We aspire to be a Beacon of…..

 … Liberal Religion

From the Parish Committee

The Parish Committee’s mission is to support the church and its members in living out our vision as “a beacon of liberal faith, strong community, and transformative service, rooted in love.” To that end, we have spent some time this summer, and now into the fall, considering how First Parish can best live out that vision. “What is working well in moving us towards being that beacon?” “Where might we improve to have even more impact?” In doing this work, one thing has become clear – as a community, we have an amazing foundation to build upon. First Parish is filled with deeply committed, talented people who hold common values and truly care about our church, one another, and our world. As leaders of First Parish, we are committed to working with all members of the church to strengthen that base as we move forward together. Specifically, we have begun looking closely at our structure and by-laws to see how they enable us to carry out our vision, and how they may be getting in the way of doing that most effectively. We want our structure to create more opportunity for more people to find joy in participating in church life!  

You will be hearing more from us in the coming months as we share our thoughts and recommendations. This Sunday, as part of our Synergy Sunday meeting after our service, we will be sharing more of what we have been up to and asking for your insight and feedback. Ultimately, we plan to propose a significantly re-written set of by-laws to the congregation for approval sometime this church year. We look forward to working with you as we create our future together. 

The Parish Committee meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month. Our meetings are open to all members - please feel free to come by to see how we do business, to ask a question, or to make a recommendation.



Transitions in our Religious Education Program

In September 2018 Bill Ketchum came to work with us our as our Director of Religious Education. At the time we knew that Bill, as a candidate for ministry in the United Church of Christ,was looking for a UCC congregation to serve as a minister and would be leaving us when he received a call to a church. That day has come. 

On Sunday September 22, the United Parish of Carver called him to be their settled minister. He will begin serving with them in November. Bill’s last Sunday with us will be October 20 and there will be a potluck supper the night before, Saturday the 19 ^th , celebrating him and his wife. 

And as we’re getting ready to say good-by, we’re also saying, “hello.” Eileen Knight will begin working with us on October 1 as our new Religious Education Coordinator. (The change in title reflects a change in emphasis: Eileen's role will be more focused on the administration of the program.) Eileen is a long-time Scituate resident who has worked in college admissions around the country and currently works in the Treasurer's Office at Town Hall and has a sewing business. She visited our RE classes on September 22 and is looking forward to working with us.  

- Pamela Barz

Community Book Discussion on Diversity

Our next "read" will be There, There by Tommy Orange. Published in 2018, it follows a large cast of Native Americans living in the area of Oakland, CA, as their paths take them to a community pow wow . There, There was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Literature. The New York Times headlined their review of the book: "Yes, Tommy Orange's New Novel Really Is That Good" ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/19/books/review/tommy-orange-there-there.html ). John Scopelleti, Chair of the English Department at Scituate High School, will lead the discussion of the book on Wednesday October 23, 6:30-8 p.m., at the Scituate Town Library. There are many copies of the novel in the OCLN system.

The book explores the themes of Native peoples living in urban spaces, and issues of ambivalence and complexity related to Natives' struggles with identity and authenticity. There There was favorably received, and was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. ^[2] The book was also awarded a Gold Medal for First Fiction by the California Book Awards .

... Strong Community

Buzz with Synergy this Sunday!

Please join us after worship on Sunday, September 29 for our first Synergy Sunday of the year. Synergy Sunday was conceived as a way for members and friends to gather together, approximately three times a year, to discuss the work of the church in order to identify opportunities for collaboration, partnerships, and synergies that will enhance our programs and ministries. We encourage each committee, team, and organization of the church to send a representative to share information about their group’s activities, accomplishments, goals, and challenges. Bring your ideas for activities so that we can add them to the church calendar.

 

The Parish Committee will be reporting on our ongoing evaluation of our governance structure. You can read more about what we have been working on in "Highlights from the Parish Committee." We are working to revise our by-laws to make our governance structure more flexible and responsive. We plan to propose those changes for approval by the congregation sometime this year. Please come to Synergy Sunday with your questions and suggestions.

