This Friday! You won’t want to miss the next Voices on the Green. Doors open at 6:30 for beverages and socializing; event begins at 7:00pm.

What two things do Chris Hess, Katie O’Hare Gibson, Marshall Wilensky, Katherine Rose, Regie O’Hare Gibson, Al Jacobson, and Tom Daley have in common? They are all great local storytellers, and each has a great personal love story to tell. Fortunately for you, you can hear their stories at Voices on the Green.

This popular series explores one theme – in this case, modern love – through many different voices. In addition to the stories, the evening will feature varied love songs by popular singer and humorist Don White and a presentation on the neuroscience of love by Allison Posey (also of Lexington). This latest Voices on the Green event will be at turns both touching and humorous. All of this with “hearty” refreshments and easy access, right here at First Parish church on the Green. 

To purchase tickets, click here!

In 1966, the Reverend Martin Luther King delivered the Ware Lecture to the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association. He encouraged us not to sleep through the revolution. Rev. Anne will explore the meaning his words still have for us during Sunday’s service, preaching “From Selma to the Biltmore.”

Rev. Anne Mason, Worship Leader

For this Sunday’s service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the sanctuary choir will sing Bob Chilcott’s serene choral arrangement of U2’s “MLK” with soloist Austin Burns. They will also sing John Rutter’s passionate “Distant Land.” Elizabeth Walsh and Austin Burns will sing James Taylor’s poignant “Shed a Little Light.” For the instrumental music, Rip Jackson will play on the piano Scott Joplin’s lyrical “Solace” (from the movie The Sting) and also his energetic “Maple Leaf Rag.”

Click here to listen to last week’s sermon by Dan Fenn, “Epiphanies.”

Are you new to First Parish? Unitarian Universalism? Want to know more about our worship, music, social justice work, or religious education? Please join Rev. Anne and the Members and Friends Committee on Sunday, January 21st in the minister’s office at 11:45am to learn more about the church, UUism, and how you can be a part of this vibrant congregation. All are welcome!

Are We Still The Green Congregation On the Green?

24 First Parish Folks have already said Yes!

Join them on Sunday, January 14th at 11:45 in Parker Hall to create the new

Climate Action Team

Together we will imagine and organize what we can do together right now and in the coming year.

Save the date: Come to Worship on February 11 and hear Rev. Fred Small, Climate Activist and one of the initiators of the Green Sanctuary movement.

Find out what others are doing :

Massachusetts Campaign for a Clean Energy Future

350.org Massachusetts

Climate Exchange Massachusetts and Massachusetts Carbon Pricing Legislation

UU Ministry for Earth

UU Mass Action

For more info contact

Dave Pollack  or Stephen Shick or Bob Kvaal

Many people at First Parish participate every year in the Lexington Martin Luther King Day of Service. Following is the introductory announcement to the nature and events of the Day put out by the town-wide MLK Day of Service Committee:

5th Annual Lexington MLK Day of Service

Monday, January 15, 2018

The Town of Lexington will hold its 25th commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with its 5th Annual MLK Day of Service by shepherding our community to take part in assisting those in need. Our objective is to engage and mobilize people of all ages to participate in events and activities to serve others. United in philanthropy under the auspices of the Town Celebrations Committee, our target this year is to serve 2,000+ people through 400+ volunteers.

Program and Activities:

9–10:30 a.m. at Grace Chapel – Lexington Human Rights Council sponsor a Community Dialogue on Race. An opportunity to discuss in small groups ways to employ Dr. King’s principles, tactics and strategies to achieve greater equality & justice.

11 a.m. Unity Walk from the Lexington Battle Green to Cary Hall. Come and join our community in this fun and symbolic show of unity and solidarity in the name of equality and social justice.

11:30 a.m. at Cary Hall Commemoration Program and Musical Performances – Brief and uplifting performances by Lexington literary performer Regie O’Hare Gibson, Lexington Student presentations and Special Needs Arts Program (SNAP) Sing Along Chorus.

Volunteer activities throughout Lexington, Waltham (YMCA) and Brighton (Boston):

Activities include  card-making for hospitalized children and veterans, meeting with homeless families at the Waltham YMCA for a day of activities, an invitation to Lexington Seniors to gather at Brookhaven for music, refreshments, and reflections on King’s legacy while donating to the new Bedford Green Apartments for previously homeless veterans, fleece-making of blankets, scarves, and hats, and a variety of opportunities for donations to places like the Lexington Food Pantry.

Evening concert:

UnMet Remembers MLK Day in Roxbury

Opera unMet brings their critically acclaimed performance The Ties That Bind to First Parish in Lexington  on Monday, January 15 at 5PM.  Through music, readings and interactive participation, this celebration has drawn diverse audiences together for over 20 years to reflect on the great works of  Dr. Martin Luther King. Featuring  Alan Rias, Emerald Johnson, Marta Rymer, Cliff Blake, Ellen Polansky, Joey Lenfest, Ezra Stevens and Marshall Hughes.  The performance is family friendly, thought provoking and inspiring.  It has been called ‘one of the brightest lights to shine on MLK Day’.

