Thursday, May 28, 2009
Arbella - June 2009 Newsletter
First Parish of Watertown
Arbella
June 2009
for calendar of events please go to the member page for the calendar
Sermon and Topics
Sunday, June 7, 2009 11:00 a.m.
“A Place on Earth”
Rev. Wendy Fitting
“A Place on Earth” explores the genius of the fallible community and the transforming contributions of rejected
people.
Wendy Fitting is the pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Gloucester.
Worship Associate: Jeanne Cleary
Music: First Parish choir will sing.
Greeters: Tappan-deFrees family and Betty Taylor
Social Hour: TBA
Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:00 a.m
Youth Sunday - Debra Zagaeski
Please join us for this special service which recognizes the culmination of a year in the life of the youth who have been participating in the First Parish Coming of Age program. Five of our youth will be sharing their credo statements and reflecting on their beliefs that they have come to recognize through a year’s faith and belief journey.
Coming of Age Youth: Mackensia Auth, Thalia Cachimuel, Emily Cudhea-Pierce, Yami Dussault, and Levi Harris. Coming of Age Mentors: Kelly Morton, Lee Pierce, Nancy Teeven, and Sue Twombly. Coming of Age co-facilitators: Carmen Emerson and Debra Zagaeski
This Sunday will also celebrate our First Chalice Children in their first rite of passage. First Chalice Children: Amadi Goodwillie, Marina Hebeisen, M.E. Leon, Roane Morton, and Ruben Sara.
Debra Zagaeski is Director of Religious Education at First Parish.
Music: Children and Youth choirs will sing.
Greeters: Youth Greeters
Social Hour: Sue Kuder, Channing Mendelsohn
Sunday, June 21, 2009 11:00 a.m.
Flower Communion
Rev. Andrea Greenwood
The last "regular" service of the year is our intergenerational flower communion; an event celebrated by UU congregations throughout the world -- although not always on the same day. The service will be a bit shorter than regular Sunday services, so that we can get to our annual end-of year picnic! Please bring a flower to church with you -- one per person -- and bring a food item to share for the picnic. And, since this day is also Father's Day, please remember to take a moment and think about the men who have literally or metaphorically spent their days fathering you, and let them know what they have meant to you any way you can.
Andrea Greenwood is a former minister and DRE of First Parish of Watertown.
Worship Associate: Kathy Warren
Music: Julie Searles and Matthew Allen, voice and guitar duo
Greeters: Nancy Dutton & David Benson
Social Hour: Church Picnic
Among Us
Congratulations to our First Parish recent graduates:
John Carver Gustin graduated from Springfield College in May.
Molly Collins graduated from Stonehill College in May.
Giles Holt will be graduating with an Associate's Degree from Harvard University's Extension School on June 4. He will be attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, RI, next year and planning to study architecture and glassblowing.
Our deepest sympathy to Goyo Carvajal and Cornelia Janke and family at the death of Goyo's mother in Spain. The family traveled to Spain for her funeral.
This spring we say farewell to two ministerial students who are members of FPW. Carmen Emerson has left to begin a year long internship in Albuquerque, NM. Raz Mason, who preached during the sabbatical is now in the northwest, and will begin preparations for her calling as a military chaplain.
We are grateful for the presence both these people brought to our congregation.
We are also happy to announce that our last student minister, Mark Caggiano, has been called to the UU Church in Chestnut Hill. We are pleased that Mark is so close by. He and Mark Harris will probably exchange pulpits in the coming year. Best wishes to all these new and aspiring ministers!
Captain’s Log
Here is a June Captain’s Log from somewhere in space. This seems like a culturally appropriate phrase this month with a Star Trek prequel making the rounds in the theaters. Most critics gave the movie four stars, and having seen it, I can say it was an entertaining film. But I am also one of those people who is old enough to have watched the original Star Trek TV episodes when William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were young. In other words, I was probably going to like it anyways.
My sabbatical away from you has not been in space, but mostly right here in Watertown at my usual place – the minister’s office at 35 Church Street. Yet I feel as though I have had some good time to reflect and write on the book contract that looms over our heads. Andrea and I both finished chapters, and we are plunging ahead with our work I am grateful for the time away from my duties. It seems as though the services have gone fine, and the committees have accomplished a good deal of important work and planning. So my main check in with you is merely to say thank you. A special thanks to Nancy, who has had to carry on most of the office duties alone over these months.
Since this is June, I also wanted to review summer plans so you know where to find me if I am needed. We will be here most of June working on the book. I will be leading a Coming of Age tour of King’s Chapel and Arlington Street Church on May 31, and I will be attending FPW for the Flower Communion and Picnic on June 21. (Don’t forget to bring a cut flower to church). We will also be introducing our
new student minister for 2009-2011 on that day. His name is Duffy Peet. He is an Andover Newton student who has taken a history course with me. He spent many years employed as a therapist living in Montana. His UU faith is informed by a Native American spirituality. I think you will enjoy Duffy’s presence with us over the next couple of years.
My usual schedule is a month vacation and a month on call in the summer. This summer our months are a little reversed. We will be in Watertown most of July, and in Maine most of August. The best place to email during the summer is our home email: themanse@comcast.net. The phone number in Maine is available from the church office. I am also coordinating UU Heritage Week at Ferry Beach this year in August. The theme is on nature in our history. Our own FPW member, Wendell Refior will be participating as a workshop leader and presenter.
Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will see an invitation to join other UUs at the Gay Pride Parade. This is a time for celebration with more states legalizing equal marriage. But it is also a time to be vigilant, and to remain committed. California has upheld its ruling against marriage. There are also local concerns. This week I received a notice from our UU congregation in Wakefield. They have recently become a Welcoming Congregation, and they put out a flag to represent their commitment to be welcoming to all. However, they also said they have had a couple of incidents this spring as well. Then I had an email from Quincy which said, "We're having our own incidents in Quincy - our flag being burned and just last night the flag and pole stolen. But we're persevering!" This is significant, not only for welcoming UU congregations, but also because our FPW flag pole disappeared recently. Since it was the flag and the entire pole, we know it did not blow away. Recently we ordered a new one, but it makes me wonder. What does it mean that our rainbow flag disappeared? When the new one goes up, perhaps we should remain vigilant that it does not disappear again.
I hope you all have wonderful summers that bring rest and relaxation. Please remember our summer services. They offer wonderful personal reflections from our members, and all begin at 9:30 a.m. There will be a special announcement in early July listing all the worship leaders for the summer. We will return on September 13 with our regular fall schedule and water service. Don’t forget to collect some water from wherever your travels take you this summer. Have a glorious time!
Mark
Religious Education
What is well planted cannot be uprooted…
Cultivate virtue in your own person,
And it becomes a genuine part of you.
Cultivate it in the family,
And it will abide.
Cultivate it in the community,
And it will live and grow.
Cultivate it in the state,
And it will flourish abundantly.
Cultivate it in the world,
And it will become universal.
