Weekly Update

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.
  • Friday! Voices on the Green: Modern Love

    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!

  • Sunday Service

    As we begin our congregation-wide conversation about who we are and who we want to become, we need to lift ourselves up from the everyday concerns of our lives. Join Rev. Anne Mason as she calls us to shift our perspective a bit and get a wider view, so that we can begin to dream together, with her sermon, “Up Periscope.”

    This Sunday the choir will be joined by guest cellist Jennifer Morsches from the Sarasa Ensemble in presenting Tom Fettke’s lyrical arrangement of “Holy” (attributed to the 17th century composer Guilio Caccini). The children’s choir will sing “Little People” (from Les Mis). David Meharry will sing Henry Purcell’s beautiful song “Love Divine” (“Fairest Isle”) from The Fairy Queen. Jennifer will play 2 meditative movements from Bach’s Sonata in G Major for Viola da Gamba, BWV 1027 with Rip Jackson accompanying on harpsichord. For the postlude, she and Rip will play Salvatore Lanzetti’s energetic “Allegro – Caccia” (from Sonata IV in C major).

    Click here to listen to last week’s sermon, “From Selma to the Biltmore” by Rev. Anne Mason

  • Special Plate Collection

    This month’s special plate collection will take place during the service this Sunday, January 21st. All non-pledge donations will go to the Douglas House in Lexington. The Douglas House is one of three residential programs in the area for those who’ve suffered a brain injury. These three houses offer total health, wellness, and residential programs for survivors of brain injury. For someone who has been brain injured, often caused by a traffic accident, the recovery process is life long.

    This year Douglas House is having a capital campaign to renovate a small house sitting totally unused on their property. If the campaign is successful, a large new fitness room will be developed as well as creating new, much needed space for offices and staff. If you are interested in volunteering at the Douglas House talk to Brenda Prusak. Brenda also teaches a gentle yoga class at the Douglas House for the Lexington community.

  • Newcomer Drop-In

    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!

  • Senior High Youth Group Fundraiser
    Graphic of Pine Ridge Reservation Flag By Himasaram

    The Senior High Youth Group (SHYG) is excitedly planning for their Service Trip this June to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota! Please see below for ways you can support SHYG and their service trip!

    Kids’ Night Out

    When is this event? Saturday, February 10th

    Sign up by Wednesday, February 7th!

    What time? 5:00 – 8:30 pm

    Where is it? First Parish Lexington

    What will the kids be doing? Fun games, a movie, and crafts; Pizza and Snacks also included!

    Who will be watching the kids? SHYG Youth and Adults

    How old do the kids need to be? The event is for kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade

    How much will it cost? $25 for one child; $35 for two children; $40 for three children

     

    Contact Youth Program Coordinator Katie Camire at youth@fplex.org to sign up or for more information!

     

    Save the Dates:

    Two other events hosted by SHYG to support their service trip coming this Spring:

    Themed Dinner on March 24th and Trivia Night on May 5th

    Details coming soon!

     

    Other Ways to Support SHYG:

    Please visit the SHYG table at coffee hour on Sunday mornings for a great selection of soup and Equal Exchange fair trade organic coffee, tea, and chocolate!

  • Focalpoint Deadline

    The deadline for the February issue of The Focalpoint is next Tuesday, January 23rd at 5pm. Please send along information about upcoming events, programs, and deadlines, as well as highlights from recent activities. You can send them to Jane Foley at the office email.

  • “Daring Democracy” Interfaith Panel Discussion

    Daring Democracy, UUA Common Read Book ~ Discussion and Interfaith Panel Response

    In partnership with Minuteman Indivisible we invite you to reflect on the state of our democracy a year into the Trump Administration when we will discuss the UUA Common Read, Daring Democracy, by Frances Moore Lappé and Adam Eichen.

    Every year there is a UUA Common Read that invites Unitarian Universalist communities to read a book together that is relevant to our faith and our time. This year, we are excited to be offering two opportunities to engage with this wonderful book, both in partnership with Minuteman Indivisible.

