Tuesday, February 15, 2005
February 2005 Newsletter
Captain’s Log
Now that everyone is shoveled out from the blizzard of 2005 . . .
The question always comes up on a snowy Sunday morning. Are we going to cancel church? The bottom of the television that we normally scan to see if there are school cancellations, also informs us of church cancellations. But my answer is that we will never cancel church because I can always walk. That doesn’t mean you should risk life and limb to be here, but it is simply a matter of fact that as long as we have a nearby parsonage and a parson with two good legs, we never have to cancel.
This does not mean we had much attendance on January 23. We had the minister, DRE (and her children plus one), the people who were responsible for social hour, all of whom walked, and one brave driver who had a play date planned for his daughter. What we do for our children’s social lives! We had four adults and four kids, hot chocolate, cookies and coffee cake. What more could you want? Thanks to Kyle Hart for his shoveling, too! I am sure many of us were sore the next day from shoveling two feet of the white stuff, but it was light and ever so beautiful.
There was also some snow prior to the Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast, but it was not enough to deter us from a successful fifth get together. Andrea said I seemed less up tight than usual about it, so I must be gaining confidence that we can pull it off smoothly.
We had about ten First Parish members present ( we usually have a few more), but our FPW kids (Laura Knuttunen, Giles Holt, Cody and Amy Urban) also did the childcare, and we even had one in the a cappella chorus (Molly Collins). This is a nice event for the town where a diverse group comes together. Heartfelt essays by middleschoolers have become one of the highlights. Special thanks to Sue Kuder and Will Twombly who did so much to make it happen, along with support from our own Helen Robinson Wright Committee. Others like David Morrison and Martha Scott helped set up and clean up. We had about 250 or so in attendance.
In the wake of MLK Day we have Black History month before us. I was fascinated by the PBS documentary on Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion. It has the amazing title, Unforgivable Blackness. How true. White people could accept separate black lives as long as they didn’t challenge their superiority and privilege and kept African Americans in their place with inferior accommodations and opportunities.
Any proof that a black man could be superior to a white person, and then flaunt that superiority that was so difficult even to achieve, was indeed, unforgivable. The fear that such a white truth might be false was too much for most whites to bear. How difficult it is for all of us when our “truths” turn out to be false. Then we cannot forgive those who led us to believe in these lies.
Darrick’s sermon on freedom has got me thinking about the distinction between freedom and liberty. So many Americans focus on their freedom to do what they want to do. That seems to me to define liberty, or what we find in libertarians, who are interested in their own freedom, but not that of anybody else. True freedom has to do with what we find in community. This is more threatening because it means sharing the liberties we have with others. I am also concerned about how politicians throw around these terms liberty and freedom, and use tyrannical methods to impose their idea “freedom.” I can only think of Orwell’s 1984. I hope to reflect on this more in a sermon this spring. In the meantime, Jack Johnson and Black history month remind us of freedom denied - what we say, what we do in our private lives - when it defies the prevailing notion of freedom. Freedom for who, to what end?
Mark
Sermon and Service Topics
Sunday, February 6, 2005
11:00 A.M. Mark W. Harris
“Who Needs Reconciling?”
(postponed from Snow Date, January 23rd)
Traditional Christianity features the doctrine of the atonement which says that Christ died to reconcile God (who was mad at us for being sinful) to humans). The Universalist Hosea Ballou said it is us who need to be reconciled to God. How do we find reconciliation and understanding if we believe God or someone more human is mad at us all the time?
Music: Guest musicians, Elizabeth Doriss, oboe and Debbie Thompson, cello
Greeters:Linda Letourneau, Patricia Fox
Social Hour:Finance Committee
Sunday, February 13, 2005
11:00 A.M. Mark Harris
“The Sacred State”
There is much controversy today over the separation of church and state. What are the roots of this line between secularism and theocracy. Why did our ancestors want a state church, and who is responsible for teaching morality?
Music: First Parish Choir will be singing.
Greeters:Johanna Erickson and Randy Rhoda
Social Hour: Finance Committee
Sunday,February 20, 2005
11:00 A.M. Andrea Greenwood
“What’s Good for the Goose “. . .
. . . is good for the gander, so the saying goes. But part of what’s being said here might not be about equality between genders so much as it is about what role models for us might exist in the natural world. What is good for the goose? Is it good for us?
Greeters: Jim Felty and Judi Fitts
Social Hour: Finance Committee
Sunday, February 27, 2005
11:00 A.M. Mark Harris
“Pumping the Wishing Well”
Whenever we come across a fountain or the like in a mall, my kids always want to raid my pockets so they can throw in some money. Are they really making wishes, or do they just like to throw things? How can we make our wishes come true for our church?
Music: Guest musician, Frank Grimes, viola
Greeters: Susan Flint and Nick Haddad
Social Hour: Finance Committee
Calendar
All Worship Services at 11:00 a.m.
2/7, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28 Choir meets at 6:30pm
2/2 Parish Council at 7:30 pm
2/6 Canvass Committee at 12:15 pm
2/9 Parish Committee meets at 7:30pm
2/15 FPW Book Club meets at 7:00pm
2/16 Finance at 7:30 pm
2/17 Social Action at 7:30 pm
2/20 UU for Dummies
2/22 Women and Work meets from 6:30-8:30pm
2/26 Madagascar Presentation, 7pm
2/27 Committee on Ministry at 9:30 am
2/27 Aging Group meets at 9:30am
Among Us
Walter Everett, former FPW Parish Committee chair and Watertown native, died on Sunday, January 2, 2005 at his retirement home on the Cape. Walter was 91 years old, and owned a trucking business here for many years. He was very active at the church prior to his retirement to the Cape in 1980. Services will be held this summer on the Cape. Contributions may go to Bourne Conservation Trust, PO Box 203, Cataumet, MA 02534.