-Tao Te Ching
The seedlings that the children of our religious education program started in April have been planted. Look for radishes, nasturtiums, and sunflowers in our garden. The volunteers and teachers that worked all through the year with our children and youth have completed their lesson plans and are ready to celebrate. We thank them all. The Youth in our Coming of Age program are prepared to share their credo statements. We honor their journey and their courage to share with us. All around the church there are the signs and symbols of a year in which we have shared in worship, work, joy, celebration, sorrow, and fellowship. We have indeed planted the seeds of our loving community!
And I have completed my first year as a Director of Religious Education, here at First Parish Watertown. Planting the roots of my own journey in this new calling. I truly appreciate the gifts of this community, and I have been continually impressed with how spirit and service of the individuals of First Parish. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support and assistance that I have received through the year. The small sprouts of growth and change are indeed everywhere. I look forward to continued personal and professional growth together with you all in the year to come.
Look in your mailboxes and at the registration table during social hour for the religious education registration forms for the 2009-2010 program. Please complete and return your registration forms as soon as possible. It will greatly facilitate the work of the religious education committee and me, the DRE, if we receive these forms quickly and are able to begin the process of evaluating and assigning the class advisory groups.
I would like to take this opportunity to ask for suggestions concerning a new component of the religious education programming for next year. Beginning in January 2010 the children and youth of First Parish participate in a “social action Sunday” one Sunday per month. I would appreciate suggestions and assistance in choosing the themes for these Sundays. Any one who has a project, concern, or group that is close to your heart and that you would hope to have our children and youth learn more about please share this with me.
I plan to tend the gardens both inside and outside of the church during the summer.
I will be working on curriculum planning and helping to facilitate the establishment of the cooperative program at First Parish. I plan to come to church at least once or twice each week to water the garden. I will be attending the Religious Education conference on Star Island in July. I may even be seen some Sunday morning leading a summer worship gathering. And I will read and write and relax! Wishing you all the peace of summer!
Namaste,
Debra Zagaeski
Musically Speaking
Charlyn Bethell
Watertown Founders Day is on Saturday, June 6th from 1 pm to 4:30 pm at Charles River Road in Watertown Square. The Founders’ Monument has been restored and the rededication will be a reenactment of the monument’s first dedication that occurred in 1630. This is important because the original First Parish choir in 1630 sang at that event and our choir will be singing for the reenactment on June 6th. It is an honor and a privilege for us to be included at this historic time. We will sing “Down to the River to Pray” and “America the Beautiful”. I hope you can be with us, so come if you can and bring a picnic lunch. This is the first time our choir will be singing outside the boundaries of our church! I am excited.
The last time our choir will sing this season is at the June 7th church service. Next season, I will be working to find a day for choir rehearsals that does not conflict with committee meetings. We would be happy to have even more voices in our choir, so please feel warmly invited to join us in September.
Meanwhile, June 14th is Youth Sunday and both our children and youth choirs will sing. The children are singing some multicultural songs and the youth are singing songs that include the John Lennon song, Imagine, and a song from Les Mis called Castle on a Cloud.
Julie Searles and Matthew Allen, who are a voice and guitar duo, will perform some of the music at the June 21st service. They perform jazz and multicultural music. This will be a treat for us at our Flower service. They may include their two daughters as well.
This summer, I will be attending the national conference of the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network. I look forward to gathering some new ideas and meeting some fellow music directors.
Be sure to let Guy and me help you if you are doing one of the summer services. We can help you find just the right hymns and help you plan some of the other music for the service.
I hope you take some time this summer to enjoy anything familiar and even something new, musically speaking. Maybe you can attend some concerts that you love or find a way to make some music informally. I hope you find some renewal for yourself from a musical source. And I hope you share your musical adventures in the fall!
Snacks and Cereal for the Watertown Food Pantry
The GIVING BOX for JUNE is the Watertown Food Pantry. There will be only 3 Sundays in June: the 7th, the 14th and the 21st for our final church year GIVING BOX collection.
When the school year is over so are the breakfast and lunch programs for one of our most vulnerable populations--the children. All of us here at FPW are familiar with and have participated generously in the past with the needs of the Watertown Food Pantry.
Snacks suggested by Deb Kaup, the Watertown Food Pantry Director, are:
#1 Choice: Granola Bars (of ALL types and flavors) followed by: Individual Serving Packett of: Dried Fruits, Peanuts, Cookies, Pretzels, Chips, Cheezits, Popcorn, Cheese & Crackers, Fruit Roll-ups, Juice boxes...
Because the breakfast program is not available during the summer months, boxes of cereal of all kinds would be appreciated also.
...So as we look ahead to the summer season let's go "shopping for snacks". What could be easier?? Is there any one of us who doesn't like snacks? (Call us if you are one of those people--we'd like to hear from you!!!)...All kidding aside, please help with snacks (and breakfast cereals, too) for the Watertown Food Pantry.
As always, our offer to shop for you remains...just let us know.
Happy Lead Up to Summer,
Jill Shaw and Barbara Farrell
UUA
This year the UUA has a presidential election between candidates Laurel Hallman and Peter Morales. We have one General Assembly delegate, Seth Carrier, who has been appointed, and the Parish Committee informed him (through Mark) that he was free to vote his conscience. Other absentee delegates who have voted are Isabel Tappan-deFrees and Andrea Greenwood. Mark Harris also receives a ministerial delegate vote. We will announce the new president in the September newsletter.
Relay for Life
Information about the annual Relay For Life of Watertown, the annual cancer society event at Victory Field, has been posted on the bulletin board downstairs.
Weekly Email Announcements
We are trying a new system of sending out announcements from the church office. Rather than receiving announcements throughout the week, we are putting them in one email on Friday. We hope this keeps you from feeling inundated with emails. Please keep this in mind when you send in your announcements. Feedback so far is that this is being well received. If you have any comments, let us know what you think at the church office.
New Members
On Sunday, May 3 we were pleased to welcome eleven new people into membership. Here are their bios:
Connie Wilson came to Watertown in 2008 from Rhode Island. She has been coming to First Parish for about a year. She has had multiple religious experiences including being a lay member of an Episcopal convent. She is currently interested and involved in the Episcopal church; celebrates Jewish holidays and practices Wicca.
Lynn Bratley has lived in Watertown since 1972, and her daughters Joey and Katy grew up here. Now she takes their kids on trips of exploration along the banks of the Charles River.
She is the founder and artistic director of Improbable Players, a touring theater company she started in 1984 to dramatize substance abuse prevention education: all of the members of the troupe are in long-term recovery, and all the plays over the years have been developed
from their experience, strength and hope.
In 1996 she met Chuck while they were both taking a West Coast Swing dance class at St. Johns. He asked for her phone number and she invited him over for tea. They were married in 1998 in Colorado surrounded by their families and the mountains.
Chuck Dickinson has long been searching for a church community in the Boston area ... and has finally found it at First Parish. But that's only one of the transitions he's been through in the past 10-15 years. Others include …
· meeting Lynn at a swing dancing class, marrying her, and following her to Watertown
· beginning a new career in international work
· supporting his son’s transition into early adulthood
· and getting used to being called "Grampa Chuck" by Lynn's own grandkids.
