Newsletter of the First Parish Church, Bridgewater, MA, Unitarian Universalist February 2014 2/1/14 8pm Off the Com- mon Coffee House feat. Greg Greenway 2/2/14 6pm Game Night at First Parish 2/8/14 2pm Tupperware Fundraiser at FP 2/15/14 5pm Empty Bowls Community Meal at First Parish 2/16/14 12pm New UU Classes at First Parish 2/19/14 6pm RE Field Trip to USKCON in Boston From the Minister Highlights “I’ve decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When I read those words of Dr. King, my heart grows full. I feel the right- ness of his words in my body. Love fills and warms the heart of the lover and of the beloved, be it a single person, a community, or, I believe, the very universe itself. Love widens and expands all in its reach, filling what is empty. Hate fills in a different way, becomes a heaviness that weighs down, closes in, occupies space so that there is not room for that which is growing and healthy and life-affirming. Hate shrinks the hater. King is right. It is too great a burden to bear. And yet we chose it, over and over again. The power and the beauty of Unitarian Universalism is how it addresses that. Rather than railing at us to love our neighbors (although it certainly acknowledges that to be a good idea), or chastising us for hating, it refo- cuses our attention on behavior. Rather than telling us to love, it encourages us to do the behaviors that love would engender; to engage in the practices that grow a full heart and heal the world’s hurts. Our faith has understood the axiom that it is easier to act one’s way into a new feeling than it is to feel one’s way into a new action. In this month of Valentine’s Day, when we are in the midst of the UUA’s “ 30 Days of Love” that asks us to practice acts of love of service in some way every day, I encourage you to take the practice seriously. King is right. It is easier on the heart to stick with love. And our faith is right, that even when we are not feeling loving we can still do acts of love. My faith, and my experience tell me that such acting is the surest route we know to loving. With love and blessings, Rev. Anita
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Newsletter of the First Parish Church, Bridgewater, MA, Unitarian Universalist February 2014
2/1/14 8pm Off the Com-mon Coffee House feat. Greg Greenway 2/2/14 6pm Game Night at First Parish 2/8/14 2pm Tupperware Fundraiser at FP 2/15/14 5pm Empty Bowls Community Meal at First Parish 2/16/14 12pm New UU Classes at First Parish 2/19/14 6pm RE Field Trip to USKCON in Boston
From the Minister Highlights
“I’ve decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When I read those words of Dr. King, my heart grows full. I feel the right-ness of his words in my body. Love fills and warms the heart of the lover and of the beloved, be it a single person, a community, or, I believe, the very universe itself. Love widens and expands all in its reach, filling what is empty. Hate fills in a different way, becomes a heaviness that weighs down, closes in, occupies space so that there is not room for that which is growing and healthy and life-affirming. Hate shrinks the hater. King is right. It is too great a burden to bear. And yet we chose it, over and over again. The power and the beauty of Unitarian Universalism is how it addresses that. Rather than railing at us to love our neighbors (although it certainly acknowledges that to be a good idea), or chastising us for hating, it refo-cuses our attention on behavior. Rather than telling us to love, it encourages us to do the behaviors that love would engender; to engage in the practices that grow a full heart and heal the world’s hurts. Our faith has understood the axiom that it is easier to act one’s way into a new feeling than it is to feel one’s way into a new action. In this month of Valentine’s Day, when we are in the midst of the UUA’s “30 Days of Love” that asks us to practice acts of love of service in some way every day, I encourage you to take the practice seriously. King is right. It is easier on the heart to stick with love. And our faith is right, that even when we are not feeling loving we can still do acts of love. My faith, and my experience tell me that such acting is the surest route we know to loving.
Worship Committee News February Worship Services: February 2 – “Beyond Darwin: Evolution and Religion” with Rev. Rachel February 9 – “Wrestling with One of Jesus’ Puzzles” with Rev. Richard Trudeau February 16 – with Rev. Anita Farber-Robertson February 23 – “It’s About Time” with Sam Baumgarten
Lay Worship Leaders & Ushers for the Month: February 2 – Sam Baumgarten with Ushers Joe Snyders & Alan Yabroudy February 9 – Betty Gilson with Ushers Pat & Jack Hart February 16 – Mary Maruska with Ushers Paul & Lisa Foos February 23 – Korin Zigler with Ushers Frank Baxter & Matt or Lauren Foster Note: If you are unable to usher that morning, we request that you find a substitute. If unable to do so, please notify Tom St. Thomas or Rev. Rachel by phone or email.
