Weekly Update

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The email newsletter of First Parish in Lexington is published on Wednesdays at 4 pm. Submissions are due on Mondays at 10 am. Email submissions or inquiries to the church office.
  • Sunday Service

    Join Rev. Anne this Sunday when she will preach that “Being Human is a Guesthouse.” As people of faith we are called to be welcoming – as individuals, as households, as a sacred community. Yet sometimes we are not as welcoming as we want to be. Rumi encourages us to be open to every arrival to our ‘guesthouse’ – to “be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.” Service begins at 10:30.

    First Parish will welcome guest baroque cellists Timothy Merton and Jennifer Morsches, co-directors of the Sarasa Ensemble. They, with Rip Jackson on organ, will play Domenico Gabrielli’s energetic “Allegro” (from Sonata in G major) and Antonio Vivaldi’s haunting “Largo” (from Sonata No. 6 B flat major, RV 46) for the centering music and postlude. They will join soloist Julia Jaffe and the sanctuary choir in presenting Antonio Vivaldi’s “Domine Deus, Agnus Dei” (from Gloria). The choir will also sing Brian Tate’s exuberant UU anthem “Connected.” For the introit, Austin Burns and Beth Walsh will sing John M. Dye’s plaintive shape-note song “Wayfaring Stranger.”

    Click here to listen to last week’s homily by Rev. Anne Mason, “Welcome Home.”

  • This Sunday — Potluck Picnic

    After the church service this Sunday at noon, we’ll be having an all-church picnic on our property on Harrington Rd., adjacent to the Fortmann’s house just to the right as you face the church. We will have tables set up for food and will provide cold drinks and napkins. If needed, you can leave your food in the kitchen refrigerator downstairs during the church service.

    What you can bring:

    – Food to share (see below for instructions)
    – Folding chairs or a blanket

    – As we are a Green Sanctuary, please bring your own plates and cutlery to take back home later. We will provide back-up supplies, if needed.

     

    Please, NO NUTS in the food you bring to share. There are congregants with allergies.

    We look forward to this fun event when we can see old friends and make new ones!

    If your last name begins with A through I, please bring a salad or appetizer to share. If you last name begins with J through R, please bring a main dish. If your last name begins with S through Z, please bring a dessert.

     

    All are welcome!

  • September Special Plate Collection
    The special plate collection for September takes place this Sunday during the service. All non-pledge donations will be sent to support Lexington’s MLK Day of Service committee. This year will be the fifth annual family-friendly day of volunteer activities including collecting food, clothing, blankets, and other essential items for the underserved. The day usually begins with a forum and unity walk before the volunteer opportunities begin.
    On Sunday, First Parishioner Brenda Prusak, who is a very active committee member, will speak on behalf of the MLK Day of Service Committee. Thank you in advance for you generosity.
  • Sarasa Ensemble Concert
    Telemann and His World presented by the Sarasa Ensemble at First Parish
    Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 3:30pm

    2017 marks the 250th anniversary of Georg Philipp Telemann’s death, one of the Baroque era’s most prolific and popular composers. The Sarasa Ensemble’s opening concert for the 2017-18 season presents Telemann’s music in the context of the influences by his predecessors and contemporaries, joined by leading British period instrumentalists and featuring music by Telemann, Händel, Lully, Corelli, Campra and JS Bach. Performers include Annabel Knight, recorders and flute; Richard Earle, oboe; Alison Bury, violin; Timothy Merton & Jennifer Morsches, cellos & piccolo cello; and Robin Bigwood, harpsichord. For more info visit http://www.sarasamusic.org. Tickets are $25 general, $20 senior, $10 student, and free for children.

  • Social Action Ministry

    The Social Action Ministry (SAM) at First Parish comes from our Unitarian Universalist faith based on the values of love, justice, community and responsibility. We do this within the supportive environment of our broader church community and the mission of First Parish “…to act on our values to serve the larger community and create a more just and loving world.”

    Please come to the first Social Action Ministry meeting of the church year this Sunday, September 17th at noon in Parker Hall. Find out what the SAM will be doing this year and how you can help. Join Elaine Hylek, chair, and other dedicated First Parishioners as we put our values to work.

    ___________________________________________________________________

    The SAM would like to involve the children in the church in our long-standing efforts to collect food for the Lexington Interfaith Food Pantry. In order to bring more visibility to the ongoing food collection, on the first Sunday of each month there will be a basket in the sanctuary for canned good donations.  By encouraging the young people to voluntarily bring in canned goods on that day, we hope to raise their awareness about hunger and to lead the adults with their example.  

    Lynne Yansen and Tom Wanderer would like to meet with any parents who would like to know more or help or to express concerns after church on Sunday, September 17 at noon in Parker Hall. 
    If you are unable to meet this Sunday but wish to get involved, please email Tom or Lynne.

    Thank you!
  • September Updates

    With the new church year comes updated documentation, including social hour host assignments, hosting instructions, and the First Parish directory.