He’s grateful for all these changes, and looks forward to more, including whatever comes with being a member of FPW.
Victoria Grafflin grew up in Chappaqua, New York and has lived in Watertown with her family, Mike, Cecilia, & Jack for the past seven years. She works for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security managing homeland security grant funds and has enjoyed working mostly in the public sector in Massachusetts since arriving here with her husband in 1997.
She is excited to have found a welcoming, slightly wacky, and open-minded spiritual home here at First Parish in Watertown where she has been coming since November, 2007. Her religious background was a mixed bag of a disenchanted Catholic mother, atheist father, Episcopal sister, and Quaker extended family.
Mike Conway was born and raised Roman Catholic in Northeast Philadelphia. He's feeling much better now. His mind was opened by Hampshire College and his heart was opened by the Family Equality Council. Mike reluctantly discovered First Parish through his wife Victoria, but he was eventually won over by the Camus and Taoist readings and free food. When not contemplating the Tao while eating snacks, Mike works part time for Read-MTI a Needham-based non-profit dedicated to children's literacy. Every Saturday night Mike can be heard playing obscure classic rock on 91.5 FM WMFO.
Morgan McLean was born and raised a Unitarian Universalist in Racine, Wisconsin. After pursuing a degree in International Affairs at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY, she worked for Amnesty International in Washington, DC, working specifically on the worldwide abolition of the death penalty.
It was this experience, coupled with continued church involvement, young adult organizing, and community service that called Morgan to ministry. She is now in her second year at Andover Newton Theological School and is pursuing ordained UU ministry.
Seth Carrier, a Massachusetts native, grew up UU at the First Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence. After attending Deerfield Academy for high school, he went to Union College in Schenectady, NY for undergrad where he received a B.A. in East Asian Studies. Post-graduation, Seth lived for six months in London, before settling down in Philadelphia to work in telecommunications.
Seth was an active lay-leader at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, receiving the "Young Adult of the Year Award" from the UUA's Joseph Priestley District in 2007. In addition to working in London for six months, Seth has traveled and volunteered internationally, spending his junior year of college studying in Japan, and spending a month in China in the summer of 2006 volunteering as an English teacher for underprivileged high school students.
Seth is currently finishing up his first year at Andover Newton Theological School, where he is studying to become a UU minister. Seth decided to become a member of First Parish Watertown because of the welcoming community, meaningful worship and excellent sermons.
Lani Gerson moved to Watertown with her husband, Joseph Gerson, daughter Hannah and grandson Mateo one year ago. Years ago Lani worked in the Main Library and all of the now closed branches of Watertown’s library system. The move to Watertown was partly due to fond memories and good experiences, as well as because of good friends who live here.
It has taken Lani a good 40 years to be able to even consider such a notion as joining any church given the fact that she is a recovering ex-Mormon! Born in Utah to fourth generation Mormons, Lani as a teenager fled that stifling and narrow religious path. She married Joseph, a “Jewish atheist of Buddhist inclinations” who has spent his entire life working as a peace scholar and organizer – mostly for the Quaker organization, the American Friends Service Committee – forty-two years ago.
In addition to Hannah, Joseph and Lani have a son Leon who lives in Arlington and is a struggling writer who waits tables and bartends. He laughingly calls himself a MorJew – but, like his father, finds an affinity with Buddhism. Mioko is the other member of the family. She came from Japan as a foreign student fifteen years ago and lived with them for 12 years.
Now completing her twentieth year as a library teacher in the Newton schools, Lani is, in the words of Catherine Bateson, “composing the rest of her life”. With retirement just beginning to come into view, she is thinking of how to spend her time and energy, what new areas to explore, and what causes to take on. She is appreciative of the kindness of folks in the First Parish for welcoming her, Hannah and Mateo.
Hannah Gerson with her son Mateo, who is almost two years of age, moved to Watertown with her parents one year ago. She grew up in Cambridge and is currently going to cosmetology school and plans to be a hair stylist. Hannah was born in Natal, Brazil and was adopted by Lani and Joseph when she was two weeks old.
Neil Zarin and Ginger Burns live in Watertown with their puppy, Lily Coco Chanel. Neil volunteers at The Perkins School several hours each week. He belongs to a UU Men's group which has met weekly for over 12 years.
Neil and Ginger transferred to FPW from the Belmont UU Church. Ginger works with at-risk children at the Tufts Dental School. Neil and Ginger are avid travelers and foodies. Grandparenting, however, eclipses travel and food. Neil's two son's and their families live in MA and ME.
Change in Dates For Summer Services
Dates for our summer services have shifted and now will be six weeks in a row from July 12 to August 16:
July 12, 19, 26
August 2, 9, 16
Summer services begin at 9:30am to beat the heat.
Please contact Jeanne Cleary, Co-chair of Worship Committee, with your topic, ideas or any questions you might have about the possibility of leading one of our summer services. Charlyn and Guy are available for music assistance if needed. These are fun, intimate and creative services. If you are not planning on leading one, be sure not to miss these gatherings when you are in town!
The 2009 Boston Pride Parade
Martha Scott and David Morrison invite all to join them in standing up for gay rights and equal marriage. They will attend the Boston Gay Pride Saturday June 13rd. Meet them at First Parish Watertown at 10 AM. They will walk over to the MBTA bus barn on Galen Street to take the # 504 express bus leaving 10:25 AM to Copley Square. The Arlington Street Church Service starts at 11AM and the parade through the South End and along Boylston Streets starts at Noon. David remembers an offering was taken at the Arlington Street Church Service.
From Martha and David:
“Last year we carried small signs saying "First Parish Watertown" and the words "Come Join Us". We plan to walk with other UU Church friends under a Unitarian Universalist Mass Bay District Banner.
May we suggest walking shoes and a hat, possibly sun glasses, a windbreaker, a water bottle and pocket money. We have some extra Charlie cards to help with the travel cost.”
Hope to see you there or send good wishes,
Martha and David
617-924-8075 David's cell
dvm274@rcn.com
Environmental Fair – Green gardening and dead cfl/battery collection on Sunday, June 7 during social hour.
Green Sanctuary members have invited Henrietta Light to lead a question and answer session on green gardening and lawns. We hope to start twenty minutes after Social Hour begins to allow all to attend who wish to join in the forty five minute discussion. Bring your questions.
Henrietta Light is an active member of Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety (WCES). WCES is a local non-profit group many fpw church members already support.
As an introduction for this gathering Henrietta writes:
“I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for thoughtful care of the earth. For those who have never gardened there is an opportunity to start from scratch with earth friendly principals. One is to amend the soil, be it to grow edibles or ornamentals, with clean compost rather than with chemicals which feed the plant and deplete the soil. Another is to clean up the vegetable garden in the fall, but to let most of the spent perennials (some exceptions) stay messy---the snow is pretty on them, beneficial insects have winter nests, and seeds feed birds and make plants in spring. Then for the winter-weary there is garden clean-up work on a warm day in late February or early March. There are, of course, details and refinements to the above. I hope I can answer your questions, and encourage you to find infinite joy in the miracle of a garden.”
