
Make leadership a personal growth experience
Restructure church infrastructure to focus on meaningful work
Liberate the energy of collaboration and covenanted community
We encourage your team to continue the workshop’s strategic conversations once you return home.
- Caring Community at First Parish
If you are interested in lending a hand to someone who needs it in the congregation by offering to take them a meal or giving them a ride, or if you find yourself in need of such help, please write to Caring Community of First Parish Coordinators, Celine Nussbaum and Deborah Beers at caringcommunity@fplex.org or call First Parish at (781) 862-8200 and Jane Foley will take your contact information to give to the coordinators. Click this button to benefit First Parish when you shop at Amazon.
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