This Sunday, all of the music during worship will be seasonal early music from the middle ages to the baroque era. Sarah Matthews Catherine Rose and Ruth Rose, on bamboo pipes, will play two renaissance carols: Michael Praetorius’ arrangement of “Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her” and Millicent Sheppard’s arrangement of “Josef Liebe, Josef Mein.” Elizabeth Walsh will sing the lovely renaissance carol “Lute Book Lullaby” (also know as “Sweet was the Song”) with harpsichord and bamboo pipes accompaniment. The sanctuary choir will sing Judith Otten’s bold arrangement of the medieval carol “Nova, Nova,” with soloists Austin Burns and Julia Jaffe. The choir will also sing Michael Praetorius’ serene setting of the renaissance carol “Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming.” For the postlude, Rip Jackson will play Handel’s “Adagio” (from Sonata in F Major, G. 175) on his French double-manual harpsichord (Phillip Tyre 1991 replica of a Taskin 1720 instrument).

Listen to Rev. Anne Mason’s sermon, “Soaked to the Skin,” December 4, 2016

All are welcome to participate in an informal group of members and friends who enjoy fiber arts. On Thursday, bring your knitting, crocheting, beading or other fiber work and meet in the church parlor from 2:00 pm to 3:45 pm for a low-key time of fellowship, creativity, and sharing of ideas.

Just drop by or email Karolyn Eisenstein to join the email list.

The annual Holiday Workshop will take place Saturday, December 10, from 9 AM – 12 Noon. This event is a wonderful chance to get into the spirit of the season by making crafts and cards and enjoying the company of First Parishioners of all ages in front of crackling fire in Parker Hall. Feel free to bring your friends – the workshop is open to anyone and is free of charge.

This year we will be contributing to gift baskets for the UU Urban Ministry. Everyone is encouraged to make crafts to put in the gift baskets for families at Renewal House, a temporary emergency shelter in Boston, and other people who are part of the UUUM’s programs.

Please feel free to email Margaret Counts-Klebe at margck@yahoo.com if you have questions or want to know where best to help.  Looking forward to sharing the fun of the holidays with you!

This Saturday, December 10th from 8:00AM to 12:00PM, the Buildings and Grounds Committee is running its Second Work Party to finish getting the church cleaned up and ready for winter.

You may have noticed the work done by a fun group of 15 last weekend.  Most visible are the wooden carving of Capt. Parker hanging again in the front vestibule (artfully restored by Parker Hirtle—thank you!) and the new stainless work table in the kitchen.  More subtle are the small repairs, clean windows and woodwork, and hinges that work right.

More needs to be done:  window and woodwork washing, cleaning the many folding tables around the church, minor repairs and construction, cleaning closets, and a special scavenger hunt that will bring you to places in the church you’ve never been!

So bring your bucket, chamois, rubber gloves and squeegees, your tool kit, your energy and curiosity, and your love for your church!  Start with a little work and then go to the Holiday Workshop, which starts at 9:00 in Parker Hall. Or attend the Holiday Workshop first, and then come upstairs to do a different kind of work, but just as important!  Remember:  “just one small thing” makes a big difference.

On December 11th, the donation plate will be given to Lexington Refugee Assistance Program. LexRAP is a grass roots organization that started a little over a year ago when Marianne Boswell sent an email to the Lexington Listserv and to FP Chat expressing distress over the exploding refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe, wondering how we can help. The response was tremendous, and a group formed to explore what could be done that is hands-on and tangible.

As an organization, LexRAP has applied and is waiting for Federal 501c status as a non profit. We have begun a tutoring program for families and for unaccompanied minors. LexRAP is working with five refugee families, helping them find housing and providing support as they find their way. LexRAP also works with resettlement agencies, all of which are stretched for resources. Currently, we have one asylee living in Lexington, for whom we provide monetary support. The person arrived and needed warm clothes and Lexingtonians donated sweaters, coats, and boots. Jane and Bob Eckert gave bike riding lessons and First Parish responded with offers of bikes, and now the asylee has wheels! We would like to be able to support more asylees and there are families in the area ready and willing to open their homes but LexRAP does not have the funds to do this. And, come the New Year, we will be launching a laptop donation drive so that we can give refugees, asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors laptops.