See you in church June 7th. Stay to talk with Henrietta about gardening and lawns. And bring your old cfl bulbs and dead batteries for recycling!
David Morrison,
Green Sanctuary Committee
Order of Worship
The Worship Committee is meeting Tuesday, June 30 at 7pm for a 2 hour meeting dedicated to discussing the order of worship. All are invited to attend for the first hour to offer input in person, or to email any worship committee member with thoughts on the sequence and timing of the order of worship. Members are Jeanne Cleary, Chris Johnson, Djalai Babazedah, Chuck Dickinson, and Paul Montesino and Eric Chipman.
Donor Recognition
The Finance Committee wishes to thank all the members and friends of First Parish listed below who have so generously made pledges to support the life of our church in this most difficult financial year. Despite these hard economic times we have received 68 pledges totaling more than $108,000, making this our second most successful canvass in church history. If you would at any time like to make a pledge in any amount during the year to enable First Parish to continue to play its important role in all of our spiritual lives, please
feel free to speak to our minister, Mark Harris or Bob Shay of the Finance Committee.
Karen Allendoerfer
Roberta and Michael Altamari
Mike and Anna Anctil
Brigitte Bender
David Benson and Nancy Dutton
Charlyn Bethell and Guy Urban
Gretchen Brown
Roberta Brown
Gwynne Burkhardt
Ginger Burns and Neil Zarin
Kathy Button
Holly Cachimuel
Matt and Katherine Calabro
John Chamberlin and Sara McSweeney
Eric Chipman
Marianne and Michael Collins
Peter Cudhea
Paul Dansereau and Julie Miller
Paul Day and Norah Mulvaney Day
Sue and Joe Demb
Chuck Dickinson and Lynn Bratley
Diane Dussault
Johanna Erickson
Jim Felty
Judi Fitts
Susan Flint and Nick Haddad
Lani and Hannah Gerson
Anna Glover-McDade
Tom Goodwillie and Tesi Kohlenberg
Victoria Grafflin-Conway
Jeanne Cleary and Barry Greess
Barbara Hansberry and David Leon
Anne Harrington
Mark Harris and Andrea Greenwood
Kyle and Johanna Hart
Brian Hebeisen and Elizabeth Strekalovsky
Virginia Howe
Judy and Roger Kamm
Sachie Karmacharya
Carole Katz
Anna Knight
Jane Knuttunen
Sue Kuder
Betty Latner
Meryl Libbey
Susan Lind-Sinanian
Michael McCarthy
Jean Merkl and John Gorman
Paul Montesino
Kyle and Kelly Morton
Lee Pierce
Silke and Andreas Plesch
John Portz and Meredith Montague
Charmian Proskauer
Wendell Refior
Eileen Ryan
Michael Schade
Mary Schlivek
Martha Scott and David Morrison
Jill Shaw and Barbara Farrell
Bob and Missy Shay
Elizabeth and Isabel Tappan-deFrees
Nancy Teeven
Patricia Turner
Will and Sue Twombly
Martha Urban
Ken and Jerusha Vogel
Kathy and David Warren
BREAD AND .... roses!
Do you like bread? Do you believe it is a virtue to not waste food? We have an opportunity for you!! For several years now people from First Parish have gone to Panera Bread at the Arsenal on Sunday nights to pick up the unsold products from the day. The bread, rolls, cookies, and bagels are then brought home and packaged up, and delivered to 55 Waverly Street, where it is distributed to residents of public housing. One of our volunteers can no longer continue; we would like a replacement so that each set of volunteers can continue to help out once a month. Is this a job for you? Responsibilities include being at Panera at 7:50 on Sunday night, bringing big bags of food home, packaging it up, and delivering it on Monday morning. They open at 8:30am. Each set of volunteers does this once a month. Benefits, beyond the good feeling, include a few bagels.... or cookies.... or BOTH!
If you can help, please call or email Nancy at the church office 617-924-6143, FPWatertown@comcast.net
Bring Back Water
Please remember to collect some water from the place where your summer travels take you. Near or far please fill a small container with water from the place you visit so that you can share the life flowing spirit of your summer adventure. Our Water Service will be on Sunday, September 13 at 11:00 a.m.
Rummage Sale a Success
Thank you to all who helped with the Rummage Sale on May 2. We had lots of help setting up Friday night and Saturday morning, selling during the day, and then cleaning up! Many hands made light work. And of course there would be no sale without your donations, so many thanks to all who donated items for sale. This is one of the church fundraisers that we rely on, and thanks to all who contributed their time and their goods, we are happy to report that we made $1200.
Hymnals: Setting up for services
Thanks to Charlyn Bethell, we now have a library cart to use for easier distribution and collection of hymnals on Sundays, to say nothing of more orderly storage! We are trying this out for the rest of the church season, so greeters, please take note!
The cart is stored in the hallway between the sanctuary and the meeting room (where there used to be folding chairs stored).
It can be rolled down the center aisle of the chairs so that hymnals may be more comfortably distributed without hauling large piles around the sanctuary. Stored at the back of the church during service, it can then be rolled back down the center aisle to collect the hymnals and stored back in its cubby in the hallway.
Note to service attendees: at the end of service, please pass your hymnals to the chairs on the center aisle and it will ease the collection!
Thank you for your cooperation as we try to make the greeters' job a little simpler and less back-breaking!
Clean Up Day
Thanks to the following people who participated in the Spring Work Day on May 9, 2009: From the Buildings and Grounds Committee: Michael McCarthy, David Benson, Kathy Button, David Morrison, and Nick Haddad. Also, Martha Scott and Randy Rhoda. The weather was great and everyone worked hard.
The group pulled weeds, mulched the bushes on either side of the front steps, trimmed suckers from trees on the front lawn, raked leaves that had accumulated on the grounds during the winter and early spring, and continued the battle against the invading "Tree of Heaven" (Ailanthus Altissima), a gift from central China. (I have no idea. Maybe part of the railroad deal?)
We also launched an experiment: some of the yews have a commercial "weed block" fabric under the mulch and some have a greener recycled newspaper weed block. We'll see how the two approaches compare.
Tour of Armenian Library and Museum of America
Come join FPW member, Susan Lind-Sinanian for a tour of the Armenian Library and Museum of America at 65 Main St. On Sunday June 7, after service about 1:00 we will gather to walk over to the museum. Susan and her husband Gary, Curators at ALMA will be glad to be your guides to see the treasures in our own back yard. The permanent exhibits include, "Who Are the Armenians", a Genocide Memorial, and Musical Instruments. Artists from the Newton Art Association are featured on the third floor art gallery and many other cultural artifacts are on display. For more details there is a flier on the bulletin board or you may contact Susan for more information at slindsinanian@yahoo.com
Fourth of July in Wellfleet
If you have not finalized your summer vacation plans, why not think of getting away for a week from 7/4-7/11. We have a three bedroom house on a salt marsh that sleeps 8 and is close to all that Wellfleet has to offer. Price negotiable. Call Nancy Dutton or David Benson at 617-926-9254 or send an email to njdutton@comcast.net.