Congratulations to FPW members Kevin Otto and Katja Holtta were married in Helsinki, Finland on January 1 (as far as we know). We won’t see them here until March though!
The Watertown Tab had a wonderful picture of Elizabeth, Isabel and Elijah Tappan-deFrees on the front page in January highlighting same sex marriage as one of the top ten stories of 2004. Also healing thoughts to Izzy as she recovers from her recent successful surgery.
Healing thoughts to Helen Wait who had a recent stint at a rehab hospital in Natick.
Special Collections
We have the results from three special collections taken over the holidays. Our final result of the Guest at Your Table collection was $1,223.84. This is our highest ever. Also on short notice we had a collection for Tsunami relief and collected $570.00. Both of these were sent to the UU Service Committee. The Tsunami collection will be sent on to agencies working in south Asia. We should also add that our special Christmas offering to help make up the budget deficit netted nearly $6,000. You are a community of very generous people!
Cape Cod summer rental available:
A wonderful opportunity for a quiet retreat in a fully equipped single level Cape style home in Wellfleet. The house is located on the bayside and has a large deck overlooking a salt marsh. It also abuts Audubon Society land. It sleeps 6 in three bedrooms and has 2 bathrooms. You can take advantage of beautiful Wellfleet beaches or the National Seashore with access to the bike trail, fishing, clamming, nature walks, whale watches, art galleries and more.
It is available in season and off season on a weekly basis and, in addition, in the off season for weekends.
Call Nancy Dutton or David Benson at 617-926-9254 or email ndutton@msn.com.
Creating the UU Church of the Future
An important Mass Bay District conference is coming soon! Called "Creating the UU Church of the Future," it is a full-day workshop led by Mike Durall and sponsored by the Mass Bay District. It will be held on Saturday, February 12th from 9 to 3:30 at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, MA.
The fee is $350 per congregation. The idea is that the congregation will send a team so that several people can come back with good ideas and plans, and not just one or two. We will make sure that everyone's fee is paid, but would like participants to pay at least a small portion. There is no limit on number of attendees, but we would like to send 7. So far we have Elizabeth Tappan-deFrees, Roberta Altamari, Charlyn Bethell, Jean Merkl, David Morrison and Mark (Darrick Jackson is going through Andover Newton) We would love more!
Are you on a committee? Hope to be more active in the future? Would you like to see more people embrace our liberal faith? We need you at this conference. See Mark for details!
Book Group
FPW Book Group -will meet again on February 15th at 7pm. The book is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Andrea Greenwood will be the facilitator. You may have heard Mark mention this book in a couple of his sermons! If you have any questions please ask Kelly Morton, Joani Mountain, or Jean Merkl. the book group will meet on the same day in March, the 15th. The book is Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels. If you like to learn about alternative versions of Christianity, as in the Da vinci Code, come experience the real life Gospel of Thomas. See you at both these sessions!
Aging Group
The Aging Group will meet again on Sunday, February 27 at 9:30am. At present we have no topic or facilitator for this meeting. We will announce it in January. Please see Mark if you have suggestions. Thanks to Martha Scott for leading the group in January.
Giving Box Recipient for January/February
The Giving Box recipient for January/February will be Teen L.E.E.P. Books (Leadership, Employment, and Enrichment Program), based at the Rediscovery House group home in Watertown. Rediscovery House serves older adolescent males who are aging out of the foster care system, and are preparing to live independently. They are seeking donations of any NON-FICTION books in good condition. The books may be new or used. They can also accept textbooks, if they are current editions. Please take a moment to check your bookshelves - any NON-FICTION books you no longer want could be very useful to these teens!
They re-sell these books to help them make some money, and learn selling skills.
Those Giving Boxes look empty right now!
Annual Benefit Concert
Our concert this year is to benefit a group called Aid to Incarcerated Mothers (AIM), an organization that serves women prisoners. The group helps mothers and children in all their needs, focusing on uniting the family, treating them with warmth, respect, and faith in their rehabilitation. They serve 100 women yearly, and we hope to raise money to help support their need for professional counselors and case managers.
The concert is scheduled for Saturday, March 26 and features Jacqueline Schwab, a pianist best known for her work with Ken Burns on PBS documentaries. We are planning to play some of her music during Social Hour in the weeks leading up to the concert, so stay tuned!
And save the date!
A Midshipman’s Musings
At school this past weekend I helped lead a reiki training for two parishes interested in starting a health ministry. At the training we did a new piece on healing vs. cure. This is an important distinction because society is much more focused on cure than healing, and sometimes equates the two. But they are very different. Curing deals with the physical. A cure fixes whatever problem the person is having. To be cured, you have to be in need of repair.
Healing deals with wholeness. It looks at how your body, mind and spirit interact with each other. To heal is to restore balance. Healing involves looking at the source of the problem and finding a way to prevent it from occurring. Sometimes this can manifest physically, but usually healing is internal.
Doctors tend to be focused on curing. They will fix you up so that you look as good as new. But the cause of the illness may run deeper than the physical, and so the patient can become sick again with the same or different illness. Anything that cannot be cured, is a failure.
But cure is not always the best outcome. I keep seeing television ads for the pills that can prevent hangovers. That is a prime example of a cure. Fixing the problem. But healing asks us to examine why the person is drinking to excess in the first place. What is the alcohol providing for that person? How we can help this person provide for themselves?
This is why I am excited about healing ministries. It works with traditional medicine to address the spiritual needs of the client. Healing ministries help clients to love themselves as they are, and to aspire to be their best selves. Their ailment may not be “fixed,” but they will be able to feel good about themselves anyway. This does not mean to not focus on removing the ailment. But it does mean that you should not obsess about it. The person is more than the sickness.