Admission is $15/adult, $10/students & seniors.

Please go to the website for further details and to sign up for activities. You can also email questions, or speak to Helen Cohen.

Yes, the Imagination Cafés are coming and you will be learning more about them as we brave the January days ahead. For now, the most important thing to know is that the cafés will be held on Sunday, January 28 and Sunday, February 11. Please mark your calendars to attend one or the other! Two identical cafés are being held to help ensure that all parishioners—long timers, newcomers, and in-between—will be able to participate in one or the other café. Each café will begin with a delicious, free lunch immediately following worship services on Jan 28 and Feb 11. The lunch will be in lieu of the social hour on those Sundays.

Following lunch (and even during, if you like) you will have a chance to engage with fellow parishioners in small-group conversations about the future of our church community. Those conversations will be guided by several “open questions” that the Board will look to for guidance from the congregation as we plan ahead for this year and the next. Kids and youth are welcome, and childcare will be provided for those who wish to use it. As I think you can tell, Rev. Anne and the Board would like to see everyone participate in this important event. Please plan to come.

First Parish in Concord and First Parish in Lexington are collaborating on an experiential curriculum, Beloved Conversations.

• 1.5 day retreat on February 2nd and 3rd.
• Eight biweekly facilitated discussions in small groups promote new patterns of thought and behavior.

Developed by the Fahs Collaborative at Meadville Lombard UU Theological School, this highly acclaimed program begins with a thought-provoking 1.5 day retreat facilitated by trained Fahs Collaborative staff, which will take place on February 2nd and 3rd.

Small groups of 8-10 members from both congregations will then meet together for eight biweekly facilitated discussions to promote new patterns of thought and behavior that connect both the sources of inspiration as well as the challenges of race/ethnicity. Beloved Conversations will provide a space to re-form/fuse the brokenness of racism into new patterns of thought and behavior ushering in social and spiritual healing.

Registration is now online (limited availability, full commitment required).

For more information about Beloved Conversations, visit the Meadville website or email Elisabeth Jas or Rev. Anne Mason.

January’s theme: “What does it mean to be a people of intention?”

There is a big difference between becoming better and becoming ourselves. Self-improvement is not the same as self-alignment. Wanting to get from point A to point B is something quite different from longing to find your inner anchor. Goals and intentions may indeed be more distinct than we have thought.

There’s still time to sign up for Spring potlucks. Those who sign up are assigned to one of several groups of 8-10 people who gather for a potluck dinner in a member home on a weekday or weekend evening once a month for four months. The same people remain in each group for the four months.

The dinners are a great way for newcomers to get acquainted with others in the church. When you sign up, please indicate which evenings are possible for you and whether or not you could host a dinner. There are also options for family potluck evenings where children are included and usually have dinner together separate from the adults.

The small groups will be formed based on the information you put on this signup list, and the monthly potlucks will begin in March and run through May.

Sign up this Sunday, or contact Linda Coyne.

The UU Church of Carlisle, First Religious Society is hosting “Hope-Full Bowls:  A Community Dinner, Fund and Friend Raiser” on Saturday, January 27, 2018 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the church. This is to help a Syrian family living in Carlisle with whom LexRAP is very involved. A Syrian-themed dinner at 5:30 p.m. will be followed at 6:30 p.m. by an interactive discussion on what it means to make the journey from Syria to the US, and then what is needed to settle and rebuild your life in the United States. Dinner will feature homemade soups, bread and dessert.

The church invites all to be their guest for dinner, and afterwards it is hoped that people will donate to help this particular family.

As space is limited, please RSVP/register on EventBrite so that we can ensure that we have place settings and seating for all of our guests.

If you have questions please contact Jane Eckert, jweckert4@gmail.com  or at First Religious Society of Carlisle Lauree Cameron Eckler at lacameroneckler@comcast.net

Dear Members and Friends of First Parish Church,

First Parish invites each of you to participate in hospitality by hosting our Sunday morning social hour one time each year. Hosts need to arrive about 9:45 and stay till about 12:45.  (If you can’t get there for the prep, maybe let your team know you can stay for the clean-up.) The lead host brings milk for coffee or tea and coordinates with the team; the other invitees each bring refreshments for 30 to 40: (cut up fruit or veggies, crackers & cheese, or sweets). Full instructions are available on our website fplex.org (or posted in the kitchenette). The table below lists your invitations for this winter and spring. Please find your name, mark your calendar and save this list for future reference.  (Please double check to see if you will need a sub near the end of the church year! It gets busy with graduations and weddings, etc.)  Thank you!

Please click here for the recent newsletter of the UUA, for information about Black Lives UU, Growing Young Justice-Makers, Summer Seminary, and more!

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