Friday, October 05, 2007
Arbella-Newsletter for October 2007
First Parish of Watertown
Arbella
October 2007
For calendar and events please go to FPW website at www.fpwatertown.org.
Sermons and Worship Services
Sunday, October 7, 2007
“Sin: Does the concept of sin have any place in Unitarian Universalism?”
Mark Caggiano
Do UUs really sin? We will explore whether this conccept has relevance to UUs.
Music: Patricia deVore, Music Director
Greeters: Martha Urban and Jill Halloran
Social Hour: Jean Merkl and John Gorman
Sunday, October 14, 2007
“Only the Lonely” Mark W. Harris
Last spring the Museum of Fine Arts featured a major exhibit on the works of Edward Hopper. Hopper has always been one of my favorite artists. Some would say his works reflect the loneliness inherent in life. The paintings often feature single figures or stark landscapes. I serve in a lonely profession (ministers are sometimes referred to as lone rangers), and so I think about what it means to be lonely. How about you?
Music: Isabel Tappan-deFrees, tenor horn
Greeters: Brian Hebeisen and Elizabeth Strekalovsky
Social Hour: Church Luncheon
Sunday, October 21, 2007
“Nature’s Delights: The Life of Beatrix Potter” Mark W. Harris
As a child my parents read all the Beatrix Potter stories to me. From Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle to Squirrel Nutkin, I was forever entranced. My service today is an auction sermon purchased by Carole Berney last year. In this dramatic rendition of the life of Beatrix Potter, we will see what a great naturalist, children's book author and illustrator and Unitarian she was.
Music: Frank Grimes, viola
Greeters: Susan Flint and Nick Haddad
Social Hour: Karen Allendorfer and Cornelia Janke
Sunday, October 28, 2007
“ Judging and Genocide” Mark W. Harris
The biggest controversy in the news locally has been the relationship between the No Place for Hate program, the Anti-defammation League, and a refusal by the ADL (at first), and the Turkish government to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
Do we allow certain behaviors and beliefs to exist in the interest of being nonjudgmental, but then find this means we have failed to take a stand?
Music; Patricia deVore, Music Director
Greeters: Brigitte Bender and Barbara Beck
Social Hour : Marianne and Michael Collins
Captain’s Log
September is certainly a busy month. Between school nights and meetings and birthday parties, I feel like I am in a whirlwind before the year even begins. Should be hectic until February. I want that blizzard now! I am sure you will all join me in wishing for some calm sanity in our lives.
One of our major events planned for this year has now passed - the ordination of Darrick Jackson. Thank you to all the members who did double duty that day. I thought we showed great support for Darrick. Special thanks to Patty and the choir, Izzy Tappan-deFrees for refreshments plus Bobbie Brown, Sue Kuder, and Martha Scott for helping to organize the reception with flowers, cake, beverages, paper goods etc. Thanks to David Morrison for the invitations. You may have wondered about our gift to Darrick. It was the pulpit robe that Martha and I put over his shoulders at the service. Martha, the Youth Group (under Roberta’s watchful eye), Andrea (her Charge to the Minister is posted downstairs) and I all participated in the service. Sue Kuder and Susan Flint were the greeters. Thank you all. Darrick is now officially a Rev. If you were wondering about his employment - he is the Assistant Director for Youth at the UUA. The service included an offering for the UUA’s Living Tradition Fund (it helps out ministers in need). We took in over $400 in cash plus some checks, so it was probably in excess of $500. It was a wonderful day!
Now we look ahead to the coming months of building community. One of the ways we are doing that this year is with more social opportunities. Please note there is a potluck luncheon on October 14. Please join us! We are also have our fall Newcomer breakfast on the 28th. If you are new this fall (or even last year), please come learn about First Parish and meet new friends. I am also planning an organizing meeting for a new covenant group. Please come to a brief meeting after church on the 28th. Details inside!
Part of my busyness this fall is that I am teaching Unitarian Universalist history at Andover Newton Theological School. If you are new to the church, you will quickly learn that our liberal history is my specialty. I am the author of an Historical Dictionary of Unitarian Universalism, and will be happy to tell you more if you are interested (you can hear more in the New UU class later this fall). My work teaching and writing about our history does not limit my availability to you. I am in the office most days, and am happy to meet with you about anything. If there is a church, religious, or emotional concern, please let me know. We also have a Caring Committee that can help with things like rides or meals. Generally speaking my days in the office are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with Tuesday as my day off. Sometimes I have other meetings, and Friday is my sermon writing day. But whatever the day, I can always make time for you if you let me know.
Finally, I want to say a word about Green Sanctuary. This is a time in our church life when the Green Sanctuary Committee is hoping to generate ideas for the 12 programs we will officially endorse to help us become a certified Green Sanctuary. So if you are serving on a church committee, or if you have an idea about how we could all become more environmentally conscious in our homes or in the life of the wider community, please share that with others by contacting the church office or speaking with a Green Sanctuary committee member.
There are many exciting events ahead of us in addition to Green Sanctuary. Our service auction is next month. There are charitable offerings and giving boxes each month. And of course, the best antidote to that busyness I mentioned above, is the thoughtful time we spend together on Sunday mornings. I know several of you have struggled with family deaths and personal illness, and the pain of unexpected tragedy. I can only hope that being together with others, seeing a smile and touching a loving hand can help. The sanctuary of our meetinghouse and its calming beauty helps hold us up. We have made a few changes to the order of service. Please let us know what you think. What we are hoping to achieve is more time to reflect on the meaning we find in our lives that we try to lift up each week in our services - silence, beautiful music, issues that support and affirm us, stimulate us or even perplex us. Come join us, and build some more sanity into your life.