Blessed Be.
Darrick
R.E.flections by a chaliceD.R.E.amer
by Roberta Altamari
Our church community is growing and it is making our "children's ministry" even more exciting! I know I've mentioned in passing to many people that the number of children registered in our program has grown from 29 at the beginning of last year to 45 as of today. But I never fully realized how that increase has directly translated into more vibrancy in our Sunday adventures until recently.
On January 9th, we went on our annual trip to another UU church to put our principle of "coming together with acceptance" into action. This year, 18 of our children and 6 adults traveled to First Parish of Needham and had an absolutely fabulous time meeting new UU friends. Several of our kids returned with pen-pal addresses and I even got my copies of Rev. John Buehrens' books signed.
Two things surprised me during our trip to Needham. The first surprise was how awesome each member of our community was. Okay, okay. I know that's not really a surprise but more a pleasant affirmation. All of our kids and adults already know how much I adore them, but their enthusiasm and contributions to our field trip were impossible not to appreciate. Look at the adults who chaperoned as an example. First Barry Greess stopped by a few minutes early to see if I wanted something from Starbucks before we set off. Then Andrea Greenwood confidently helped organize the carpool and took the biggest group. Next I heard Barbara Hansberry's beautiful voice helping me sing the "Hindu welcome song" to about sixty kids gathered with us in Needham. And saving the most interesting for last, I saw Ken Vogel and Paula Carnese initiating the "make a new friend" game the kids were doing with the Needham adults. While each of these actions may seem small, they helped create an incredible adventure. They helped remind me how very lucky I am to work with such a dedicated and FUN church community.
The second surprise was exactly how many more of us there were than last year. When we went to the UU Church of Greater Lynn last year, we had 8 children and 2 adults. Our group more than doubled in size and we filled half of the balcony in Needham. We seemed to have an even greater positive effect this year, too. Irene Praeger (their DRE) told me that she thought it was great for all of the kids. And Rev. Buehrens responded to my thank you email by writing, "Your kids and the visit were a real blessing, adding energy to our beginning for 2005."
This trip got me curious about how much our weekly attendance has increased. So I compared my attendance charts from last year to this year. (Who knew those records would actually come in handy?) For the past few months, we have been averaging about 14 more kids per week. Wow! I knew we had some new faces, but I didn't realize how many. They've blended in so well to our community that they already feel like part of our First Parish "family".
So what does all this growth mean for our religious education programs? The RE Committee has already begun talking about the effects of this growth on our program and the ways our program may need to change to accommodate the growth. We are being open-minded about the best ways to meet our children's spiritual needs and are sharing many creative ideas.
As we proceed with some of these ideas in the coming months, we will be coming to you for support. Whether we ask you to help lead a Sunday morning "small group gathering" or for you to give as generously as possible during our annual Canvas to help fund our exciting and growing programs, we hope your response will be enthusiastically affirmative.
Announcements:
Books, Books, Books ~ Bring in your books!
During the month of February, Chalice Children will be working with the RE Committee and the Social Action Committee to host a book collection at First Parish. Now is the time to go through all those books on your shelf that you never read and bring them to church. Donate your favorite books that you've outgrown but still love to our new R.E. library for other First Parish families to borrow. Donate your non-fiction books in good condition to Teen L.E.E.P. Books (based at the Rediscovery House group home which serves older adolescent males who are aging out of the foster care system, and are preparing to live independently.) And donate all other books to Free Books of Boston (a non-profit organization that distributes books for free in many locations around Boston including soup kitchens and homeless shelters).
UU history and theology for "Dummies" ~ Sunday, February 20 at 6 PM
Inspired by a conversation I had with Kyle Morton about how parents don't have the time or energy to learn all the things we'd like to, we decided to offer a quick, lighthearted look at a subject near and dear to many of our hearts ... UU history and theology. We will play a simple, but interesting game that will introduce us to the basic highlights of UU history and theology. You'll get just enough information to help you feel knowledgeable about the UU faith while barely having to think. Rev. Mark Harris (our UU history guru) will be available for questions I'm too "dumm" to answer. RSVP today (to Roberta) to reserve your spot at this fun workshop!
(Pizza and childcare will be available for those willing to contribute to the cost ... RSVP asap if you want to be included in this part).
Spring is hopping here soon and we'd like to help bring the warmth of the season to you. Be a First Parish "Sunny Bunny Pal"! Each participating pal will be given a special someone to secretly send notes, cards, or simple small gifts to during the month of March. Meanwhile, someone else will be sending warmth to him or her. On Easter Sunday, all of the secret pals will be revealed. RSVP to Roberta if you would like to be a "Sunny Bunny Pal". Folks of ALL ages are encouraged to be Pals (as we will try to make matches across the generations to help everyone make new friends.) Please only sign up if you are ready and willing to send at least 2 cards during March and will be at church on Easter Sunday.
Help the victims of the Tsunami!
Emma Day (with help from some of the other Principle Activators) will be leading a community service project to help the victims of the Tsunami. On Sunday, February 13th at 10 AM, Emma will lead a workshop on jewelry making with a special highlighting on pins. Everyone 6 and older (need to have the fine-motor skills for beading or someone to help you) is welcome to attend, but should rsvp to Roberta to insure enough materials are available for all. Then all of the jewelry made will be sold at social hour that day and all profits will be donated to help the victims of the Tsunami.
2005 Canvass Dinners are Coming
The Canvass Committee is finalizing plans for this years Circle Supper Canvass dinners. In March we will have a series of canvass potluck dinners at people’s houses and at the Church, where we will enjoy one another’s fellowship, fine cooking and wit as well as talk some about what our community means to us. These talks will be led by fellow church members, and the evenings will wind up with people filling out their pledge cards for the coming year. These dinners were one of the highlights of the First Parish Social calendar last year, and should be again this year.