Arbella
June 2009
for calendar of events please go to the member page for the calendar
Sermon and Topics
Sunday, June 7, 2009 11:00 a.m.
“A Place on Earth”
Rev. Wendy Fitting
“A Place on Earth” explores the genius of the fallible community and the transforming contributions of rejected
people.
Wendy Fitting is the pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Gloucester.
Worship Associate: Jeanne Cleary
Music: First Parish choir will sing.
Greeters: Tappan-deFrees family and Betty Taylor
Social Hour: TBA
Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:00 a.m
Youth Sunday - Debra Zagaeski
Please join us for this special service which recognizes the culmination of a year in the life of the youth who have been participating in the First Parish Coming of Age program. Five of our youth will be sharing their credo statements and reflecting on their beliefs that they have come to recognize through a year’s faith and belief journey.
Coming of Age Youth: Mackensia Auth, Thalia Cachimuel, Emily Cudhea-Pierce, Yami Dussault, and Levi Harris. Coming of Age Mentors: Kelly Morton, Lee Pierce, Nancy Teeven, and Sue Twombly. Coming of Age co-facilitators: Carmen Emerson and Debra Zagaeski
This Sunday will also celebrate our First Chalice Children in their first rite of passage. First Chalice Children: Amadi Goodwillie, Marina Hebeisen, M.E. Leon, Roane Morton, and Ruben Sara.
Debra Zagaeski is Director of Religious Education at First Parish.
Music: Children and Youth choirs will sing.
Greeters: Youth Greeters
Social Hour: Sue Kuder, Channing Mendelsohn
Sunday, June 21, 2009 11:00 a.m.
Flower Communion
Rev. Andrea Greenwood
The last "regular" service of the year is our intergenerational flower communion; an event celebrated by UU congregations throughout the world -- although not always on the same day. The service will be a bit shorter than regular Sunday services, so that we can get to our annual end-of year picnic! Please bring a flower to church with you -- one per person -- and bring a food item to share for the picnic. And, since this day is also Father's Day, please remember to take a moment and think about the men who have literally or metaphorically spent their days fathering you, and let them know what they have meant to you any way you can.
Andrea Greenwood is a former minister and DRE of First Parish of Watertown.
Worship Associate: Kathy Warren
Music: Julie Searles and Matthew Allen, voice and guitar duo
Greeters: Nancy Dutton & David Benson
Social Hour: Church Picnic
Among Us
Congratulations to our First Parish recent graduates:
John Carver Gustin graduated from Springfield College in May.
Molly Collins graduated from Stonehill College in May.
Giles Holt will be graduating with an Associate's Degree from Harvard University's Extension School on June 4. He will be attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, RI, next year and planning to study architecture and glassblowing.
Our deepest sympathy to Goyo Carvajal and Cornelia Janke and family at the death of Goyo's mother in Spain. The family traveled to Spain for her funeral.
This spring we say farewell to two ministerial students who are members of FPW. Carmen Emerson has left to begin a year long internship in Albuquerque, NM. Raz Mason, who preached during the sabbatical is now in the northwest, and will begin preparations for her calling as a military chaplain.
We are grateful for the presence both these people brought to our congregation.
We are also happy to announce that our last student minister, Mark Caggiano, has been called to the UU Church in Chestnut Hill. We are pleased that Mark is so close by. He and Mark Harris will probably exchange pulpits in the coming year. Best wishes to all these new and aspiring ministers!
Captain’s Log
Here is a June Captain’s Log from somewhere in space. This seems like a culturally appropriate phrase this month with a Star Trek prequel making the rounds in the theaters. Most critics gave the movie four stars, and having seen it, I can say it was an entertaining film. But I am also one of those people who is old enough to have watched the original Star Trek TV episodes when William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were young. In other words, I was probably going to like it anyways.
My sabbatical away from you has not been in space, but mostly right here in Watertown at my usual place – the minister’s office at 35 Church Street. Yet I feel as though I have had some good time to reflect and write on the book contract that looms over our heads. Andrea and I both finished chapters, and we are plunging ahead with our work I am grateful for the time away from my duties. It seems as though the services have gone fine, and the committees have accomplished a good deal of important work and planning. So my main check in with you is merely to say thank you. A special thanks to Nancy, who has had to carry on most of the office duties alone over these months.
Since this is June, I also wanted to review summer plans so you know where to find me if I am needed. We will be here most of June working on the book. I will be leading a Coming of Age tour of King’s Chapel and Arlington Street Church on May 31, and I will be attending FPW for the Flower Communion and Picnic on June 21. (Don’t forget to bring a cut flower to church). We will also be introducing our
new student minister for 2009-2011 on that day. His name is Duffy Peet. He is an Andover Newton student who has taken a history course with me. He spent many years employed as a therapist living in Montana. His UU faith is informed by a Native American spirituality. I think you will enjoy Duffy’s presence with us over the next couple of years.
My usual schedule is a month vacation and a month on call in the summer. This summer our months are a little reversed. We will be in Watertown most of July, and in Maine most of August. The best place to email during the summer is our home email: themanse@comcast.net. The phone number in Maine is available from the church office. I am also coordinating UU Heritage Week at Ferry Beach this year in August. The theme is on nature in our history. Our own FPW member, Wendell Refior will be participating as a workshop leader and presenter.
Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will see an invitation to join other UUs at the Gay Pride Parade. This is a time for celebration with more states legalizing equal marriage. But it is also a time to be vigilant, and to remain committed. California has upheld its ruling against marriage. There are also local concerns. This week I received a notice from our UU congregation in Wakefield. They have recently become a Welcoming Congregation, and they put out a flag to represent their commitment to be welcoming to all. However, they also said they have had a couple of incidents this spring as well. Then I had an email from Quincy which said, "We're having our own incidents in Quincy - our flag being burned and just last night the flag and pole stolen. But we're persevering!" This is significant, not only for welcoming UU congregations, but also because our FPW flag pole disappeared recently. Since it was the flag and the entire pole, we know it did not blow away. Recently we ordered a new one, but it makes me wonder. What does it mean that our rainbow flag disappeared? When the new one goes up, perhaps we should remain vigilant that it does not disappear again.
I hope you all have wonderful summers that bring rest and relaxation. Please remember our summer services. They offer wonderful personal reflections from our members, and all begin at 9:30 a.m. There will be a special announcement in early July listing all the worship leaders for the summer. We will return on September 13 with our regular fall schedule and water service. Don’t forget to collect some water from wherever your travels take you this summer. Have a glorious time!
Mark
Religious Education
What is well planted cannot be uprooted…
Cultivate virtue in your own person,
And it becomes a genuine part of you.
Cultivate it in the family,
And it will abide.
Cultivate it in the community,
And it will live and grow.
Cultivate it in the state,
And it will flourish abundantly.
Cultivate it in the world,
And it will become universal.