Mark
Making a Mark
By Mark J.T. Caggiano (student minister)
Classes are in full swing now as I enter into my last year of Divinity School. I am in full “house keeping” mode as I try to finalize my requirements for graduation and ordination. I have a few required classes to take, a chaplaincy placement to select and a lot of studying for a one hour interview next September before the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. There are a lot of things to check off my list.
The problem with lists and task oriented thinking is that the list becomes the focal point of the exercise. Some of us look down at neat little columns of projects and tasks with dread while others happily check off progress. Neither approach, however, focuses on the tasks themselves. In my last year, I am finishing my language requirement and two “other” religion classes (i.e. non-Christian). My language choice, Latin, has an albatross-like quality for me. I was never very good at foreign languages and chose Latin because it would build on my now ancient study of high school French and college Italian. But I must confess a certain pride in recently reading a book with some very pretentiously used Latin quotes and being able to read the words. This enjoyment is at times fleeting as I slog through the text of a medieval sermon on heresy by a French monk, but it is there.
I will also be taking courses on “Hindu” ethics and Islam in South Asia. “Hindu” as a term is a bit more complicated that it first appears. The global term “Hindu” does not necessarily comport with the complexities of this religious tradition and its many variants. Imagine the use of “Christian” to include UUs, Catholics, Mormons, and the Amish and you get a sense of the inadequacy of blanket terms. The class on Islam brings this subtlety out further with an examination of Islam in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., a geographic area that includes approximately half of the world’s Muslims. Culture and geography can transform even the most orthodox of traditions and that diversity is fascinating as well as confusing. But it is there whether it is easy to compartmentalize or not.
When we make neat little lists or tightly categorize things, we lose the richness of detail. The underlying pleasure of performing the task or the delight at learning some profound or quirky new idea are submerged under the drive to getting things out of the way. Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote about the mindful practice of doing the dishes, lifting it up as a pleasurable task. I do not claim to be as elevated a soul as this Buddhist luminary, but it is worth taking a moment from list-making and plodding task completion to enjoy the progress even an old brain like mine can make learning a dead language. Benedicite.
Mark C.
R.E.flections by a chaliceD.R.E.amer
by Roberta Altamari (Director of Religious Education)
Roberta@chalicedreamer.net
cell phone: 617-872-5145
website for RE families: www.chalicedreamer.net
In The Story of Religion, Betsy Maestro writes, "There are still many different ways of thinking and looking at the world. Usually, religious beliefs come from one’s family ... Some people believe that their ways and ideas are the only right ones. But intolerance has only led to tragedy – to religious persecution and violence throughout human history. Learning about the beliefs of others helps people to understand and respect one another. Then people can truly be neighbors, living in harmony, each group in its own way."
So, what does this mean for us as UUs? Our third principle encourages us to "come together with an acceptance of our diversity" while our fourth principle inspires us "seek out our own truths". Unitarian Universalism is a very unique religion because we don’t have a creed. We try to honor the diversity within our congregation. We are a rare and special religious community where someone who believes in a God can worship with someone who doesn’t believe in any God. While we might explore many different stories and ideas in our religious education groups, we don’t expect our kids to agree with the messages within the stories. Instead, we expect them to use their thinking minds and loving hearts to consider what the stories mean for them. Do they like the message? Do they not like the message? Have they heard the message before? Does their agreement or disagreement with the message get them thinking about their own lives? Does considering all this inspire their thinking about the type of people they want to be?
This year, the exploration by our older elementary kids will include hearing stories from the Bible. There are actually many different Bibles … the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible, and then many different versions of those. Each week, we will consider a universal human theme that these stories relate to. Most religions tell stories that explore these universal themes. We’ve already heard many of these stories from around the world in our groups here at First Parish. This year, our older kids will hear Jewish and Christian stories that touch on these "Timeless Themes". There are several reasons why it can be good for us to do this. Mark will be leading a Breakfast Chat on this subject on Sunday, November 11, but as I eagerly await that discussion, I start thinking of my own reasons.
The first is that these traditions are our roots. Our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors separated from Christianity because they did not agree with the creed. Specifically, Unitarians did not believe in the trinity. They thought that Jesus was an important religious leader, but not a part of God. In this regard, they agreed with the Jewish understanding of Jesus. Fast forward a few hundred years and we are even further separated from our Christian and Jewish roots. The exposure to and acceptance of the other Sources, such as the wisdom from World Religions and the guidance of scientific findings, transformed our Unitarian Universalist history, heritage, and theology. With our free and critical thinking, we can explore the messages within the Jewish and Christian stories in our own unique way.
The second reason that these stories are worth exploring is that America has a strong Christian bias. It’s interesting that people think of America as a land where church and state are separated with no religion being taught in our schools. And yet Christian messages and stories permeate almost every facet of our culture. Popular literature, television, movies, news, politics, and slang often have explicit and implicit Christian references. It can be worthwhile to understand the basic stories so we know what is being referenced. I think it is even better to intentionally explore those stories with the UU lenses of critical thinking.