We have scheduled the dinners on successive weeks in early March in order to make it as easy as possible to find a date on which you can attend. This year’s dates are:
Thursday, March 3 7:00 9:00
Friday, March 4 7:00 9:00
Saturday, March 5 5:30 7:30 at the Church, child care provided
Sunday, March 6 7:00 - 9:00
Thursday, March 10 7:00 9:00
Friday, March 11 7:00 9:00
Saturday, March 12 7:00 9:00
Sunday, March 13 6:30 8:30 at the Church, child care provided.
Most of our hosts and conversation moderators have volunteered. Now we need you to sign-up for a dinner. Watch for your invitation this month, and please attend one of these great dinners. Contact Bob Shay, John Portz, Michael Collins, Darrick Jackson or Martha Scott if you have questions. Watch this month for our annual inspirational Sunday morning canvass skits.
Once we have finished our pledging we all gather together to celebrate on Saturday, April 2 at 6:00 at the Church at our Annual Dinner. This will be a giant pot luck and feature entertainment by the many talented members and friends of FPW.
Check your calendars today and lock in a date you want to attend a Canvass Dinner, and block out April 2 for the Annual Dinner. You will receive your invitation this month!
375th Anniversary Celebration Events
Many of our 375th anniversary celebration events have already been planned. Mark your calendars now. These dates are set: Spring Lecture with Roger Thompson of the University of East Anglia, England - Sunday, June 12, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. He is the author of Divided We Stand: Watertown, Massachusetts 1630-1680 (U. Mass Press, 2001). He will speak about the religious life of the early settlers of Watertown. Fall lecture with David Hall, Bartlett Professor of New England Church History at Harvard Divinity School - Sunday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. He has written extensively on religion and society in seventeenth century New England and England, including The Faithful Shepherd: A History of the New England Ministry in the Seventeenth Century, and Worlds of Wonder, Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England. He will speak about liberalizing elements in Puritanism in greater Boston.
Fall concert - This is not scheduled as of yet, but we expect period music (1630) from English and Dutch, and FPW member Marilyn Boenau has agreed to help organize it. We are hoping for a weekend near Saturday, October 22, 2005. This is because of our Special Sunday Celebration - October 23, 2005 : 1. Dedication of Historic Marker for 6th and 7th meetinghouses at 3:00 p.m. (corner of Church and Summer Sts.) ; 2. 375th Anniversary Worship Service with Rev. John Buehrens, former Unitarian Universalist Association president, preaching, Service at 4:00 p.m. Buehrens is presently minister at the First Parish in Needham and the author of the recent Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers and Religious Liberals (Beacon, 2003). First Parish Choir will hopefully sing. First Parish Churches in Waltham and Weston will be invited (daughter congregations) with their ministers participating. A Town official will be asked to bring greetings. First Parish’s Historic Silver (housed at the Museum of Fine Arts) will be on display; 3. Party - 5:00 p.m.
This should all make for a grand celebration!
Women and Work
Women and Work meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of each months from 6:30 - 8:30 in the Conference room. In January we are having a check in and a time for planning future topics for our meetings. February’s topic will be determined at our January meeting. All women (working or not ) are welcome. Take out is available. Interested people can email Kathy Warren at Kwarren at juno dot com or talk to Kathy in church.
Children’s Library Event
Giles Holt will be performing magic tricks, juggling and making balloon animals at the Robbins Library in Arlington Center, 700 Mass Ave. in the Children’s Room, on Saturday Feb 5 from 11am -12 noon. For more information call the Robbins Library
Madagascar Presentation
“The People, Culture and Wildlife of Madagascar “ a presentation by environmental science journalist and WBUR web reporter, Daniel Grossman, will be held at FPW on Saturday, February 26th at 7pm. Dan is a Watertown resident who spent several weeks in Madagascar in 2004. He will talk about the wildlife of Madagascar ,considered among the most unusual in the world. The presentation will include videos, rain forest sounds and wildlife photographs. Please bring snacks or dessert to share following the presentation.
Parent/Child Book Group
Would you like to try something fun and educational with your child?
When: Tuesday, February 1, at 6:30 p.m., join us at the
Where: Watertown Free Public Library, Phillips School, 30 Common Street
What: a lively discussion of The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant) by Avi. Snacks will be provided.
Who: Parent and Child (grade 3 to 5)
Both parent and child must read the book before the discussion.
Be sure to register to get your copy of the book. To register or receive more information, call the children's department at 617-972-6345 and ask for Julie.
Can’t make it this month? Call for March’s book.
*
Conversation and Needlework Group with Project Literacy
Project Literacy is having a 4-session conversation and needlework group. If you like meeting new people and enjoy any kind of needlework, speak to Kathy Warren or call Project Literacy at (617) 924-8797 or email us at project literacy@ci.watertown.ma.us We hope to have a few First Parish of Watertown participants join us.
What: You are invited to enjoy conversation while you work on your needlework. This is not a sewing class, just bring your own work. We will make new friends, talk, share our work, and ideas.
When: Starting Wednesday, March 30, 2005 April 20, 2005
4 Wednesday meetings
Time: 2 PM 3:30 PM
Where: First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church Street, Watertown
Who should come: All levels of EOSL students who would like to join a conversation group to practice speaking English and do some needlework with other learners and English speakers. We would also like a few English speakers who enjoy needlework and conversation.
Leader: Pat Callerame, Project Literacy volunteer.
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Email: pcallerame at yahoo dot com
Canvass Dinners Are Coming Soon!
Watch for Your Invitation in February
Sign up for Great Food, Fellowship and Help
Support a Fabulous First Parish in its 375th Year
Now that everyone is shoveled out from the blizzard of 2005 . . .