    On Thursday, January 25th at 7:00pm, Lisa Maria Steinberg will moderate an Interfaith panel of lay people in sharing how their personal faith tradition calls them to respond to the issues raised in Lappé and Eichen’s book. Come and hear how UUs, Catholics, Hindus, Jews, and others experience their spiritual practices calling them to act in our community in support of democracy.

  • Imagination Cafés – You’re Invited!

    Yes, the Imagination Cafés are nearly here:  on Sunday, January 28 and Sunday, February 11. Please mark your calendars to attend one or the other!  And sign up at the piano this Sunday.

    To order tickets, go to the Eventbrite page. You can reserve tickets for January 28th until Thursday, January 24th at Noon.

    The Cafes will happen right after church over a catered, free lunch. (The Cafe lunch will be in lieu of coffee hour on these two Sundays.) In small groups we will imagine the future of First Parish. Table hosts will guide our discussions via questions posed by the Board. The Board urges all parishioners—long timers, newcomers, and in-between—to participate in one or the other Cafe. It is looking to the Cafes for guidance from the congregation as together we plan ahead for this year and the next.

    Kids and youth are welcome to participate. Childcare will be provided for those who wish to use it.

    Please plan to come. Rev. Anne and the Board would like everyone to participate in this important event.

  • Sunday – Music from the Gilded Age with Austin Burns

    On Sunday, January 28th at 2:30pm, tenor Austin Burns and pianist Rip Jackson will present a concert of music from the “Gilded Age.” The Gilded Age was a term coined by Mark Twain and refers to a society which is “gilded” or thinly coated with a gold layer while under the surface lies the poor working conditions of the lower class. Sets from the program reflect the struggle of the 99% and the forgotten voices of women, African Americans, and refugees, and confronts the history of oppressed groups while acknowledging white privilege. A freewill offering will be taken.

  • Beloved Conversations – Registration still open

    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.

  • Spring Potlucks

    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.

  • Soul Matters

    The SOUL MATTERS theme this month is “What does it mean to be a people of INTENTION?”

    There are many spiritual exercises to choose from each month. One option for this month is called Start Your Day with Intention. 

    One of the ‘Start your Day With Intention” exercises invites you to explore the power of “intentional mornings” by selecting an exercise to try for at least a week. Here’s one option called Get Grateful.

    Begin your day with gratitude. There are so many ways to do this. You can keep it simple by just sitting in silence and pulling into your mind the things you’re looking forward to or the things you are blessed with (your health, a family that loves you, a job you enjoy). One focused way is to start each day by thinking of four people you are grateful for having in your life, letting the good energy from that relationship flow into you. Or maybe use a gratitude jar or write your gratitudes down in a gratitude journal and review its pages as it grows day by day. The point is to replace your to-do list and the morning news with thankfulness as the thing that launches you into the day.

    “Your day is pretty much determined by how you spend your first hour.” – Anon

  • This Week at First Parish
    Wednesday, January 17
    Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
    Master Singers Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
    Thursday, January 18
    New England LREDA Exec Team 10:00 a.m. Common Room
    Meditation Group 4:00 p.m. Parlor
    Scrabble Club 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
    Friday, January 19
    Roaring Jelly 7:00 p.m. Parish Hall
    Saturday, January 20
    OWL Retreat 9:00 a.m. Parker Hall
    Sunday, January 21
    Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Sanctuary
    Children’s Choir Rehearsal 11:45 a.m. Yellow Room
    Newcomer Drop-in 11:45 a.m. Minister’s Office
    Social Action Meeting 12:00 p.m. Parker Hall
    SHYG 7:00 p.m. Robinson Hall
    Monday, January 22
    Tuesday, January 23
    Focalpoint Deadline 5:00 p.m. Church office
    LYFS – Sources of Strength 7:00 p.m. Parker Hall
    Empty Sky Sangha 7:30 p.m. Common Room
    Wednesday, January 24
    Choir Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Sanctuary
    Master Singers Rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Parker Hall
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