May this Sunday morning be a joyful morning for us all! Join Rev. Anne Mason as she kicks off this month exploring what it means to be a community of Joy. As Molly Fumia says: “To be joyful in the universe is a brave and reckless act. The courage for joy springs not from the certainty of human experience, but the surprise.” Let us be together in community, welcoming the members who have joined us this year, and preparing for our Semi Annual Meeting following the service.

Rev. Anne Mason, Worship Leader

There will be Sunday school for Pre-K through 8th grade. The nursery will be open for babies and toddlers.

Click here to listen to last week’s sermon by Rev. Anne Mason, “Day is Done.”

Phase One of the Capital Campaign is proceeding nicely.  We are well along our way to our goal of $350K for Phase One.

Rather than holding a kick off event on June 2nd, as was originally planned, the Capital Campaign Team has opted instead to arrange a special thank you event for donors in mid-September.

Stay tuned for more news about this as the summer progresses. Please give as generously as you can when a member of the Capital Campaign Team contacts you.

Thank you!

Deborah Lapides, Capital Campaign Team, Phase One

Please join the Social Action Committee for the annual Day of Service on Saturday. The day will begin at 8 AM with a blessing by Rev. Anne, meeting with Team Leader, and breakfast. We will have the opportunity to participate in the following activities: Lexington Interfaith Garden, Lexington Food Pantry, Communities Without Borders, The Douglas House, and Lexington Conservation Stewards project on Wright’s Farm. Most activities will wrap up around 12 or 12:30.

Hope to see you there!

This Sunday, June 4th, we welcome Jill Smilow, who heads up the Lexington METCO Scholarship Fund. METCO, Inc. is a voluntary school integration program that began over 50 years ago in Boston. The program provides suburban public school education to African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students from Boston. The Lexington Public School Department has participated in the METCO program since 1968. All non-pledge donations given during the collection will go to benefit their important programs.

With the aim of increasing the visibility of our commitment to the Lexington Food Pantry, and to highlight hunger in America in general, the Social Action Committee will place a food collection basket in the front of the sanctuary on the first Sunday of every month during the church year. Please make a special point to bring non-perishable items for the basket and deposit them on either your way into or out of the sanctuary. Our first First Sunday will be June 4^th. Contact Lynne Yansen or Tom Wanderer for more information. Thank you!

Rip Jackson had surgery last week and is recovering well under the tender care of his friends in Vermont. Al Jacobson was in the hospital for a few days but is now on the mend at home.

The scaffolding is almost up to the tip of the spire, and painting will begin soon.

Beginning on Monday, June 5th, work will begin on the replacement of the basement windows and will continue through June 17th. There will be three important changes happening during this time:

The basement will be inaccessible.

The only restroom available for use will be the one upstairs next to the sanctuary door.

Traffic flow will change. Entrance to the parking lot will be through the normal entry driveway. The exit will continue to be located at the back of the parking lot.

If you have any questions, please contact Jane in the office.

Toward Beloved Community Update

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Interim Co-Presidents recently met with a small group of leaders connected to UU communities of color. The purpose of the meeting was to envision the construction of the Commission on Institutional Change.  The following is an excerpt, describing their process in the important work of addressing the impact of white supremacy on Unitarian Universalism:

“We focused on questions of power, liberation, leadership, and recentering those pushed to the margins. We unflinchingly questioned cultural habits and norms that hamper us in our yearning to build the Beloved Community. The consultation tasked us with finding ways to ask UUs, “What would be the most important thing for us to attend to, to ensure your well-being in this faith?” It is in that spirit that we undertake this work.”

To read the full article, visit

http://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/toward-beloved-community-updates-interim-co-presidents-may-24-2017

The Lexington Human Services Department and the School Health Advisory Council Substance Abuse Task Force are offering a free Community Narcan Training on Monday, June 5th at 7:00pm at the Lexington Community Center.

Training will include:
Define an opioid and describe how an opioid overdose occurs
Risk factors for overdose
Identify and distinguish signs of an opioid overdose
Evaluate how to respond with naloxone (Narcan)
Training on intranasal and intramuscular naloxone (Narcan)
Participants will receive completion cards

Registration required as space is limited. Contact Kristie Demirev, LICSW at 781-698-4843 or kdemirev@lexingtonma.gov.

Learn how you can save a life!

Click this button to benefit First Parish when you shop at Amazon.