The question always comes up on a snowy Sunday morning. Are we going to cancel church? The bottom of the television that we normally scan to see if there are school cancellations, also informs us of church cancellations. But my answer is that we will never cancel church because I can always walk. That doesn’t mean you should risk life and limb to be here, but it is simply a matter of fact that as long as we have a nearby parsonage and a parson with two good legs, we never have to cancel.
This does not mean we had much attendance on January 23. We had the minister, DRE (and her children plus one), the people who were responsible for social hour, all of whom walked, and one brave driver who had a play date planned for his daughter. What we do for our children’s social lives! We had four adults and four kids, hot chocolate, cookies and coffee cake. What more could you want? Thanks to Kyle Hart for his shoveling, too! I am sure many of us were sore the next day from shoveling two feet of the white stuff, but it was light and ever so beautiful.
There was also some snow prior to the Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast, but it was not enough to deter us from a successful fifth get together. Andrea said I seemed less up tight than usual about it, so I must be gaining confidence that we can pull it off smoothly.
We had about ten First Parish members present ( we usually have a few more), but our FPW kids (Laura Knuttunen, Giles Holt, Cody and Amy Urban) also did the childcare, and we even had one in the a cappella chorus (Molly Collins). This is a nice event for the town where a diverse group comes together. Heartfelt essays by middleschoolers have become one of the highlights. Special thanks to Sue Kuder and Will Twombly who did so much to make it happen, along with support from our own Helen Robinson Wright Committee. Others like David Morrison and Martha Scott helped set up and clean up. We had about 250 or so in attendance.
In the wake of MLK Day we have Black History month before us. I was fascinated by the PBS documentary on Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion. It has the amazing title, Unforgivable Blackness. How true. White people could accept separate black lives as long as they didn’t challenge their superiority and privilege and kept African Americans in their place with inferior accommodations and opportunities.
Any proof that a black man could be superior to a white person, and then flaunt that superiority that was so difficult even to achieve, was indeed, unforgivable. The fear that such a white truth might be false was too much for most whites to bear. How difficult it is for all of us when our “truths” turn out to be false. Then we cannot forgive those who led us to believe in these lies.
Darrick’s sermon on freedom has got me thinking about the distinction between freedom and liberty. So many Americans focus on their freedom to do what they want to do. That seems to me to define liberty, or what we find in libertarians, who are interested in their own freedom, but not that of anybody else. True freedom has to do with what we find in community. This is more threatening because it means sharing the liberties we have with others. I am also concerned about how politicians throw around these terms liberty and freedom, and use tyrannical methods to impose their idea “freedom.” I can only think of Orwell’s 1984. I hope to reflect on this more in a sermon this spring. In the meantime, Jack Johnson and Black history month remind us of freedom denied - what we say, what we do in our private lives - when it defies the prevailing notion of freedom. Freedom for who, to what end?
Mark
Sermon and Service Topics
Sunday, February 6, 2005
11:00 A.M. Mark W. Harris
“Who Needs Reconciling?”
(postponed from Snow Date, January 23rd)
Traditional Christianity features the doctrine of the atonement which says that Christ died to reconcile God (who was mad at us for being sinful) to humans). The Universalist Hosea Ballou said it is us who need to be reconciled to God. How do we find reconciliation and understanding if we believe God or someone more human is mad at us all the time?
Music: Guest musicians, Elizabeth Doriss, oboe and Debbie Thompson, cello
Greeters:Linda Letourneau, Patricia Fox
Social Hour:Finance Committee
Sunday, February 13, 2005
11:00 A.M. Mark Harris
“The Sacred State”
There is much controversy today over the separation of church and state. What are the roots of this line between secularism and theocracy. Why did our ancestors want a state church, and who is responsible for teaching morality?
Music: First Parish Choir will be singing.
Greeters:Johanna Erickson and Randy Rhoda
Social Hour: Finance Committee
Sunday,February 20, 2005
11:00 A.M. Andrea Greenwood
“What’s Good for the Goose “. . .
. . . is good for the gander, so the saying goes. But part of what’s being said here might not be about equality between genders so much as it is about what role models for us might exist in the natural world. What is good for the goose? Is it good for us?
Greeters: Jim Felty and Judi Fitts
Social Hour: Finance Committee
Sunday, February 27, 2005
11:00 A.M. Mark Harris
“Pumping the Wishing Well”
Whenever we come across a fountain or the like in a mall, my kids always want to raid my pockets so they can throw in some money. Are they really making wishes, or do they just like to throw things? How can we make our wishes come true for our church?
Music: Guest musician, Frank Grimes, viola
Greeters: Susan Flint and Nick Haddad
Social Hour: Finance Committee
Calendar
All Worship Services at 11:00 a.m.
2/7, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28 Choir meets at 6:30pm
2/2 Parish Council at 7:30 pm
2/6 Canvass Committee at 12:15 pm
2/9 Parish Committee meets at 7:30pm
2/15 FPW Book Club meets at 7:00pm
2/16 Finance at 7:30 pm
2/17 Social Action at 7:30 pm
2/20 UU for Dummies
2/22 Women and Work meets from 6:30-8:30pm
2/26 Madagascar Presentation, 7pm
2/27 Committee on Ministry at 9:30 am
2/27 Aging Group meets at 9:30am
Among Us
Walter Everett, former FPW Parish Committee chair and Watertown native, died on Sunday, January 2, 2005 at his retirement home on the Cape. Walter was 91 years old, and owned a trucking business here for many years. He was very active at the church prior to his retirement to the Cape in 1980. Services will be held this summer on the Cape. Contributions may go to Bourne Conservation Trust, PO Box 203, Cataumet, MA 02534.