-Tao Te Ching
The seedlings that the children of our religious education program started in April have been planted. Look for radishes, nasturtiums, and sunflowers in our garden. The volunteers and teachers that worked all through the year with our children and youth have completed their lesson plans and are ready to celebrate. We thank them all. The Youth in our Coming of Age program are prepared to share their credo statements. We honor their journey and their courage to share with us. All around the church there are the signs and symbols of a year in which we have shared in worship, work, joy, celebration, sorrow, and fellowship. We have indeed planted the seeds of our loving community!
And I have completed my first year as a Director of Religious Education, here at First Parish Watertown. Planting the roots of my own journey in this new calling. I truly appreciate the gifts of this community, and I have been continually impressed with how spirit and service of the individuals of First Parish. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support and assistance that I have received through the year. The small sprouts of growth and change are indeed everywhere. I look forward to continued personal and professional growth together with you all in the year to come.
Look in your mailboxes and at the registration table during social hour for the religious education registration forms for the 2009-2010 program. Please complete and return your registration forms as soon as possible. It will greatly facilitate the work of the religious education committee and me, the DRE, if we receive these forms quickly and are able to begin the process of evaluating and assigning the class advisory groups.
I would like to take this opportunity to ask for suggestions concerning a new component of the religious education programming for next year. Beginning in January 2010 the children and youth of First Parish participate in a “social action Sunday” one Sunday per month. I would appreciate suggestions and assistance in choosing the themes for these Sundays. Any one who has a project, concern, or group that is close to your heart and that you would hope to have our children and youth learn more about please share this with me.
I plan to tend the gardens both inside and outside of the church during the summer.
I will be working on curriculum planning and helping to facilitate the establishment of the cooperative program at First Parish. I plan to come to church at least once or twice each week to water the garden. I will be attending the Religious Education conference on Star Island in July. I may even be seen some Sunday morning leading a summer worship gathering. And I will read and write and relax! Wishing you all the peace of summer!
Namaste,
Debra Zagaeski
Musically Speaking
Charlyn Bethell
Watertown Founders Day is on Saturday, June 6th from 1 pm to 4:30 pm at Charles River Road in Watertown Square. The Founders’ Monument has been restored and the rededication will be a reenactment of the monument’s first dedication that occurred in 1630. This is important because the original First Parish choir in 1630 sang at that event and our choir will be singing for the reenactment on June 6th. It is an honor and a privilege for us to be included at this historic time. We will sing “Down to the River to Pray” and “America the Beautiful”. I hope you can be with us, so come if you can and bring a picnic lunch. This is the first time our choir will be singing outside the boundaries of our church! I am excited.
The last time our choir will sing this season is at the June 7th church service. Next season, I will be working to find a day for choir rehearsals that does not conflict with committee meetings. We would be happy to have even more voices in our choir, so please feel warmly invited to join us in September.
Meanwhile, June 14th is Youth Sunday and both our children and youth choirs will sing. The children are singing some multicultural songs and the youth are singing songs that include the John Lennon song, Imagine, and a song from Les Mis called Castle on a Cloud.
Julie Searles and Matthew Allen, who are a voice and guitar duo, will perform some of the music at the June 21st service. They perform jazz and multicultural music. This will be a treat for us at our Flower service. They may include their two daughters as well.
This summer, I will be attending the national conference of the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network. I look forward to gathering some new ideas and meeting some fellow music directors.
Be sure to let Guy and me help you if you are doing one of the summer services. We can help you find just the right hymns and help you plan some of the other music for the service.
I hope you take some time this summer to enjoy anything familiar and even something new, musically speaking. Maybe you can attend some concerts that you love or find a way to make some music informally. I hope you find some renewal for yourself from a musical source. And I hope you share your musical adventures in the fall!
Snacks and Cereal for the Watertown Food Pantry
The GIVING BOX for JUNE is the Watertown Food Pantry. There will be only 3 Sundays in June: the 7th, the 14th and the 21st for our final church year GIVING BOX collection.
When the school year is over so are the breakfast and lunch programs for one of our most vulnerable populations--the children. All of us here at FPW are familiar with and have participated generously in the past with the needs of the Watertown Food Pantry.
Snacks suggested by Deb Kaup, the Watertown Food Pantry Director, are:
#1 Choice: Granola Bars (of ALL types and flavors) followed by: Individual Serving Packett of: Dried Fruits, Peanuts, Cookies, Pretzels, Chips, Cheezits, Popcorn, Cheese & Crackers, Fruit Roll-ups, Juice boxes...
Because the breakfast program is not available during the summer months, boxes of cereal of all kinds would be appreciated also.
...So as we look ahead to the summer season let's go "shopping for snacks". What could be easier?? Is there any one of us who doesn't like snacks? (Call us if you are one of those people--we'd like to hear from you!!!)...All kidding aside, please help with snacks (and breakfast cereals, too) for the Watertown Food Pantry.
As always, our offer to shop for you remains...just let us know.
Happy Lead Up to Summer,
Jill Shaw and Barbara Farrell
UUA
This year the UUA has a presidential election between candidates Laurel Hallman and Peter Morales. We have one General Assembly delegate, Seth Carrier, who has been appointed, and the Parish Committee informed him (through Mark) that he was free to vote his conscience. Other absentee delegates who have voted are Isabel Tappan-deFrees and Andrea Greenwood. Mark Harris also receives a ministerial delegate vote. We will announce the new president in the September newsletter.
Relay for Life
Information about the annual Relay For Life of Watertown, the annual cancer society event at Victory Field, has been posted on the bulletin board downstairs.
Weekly Email Announcements
We are trying a new system of sending out announcements from the church office. Rather than receiving announcements throughout the week, we are putting them in one email on Friday. We hope this keeps you from feeling inundated with emails. Please keep this in mind when you send in your announcements. Feedback so far is that this is being well received. If you have any comments, let us know what you think at the church office.
New Members
On Sunday, May 3 we were pleased to welcome eleven new people into membership. Here are their bios:
Connie Wilson came to Watertown in 2008 from Rhode Island. She has been coming to First Parish for about a year. She has had multiple religious experiences including being a lay member of an Episcopal convent. She is currently interested and involved in the Episcopal church; celebrates Jewish holidays and practices Wicca.
Lynn Bratley has lived in Watertown since 1972, and her daughters Joey and Katy grew up here. Now she takes their kids on trips of exploration along the banks of the Charles River.
She is the founder and artistic director of Improbable Players, a touring theater company she started in 1984 to dramatize substance abuse prevention education: all of the members of the troupe are in long-term recovery, and all the plays over the years have been developed
from their experience, strength and hope.
In 1996 she met Chuck while they were both taking a West Coast Swing dance class at St. Johns. He asked for her phone number and she invited him over for tea. They were married in 1998 in Colorado surrounded by their families and the mountains.
Chuck Dickinson has long been searching for a church community in the Boston area ... and has finally found it at First Parish. But that's only one of the transitions he's been through in the past 10-15 years. Others include …
· meeting Lynn at a swing dancing class, marrying her, and following her to Watertown
· beginning a new career in international work
· supporting his son’s transition into early adulthood
· and getting used to being called "Grampa Chuck" by Lynn's own grandkids.
He’s grateful for all these changes, and looks forward to more, including whatever comes with being a member of FPW.
