November's Theme: Courage

From the Minister

There is so much going on inside and outside of First Parish that my column this month is a coat of different colors –– or at least different parts.

POST-ELECTION POTLUCK –– FRIDAY 11/8 5:00-7:00ish

We will gather together for a meal and company as a way to exhale after such a long and unsettling election season. We are all carrying so many emotions it will be good to be together even if the outcome is not yet known. Remember it took until the following Saturday for Biden/Harris to be declared the winner in 2020.

Bring food to share and perhaps a beverage as well. Because I anticipate the gathering to be multi-generational, I would suggest that we don’t include alcohol as a beverage option. We will have art supplies out and the ability to show a movie that you bring for the kids.

ALL-SOULS DAY SERVICE

At the October Parish Committee meeting, it came up that some members of the PC have heard from folks about missing the All-Souls Day Service. All of which is understandable as I have learned that it was been an important part of your worship life when Pam Barz was your minister.

Let me say very clearly that talking to leadership when something is going well or when you want more information or have a question or complaint is an important part of congregational life. Being able to share beyond your own hearts and friend group means that whatever it is –– good or bad –– becomes a shared knowing and then a shared endeavor. So, for those who shared their disappointment – thank you.

The next step in ensuring good communication and common understanding is taking the same concern to your minister. It is imperative for you to know – and I’m sorry if I haven’t been clear – that I am available to talk about anything at any time. This is especially true if there is something that is not sitting well with you.

As you all look to your next minister who will partner with you as you tenderly,

courageously, and collectively figure out who and how you shall be going forward being able to have clear channels of communication is paramount. If there is something that’s going well – talk about it. If there is something that is not going well for you – talk about it. We are in this together and together we can handle it all.

READERS AND STORYTELLERS

There will be a sign-up sheet at coffee hour for anyone who would like to be part of our Sunday services. Please consider adding your voice to our time together.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

We have decided that the pageant this year would be part of the Sunday service on 12/22/24 instead of Christmas Eve. As we roll into November, we will be looking for cast members and helpers.

Interim Minister, The Reverend Erin (she/her)

Daylight Savings Time!

Don't forget that Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday November 3, 2021, at 2 a.m.! Before you go to bed Saturday night, you'll want to turn your clocks back an hour, so you're not early for the service!

Transgender Day of Remembrance Service at FPUU - On Sunday November 24 our worship service will honor Transgender Day of Remembrance, celebrated annually to commemorate the transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming individuals who were killed in the past year solely because of their gender identity. It is a time to name and remember them and express love and respect in the face of national indifference and bigotry.

November Special Collection - The plate collection on Sunday November 3 will be donated to the UUA Disaster Relief Fund, which is currently funding grants to UU congregations affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton for one or more of these purposes: (a) repair of their buildings and grounds; (b) assistance for members of their congregation that have suffered a loss; (c) assistance to people within their larger community who have suffered a loss because of the disaster, with emphasis on aiding those who don’t have easy access to other funding sources. The congregation decides how they will use the funds that they are granted. 

As an alternative to donating by check or cash at Sunday service Nov. 3, you can make a contribution any time in November by:

• going to the First Parish website donation page (type “UUA Disaster Relief” in the notations box)
• visiting the UUA Disaster Relief Fund donations page online

UUMass Action Cosponsors Author Conversation Nov. 12 at 7 PM - Louise Dunlap is the author of Inherited Silence: Listening to the Land, Healing the Colonizer Mind. She tells the story of beloved land in California’s Napa Valley—how the land fared during the onslaught of colonization and how it fares now in the drought, development, and wildfires that are the consequences of the colonial mindset. Dunlap’s ancestors were among the first Europeans to claim ownership of traditional lands of the Wappo people during a period of genocide. As settlers, her ancestors lived the dream of Manifest Destiny, their consciousness changing only gradually over the generations.

When Dunlap’s generation inherited the land, she had already begun to wonder about its unspoken story. What had kept her ancestors from seeing and telling the truth of their history? What had they brought west with them from the very earliest colonial experience in New England? Dunlap looks back into California’s and America’s history for the key to their silences and a way to heal the wounds of the land, its original people, and the harmful mind of the colonizer. Register to attend.

55th Annual National Day of Mourning 

November 28, 2024, 12:00 Noon, Cole's Hill (above Plymouth Rock), Plymouth, MA - Since 1970, Indigenous people & their allies have gathered on Cole's Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US Thanksgiving holiday. Many Native people do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims & other European settlers. Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands and the erasure of Native cultures. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Indigenous ancestors and Native resilience. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience worldwide.

UUA’s Green Sanctuary 2030 Program  

If you would like to learn how First Parish can engage in ongoing climate action through the UUA’s Green Sanctuary 2030 Program, join the monthly orientation webinar on Wednesday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m. These orientation sessions are held on the first Wednesday of the month.

November Social Justice Committee Meeting Zoom- Please join us online on Monday, November 25, from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Please come for all or part of the meeting.  