Congratulations to FPW members Kevin Otto and Katja Holtta were married in Helsinki, Finland on January 1 (as far as we know). We won’t see them here until March though!
The Watertown Tab had a wonderful picture of Elizabeth, Isabel and Elijah Tappan-deFrees on the front page in January highlighting same sex marriage as one of the top ten stories of 2004. Also healing thoughts to Izzy as she recovers from her recent successful surgery.
Healing thoughts to Helen Wait who had a recent stint at a rehab hospital in Natick.
Special Collections
We have the results from three special collections taken over the holidays. Our final result of the Guest at Your Table collection was $1,223.84. This is our highest ever. Also on short notice we had a collection for Tsunami relief and collected $570.00. Both of these were sent to the UU Service Committee. The Tsunami collection will be sent on to agencies working in south Asia. We should also add that our special Christmas offering to help make up the budget deficit netted nearly $6,000. You are a community of very generous people!
Cape Cod summer rental available:
A wonderful opportunity for a quiet retreat in a fully equipped single level Cape style home in Wellfleet. The house is located on the bayside and has a large deck overlooking a salt marsh. It also abuts Audubon Society land. It sleeps 6 in three bedrooms and has 2 bathrooms. You can take advantage of beautiful Wellfleet beaches or the National Seashore with access to the bike trail, fishing, clamming, nature walks, whale watches, art galleries and more.
It is available in season and off season on a weekly basis and, in addition, in the off season for weekends.
Call Nancy Dutton or David Benson at 617-926-9254 or email ndutton@msn.com.
Creating the UU Church of the Future
An important Mass Bay District conference is coming soon! Called "Creating the UU Church of the Future," it is a full-day workshop led by Mike Durall and sponsored by the Mass Bay District. It will be held on Saturday, February 12th from 9 to 3:30 at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, MA.
The fee is $350 per congregation. The idea is that the congregation will send a team so that several people can come back with good ideas and plans, and not just one or two. We will make sure that everyone's fee is paid, but would like participants to pay at least a small portion. There is no limit on number of attendees, but we would like to send 7. So far we have Elizabeth Tappan-deFrees, Roberta Altamari, Charlyn Bethell, Jean Merkl, David Morrison and Mark (Darrick Jackson is going through Andover Newton) We would love more!
Are you on a committee? Hope to be more active in the future? Would you like to see more people embrace our liberal faith? We need you at this conference. See Mark for details!
Book Group
FPW Book Group -will meet again on February 15th at 7pm. The book is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Andrea Greenwood will be the facilitator. You may have heard Mark mention this book in a couple of his sermons! If you have any questions please ask Kelly Morton, Joani Mountain, or Jean Merkl. the book group will meet on the same day in March, the 15th. The book is Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels. If you like to learn about alternative versions of Christianity, as in the Da vinci Code, come experience the real life Gospel of Thomas. See you at both these sessions!
Aging Group
The Aging Group will meet again on Sunday, February 27 at 9:30am. At present we have no topic or facilitator for this meeting. We will announce it in January. Please see Mark if you have suggestions. Thanks to Martha Scott for leading the group in January.
Giving Box Recipient for January/February
The Giving Box recipient for January/February will be Teen L.E.E.P. Books (Leadership, Employment, and Enrichment Program), based at the Rediscovery House group home in Watertown. Rediscovery House serves older adolescent males who are aging out of the foster care system, and are preparing to live independently. They are seeking donations of any NON-FICTION books in good condition. The books may be new or used. They can also accept textbooks, if they are current editions. Please take a moment to check your bookshelves - any NON-FICTION books you no longer want could be very useful to these teens!
They re-sell these books to help them make some money, and learn selling skills.
Those Giving Boxes look empty right now!
Annual Benefit Concert
Our concert this year is to benefit a group called Aid to Incarcerated Mothers (AIM), an organization that serves women prisoners. The group helps mothers and children in all their needs, focusing on uniting the family, treating them with warmth, respect, and faith in their rehabilitation. They serve 100 women yearly, and we hope to raise money to help support their need for professional counselors and case managers.
The concert is scheduled for Saturday, March 26 and features Jacqueline Schwab, a pianist best known for her work with Ken Burns on PBS documentaries. We are planning to play some of her music during Social Hour in the weeks leading up to the concert, so stay tuned!
And save the date!
A Midshipman’s Musings
At school this past weekend I helped lead a reiki training for two parishes interested in starting a health ministry. At the training we did a new piece on healing vs. cure. This is an important distinction because society is much more focused on cure than healing, and sometimes equates the two. But they are very different. Curing deals with the physical. A cure fixes whatever problem the person is having. To be cured, you have to be in need of repair.
Healing deals with wholeness. It looks at how your body, mind and spirit interact with each other. To heal is to restore balance. Healing involves looking at the source of the problem and finding a way to prevent it from occurring. Sometimes this can manifest physically, but usually healing is internal.
Doctors tend to be focused on curing. They will fix you up so that you look as good as new. But the cause of the illness may run deeper than the physical, and so the patient can become sick again with the same or different illness. Anything that cannot be cured, is a failure.
But cure is not always the best outcome. I keep seeing television ads for the pills that can prevent hangovers. That is a prime example of a cure. Fixing the problem. But healing asks us to examine why the person is drinking to excess in the first place. What is the alcohol providing for that person? How we can help this person provide for themselves?
This is why I am excited about healing ministries. It works with traditional medicine to address the spiritual needs of the client. Healing ministries help clients to love themselves as they are, and to aspire to be their best selves. Their ailment may not be “fixed,” but they will be able to feel good about themselves anyway. This does not mean to not focus on removing the ailment. But it does mean that you should not obsess about it. The person is more than the sickness.