Victoria Grafflin grew up in Chappaqua, New York and has lived in Watertown with her family, Mike, Cecilia, & Jack for the past seven years. She works for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security managing homeland security grant funds and has enjoyed working mostly in the public sector in Massachusetts since arriving here with her husband in 1997.
She is excited to have found a welcoming, slightly wacky, and open-minded spiritual home here at First Parish in Watertown where she has been coming since November, 2007. Her religious background was a mixed bag of a disenchanted Catholic mother, atheist father, Episcopal sister, and Quaker extended family.
Mike Conway was born and raised Roman Catholic in Northeast Philadelphia. He's feeling much better now. His mind was opened by Hampshire College and his heart was opened by the Family Equality Council. Mike reluctantly discovered First Parish through his wife Victoria, but he was eventually won over by the Camus and Taoist readings and free food. When not contemplating the Tao while eating snacks, Mike works part time for Read-MTI a Needham-based non-profit dedicated to children's literacy. Every Saturday night Mike can be heard playing obscure classic rock on 91.5 FM WMFO.
Morgan McLean was born and raised a Unitarian Universalist in Racine, Wisconsin. After pursuing a degree in International Affairs at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY, she worked for Amnesty International in Washington, DC, working specifically on the worldwide abolition of the death penalty.
It was this experience, coupled with continued church involvement, young adult organizing, and community service that called Morgan to ministry. She is now in her second year at Andover Newton Theological School and is pursuing ordained UU ministry.
Seth Carrier, a Massachusetts native, grew up UU at the First Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence. After attending Deerfield Academy for high school, he went to Union College in Schenectady, NY for undergrad where he received a B.A. in East Asian Studies. Post-graduation, Seth lived for six months in London, before settling down in Philadelphia to work in telecommunications.
Seth was an active lay-leader at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, receiving the "Young Adult of the Year Award" from the UUA's Joseph Priestley District in 2007. In addition to working in London for six months, Seth has traveled and volunteered internationally, spending his junior year of college studying in Japan, and spending a month in China in the summer of 2006 volunteering as an English teacher for underprivileged high school students.
Seth is currently finishing up his first year at Andover Newton Theological School, where he is studying to become a UU minister. Seth decided to become a member of First Parish Watertown because of the welcoming community, meaningful worship and excellent sermons.
Lani Gerson moved to Watertown with her husband, Joseph Gerson, daughter Hannah and grandson Mateo one year ago. Years ago Lani worked in the Main Library and all of the now closed branches of Watertown’s library system. The move to Watertown was partly due to fond memories and good experiences, as well as because of good friends who live here.
It has taken Lani a good 40 years to be able to even consider such a notion as joining any church given the fact that she is a recovering ex-Mormon! Born in Utah to fourth generation Mormons, Lani as a teenager fled that stifling and narrow religious path. She married Joseph, a “Jewish atheist of Buddhist inclinations” who has spent his entire life working as a peace scholar and organizer – mostly for the Quaker organization, the American Friends Service Committee – forty-two years ago.
In addition to Hannah, Joseph and Lani have a son Leon who lives in Arlington and is a struggling writer who waits tables and bartends. He laughingly calls himself a MorJew – but, like his father, finds an affinity with Buddhism. Mioko is the other member of the family. She came from Japan as a foreign student fifteen years ago and lived with them for 12 years.
Now completing her twentieth year as a library teacher in the Newton schools, Lani is, in the words of Catherine Bateson, “composing the rest of her life”. With retirement just beginning to come into view, she is thinking of how to spend her time and energy, what new areas to explore, and what causes to take on. She is appreciative of the kindness of folks in the First Parish for welcoming her, Hannah and Mateo.
Hannah Gerson with her son Mateo, who is almost two years of age, moved to Watertown with her parents one year ago. She grew up in Cambridge and is currently going to cosmetology school and plans to be a hair stylist. Hannah was born in Natal, Brazil and was adopted by Lani and Joseph when she was two weeks old.
Neil Zarin and Ginger Burns live in Watertown with their puppy, Lily Coco Chanel. Neil volunteers at The Perkins School several hours each week. He belongs to a UU Men's group which has met weekly for over 12 years.
Neil and Ginger transferred to FPW from the Belmont UU Church. Ginger works with at-risk children at the Tufts Dental School. Neil and Ginger are avid travelers and foodies. Grandparenting, however, eclipses travel and food. Neil's two son's and their families live in MA and ME.
Change in Dates For Summer Services
Dates for our summer services have shifted and now will be six weeks in a row from July 12 to August 16:
July 12, 19, 26
August 2, 9, 16
Summer services begin at 9:30am to beat the heat.
Please contact Jeanne Cleary, Co-chair of Worship Committee, with your topic, ideas or any questions you might have about the possibility of leading one of our summer services. Charlyn and Guy are available for music assistance if needed. These are fun, intimate and creative services. If you are not planning on leading one, be sure not to miss these gatherings when you are in town!
The 2009 Boston Pride Parade
Martha Scott and David Morrison invite all to join them in standing up for gay rights and equal marriage. They will attend the Boston Gay Pride Saturday June 13rd. Meet them at First Parish Watertown at 10 AM. They will walk over to the MBTA bus barn on Galen Street to take the # 504 express bus leaving 10:25 AM to Copley Square. The Arlington Street Church Service starts at 11AM and the parade through the South End and along Boylston Streets starts at Noon. David remembers an offering was taken at the Arlington Street Church Service.
From Martha and David:
“Last year we carried small signs saying "First Parish Watertown" and the words "Come Join Us". We plan to walk with other UU Church friends under a Unitarian Universalist Mass Bay District Banner.
May we suggest walking shoes and a hat, possibly sun glasses, a windbreaker, a water bottle and pocket money. We have some extra Charlie cards to help with the travel cost.”
Hope to see you there or send good wishes,
Martha and David
617-924-8075 David's cell
dvm274@rcn.com
Environmental Fair – Green gardening and dead cfl/battery collection on Sunday, June 7 during social hour.
Green Sanctuary members have invited Henrietta Light to lead a question and answer session on green gardening and lawns. We hope to start twenty minutes after Social Hour begins to allow all to attend who wish to join in the forty five minute discussion. Bring your questions.
Henrietta Light is an active member of Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety (WCES). WCES is a local non-profit group many fpw church members already support.
As an introduction for this gathering Henrietta writes:
“I look forward to sharing my enthusiasm for thoughtful care of the earth. For those who have never gardened there is an opportunity to start from scratch with earth friendly principals. One is to amend the soil, be it to grow edibles or ornamentals, with clean compost rather than with chemicals which feed the plant and deplete the soil. Another is to clean up the vegetable garden in the fall, but to let most of the spent perennials (some exceptions) stay messy---the snow is pretty on them, beneficial insects have winter nests, and seeds feed birds and make plants in spring. Then for the winter-weary there is garden clean-up work on a warm day in late February or early March. There are, of course, details and refinements to the above. I hope I can answer your questions, and encourage you to find infinite joy in the miracle of a garden.”