Ellen,(she/her), Social Justice and Denominational Affairs Committee Chair

Snowflake Fair

This year’s Snowflake Fair is just over a month away! Please mark

your calendar for Saturday, December 7, 2024. The Snowflake Fair is one of the church’s largest fundraisers, and is an important community-building event, both within the church and in the wider community. It is a great time for members and friends of the church of all ages to come together to celebrate the season and our community, all while raising funds for the church.

We will hold our next Info and Planning Meeting on Sunday, 11/3/2024, at 12:00, in the Sanctuary - Please stay after church and join members of Team Snowflake for a quick update and Q&A about the fair. If you are an Activity Lead, please try to attend so that volunteers and contributors can connect with you. Sign-up sheets are posted in the Sloop Room for donations of items and your time. Activity Leads are listed on the sign-up sheets, should you have any questions about how you can help. You can also reach out to any of the members of Team Snowflake – we’d be happy to chat with you.

Kids' Crafts and Kids' Shopping Room - Kids and parents love that we offer free activities for children upstairs in the Erdman space during the Fair! We need donations of gently used or re-giftable items for the Kids' Shopping Room - holiday or other decor, books, tchotchkes, games, toys, scarves, gadgets, candle holders, etc. Anything that a child might find appealing to gift to a

family member.

Crafts - See ongoing announcements from the Fididdlers in the Newsletter and What's Happening. They meet regularly and all members and friends are invited to join them to work on a craft project. The Fididdlers also publish a wish list each week of needed crafting supplies. If you will be donating items that you have been making on your own, please reach out to the Activity Leads so that they can reserve space on the Craft table for your work.

Chili's and Chowders - We are trying to bring back our lunch kitchen this year. Stay tuned for details!

Wreath Making Night - Join members and friends at the church on Wednesday, December 4, 5:00-8:00 p.m. to decorate wreaths. These wreaths are made in Vermont from freshly-cut greens.

We decorate them at the church and sell at the fair. They are a specialty of ours, and Wreath Making Night is a lot of fun!

Other perennial Snowflake Fair favorites include Baked Goods, Jewelry, Fudge, Garden and Birds, Jams/Jellies/Pickles, Christmas Trees, and Paperwhite Bulbs.

Please plan to come and shop on December 7!

Please bake, craft, can, cook, and donate items to be sold at the Fair!

Please volunteer to staff a table, support an activity, or help with publicity, set-up, or clean-up!

Ho Ho Ho and Think Snow!

Team Snowflake,

Jean, Cathie, Vicki, and Erica

Fididdlers

The First Parish Fididdlers crafting group is busy creating craft items for the upcoming Snowflake Fair Saturday, December 7. ALL are invited to join our crafting times for great conversation, craft skill building and lots of laughs.  

Snowflake Fair Craft Wish List: Amazon 4-pack fairy lights with battery (Amazon ASIN# B07S3TC8F4), AA Batteries, JB WELD Quick setting steel re-enforced Epoxy-CLEAR, 1/8” grosgrain ribbon-colors red, white and green.  There is a blue donation box in the church foyer for craft donations.   THANK YOU!

The Holiday tree challenge ends on Sunday, December 1. We can’t wait to see your creations!

Suzanne, Eileen, Mary Ann

Bottles and Cans

On 10/1 we made $175, 10/8 $130, 10/15 $186, and on 10/22 we made $132.

If you can find time to help us, please sign up. Just go to: Bottles and Cans for 2024. For more information, you can contact Howard or Mike.

A reminder to Parishioners that you can drop off your redeemable bottles and cans in the garage behind the church. Please drop off only cans and bottles that are redeemable.



Thank you!

COFFEE HOUR UPDATE

SIGN-UPS SO FAR FOR THE NOVEMBER COFFEE HOUR

Our alphabetically-based host system for Coffee Hour has worked brilliantly, with the October folks (D-G in the directory) fueling us with delightful treats Sunday after Sunday. Thank you all!

The November group (H to L) is stepping up smartly. Here's a schedule of hosts and treats signed up so far:

November 3 

Ellen - pumpkin bread

Eileen - banana cake, grapes

Lisa - cheese and cracker, blondie bars

November 10

Frank - fruit, and cookies

Lin and Mark - cheese and cracker and coffee cake

___________________

November 17

Cathy and Richard - Cheese and crackers and fruit

Sandy - goldfish

____________________

November 24

____________________

____________________

____________________

The blank lines represent opportunities to contribute. Please contact Lin to volunteer.

To review the system-- We've divided the households in the Church Directory by last name into 5 equal cohorts, with each group assigned 2 months:

A-C is the September and February Group

D-G is the October and March Group

H-L is the November and April Group

M-R is the December and May Group

S-W is the January and June Group

I send a group email reminder to the next month's prospective hosts a week before the first of their month. They return-email me and their group as to which Sunday they'll host and what they will bring; it works out best if three host households can contribute each Sunday.

Many thanks to all who contribute--you are warmly appreciated!

If you have questions or suggestions, please contact me.

--Lin , Coffee Hour Coordinator

--Mark, Coffee Hour Brewer and Kitchen Organizer

November Monthly Calendar 2024

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