Sunday May 2nd      A Spiral Dance - in-person outdoor worship

We often quote Martin Luther King, Jr., quoting Unitarian minister Theodore Parker: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” But is this linear approach helpful? What if the moral universe is a spiral, not an arc? The choir will sing Siyahamba. Pamela will be preaching.  

This morning's service will be broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. on our Facebook page, for those who are not able or comfortable attending in person. You do not need a Facebook account to watch it.

Sunday May 9th  Loved Into Being - Zoom worship

Sunday May 16th  Break Forth! - in-person outdoor worship

Our annual celebration of our children and youth and those who taught them this past year. Members of the Picturebook World Religions and World of New Friends classes will join Pam and Eileen in leading the service.  The choir will sing The Road Home.

This morning's service will be broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. on our Facebook page, for those who are not able or comfortable attending in person. You do not need a Facebook account to watch it.

Sunday May 23rd Still Dancing, Still Blooming -in-person outdoor worship

On our Annual Meeting Sunday, we will celebrate all the ways we continued to flower and bear fruit in the past year; recognize those celebrating membership anniversaries, and welcome new members. The choir will sing Lean on Me. If you are thinking of joining First Parish, please speak with Pamela.

This morning's service will be broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. on our Facebook page, for those who are not able or comfortable attending in person. You do not need a Facebook account to watch it.

Sunday May 30 We Remember - in-person outdoor worship

On this Memorial Day weekend we will remember those who have died serving our country and the ways that how we remember the Civil War shapes our understanding of the present. Pamela is preaching. The choir will sing Down to the River to Pray. If you are remembering family members or friends who died in war, please give their names to Pam.

We give it the prosaic name of Annual Meeting, but this deceptively simple gathering celebrates the good news of our theology as powerfully as any Sunday morning service. Our practice of governing our congregation by vote and discussion of the gathered members embodies our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of each person and of the power of the beloved community. Unlike some other traditions, we believe that when we come together, our church possesses the wisdom needed to set our course, align our plans and our budget with our vision, and name those who have the gifts to carry out the necessary day-to-day leadership. Think of how big this is! We should begin the meeting with a trumpet fanfare! And this year our Annual Meeting shows us even more the strength and wisdom of this community as we remember all that we have accomplished in this year like no other, from a newly restored steeple and roof to amazing choir videos, from Sunday standouts for justice to a vibrant on-line religious education program for children and adults. We should have balloons along with the trumpet! And ice cream! I look forward to seeing and celebrating our life together with you on May 23.

I will be taking study leave time to attend the Festival of Homiletics on-line Monday May 17-Friday May 21, so I won't be available for routine meetings, but will be available if you need pastoral care. One of the pluses of the pandemic time has been to make it possible to attend this and other conferences without the expense and hassle of travel. I am also looking forward to the rich resources of our virtual UUA General Assembly in June. Brian will serve as one of our lay delegates; there is space for one more person if you would like to join us. https://www.uua.org/ga

As the school year winds down, our children's RE year is also coming to a close. This was definitely an unusual year, definitely not what anyone expected. Yet, what a year we had!

Our Picture Book kids zoomed the picturebook world while teachers Jen , Sheryl, Becky Fish , and Wendy read to them about Asian moons, Mother Earth, the streets of Egypt, Ramadan, Hanukkah,special places of worship, the Day of the Dead, Buddhism, Passover, and the Golden Rule. They also had two great outings ...one at the very beginning of class in September to make chalices and the other just recently in April to gather, read and play together outdoors.

World of New Friends kids met 13 new (flat) friends (based on Jeff Brown's book Flat Stanley) from different religions across the globe. With each (flat) friend we gained an understanding of different faiths and special holidays, interesting cultures and religious beliefs. Guest appearances from Brian (Buddhism and Meditation), Barbara (Hanukkah) and Mohamed (Islam) enhanced our knowledge of religious practices and rituals.