See you in church June 7th. Stay to talk with Henrietta about gardening and lawns. And bring your old cfl bulbs and dead batteries for recycling!
David Morrison,
Green Sanctuary Committee
Order of Worship
The Worship Committee is meeting Tuesday, June 30 at 7pm for a 2 hour meeting dedicated to discussing the order of worship. All are invited to attend for the first hour to offer input in person, or to email any worship committee member with thoughts on the sequence and timing of the order of worship. Members are Jeanne Cleary, Chris Johnson, Djalai Babazedah, Chuck Dickinson, and Paul Montesino and Eric Chipman.
Donor Recognition
The Finance Committee wishes to thank all the members and friends of First Parish listed below who have so generously made pledges to support the life of our church in this most difficult financial year. Despite these hard economic times we have received 68 pledges totaling more than $108,000, making this our second most successful canvass in church history. If you would at any time like to make a pledge in any amount during the year to enable First Parish to continue to play its important role in all of our spiritual lives, please
feel free to speak to our minister, Mark Harris or Bob Shay of the Finance Committee.
Karen Allendoerfer
Roberta and Michael Altamari
Mike and Anna Anctil
Brigitte Bender
David Benson and Nancy Dutton
Charlyn Bethell and Guy Urban
Gretchen Brown
Roberta Brown
Gwynne Burkhardt
Ginger Burns and Neil Zarin
Kathy Button
Holly Cachimuel
Matt and Katherine Calabro
John Chamberlin and Sara McSweeney
Eric Chipman
Marianne and Michael Collins
Peter Cudhea
Paul Dansereau and Julie Miller
Paul Day and Norah Mulvaney Day
Sue and Joe Demb
Chuck Dickinson and Lynn Bratley
Diane Dussault
Johanna Erickson
Jim Felty
Judi Fitts
Susan Flint and Nick Haddad
Lani and Hannah Gerson
Anna Glover-McDade
Tom Goodwillie and Tesi Kohlenberg
Victoria Grafflin-Conway
Jeanne Cleary and Barry Greess
Barbara Hansberry and David Leon
Anne Harrington
Mark Harris and Andrea Greenwood
Kyle and Johanna Hart
Brian Hebeisen and Elizabeth Strekalovsky
Virginia Howe
Judy and Roger Kamm
Sachie Karmacharya
Carole Katz
Anna Knight
Jane Knuttunen
Sue Kuder
Betty Latner
Meryl Libbey
Susan Lind-Sinanian
Michael McCarthy
Jean Merkl and John Gorman
Paul Montesino
Kyle and Kelly Morton
Lee Pierce
Silke and Andreas Plesch
John Portz and Meredith Montague
Charmian Proskauer
Wendell Refior
Eileen Ryan
Michael Schade
Mary Schlivek
Martha Scott and David Morrison
Jill Shaw and Barbara Farrell
Bob and Missy Shay
Elizabeth and Isabel Tappan-deFrees
Nancy Teeven
Patricia Turner
Will and Sue Twombly
Martha Urban
Ken and Jerusha Vogel
Kathy and David Warren
BREAD AND .... roses!
Do you like bread? Do you believe it is a virtue to not waste food? We have an opportunity for you!! For several years now people from First Parish have gone to Panera Bread at the Arsenal on Sunday nights to pick up the unsold products from the day. The bread, rolls, cookies, and bagels are then brought home and packaged up, and delivered to 55 Waverly Street, where it is distributed to residents of public housing. One of our volunteers can no longer continue; we would like a replacement so that each set of volunteers can continue to help out once a month. Is this a job for you? Responsibilities include being at Panera at 7:50 on Sunday night, bringing big bags of food home, packaging it up, and delivering it on Monday morning. They open at 8:30am. Each set of volunteers does this once a month. Benefits, beyond the good feeling, include a few bagels.... or cookies.... or BOTH!
If you can help, please call or email Nancy at the church office 617-924-6143, FPWatertown@comcast.net
Bring Back Water
Please remember to collect some water from the place where your summer travels take you. Near or far please fill a small container with water from the place you visit so that you can share the life flowing spirit of your summer adventure. Our Water Service will be on Sunday, September 13 at 11:00 a.m.
Rummage Sale a Success
Thank you to all who helped with the Rummage Sale on May 2. We had lots of help setting up Friday night and Saturday morning, selling during the day, and then cleaning up! Many hands made light work. And of course there would be no sale without your donations, so many thanks to all who donated items for sale. This is one of the church fundraisers that we rely on, and thanks to all who contributed their time and their goods, we are happy to report that we made $1200.
Hymnals: Setting up for services
Thanks to Charlyn Bethell, we now have a library cart to use for easier distribution and collection of hymnals on Sundays, to say nothing of more orderly storage! We are trying this out for the rest of the church season, so greeters, please take note!
The cart is stored in the hallway between the sanctuary and the meeting room (where there used to be folding chairs stored).
It can be rolled down the center aisle of the chairs so that hymnals may be more comfortably distributed without hauling large piles around the sanctuary. Stored at the back of the church during service, it can then be rolled back down the center aisle to collect the hymnals and stored back in its cubby in the hallway.
Note to service attendees: at the end of service, please pass your hymnals to the chairs on the center aisle and it will ease the collection!
Thank you for your cooperation as we try to make the greeters' job a little simpler and less back-breaking!
Clean Up Day
Thanks to the following people who participated in the Spring Work Day on May 9, 2009: From the Buildings and Grounds Committee: Michael McCarthy, David Benson, Kathy Button, David Morrison, and Nick Haddad. Also, Martha Scott and Randy Rhoda. The weather was great and everyone worked hard.
The group pulled weeds, mulched the bushes on either side of the front steps, trimmed suckers from trees on the front lawn, raked leaves that had accumulated on the grounds during the winter and early spring, and continued the battle against the invading "Tree of Heaven" (Ailanthus Altissima), a gift from central China. (I have no idea. Maybe part of the railroad deal?)
We also launched an experiment: some of the yews have a commercial "weed block" fabric under the mulch and some have a greener recycled newspaper weed block. We'll see how the two approaches compare.
Tour of Armenian Library and Museum of America
Come join FPW member, Susan Lind-Sinanian for a tour of the Armenian Library and Museum of America at 65 Main St. On Sunday June 7, after service about 1:00 we will gather to walk over to the museum. Susan and her husband Gary, Curators at ALMA will be glad to be your guides to see the treasures in our own back yard. The permanent exhibits include, "Who Are the Armenians", a Genocide Memorial, and Musical Instruments. Artists from the Newton Art Association are featured on the third floor art gallery and many other cultural artifacts are on display. For more details there is a flier on the bulletin board or you may contact Susan for more information at slindsinanian@yahoo.com
Fourth of July in Wellfleet
If you have not finalized your summer vacation plans, why not think of getting away for a week from 7/4-7/11. We have a three bedroom house on a salt marsh that sleeps 8 and is close to all that Wellfleet has to offer. Price negotiable. Call Nancy Dutton or David Benson at 617-926-9254 or send an email to njdutton@comcast.net.