The great thing to remember as we begin this year of exploration is that our children have no negative associations with the Christian religion. They truly can hear these stories with the same regard that they hear other tales. They don’t have the same challenging memories that many of their parents (like me) have. It makes me realize that the context someone hears the stories in is significant to their experience. That’s why it good for our children to hear these stories in a UU setting where it is safe to question, wonder, agree, disagree, and be inspired by the process. And that’s why I can add this to a long list of reasons why I’m glad I’m raising my kids UU!
Children’s Ministry Wish List:
* Dress-up "costume" clothes that fit kids ranging from size 8 to adult
* a working video-recorder to document the great skits our kids are creating this year
Volunteer positions:
We have worked hard to select programming for this year that is truly engaging for the kids while being easy to teach. Volunteering to help in our R.E. program has never been easier! Contact Roberta today to talk about what role could be perfect for you!! If you already know what role you’d like to help with, you can check the days we need help on the "volunteer schedule" link on the RE website at www.chalicedreamer.net.
Bike collection:
Our Youth Group is co-sponsoring the bike collection this year for Bikes Not Bombs. Please donate your used bikes for this very worthwhile cause on Saturday, October 13 at St. John’s Church on Mt. Auburn Street anytime between 1pm and 4pm.
Inspiring Movie for Youth and Adults:
On Sunday, October 27 from 6pm to 8:30pm: Popcorn Theology ~ Youth Group sponsored Inter-generational movie screening and discussion. Bring your dinner or dessert to munch on while we watch the movie. October’s movie is Freedom Writers, a story of some inner-city kids who discover the power of tolerance and reclaim their shattered lives to change their world. (The movie is rated PG-13, so youth must be 13 or older or have their parent’s permission to attend.)
Breakfast Chats:
Starting with the second Sunday in October, we are pleased to begin hosting monthly breakfast chats on important and relevant themes for our work here at First Parish. Here are the first few :
Sunday, October 14 at 9am: Breakfast and book discussion on Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grown Lifelong UUs by Kate Tweedie Erslev. * First Parish has copies of the book you can borrow to read. See Roberta today to borrow a copy!!
Sunday, November 11 at 9am: Breakfast discussion led by Mark Harris on "Why It’s Important to have Biblically Literate Children".
Sunday, December 9 at 9am: Breakfast chat on different ways to celebrate this holiday season
Special Thank You to :
Kyle Hart for his donation of the new church computer, and all his time to get it operating. And thanks for finalizing the website. All the RE materials have been updated, and so the entire webiste is now current.
Michael McCarthy for all his work removing the bushes in the front of the church and for fixing our PA system (with assistance from Steve Hersey).
Among Us
Our deepest sympathy to Kathy Button at the recent death of her mother in Florida
Congratulations to FPW member Jackie Sweeney who was married on September 15 to Paul Nelson in Boxborough. Andrea Greenwood conducted the service.
Congratulations to Katreena Carrasco and her husband Larry on the recent birth of their baby son, William.
Covenant Group.
There will be a brief organizational meeting after church on October 28 for a new Covenant Group. Do you long for somethng deeper than after church conversation? Do you want to discuss important life topics or religious questions in a more indepth way. Do you want to make spiritual connections with others? We have some interest in forming a second covenant group (our first group is full and meets monthly at the home of Ken Repp and Chris Johnson). Come find out more. If you cannot be here on the 28th, but are interested, please let Mark know.
Potluck Luncheon
All members and friends are invited to a Potluck luncheon after church on Sunday October 14. Please bring main dish, salad, or dessert items to share. Drinks will be provided. We also hope to have some munchies available for those who cannot stay too long.
Giving Boxes
Our September Giving Boxes continue to be for R.E.A.C.H. (a battered women’s shelter in Waltham). Please help fill up the boxes. Their needs include: Gifts cards to grocery stores (especially Hannaford’s which is located in Waltham), Toiletries including paper towels, razors, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, Towels, Twin sheets, blankets and pillows. Thank you. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and SO . . . .
Our October Charitable Offering will also benefit REACH. The date is October 21, and a representative will be present to tell us about REACH. Remember the loose offering goes to REACH, and checks can be made out to REACH, but any checks made out to First Parish will be taken as pledge income.
Newcomer Breakfast / New UU Class
A Newcomer Breakfast will be held on Sunday October 28, beginning at 9:30 a.m..All newcomers are welcome to attend the breakfast. Come meet each other and learn a little about yourselves and our church. Great food, too!
Mark Harris will be leading a New UU class for newcomers to First Parish on Sunday, morning November 4. We will have sign-ups at the Newcomer Breakfast on October 28, and on the bulletin board. This class familiarizes new people with our history and traditions and the ways in which the church functions. Come find out all you have ever wanted to know about UUism.
Service Auction is coming in November
from Jean Merkl
Do you have something to donate?
It's time to start thinking about this year's Annual Service Auction, which will be held on Saturday, November 10. What’s a Service Auction? It’s when members and friends of First Parish donated services or items, such as making a dozen cookies, a pie, gardening help, computer help, knitting a scarf, a sermon of your choice, and then we bid on each others items! It’s a great way to get to know each other and raise money for the church.
We will conduct a silent auction on the two Sundays prior to the 10th. Bid sheets for all services and goods will be available for review and bidding, at tables set up during Social Hour.