Throughout the year we learned acceptance and appreciation for differences. And, with each difference, students learned common ground and similarities. COVID might have prevented us from being in a physical space together, but it didn't stop us from learning and gaining a new perspective of the world: our world and our global people. And isn't learning about new religions a way to build a global sense of community, a desire to be nice to one another, and wisdom that ultimately, as different as we are in beliefs and cultures, our ability to hold one another in acceptance and understanding is what brings us together.

I would like to thank all the parents who taught your children about new religions, new lands and new cultures. In particular, thank you 's go to Jen - who taught all year, Sheryl and Fish , Becky, Wendy, Tara, Julianna, and Cara and Tom . Without them, this special year would not have been possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

-Eileen, Religious Education Coordinator

May 2nd: Siyahamba. (We are Marching) This hymn originated in South Africa, possibly as a Zulu folk song that was written down by Andries Van Tonder. 

May 16th: The Road Home. Stephen Paulus was commissioned to compose a piece based on a folk melody. He fell in love with the tune The Lone Wild Bird  from the Southern Harmony Songbook of 1835. He asked Michael Dennis Brown to write new lyrics which describe the universal theme of returning and coming home after being lost or wandering. 

May 23rd: Lean on Me by Bill Withers. 

May 30th: Down to the River to Pray. This Appalachian-flavored gospel song arranged by Sheldon Curry captures the spirit of a simple, heartfelt plea for renewal. 

R.E.Connect will read and discuss poems on May 5 about Poetry and Social Justice.

Tea with the Minister  

This year First Parish will not have our usual Spring Fair because of Covid limitations but....we WILL have a Plant Sale! This is the day before Mothers Day, which should be a great day for selling plants.

We would like to have a few tents up to provide some shelter for the plants (and people!). Open air tents without sides please. Please email Erica if you have a 10' x10' tent that you could set up before 8am, or if you would like to volunteer for a few hours on Saturday.

If anyone wants to come join us on Friday or Saturday call or email Erica.

Regarding a banner, the poll posed the question: Would you please look over the following and check ALL you believe would express our values?

Number of times respondents selected only one of the choices:

We received 29 responses to this question including an array of suggestions and ideas for action.  You can view the answers here: Answers to Survey Question

-The Parish Committee

The Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry is the oldest community ministry in the United States, founded in 1834 to help Unitarian churches in Boston to coordinate their work serving those in need. Now based in Roxbury, over nearly two centuries, the people they serve and the ways they serve have changed, but their commitment to understanding the inherent worth and dignity of those people has not. Today their mission is “to unite communities & transform individuals through education, service, & advocacy,” and ours is one of the communities they hope to unite, since we are a member congregation of the UUUM. Our delegates connect us to this work. Carol and Jen are continuing to serve as delegates; we are in need of one more person to join them in attending the annual meeting (this year over Zoom on May 20) and throughout the year keeping our congregation informed on how we can connect with the work of the UUUM. Learn more about their work and let Mary or Anthony know if you are interested in serving as our third delegate for 2021-2022.  

Sat.     1^st    

Sun.    2^nd  

1:00     pm       Love Shows Up for Justice

Mon.   3^rd    

7:30     pm       Morality Discussion   

Tues.   4^th               

7:00     pm       Picture Book World Religions

Wed.   5^th  

5:00     pm       Poetry at First Parish

Thurs. 6^th 

4:30     pm       Tea with the Minister           

Sat. 8^th 

8:00      am      Spring Plant Sale           

Sun.     9^th 

1:00     pm       Love Shows Up for Justice

Mon.   10^th

7:30     pm       Morality Discussion

Tues.   11^th  

7:00     pm      Picture Book World Religions

Thurs. 13^th

7:30     pm       Burnout Discussion

Sun.    16^th 

1:00     pm       Love Shows Up for Justice

Mon.   17^th

7:30     pm       Morality Discussion

Wed.   19^th

  

Sun.    23^th

1:00     pm       Love Shows Up for Justice

Mon.   24^th

7:30     pm       Morality Discussion

  

Thurs. 27^th

7:30     pm       Burnout Discussion

Sun.    30^th

1:00     pm       Love Shows Up for Justice

Mon.   31^st 

12:00   pm       Lawson Tower carillon concert

7:30     pm       Morality Discussion