Pre-service Announcements: In order to allow the maximum time for worship and Religious Education, announce-ments will begin promptly at 10:25 a.m. If you have an announcement, please be sure it’s submitted to the Lay Worship Leader by 10:15 a.m. Also, keep these as brief as possible and use the forms at the Sanctuary entrance. If announcements are too long, the Lay Worship Leader has the discretion to edit and shorten them.
The Worship Committee meetings: The next regular meeting of the Worship Committee: Thursday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. Members and friends are cordially invited to attend our meetings.
Committee members: Rev. Rachel Tedesco, Chair; Denise Haskins, Stefan Michaud, David Page, Tom St. Thomas and Rev. Anita Farber-Robertson.
Save the Dates- Tuesdays, March 11 – April 15!!
Bible Study! Really? At First Parish?
Yes!!!
How much do you really understand about Jesus? What makes his story so compelling more than 2000 years later? Is the Jesus you may have left years ago different from the Jesus you could encoun-ter and understand today?
Messiah Baptist Church will join us for our six weeks of Bible Study here, at First Parish.
Rev. Anta will lead us in a study of Jesus’ final week of life using the book the Last
Week, by renowned and incredibly accessible biblical scholars Marcus Borg and John
Dominic Crossan.
A sign-up sheet for the program will be available in the Upper Parish Hall.
LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING! All are welcome:
ISKCON the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Boston, holds a celebra-tion every Wednesday night that is free and open to the public.
The evening begins at 6:30 (doors open at 6:15) with a lecture that comes from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the holy books of the Hindu religion. The Tem-ple is located at 72 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02116, this very exciting oppor-
tunity to begin to explore the Hindu religion. All are welcome, please RSVP to Victoria at [email protected] or call her, 508-717-2401.
We, the 7-8th Graders and Youth Group will be meeting at the church at 4:30pm Wednesday, February 19th. Please bring $9.00 for the train and also money for an offering at the Temple.
We will be taking the 5pm train in to Boston and will walk a few blocks to the Temple, 72 Commonwealth Ave, Boston MA 02116. Please RSVP to Victoria at [email protected].
Peter Jacobson and Victoria Capon will be chaperons along with any parents who wish to attend. All children and adults are welcome but younger than 13 need to be accompanied by an adult. Ask Victoria or Peter Jacob-son for a permission slip.
We are very lucky to have the opportunity to join Messiah Baptist Church in participating in the Katie Brown Education Program, an interactive, hands on curriculum!
*Sign your children and youth up now for:
"Shaking The Fake: Empowering Youth to Build Healthy Relationships" “Based on the belief that education is the foundation and channel for permanent change in attitudes and be-haviors, the Katie Brown Education Program promotes respectful relationships by teaching alternatives to re-lationship violence.” - Katie Brown Educational Program Mission Statement, http://www.kbep.org/
Some focal points in the curricula: » Types of violence » Rights in relationships » Personal power and self-esteem » Conflict resolution » Bullying and peer relational aggression » Standing up for yourself versus fighting back » Components of healthy relationships, including friendship and dating » Taking responsibility for choices and actions » Healthy expression of anger » Expectations of dating relationships » Stereotypes/the media’s portrayal of gender roles » The cycle of violence and warning signs
The individual curriculum is modified to meet and support children and youth in an age appropriate manner. The program can be offered to children as young as 4 or 5 if at least 10 children in that age range register (including other churches). The age limit is 18 years old.
re re
Please join us: Parent info session, Sunday February 2nd, at noon First UU Church, Bridgewater Lower Parish Hall
And for the program: Friday, March 28th 6:30-8:30pm and Saturday the 29th 12:30-3:30 And let’s begin this valuable journey together! Location Still to be Determined *To sign your children up please email Victoria Capon: [email protected]
If you are interested in hosting a Coffee Hour, but are hesitant about the amount of goodies you might need to provide, Mary Hatfield would love to help out. Although she wouldn't be able to do set up or clean up, she would be glad to provide some of the food and beverages. Please contact Mary at (508) 378-3474 if you would like to arrange for her to help in this way.
BTV-9 VIDEOS OF FIRST PARISH SUNDAY SERVICES
Bridgewater Cable TV Channel 9 broadcasts First Parish Sunday services on the fol-lowing schedule:
If you don't live in Bridgewater or don't subscribe to cable TV, you can watch the Sunday services on the BTV-9 website. Just go to www.btvaccess.com and click on "Video", then click "Video on Demand". Click "All Folders" and then use the drop down tab to click on "Religious", where you'll find church services for Bridgewater churches including First Parish.