On November 10, the Service Auction Potluck Dinner will be held in the Social Hall. After the dinner a variety of the items (about 20) will be auctioned off live, all other silent auction items go to the highest bidder on the sheet.
Children are welcome, and childcare will be available throughout the evening. While we hope you can attend the Auction and Potluck, you do not need to be present to be the winning bidder.
To begin with, though, we need services and goods to be auctioned. If you have a service or good to contribute to the auction, please complete the following form and leave it n the office door. If you have any questions, please talk Jean Merkl or John Gorman (617-969-2708), jmerkl55@yahoo.com , or e-mail FPW!
**One last thing…this will be my last year organizing the Service Auction – if you are looking for a volunteer opportunity that is for a short time of commitment this could be for you! It’s not a lot of work and a lot of fun. Just let me know. Thanks, Jean (jmerkl55@yahoo.com)
Service Auction Donation
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Name ________________________________
Phone Number _________________________
Email _______________________________
Minimum Bid (if any): ___________________
Item or Service to be auctioned (Please describe exactly as you would like it to appear in the Service Auction Brochure): ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Bicycle Collection for Community Development at Home and Abroad
A bicycle collection for Bikes Not Bombs will take place on Saturday, October 13. As you may recall, Bikes Not Bombs is a Roxbury based non-profit organization working for alternative transportation and community development. They operate a full service bike shop in Roxbury where they achieve the goals of training inner city youth to become bicycle mechanics, learn good business skills and become effective community leaders. Last spring they were the recipient of one of our monthly charitable offerings.
Bikes Not Bombs works both locally and internationally to promote peace and social justice. Of the 5000 bikes collected annually, 3500 are shipped to community bike projects in Ghana, South Africa and Central America. For the working poor in developing countries, bikes are an inexpensive means of transportation and provide a reliable way of commuting to school, to work, and to market.
The collection this fall will take place on Saturday, October 13 from 1 – 4 p.m. at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown. Our own youth group is one of the sponsors this year, and will be helping on that day to prepare the bikes for transport. Other sponsors include The World in Watertown, the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, Watertown Savings Bank and St. John’s United Methodist Church.
Please help Bikes Not Bombs achieve its mission of working towards alternative transportation and community development by donating your used bike in reparable condition. A monetary donation of $5 per bike is requested to help defray the cost of repair and refurbishing.
Information about Bikes Not Bombs can be found at www.BikesNotBombs.org For more information about the Watertown collection see a member of the youth group, Will or Sue Twombly, Anna Knight or Sue Kuder.
Job Opening - Office Manager. UU Partner Church Council seeks experienced administrator part-time, 15-20 hr/week flexible schedule, great office atmosphere. Strong organizational skills, detail oriented, proficient on MS Office software (Mac or PC) and database-driven office automation; QuickBooks a plus. Bedford, MA. Resume, cover letter & salary requirements to jobs@uupcc.org.
My Heart Is Moved
a new CD by Carolyn McDade and Friends
Launch Concert
Carolyn McDade and Friends invite the community to sing the music from this new release ~ songs giving us an emotional entry into the profound wisdom of the Earth Charter and songs that pull us beyond the curve of time to establish our grounding in the community of life
Sunday October 21, 4:00pm
First Universalist Society of Franklin _
262 Chestnut Street, Franklin, MA
Nobel Laureates Praise Bold New Book
By UU Evangelists
http://www.ThankGodforEvolution.com
Rev. Michael Dowd and his science writer wife, Connie Barlow, are America's UU evolutionary evangelists. They have spoken in more than 250 UU churches and fellowships over the past 5 years and were recently featured on the cover of the UU World: http://thankgodforevolution.com/blog/p,36
Rev. Dowd's forthcoming book, "Thank God for Evolution!", has been ENDORSED BY 5 NOBEL LAUREATES AND 120 OTHER LUMINARIES, INCLUDING PROMINENT UU MINISTERS: http://thankgodforevolution.com/nobel
Advance copies can be purchased for $15 each (40% off retail) from Dowd's website: http://www.ThankGodforEvolution.com
Death, Dying, and Community:
Death, Dying, and Community: A workshop exploring community response and support around death and dying, from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. Hosted by the lay ministers of the First Unitarian Society in Newton (FUSN), this workshop will cover topics including ethics, palliative sedation, euthanasia, legal and medical issues.
When: Saturday, November 10, 2007, 8am-3:30pm
Where: FUSN, 1326 Washington St., West Newton (intersection of Mass 'pike (I90) and Rt. 16, across from Newton Police station).
Presentations will include:
* Rev. James Ishmael Ford -What is the UU approach to death?
* Gail Gazelle MD -- A Good Death, is this an oxymoron?
* Compassionate Choices- Holly Zalinger LICSW
* Hospice & Palliative Sedation- Bernadette Mead MD
* Don't be Caught Dead...Plan Ahead: What You Need to Know about Funeral Pricing, Purchasing and Your Options as a Consumer
Please register by sending email to fusn_ddandc@yahoo.com or by calling 617-325-9886 (so we have a head count).
$15 registration fee, paid at door, covers coffee and lunch.
UU New England Conference
Details for this all New England Conference on Saturday, October 28 are available on the bulletin board. The title is: “MInistry Matters: Strengthening Lay and Professional Leadership” Keynote speakers include Gini Courter, the UUA Moderator and Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, the president of the UU Minister’s Assoiciation. It will be held at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, MA.