Blessed Be.
Darrick
R.E.flections by a chaliceD.R.E.amer
by Roberta Altamari
Our church community is growing and it is making our "children's ministry" even more exciting! I know I've mentioned in passing to many people that the number of children registered in our program has grown from 29 at the beginning of last year to 45 as of today. But I never fully realized how that increase has directly translated into more vibrancy in our Sunday adventures until recently.
On January 9th, we went on our annual trip to another UU church to put our principle of "coming together with acceptance" into action. This year, 18 of our children and 6 adults traveled to First Parish of Needham and had an absolutely fabulous time meeting new UU friends. Several of our kids returned with pen-pal addresses and I even got my copies of Rev. John Buehrens' books signed.
Two things surprised me during our trip to Needham. The first surprise was how awesome each member of our community was. Okay, okay. I know that's not really a surprise but more a pleasant affirmation. All of our kids and adults already know how much I adore them, but their enthusiasm and contributions to our field trip were impossible not to appreciate. Look at the adults who chaperoned as an example. First Barry Greess stopped by a few minutes early to see if I wanted something from Starbucks before we set off. Then Andrea Greenwood confidently helped organize the carpool and took the biggest group. Next I heard Barbara Hansberry's beautiful voice helping me sing the "Hindu welcome song" to about sixty kids gathered with us in Needham. And saving the most interesting for last, I saw Ken Vogel and Paula Carnese initiating the "make a new friend" game the kids were doing with the Needham adults. While each of these actions may seem small, they helped create an incredible adventure. They helped remind me how very lucky I am to work with such a dedicated and FUN church community.
The second surprise was exactly how many more of us there were than last year. When we went to the UU Church of Greater Lynn last year, we had 8 children and 2 adults. Our group more than doubled in size and we filled half of the balcony in Needham. We seemed to have an even greater positive effect this year, too. Irene Praeger (their DRE) told me that she thought it was great for all of the kids. And Rev. Buehrens responded to my thank you email by writing, "Your kids and the visit were a real blessing, adding energy to our beginning for 2005."
This trip got me curious about how much our weekly attendance has increased. So I compared my attendance charts from last year to this year. (Who knew those records would actually come in handy?) For the past few months, we have been averaging about 14 more kids per week. Wow! I knew we had some new faces, but I didn't realize how many. They've blended in so well to our community that they already feel like part of our First Parish "family".
So what does all this growth mean for our religious education programs? The RE Committee has already begun talking about the effects of this growth on our program and the ways our program may need to change to accommodate the growth. We are being open-minded about the best ways to meet our children's spiritual needs and are sharing many creative ideas.
As we proceed with some of these ideas in the coming months, we will be coming to you for support. Whether we ask you to help lead a Sunday morning "small group gathering" or for you to give as generously as possible during our annual Canvas to help fund our exciting and growing programs, we hope your response will be enthusiastically affirmative.
Announcements:
Books, Books, Books ~ Bring in your books!
During the month of February, Chalice Children will be working with the RE Committee and the Social Action Committee to host a book collection at First Parish. Now is the time to go through all those books on your shelf that you never read and bring them to church. Donate your favorite books that you've outgrown but still love to our new R.E. library for other First Parish families to borrow. Donate your non-fiction books in good condition to Teen L.E.E.P. Books (based at the Rediscovery House group home which serves older adolescent males who are aging out of the foster care system, and are preparing to live independently.) And donate all other books to Free Books of Boston (a non-profit organization that distributes books for free in many locations around Boston including soup kitchens and homeless shelters).
UU history and theology for "Dummies" ~ Sunday, February 20 at 6 PM
Inspired by a conversation I had with Kyle Morton about how parents don't have the time or energy to learn all the things we'd like to, we decided to offer a quick, lighthearted look at a subject near and dear to many of our hearts ... UU history and theology. We will play a simple, but interesting game that will introduce us to the basic highlights of UU history and theology. You'll get just enough information to help you feel knowledgeable about the UU faith while barely having to think. Rev. Mark Harris (our UU history guru) will be available for questions I'm too "dumm" to answer. RSVP today (to Roberta) to reserve your spot at this fun workshop!
(Pizza and childcare will be available for those willing to contribute to the cost ... RSVP asap if you want to be included in this part).
Spring is hopping here soon and we'd like to help bring the warmth of the season to you. Be a First Parish "Sunny Bunny Pal"! Each participating pal will be given a special someone to secretly send notes, cards, or simple small gifts to during the month of March. Meanwhile, someone else will be sending warmth to him or her. On Easter Sunday, all of the secret pals will be revealed. RSVP to Roberta if you would like to be a "Sunny Bunny Pal". Folks of ALL ages are encouraged to be Pals (as we will try to make matches across the generations to help everyone make new friends.) Please only sign up if you are ready and willing to send at least 2 cards during March and will be at church on Easter Sunday.
Help the victims of the Tsunami!
Emma Day (with help from some of the other Principle Activators) will be leading a community service project to help the victims of the Tsunami. On Sunday, February 13th at 10 AM, Emma will lead a workshop on jewelry making with a special highlighting on pins. Everyone 6 and older (need to have the fine-motor skills for beading or someone to help you) is welcome to attend, but should rsvp to Roberta to insure enough materials are available for all. Then all of the jewelry made will be sold at social hour that day and all profits will be donated to help the victims of the Tsunami.
2005 Canvass Dinners are Coming
The Canvass Committee is finalizing plans for this years Circle Supper Canvass dinners. In March we will have a series of canvass potluck dinners at people’s houses and at the Church, where we will enjoy one another’s fellowship, fine cooking and wit as well as talk some about what our community means to us. These talks will be led by fellow church members, and the evenings will wind up with people filling out their pledge cards for the coming year. These dinners were one of the highlights of the First Parish Social calendar last year, and should be again this year.