CAROLGRAMS were a continued success in raising $915.00 to help support the music program at First Par-
ish. THANK YOU to all who helped make and deliver and donate for lovely carols, in harmony, by phone and by door, to friends and family near and far. Some responses: "Wow!" "Fabulous!" "Beautiful" and "You're doing a wonderful thing". So THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support, and Happy New Year from the Music Commit-tee :)
Empty Bowls Community Meal: Saturday, February 15th (snow date Sunday, February 16th) 5pm First Parish Bridgewater For a donation of $10.00, everyone is invited to join us for a meal of soup, bread, and a beverage. Included in this price is a bowl of your choice, a keepsake to remind us of the good work of Empty Bowls, wherein funds were raised to address and prevent hunger in Bridgewater and Brockton. All proceeds will be split 50/50 between the Bridgewater Food Pantry and the Messiah Baptist Church food pan-try. This project was generously funded by the Bridgewater Cultural Council and supported by the Parish Commit-tee of FPB. Read more about the project and find great photos at: http://www.firstparishbridgewater.org/empty-bowls-2014 And if you want to contribute a pot of soup or bread for the meal, contact Victoria Capon at [email protected].
Rev. Anita is on site in Bridgewater on the second, third, and fourth Tuesday and Thursday of every month and the first and third Sundays of every month. On the first full week of the month, Rev. Anita is off. Also, staff meetings are held each Tuesday from 12:30 –2:30pm. All regular business should be handled before or after the fourth week. Emergencies of course come up, and she understands that. Your help in protecting her time is appreciated.
GREEN SANCTUARY TIP of the MONTH
Cutting back on eating animals products will help to limit environmental problems, including greenhouse gases, that are created during their production. The United Nations report, Livestock's Long Shadow - Environmental Issues and Options, released in 2006, stated that the meat industry is “one of the most significant contributors to today’s serious environmental prob-lems" and that "urgent action is required to remedy the situation. The report states that the livestock sector is one of the top contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degra-dation, climate change and air pollution, water shortages and pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Wikipedia.com quote)
A good resource is the Meatless Monday website: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
"NEW UU CLASSES"
Another series of classes in Unitarian Universalism will be held on Sunday afternoons on February 16 and March 2 from 12 - 2:30 p.m. in the Lower Parish Hall. A light lunch will be provided. We'll share our own spiritual jour-neys that led us to explore Unitarian Universalism, the history and principles of our faith, and the inner workings of our own church, First Parish. These classes are very important for those people who are considering becom-ing members of our church, but are open to all, and everyone is encouraged to attend. Please consider that, in order to participate in any congregational vote, including the vote to confirm our new settled minister, you must be a member of the church for at least 30 days. Please contact Jan Thompson [email protected] (508) 697-2492 or Rev. Anita through the church office to sign up and let us know if you will need child care.
OUR BOOK STORE (AND MUCH MORE)
If you have ever gone to the church website www.firstparishbridgewater.org and looked at the bottom of the page, you may have noticed the words "Buy from Amazon". This is not an advertisement. It's a way to help First Parish raise some money. If you go to Amazon through that link, the church will receive 10% from the sale. This includes books, toys, clothing, ink cartridges, food, appliances and whatever else you purchase from Amazon. Not only you, but friends and family can help First Parish if you let them know about this opportunity.
Located in the Upper Parish Hall at First Parish Church 50 School Street, Bridgewater
February 1, 2014 at 8pm Potluck dinner at 6:30pm
featuring
Greg Greenway
Admission: $13
Enjoy our homemade Refreshments
Sign up for open mike!
Coming Attractions
March 1—Riley Coyote (w/Stuart Ferguson)
April 5—Annalivia (duo) and Ari & Mia (split bill; tickets $15.00) May 3—Bill Staines
From the Parish Committee: Join a Committee!
We often note that First Parish is blessed with a strong committee structure, which provides abundant opportu-nities for doing meaningful and enjoyable work for the church, the community, and the denomination. Every-one in the church, members and friends, should be on at least one committee, as a way of getting acquainted with this important aspect of church life.
The Church Council, which is made up of the chairmen of each of the First Parish committees, recently met to create the calendar of activities for the remainder of the church year (through June 2014). One look at the list activities and it is clear why there is a need for volunteers. The Council identified 20 committees that are in op-eration currently. The Council also identified the following "Task Force" groups that will need to be formed soon:
General Assembly and Denominational Affairs (for June GA in Providence) Planning Group for Rev. Anita's Leaving (Closing Event, etc.) Committee for 300th Anniversary Celebration in 2016
A Committee Fair is being planned for after church early in February. At the Fair you will be able to talk with committee chairs and find out first hand how you could make great use of your talents. Special attention will be given to the first two task force groups above, because they each have a fairly tight time frame to work in.