Arbella
October 2007
For calendar and events please go to FPW website at www.fpwatertown.org.
Sermons and Worship Services
Sunday, October 7, 2007
“Sin: Does the concept of sin have any place in Unitarian Universalism?”
Mark Caggiano
Do UUs really sin? We will explore whether this conccept has relevance to UUs.
Music: Patricia deVore, Music Director
Greeters: Martha Urban and Jill Halloran
Social Hour: Jean Merkl and John Gorman
Sunday, October 14, 2007
“Only the Lonely” Mark W. Harris
Last spring the Museum of Fine Arts featured a major exhibit on the works of Edward Hopper. Hopper has always been one of my favorite artists. Some would say his works reflect the loneliness inherent in life. The paintings often feature single figures or stark landscapes. I serve in a lonely profession (ministers are sometimes referred to as lone rangers), and so I think about what it means to be lonely. How about you?
Music: Isabel Tappan-deFrees, tenor horn
Greeters: Brian Hebeisen and Elizabeth Strekalovsky
Social Hour: Church Luncheon
Sunday, October 21, 2007
“Nature’s Delights: The Life of Beatrix Potter” Mark W. Harris
As a child my parents read all the Beatrix Potter stories to me. From Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle to Squirrel Nutkin, I was forever entranced. My service today is an auction sermon purchased by Carole Berney last year. In this dramatic rendition of the life of Beatrix Potter, we will see what a great naturalist, children's book author and illustrator and Unitarian she was.
Music: Frank Grimes, viola
Greeters: Susan Flint and Nick Haddad
Social Hour: Karen Allendorfer and Cornelia Janke
Sunday, October 28, 2007
“ Judging and Genocide” Mark W. Harris
The biggest controversy in the news locally has been the relationship between the No Place for Hate program, the Anti-defammation League, and a refusal by the ADL (at first), and the Turkish government to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
Do we allow certain behaviors and beliefs to exist in the interest of being nonjudgmental, but then find this means we have failed to take a stand?
Music; Patricia deVore, Music Director
Greeters: Brigitte Bender and Barbara Beck
Social Hour : Marianne and Michael Collins
Captain’s Log
September is certainly a busy month. Between school nights and meetings and birthday parties, I feel like I am in a whirlwind before the year even begins. Should be hectic until February. I want that blizzard now! I am sure you will all join me in wishing for some calm sanity in our lives.
One of our major events planned for this year has now passed - the ordination of Darrick Jackson. Thank you to all the members who did double duty that day. I thought we showed great support for Darrick. Special thanks to Patty and the choir, Izzy Tappan-deFrees for refreshments plus Bobbie Brown, Sue Kuder, and Martha Scott for helping to organize the reception with flowers, cake, beverages, paper goods etc. Thanks to David Morrison for the invitations. You may have wondered about our gift to Darrick. It was the pulpit robe that Martha and I put over his shoulders at the service. Martha, the Youth Group (under Roberta’s watchful eye), Andrea (her Charge to the Minister is posted downstairs) and I all participated in the service. Sue Kuder and Susan Flint were the greeters. Thank you all. Darrick is now officially a Rev. If you were wondering about his employment - he is the Assistant Director for Youth at the UUA. The service included an offering for the UUA’s Living Tradition Fund (it helps out ministers in need). We took in over $400 in cash plus some checks, so it was probably in excess of $500. It was a wonderful day!
Now we look ahead to the coming months of building community. One of the ways we are doing that this year is with more social opportunities. Please note there is a potluck luncheon on October 14. Please join us! We are also have our fall Newcomer breakfast on the 28th. If you are new this fall (or even last year), please come learn about First Parish and meet new friends. I am also planning an organizing meeting for a new covenant group. Please come to a brief meeting after church on the 28th. Details inside!
Part of my busyness this fall is that I am teaching Unitarian Universalist history at Andover Newton Theological School. If you are new to the church, you will quickly learn that our liberal history is my specialty. I am the author of an Historical Dictionary of Unitarian Universalism, and will be happy to tell you more if you are interested (you can hear more in the New UU class later this fall). My work teaching and writing about our history does not limit my availability to you. I am in the office most days, and am happy to meet with you about anything. If there is a church, religious, or emotional concern, please let me know. We also have a Caring Committee that can help with things like rides or meals. Generally speaking my days in the office are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with Tuesday as my day off. Sometimes I have other meetings, and Friday is my sermon writing day. But whatever the day, I can always make time for you if you let me know.
Finally, I want to say a word about Green Sanctuary. This is a time in our church life when the Green Sanctuary Committee is hoping to generate ideas for the 12 programs we will officially endorse to help us become a certified Green Sanctuary. So if you are serving on a church committee, or if you have an idea about how we could all become more environmentally conscious in our homes or in the life of the wider community, please share that with others by contacting the church office or speaking with a Green Sanctuary committee member.
There are many exciting events ahead of us in addition to Green Sanctuary. Our service auction is next month. There are charitable offerings and giving boxes each month. And of course, the best antidote to that busyness I mentioned above, is the thoughtful time we spend together on Sunday mornings. I know several of you have struggled with family deaths and personal illness, and the pain of unexpected tragedy. I can only hope that being together with others, seeing a smile and touching a loving hand can help. The sanctuary of our meetinghouse and its calming beauty helps hold us up. We have made a few changes to the order of service. Please let us know what you think. What we are hoping to achieve is more time to reflect on the meaning we find in our lives that we try to lift up each week in our services - silence, beautiful music, issues that support and affirm us, stimulate us or even perplex us. Come join us, and build some more sanity into your life.