 

Our meetings last year were well attended and well received.  Many people, both old and new, involved in church governance or not, commented that they learned something interesting about the church as a result of the conversation.  Anyone who is currently involved in, who is interested in becoming involved in, or who is simply interested in learning more about the work of the church is welcome to attend the meeting this Sunday. Please feel free to join us for Coffee Hour and either stay for the duration or slip away when you need to. We will have enough food to sustain you, and childcare will be provided. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the Parish Committee.

Transformative Service

The Blue Boat Is Back: Singing for Peace!

On Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 6:00-9:00 pm , the Blue Boat Coffeehouse is teaming up with the national Concert Across America to End Gun Violence. Come join us for our 12th Blue Boat Coffeehouse and our second time dedicating our efforts to this worthy and important cause.

This event will highlight the incredible local talent of both adults and youth while raising funds for a local non-profit organization. Through hundreds of concerts in towns (just like ours!) and cities across the country, we can reach millions of people this fall--all to raise awareness and save lives from gun violence.

This alcohol-free, substance-free, family-friendly evening is open to the public and any donations or proceeds will go to the South Shore Women's Resource and Advocacy Center to support victims of domestic violence. You can learn more about SSWRC at  http://www.thesswrc.org .



Suggested Donation is $5. Baked goods and other refreshments will be available for purchase with all proceeds going to SSWRC.

For information and the latest line-up of performers for the Blue Boat Coffee House  on 9/28/19 , please visit “The Blue Boat Coffeehouse” Facebook page.

The Blue Boat Coffeehouse - Needs Donations of Baked Goods and Helpers

We are in need of baked goods to sell during the coffeehouse as well as helpers to set up and take down! 

Hope you will all come to the first coffeehouse of the church year THIS Saturday, 9/28/19! It's from 6:00-9:00 pm and will benefit the South Shore Women's Resource Center in Plymouth, a non-profit whose good works focus on victims of domestic abuse. 

Pleas let us know if you can help

Many thanks and hope to see you Saturday!

Scituate Food Pantry -Volunteers Needed for October

The month of October is our church's time to support the Scituate Food Pantry. We are called upon to provide one person on Tuesdays 9:30-12:30 and/or Thursdays 3:00-6:00 pm each week of October. Also starting in October, there will be more opportunities for High School students needing Community Service hours.

 

The work is mainly dating donated goods and filling orders for clients. There is some lifting and bending required. On the month that we provide volunteers to the food pantry, we are requested to either have a fund raiser or a food drive. 

Our plan this month is to collect and build a wall of food across the chancel.

 

The Food Pantry requests the following for the holidays:

Holiday Foods Needed

 Stuffing mix

Mashed potatoes box

Turkey gravy

Cranberry sauce

Yams can

Corn can

Fruit cocktail

Jello

Quick breads or muffin mix

Brownie or cake mix

Tomorrow Night - Come Help Scituate Talk About Diversity!

Come learn about the work of Scituate's Unity Council and how to get involved on Thursday, September 26 6:30-8 p.m., in the Gates Middle School Dining Commons. The Unity Council has been meeting for a few years, offering opportunities for conversation about issues arising in town and in the world, and is looking to refocus those efforts as it also begins to work with the Unity Councils of Cohasset and Hingham. 

Our Mission

Liberal Faith: We commit to participate side-by-side across generations  in worship, religious education, social activities, environmental protection,

and social justice work—learning, sharing, and growing together. 

Strong Community : We commit to care for one another, nurture the light that shines within each of us, and support each other’s individual search for truth and meaning.

 

Transformative Service: We commit to pursue diversity, justice, equality, reason, and discourse;

provide inspiration through music, creativity, and the arts;

and work cooperatively to affect positive change in our community and beyond.