Please check your weekly church e-mail messages for more details--and be thinking about joining. Thanks, Bob Messing Parish Committee President
MAINSPRING HOUSE LUNCHES Monday, February 3 at 9am MainSpring House lunches will be made in the LPH. Volunteers and donations al-ways welcome. Betty Gilson
PEACE VIGIL COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, February 3 at 7pm the Peace Vigil Committee will be meeting at the home of Betty Gilson. New members are welcome. Join us as we start our plans for the 2014 Peace Celebration to be held September 19 - 21.
FULL SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, February 6 at 7pm the full Social Justice Committee will meet at First Parish. Each branch is re-quested to send at least one member to report on plans for the rest of the church year. We will also be working on plans for the Justice Sunday Service on March 23.
COMMUNITY CONDOLENCES ...Edith Payne, the mother of Sally Payne and grandmother of Michelle Dempsey, died on January 16 at 98.
...Ann Thomas's mother died on January 15 following a long illness. HEALING WISHES ...Janice Faith is recovering from reconstructive ankle surgery.
MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME Have you noticed the comfy places to sit in our newly created Conversational Corner in Parish Hall? Long time members, Jim and Carlene Moore, read Bridging regularly, saw our request and responded to our need. Thank you Jim and Carlene. Hope they come and sit in our corner sometime soon!
SAVE THIS DATE Wednesday, March 26 (snow date April 2) at 7pm will be the next showing of the important film "The House I Live In". Those of you who were at the January 5th screening agreed that First Parish should present this thoughtful video about mass incarceration and its repercussions in society to a wider audience. Therefore, we will be inviting the community - especially people in law enforcement, public service, and social agencies - to join us for this event. After the one hour film there will be discussion of ways to address the problems of mass incarceration. One of the chief leaders in the discussion will be Jack Cole, the founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Karen Cruz and Sonia D'Alarcao have heard him speak at the Arlington UU Church about the War on Drugs, prison reform, and related concerns. They were very impressed by his message. Invite friends, family and colleagues (above the age of 18) to join us for this evening. For further information about LEAP visit www.leap.cc/
It's a TUPPERWARE PARTY!!! Please join us from 2-4 PM at First Parish on Saturday, February 8 for a Tupperware Fundraiser! This is a great way to replenish your supply of great food storage products, AND support First Parish! 40% of ALL proceeds go to First Parish! Spread the word! Bring a friend! Bring LOTS of friends! Join in on the FUN! Hope to see you all there! (If you have any questions or want more information, please contact Kat Gillespie)
February 2014 Calendar Saturday, February 1 8pm Off the Common Coffee House featuring Greg Greenway (potluck dinner at 6:30pm) Sunday, February 2 9am Choir Practice 10:30am “Beyond Darwin: Evolution and Religion” with Rev. Rachel Tedesco Noon Parent information meeting in the LPH regarding the Katie Brown Education Program 7pm Game Night at First Parish Monday, February 3 9am MainSpring House lunches prepared in the LPH. Donations and Volunteers always welcome. 7pm Peace Vigil Committee will meet at the home of Betty Gilson 7:30pm Facilities Committee Mtg Thursday, February 6 7pm Full Social Justice Committee will meet at First Parish Saturday, February 8 2-4pm Tupperware Party Fundraiser at First Parish 8th grade and Youth Group dinner at Messiah Baptist (time TBA) Sunday, February 9 9am Choir Practice 10:30am “Wrestling with One of Jesus’ Puzzles” with Rev. Richard Trudeau Monday, February 10 7:30pm Green Sanctuary Committee will meet at the home of Janet Dye Tuesday, February 11 5:30pm RE Committee will meet at First Parish 7:30pm Worship Committee meeting at First Parish Saturday, February 15 5pm Empty Bowls Community Meal at First Parish Church Sunday, February 16 9am Choir Practice 10:30am Worship Service with Rev. Anita Farber-Robertson 12-2:30pm New UU Classes at First Parish Wednesday, February 19 6:30pm RE program field trip to ISKCON in Boston (train leaves at approximately 4:30pm) Sunday, February 23 9am Choir Practice 10:30am “It’s About Time” with Sam Baumgarten Thursday, February 27 7:30pm Parish Committee will meet at the church Friday, February 28 RE Space Clean-up—time TBA