Mark
Making a Mark
By Mark J.T. Caggiano (student minister)
Classes are in full swing now as I enter into my last year of Divinity School. I am in full “house keeping” mode as I try to finalize my requirements for graduation and ordination. I have a few required classes to take, a chaplaincy placement to select and a lot of studying for a one hour interview next September before the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. There are a lot of things to check off my list.
The problem with lists and task oriented thinking is that the list becomes the focal point of the exercise. Some of us look down at neat little columns of projects and tasks with dread while others happily check off progress. Neither approach, however, focuses on the tasks themselves. In my last year, I am finishing my language requirement and two “other” religion classes (i.e. non-Christian). My language choice, Latin, has an albatross-like quality for me. I was never very good at foreign languages and chose Latin because it would build on my now ancient study of high school French and college Italian. But I must confess a certain pride in recently reading a book with some very pretentiously used Latin quotes and being able to read the words. This enjoyment is at times fleeting as I slog through the text of a medieval sermon on heresy by a French monk, but it is there.
I will also be taking courses on “Hindu” ethics and Islam in South Asia. “Hindu” as a term is a bit more complicated that it first appears. The global term “Hindu” does not necessarily comport with the complexities of this religious tradition and its many variants. Imagine the use of “Christian” to include UUs, Catholics, Mormons, and the Amish and you get a sense of the inadequacy of blanket terms. The class on Islam brings this subtlety out further with an examination of Islam in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., a geographic area that includes approximately half of the world’s Muslims. Culture and geography can transform even the most orthodox of traditions and that diversity is fascinating as well as confusing. But it is there whether it is easy to compartmentalize or not.
When we make neat little lists or tightly categorize things, we lose the richness of detail. The underlying pleasure of performing the task or the delight at learning some profound or quirky new idea are submerged under the drive to getting things out of the way. Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote about the mindful practice of doing the dishes, lifting it up as a pleasurable task. I do not claim to be as elevated a soul as this Buddhist luminary, but it is worth taking a moment from list-making and plodding task completion to enjoy the progress even an old brain like mine can make learning a dead language. Benedicite.
Mark C.
R.E.flections by a chaliceD.R.E.amer
by Roberta Altamari (Director of Religious Education)
Roberta@chalicedreamer.net
cell phone: 617-872-5145
website for RE families: www.chalicedreamer.net
In The Story of Religion, Betsy Maestro writes, "There are still many different ways of thinking and looking at the world. Usually, religious beliefs come from one’s family ... Some people believe that their ways and ideas are the only right ones. But intolerance has only led to tragedy – to religious persecution and violence throughout human history. Learning about the beliefs of others helps people to understand and respect one another. Then people can truly be neighbors, living in harmony, each group in its own way."
So, what does this mean for us as UUs? Our third principle encourages us to "come together with an acceptance of our diversity" while our fourth principle inspires us "seek out our own truths". Unitarian Universalism is a very unique religion because we don’t have a creed. We try to honor the diversity within our congregation. We are a rare and special religious community where someone who believes in a God can worship with someone who doesn’t believe in any God. While we might explore many different stories and ideas in our religious education groups, we don’t expect our kids to agree with the messages within the stories. Instead, we expect them to use their thinking minds and loving hearts to consider what the stories mean for them. Do they like the message? Do they not like the message? Have they heard the message before? Does their agreement or disagreement with the message get them thinking about their own lives? Does considering all this inspire their thinking about the type of people they want to be?
This year, the exploration by our older elementary kids will include hearing stories from the Bible. There are actually many different Bibles … the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible, and then many different versions of those. Each week, we will consider a universal human theme that these stories relate to. Most religions tell stories that explore these universal themes. We’ve already heard many of these stories from around the world in our groups here at First Parish. This year, our older kids will hear Jewish and Christian stories that touch on these "Timeless Themes". There are several reasons why it can be good for us to do this. Mark will be leading a Breakfast Chat on this subject on Sunday, November 11, but as I eagerly await that discussion, I start thinking of my own reasons.
The first is that these traditions are our roots. Our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors separated from Christianity because they did not agree with the creed. Specifically, Unitarians did not believe in the trinity. They thought that Jesus was an important religious leader, but not a part of God. In this regard, they agreed with the Jewish understanding of Jesus. Fast forward a few hundred years and we are even further separated from our Christian and Jewish roots. The exposure to and acceptance of the other Sources, such as the wisdom from World Religions and the guidance of scientific findings, transformed our Unitarian Universalist history, heritage, and theology. With our free and critical thinking, we can explore the messages within the Jewish and Christian stories in our own unique way.
The second reason that these stories are worth exploring is that America has a strong Christian bias. It’s interesting that people think of America as a land where church and state are separated with no religion being taught in our schools. And yet Christian messages and stories permeate almost every facet of our culture. Popular literature, television, movies, news, politics, and slang often have explicit and implicit Christian references. It can be worthwhile to understand the basic stories so we know what is being referenced. I think it is even better to intentionally explore those stories with the UU lenses of critical thinking.