We have scheduled the dinners on successive weeks in early March in order to make it as easy as possible to find a date on which you can attend. This year’s dates are:
Thursday, March 3 7:00 9:00
Friday, March 4 7:00 9:00
Saturday, March 5 5:30 7:30 at the Church, child care provided
Sunday, March 6 7:00 - 9:00
Thursday, March 10 7:00 9:00
Friday, March 11 7:00 9:00
Saturday, March 12 7:00 9:00
Sunday, March 13 6:30 8:30 at the Church, child care provided.
Most of our hosts and conversation moderators have volunteered. Now we need you to sign-up for a dinner. Watch for your invitation this month, and please attend one of these great dinners. Contact Bob Shay, John Portz, Michael Collins, Darrick Jackson or Martha Scott if you have questions. Watch this month for our annual inspirational Sunday morning canvass skits.
Once we have finished our pledging we all gather together to celebrate on Saturday, April 2 at 6:00 at the Church at our Annual Dinner. This will be a giant pot luck and feature entertainment by the many talented members and friends of FPW.
Check your calendars today and lock in a date you want to attend a Canvass Dinner, and block out April 2 for the Annual Dinner. You will receive your invitation this month!
375th Anniversary Celebration Events
Many of our 375th anniversary celebration events have already been planned. Mark your calendars now. These dates are set: Spring Lecture with Roger Thompson of the University of East Anglia, England - Sunday, June 12, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. He is the author of Divided We Stand: Watertown, Massachusetts 1630-1680 (U. Mass Press, 2001). He will speak about the religious life of the early settlers of Watertown. Fall lecture with David Hall, Bartlett Professor of New England Church History at Harvard Divinity School - Sunday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. He has written extensively on religion and society in seventeenth century New England and England, including The Faithful Shepherd: A History of the New England Ministry in the Seventeenth Century, and Worlds of Wonder, Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England. He will speak about liberalizing elements in Puritanism in greater Boston.
Fall concert - This is not scheduled as of yet, but we expect period music (1630) from English and Dutch, and FPW member Marilyn Boenau has agreed to help organize it. We are hoping for a weekend near Saturday, October 22, 2005. This is because of our Special Sunday Celebration - October 23, 2005 : 1. Dedication of Historic Marker for 6th and 7th meetinghouses at 3:00 p.m. (corner of Church and Summer Sts.) ; 2. 375th Anniversary Worship Service with Rev. John Buehrens, former Unitarian Universalist Association president, preaching, Service at 4:00 p.m. Buehrens is presently minister at the First Parish in Needham and the author of the recent Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers and Religious Liberals (Beacon, 2003). First Parish Choir will hopefully sing. First Parish Churches in Waltham and Weston will be invited (daughter congregations) with their ministers participating. A Town official will be asked to bring greetings. First Parish’s Historic Silver (housed at the Museum of Fine Arts) will be on display; 3. Party - 5:00 p.m.
This should all make for a grand celebration!
Women and Work
Women and Work meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of each months from 6:30 - 8:30 in the Conference room. In January we are having a check in and a time for planning future topics for our meetings. February’s topic will be determined at our January meeting. All women (working or not ) are welcome. Take out is available. Interested people can email Kathy Warren at Kwarren at juno dot com or talk to Kathy in church.
Children’s Library Event
Giles Holt will be performing magic tricks, juggling and making balloon animals at the Robbins Library in Arlington Center, 700 Mass Ave. in the Children’s Room, on Saturday Feb 5 from 11am -12 noon. For more information call the Robbins Library
Madagascar Presentation
“The People, Culture and Wildlife of Madagascar “ a presentation by environmental science journalist and WBUR web reporter, Daniel Grossman, will be held at FPW on Saturday, February 26th at 7pm. Dan is a Watertown resident who spent several weeks in Madagascar in 2004. He will talk about the wildlife of Madagascar ,considered among the most unusual in the world. The presentation will include videos, rain forest sounds and wildlife photographs. Please bring snacks or dessert to share following the presentation.
Parent/Child Book Group
Would you like to try something fun and educational with your child?
When: Tuesday, February 1, at 6:30 p.m., join us at the
Where: Watertown Free Public Library, Phillips School, 30 Common Street
What: a lively discussion of The End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant) by Avi. Snacks will be provided.
Who: Parent and Child (grade 3 to 5)
Both parent and child must read the book before the discussion.
Be sure to register to get your copy of the book. To register or receive more information, call the children's department at 617-972-6345 and ask for Julie.
Can’t make it this month? Call for March’s book.
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Conversation and Needlework Group with Project Literacy
Project Literacy is having a 4-session conversation and needlework group. If you like meeting new people and enjoy any kind of needlework, speak to Kathy Warren or call Project Literacy at (617) 924-8797 or email us at project literacy@ci.watertown.ma.us We hope to have a few First Parish of Watertown participants join us.
What: You are invited to enjoy conversation while you work on your needlework. This is not a sewing class, just bring your own work. We will make new friends, talk, share our work, and ideas.
When: Starting Wednesday, March 30, 2005 April 20, 2005
4 Wednesday meetings
Time: 2 PM 3:30 PM
Where: First Parish of Watertown, 35 Church Street, Watertown
Who should come: All levels of EOSL students who would like to join a conversation group to practice speaking English and do some needlework with other learners and English speakers. We would also like a few English speakers who enjoy needlework and conversation.
Leader: Pat Callerame, Project Literacy volunteer.
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Email: pcallerame at yahoo dot com
Canvass Dinners Are Coming Soon!
Watch for Your Invitation in February
Sign up for Great Food, Fellowship and Help
Support a Fabulous First Parish in its 375th Year