Tom Tsaros and Bruce Neumann, along with involved members of First Parish, will be at church on December 11th to discuss LexRAP.

Music and gardening are the perfect combination to counteract the dark, cold days of December. Rip Jackson, Director of Music, will give a program featuring these two of his numerous talents for the Unity Group, and guests, at their meeting on Monday, December 12th. Guests are invited to the social time and lunch, starting at 12:00 or just the program at 1:30. No reservations necessary. 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.

Beginning at 1:30 PM, our director of music, Rip Jackson, will give a presentation about his life in music and his passion for gardening and nature. For 15 years, Rip lived on the side of a remote mountain in Vermont. During this time, he grew vegetables, fruit and flowers on his four acre property. Rip has prepared a video presentation with many beautiful pastoral images along with a number of musical examples from his many concerts including symphonies, Broadway, organ, harpsichord, choral, and some of his own compositions. He will also give a short bio on growing up in Atlanta and how music, gardening, and nature became the center of his life. Rip will also play Christmas carols on the piano for the Unity group. Audience members can request carols that Rip will then turn into musical variations. Please come and join us in Parker Hall.

On Sunday morning, December 18, the First Parish Sanctuary Choir, directed by Rip Jackson, will present a special Music Sunday celebrating the winter solstice at the 10:30 AM service. Through beautiful music and the poetry, the powerful transformation from darkness to light will be uplifted. Artist and soprano sax player Katie Runde and contrabassist Ben Green will be the guest instrumentalists. Together with Rip Jackson, they will play some of the music from the Paul Winter Consort that can be heard at St. John the Divine in New York City during the Winter Solstice Concerts there each December, including the rousing piece “Dancing Day.” The sanctuary choir will also sing deep and mystical settings of solstice poetry and other seasonal music. For more information call the church at 781-862-8200 or visit www.fplex.org.

Start your new year off doing the ancient practice of yoga and meditation. Gather New Year’s morning at 11:30 am in the warmth and quiet of Parish Hall for this interfaith and intergenerational service, where Brenda Prusak, an experienced yoga teacher, will lead you on a spiritual journey through gentle yoga poses, meditation, and offerings from Rumi and other visionaries. No prior experience of yoga is necessary. All poses can be done from a chair or from the floor. If possible, please bring a yoga mat and a small warm blanket. Wear loose clothing and warm socks. Bring your spouse, your partner, or your best friend. All are welcome but you MUST sign up before December 28th so Brenda can create an appropriate class for all. You will leave Parish Hall feeling relaxed in your body, quiet in your mind, and renewed in your spirit.

To sign up, please click here for the online signup form.

You can also sign up at the piano.

Email Jane Foley in the office with any questions.

Members of the First Parish in Wayland have organized a bus and lodging to attend the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, January 21, 2017. If you are interested in joining them, the invitation is below.

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Wayland and Friends: Women’s March on Washington / Friday, January 20 – Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017

Beginning on December 7th, the First Parish Art Gallery in Parish Hall will feature photographs from the Boston Beings series by Will Gibbons, which will run through January 31st. Will writes:

“On September 24^th 2014, I started walking around Denver with my camera. I didn’t really know where I was going. I was new to Denver and wanted to get to know the city better through its people. I took strangers’ pictures and talked with them. What brought them to this part of Denver? What brought them to Denver in general? The conversations took off from there. I approached almost anyone I saw, though I gravitated towards people sitting by themselves. I heard their stories and became attached to these people. Their words stuck with me. I saw them days and weeks and months after we first met—sometimes in completely different parts of the city—and took new pictures and had new conversations.

In July 2015, I moved back to Boston and began the same project here. I wanted to use my camera again as an excuse to hear people’s stories and listen. I wanted to stop and meet all the people I’d usually walk by without approaching. ”

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