    The directory has been updated using our new database, Breeze. You will notice a formatting difference, as the Breeze template produces directories that read alphabetically across rows rather than in columns. Please check your information and email Jane Foley in the office if anything is incorrect.

    To view these documents, please go to our Members Page.

  • Fall Potluck Dinners

    This is the last Sunday to sign up for fall potluck dinners.

    Dinners will begin in October, following signups during social hour in September. Please visit the piano during social hour, choose which evenings are possible for you, and indicate whether or not you could host a dinner. After signups are complete, groups of 8-10 people will be formed and begin gathering in October in a group membersʹ home on a weekday or weekend evening once a month for four months. The same people remain in the same group for each dinner. There are also options for family potluck dinners where children have their own dinner together, separate from the adults.

    All are welcome! Sign up during coffee hour throughout September. Questions about fall potluck dinners? Please contact Linda Coyne.

  • Thursday Evening Adult Programs

    Tomorrow evening, Thursday, September 28th, is the kick-off event for the new Thursday Evening Adult Programs! All are welcome to a drop-in facilitated conversation lead by Rev. Anne Mason and Lisa Maria Steinberg, Director of Religious Education. Let’s discover together what we hope to learn about Unitarian Universalism. Join us from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.

    On the following Thursdays – October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2 and 30 – come view the fantastic DVD series Long Strange Trip with us to learn about Unitarian Universalism’s development as a progressive faith tradition from early Christianity to the Transcendentalists of New England and beyond. What is the story of Unitarian Universalism? How did two distinct faiths rooted in Christianity become a faith home for Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, humanists, and more?

    Popcorn will be served during the movie and a brief discussion facilitated by Rev. Anne Mason and/or Lisa Maria Steinberg, Director of Religious Education, will follow. RSVP to the Facebook event for the October 5th viewing here.

  • Among Our Own

    The memorial service for First Parish’s beloved member, Satt Oishi, will take place on Saturday, October 7th at 4pm in the Sanctuary. Please join Rev. Anne and Satt’s family as they celebrate and honor him.

     

    We also mourn the loss of Tom Peterson who passed away on Tuesday, September 12th. Information will be forthcoming about his memorial service. In the meantime, please keep Arlayne in your prayers.

     

  • Voices on the Green

    Got a Great Protest Story?

    This year’s first “Voices on the Green” event, on Saturday, October 28, will focus on songs, speeches, and stories of protest. If you have a compelling personal story of protest, we want to hear it! We already have a great line-up of local speakers and storytellers, and Nick Page, a great UU music director and prophet who grew up in First Parish, will lead us in singing classic protest songs old and new.

    But we have a problem. Most of our present storytellers will be telling stories about their participation in protests that are relatively public – even national. We would like to have at least one storyteller who focuses on a protest that is intimate, private, familial, e.g., a story about a child’s protest within a family, a classroom protest at school, an elder’s protest against family wishes, etc. As usual, we are looking for stories that enlighten and enliven the evening’s theme from different perspectives – moving us to tears, to laughter, to thinking.

    If you think you have such a story, email David Rose.  If it fits in the evening, we will work with you to help shape the story as one of the next Voices on the Green.

    “Voices on the Green” is a series of programs introduced last year for the congregation and our surrounding community to address critical issues in our individual and communal lives from multiple perspectives, in multiple media, borrowing from models such as Ted Talks and Moth Stories, with the addition of music and a time for refreshment and conversation. We hope that all First Parish folks will put this date, Saturday, October 28, on your calendars and unite in fellowship and outreach.

  • This Week at First Parish
    Wednesday, September 13
    Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
    Master Singers Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
    Thursday, September 14
    NE Leadership RE Executive Team 10:00 a.m. Common Room
    Meditation 4:00 p.m. Parlor
    Scrabble Club 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
    Friday, September 15
    Roaring Jelly 7:00 p.m. Parish Hall
    Saturday, September 16
    LYFS Student Training 9:00 a.m. Parish Hall
    Lead Donor Event 4:00 p.m. Offsite
    Sunday, September 17  
    Choir Rehearsal 9:30 a.m. Sanctuary
    Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Sanctuary
    Children’s Choir Rehearsal

    Social Action Meeting

    11:45 a.m.

    12:00 p.m.

    Yellow Room

    Parker Hall

    Food Pantry Parent Meeting 12:00 p.m. Parker Hall
    Sarasa Ensemble Concert 3:30 p.m. Sanctuary
    SHYG 7:00 p.m. Common Room
    Monday, September 18
    Staff Meeting 11:00 a.m. Minister’s Office
    Deb Abel Dance Class 3:30 p.m. Parish Hall
    LYFS Meeting 7:00 p.m. Parker Hall
    Climate Justice Meeting 7:30 p.m. Common Room
    Tuesday, September 19
    Board Meeting 7:00 p.m. Green Room
    Insight Meditation 7:30 p.m. Common Room
    Wednesday, September 20
    Deb Abel Dance Class 1:30 p.m. Parish Hall
    Creative Callings 1:30 p.m. Parlor
    Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
    Master Singers Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
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