The great thing to remember as we begin this year of exploration is that our children have no negative associations with the Christian religion. They truly can hear these stories with the same regard that they hear other tales. They don’t have the same challenging memories that many of their parents (like me) have. It makes me realize that the context someone hears the stories in is significant to their experience. That’s why it good for our children to hear these stories in a UU setting where it is safe to question, wonder, agree, disagree, and be inspired by the process. And that’s why I can add this to a long list of reasons why I’m glad I’m raising my kids UU!
Children’s Ministry Wish List:
* Dress-up "costume" clothes that fit kids ranging from size 8 to adult
* a working video-recorder to document the great skits our kids are creating this year
Volunteer positions:
We have worked hard to select programming for this year that is truly engaging for the kids while being easy to teach. Volunteering to help in our R.E. program has never been easier! Contact Roberta today to talk about what role could be perfect for you!! If you already know what role you’d like to help with, you can check the days we need help on the "volunteer schedule" link on the RE website at www.chalicedreamer.net.
Bike collection:
Our Youth Group is co-sponsoring the bike collection this year for Bikes Not Bombs. Please donate your used bikes for this very worthwhile cause on Saturday, October 13 at St. John’s Church on Mt. Auburn Street anytime between 1pm and 4pm.
Inspiring Movie for Youth and Adults:
On Sunday, October 27 from 6pm to 8:30pm: Popcorn Theology ~ Youth Group sponsored Inter-generational movie screening and discussion. Bring your dinner or dessert to munch on while we watch the movie. October’s movie is Freedom Writers, a story of some inner-city kids who discover the power of tolerance and reclaim their shattered lives to change their world. (The movie is rated PG-13, so youth must be 13 or older or have their parent’s permission to attend.)
Breakfast Chats:
Starting with the second Sunday in October, we are pleased to begin hosting monthly breakfast chats on important and relevant themes for our work here at First Parish. Here are the first few :
Sunday, October 14 at 9am: Breakfast and book discussion on Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grown Lifelong UUs by Kate Tweedie Erslev. * First Parish has copies of the book you can borrow to read. See Roberta today to borrow a copy!!
Sunday, November 11 at 9am: Breakfast discussion led by Mark Harris on "Why It’s Important to have Biblically Literate Children".
Sunday, December 9 at 9am: Breakfast chat on different ways to celebrate this holiday season
Special Thank You to :
Kyle Hart for his donation of the new church computer, and all his time to get it operating. And thanks for finalizing the website. All the RE materials have been updated, and so the entire webiste is now current.
Michael McCarthy for all his work removing the bushes in the front of the church and for fixing our PA system (with assistance from Steve Hersey).
Among Us
Our deepest sympathy to Kathy Button at the recent death of her mother in Florida
Congratulations to FPW member Jackie Sweeney who was married on September 15 to Paul Nelson in Boxborough. Andrea Greenwood conducted the service.
Congratulations to Katreena Carrasco and her husband Larry on the recent birth of their baby son, William.
Covenant Group.
There will be a brief organizational meeting after church on October 28 for a new Covenant Group. Do you long for somethng deeper than after church conversation? Do you want to discuss important life topics or religious questions in a more indepth way. Do you want to make spiritual connections with others? We have some interest in forming a second covenant group (our first group is full and meets monthly at the home of Ken Repp and Chris Johnson). Come find out more. If you cannot be here on the 28th, but are interested, please let Mark know.
Potluck Luncheon
All members and friends are invited to a Potluck luncheon after church on Sunday October 14. Please bring main dish, salad, or dessert items to share. Drinks will be provided. We also hope to have some munchies available for those who cannot stay too long.
Giving Boxes
Our September Giving Boxes continue to be for R.E.A.C.H. (a battered women’s shelter in Waltham). Please help fill up the boxes. Their needs include: Gifts cards to grocery stores (especially Hannaford’s which is located in Waltham), Toiletries including paper towels, razors, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, Towels, Twin sheets, blankets and pillows. Thank you. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and SO . . . .
Our October Charitable Offering will also benefit REACH. The date is October 21, and a representative will be present to tell us about REACH. Remember the loose offering goes to REACH, and checks can be made out to REACH, but any checks made out to First Parish will be taken as pledge income.
Newcomer Breakfast / New UU Class
A Newcomer Breakfast will be held on Sunday October 28, beginning at 9:30 a.m..All newcomers are welcome to attend the breakfast. Come meet each other and learn a little about yourselves and our church. Great food, too!
Mark Harris will be leading a New UU class for newcomers to First Parish on Sunday, morning November 4. We will have sign-ups at the Newcomer Breakfast on October 28, and on the bulletin board. This class familiarizes new people with our history and traditions and the ways in which the church functions. Come find out all you have ever wanted to know about UUism.
Service Auction is coming in November
from Jean Merkl
Do you have something to donate?
It's time to start thinking about this year's Annual Service Auction, which will be held on Saturday, November 10. What’s a Service Auction? It’s when members and friends of First Parish donated services or items, such as making a dozen cookies, a pie, gardening help, computer help, knitting a scarf, a sermon of your choice, and then we bid on each others items! It’s a great way to get to know each other and raise money for the church.
We will conduct a silent auction on the two Sundays prior to the 10th. Bid sheets for all services and goods will be available for review and bidding, at tables set up during Social Hour.
On November 10, the Service Auction Potluck Dinner will be held in the Social Hall. After the dinner a variety of the items (about 20) will be auctioned off live, all other silent auction items go to the highest bidder on the sheet.
Children are welcome, and childcare will be available throughout the evening. While we hope you can attend the Auction and Potluck, you do not need to be present to be the winning bidder.
To begin with, though, we need services and goods to be auctioned. If you have a service or good to contribute to the auction, please complete the following form and leave it n the office door. If you have any questions, please talk Jean Merkl or John Gorman (617-969-2708), jmerkl55@yahoo.com , or e-mail FPW!
**One last thing…this will be my last year organizing the Service Auction – if you are looking for a volunteer opportunity that is for a short time of commitment this could be for you! It’s not a lot of work and a lot of fun. Just let me know. Thanks, Jean (jmerkl55@yahoo.com)
Service Auction Donation
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Name ________________________________
Phone Number _________________________
Email _______________________________
Minimum Bid (if any): ___________________
Item or Service to be auctioned (Please describe exactly as you would like it to appear in the Service Auction Brochure): ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Bicycle Collection for Community Development at Home and Abroad
A bicycle collection for Bikes Not Bombs will take place on Saturday, October 13. As you may recall, Bikes Not Bombs is a Roxbury based non-profit organization working for alternative transportation and community development. They operate a full service bike shop in Roxbury where they achieve the goals of training inner city youth to become bicycle mechanics, learn good business skills and become effective community leaders. Last spring they were the recipient of one of our monthly charitable offerings.
Bikes Not Bombs works both locally and internationally to promote peace and social justice. Of the 5000 bikes collected annually, 3500 are shipped to community bike projects in Ghana, South Africa and Central America. For the working poor in developing countries, bikes are an inexpensive means of transportation and provide a reliable way of commuting to school, to work, and to market.
The collection this fall will take place on Saturday, October 13 from 1 – 4 p.m. at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown. Our own youth group is one of the sponsors this year, and will be helping on that day to prepare the bikes for transport. Other sponsors include The World in Watertown, the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, Watertown Savings Bank and St. John’s United Methodist Church.
Please help Bikes Not Bombs achieve its mission of working towards alternative transportation and community development by donating your used bike in reparable condition. A monetary donation of $5 per bike is requested to help defray the cost of repair and refurbishing.
Information about Bikes Not Bombs can be found at www.BikesNotBombs.org For more information about the Watertown collection see a member of the youth group, Will or Sue Twombly, Anna Knight or Sue Kuder.
Job Opening - Office Manager. UU Partner Church Council seeks experienced administrator part-time, 15-20 hr/week flexible schedule, great office atmosphere. Strong organizational skills, detail oriented, proficient on MS Office software (Mac or PC) and database-driven office automation; QuickBooks a plus. Bedford, MA. Resume, cover letter & salary requirements to jobs@uupcc.org.
My Heart Is Moved
a new CD by Carolyn McDade and Friends
Launch Concert
Carolyn McDade and Friends invite the community to sing the music from this new release ~ songs giving us an emotional entry into the profound wisdom of the Earth Charter and songs that pull us beyond the curve of time to establish our grounding in the community of life
Sunday October 21, 4:00pm
First Universalist Society of Franklin _
262 Chestnut Street, Franklin, MA
Nobel Laureates Praise Bold New Book
By UU Evangelists
http://www.ThankGodforEvolution.com
Rev. Michael Dowd and his science writer wife, Connie Barlow, are America's UU evolutionary evangelists. They have spoken in more than 250 UU churches and fellowships over the past 5 years and were recently featured on the cover of the UU World: http://thankgodforevolution.com/blog/p,36
Rev. Dowd's forthcoming book, "Thank God for Evolution!", has been ENDORSED BY 5 NOBEL LAUREATES AND 120 OTHER LUMINARIES, INCLUDING PROMINENT UU MINISTERS: http://thankgodforevolution.com/nobel
Advance copies can be purchased for $15 each (40% off retail) from Dowd's website: http://www.ThankGodforEvolution.com
Death, Dying, and Community:
Death, Dying, and Community: A workshop exploring community response and support around death and dying, from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. Hosted by the lay ministers of the First Unitarian Society in Newton (FUSN), this workshop will cover topics including ethics, palliative sedation, euthanasia, legal and medical issues.
When: Saturday, November 10, 2007, 8am-3:30pm
Where: FUSN, 1326 Washington St., West Newton (intersection of Mass 'pike (I90) and Rt. 16, across from Newton Police station).
Presentations will include:
* Rev. James Ishmael Ford -What is the UU approach to death?
* Gail Gazelle MD -- A Good Death, is this an oxymoron?
* Compassionate Choices- Holly Zalinger LICSW
* Hospice & Palliative Sedation- Bernadette Mead MD
* Don't be Caught Dead...Plan Ahead: What You Need to Know about Funeral Pricing, Purchasing and Your Options as a Consumer
Please register by sending email to fusn_ddandc@yahoo.com
$15 registration fee, paid at door, covers coffee and lunch.
UU New England Conference
Details for this all New England Conference on Saturday, October 28 are available on the bulletin board. The title is: “MInistry Matters: Strengthening Lay and Professional Leadership” Keynote speakers include Gini Courter, the UUA Moderator and Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, the president of the UU Minister’s Assoiciation. It will be held at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, MA.