Biweekly Newsletter May 28, and June 4, 2015 

As we edge our way toward summer, our life together here at First Church shifts as befits the season.  As of June 21st our services move from Sanctuary to Parish Hall where, to catch a bit of the coolness of morning, we will begin worship at 10:00 a.m.  By the end of June, weekly church office hours will be reduced, made possible by what we hope will be a lighter work load until late August.  In keeping with traditions of summer time, our front lawn becomes a "porch" full of music on July 11 as we take part in Jamaica Plain Porchfest, a music and arts festival held on porches all around Jamaica Plain.  May this summer bring you such gifts of this season - blessed relief found in the cool of morning, moments that need not be filled by usual routines of busyness, and joy in the gifts of the human spirit such as those music brings.
WORSHIP SERVICES

SUNDAY May 31, 2015 11am
Sermon: Future Present  

Believe it or not this sermon includes a look at our annual meeting, lifting up deeper meanings in the numbers on paper and words on the page. And more than that, we'll begin an exploration of this question: Whose lives do we intend to change and in what ways? The service includes a New Member welcome ceremony for those joining First Church.

 

Young Church: Our children will be in the service for our New Member ceremony. Then they will go for their morning's activities.  Child care for our youngest is available in the Morse Room.

 

The Choir: Anthem will be "Woyaya", written by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock:

  "We are going, heaven knows where we are going, but we know within..."

 

Coffee Hour: 

A time of fellowship will follow the worship services in the Dining Room. Our hosts will be: The Welcoming Committee:

Paul Miller 
Abby Krueger 
Alta McDonald 
Emily Gallagher 
Minda Sanchez 

 

Sunday June 7, 2015 11am 

Sermon: On the Side of Love

In the spirit of Boston Pride 2015, this service focuses on marriage equality, the vote in Ireland, the upcoming Supreme Court decision and a little bit of our own Unitarian Universalist story in support of marriage equality. We welcome local singer/songwriter Terry Kitchen to this service.  In our Time for All Ages, Terry will sing his song Billy - the story of a grade school boy who sends a valentine to another boy. Terry is performing at this evening's Eliot Street Soiree.


 

Following the service, our monthly Communion will be held in the Sanctuary.  All are welcome.

 

Young Church: 

Following the Time for All Ages, our children will go to their morning activities.  Child care for our youngest will be available in the Morse Room.


Choir: The anthem will be "Everything Possible" by Fred Small, sung by Time Williamson 

  "...you can be anybody that you want to be;
    you can love whomever you will..."

 

Coffee Hour:

A time of fellowship will follow the worship services in the Dining Room.  
 
WELCOMING BREAKFAST
Sunday May 31st, 9:30 a.m.

 

All are invited to join us in the Dining Room for breakfast - longtime church members, first-time visitors, and everyone in between. We'll share a delicious morning meal as we build community and get to know each other a little better.  This is also an opportunity to lavish a little extra attention on those souls who have recently joined or are joining the church this morning. Bring your appetites. We'll provide food and beverages. Children welcome! Please RSVP to Paul Miller at pmmille2@yahoo.com. Longtime members and friends, let Paul know if you can bring a dish.

YOU'RE INVITED!

 

Spring Fair

On June 6, First Church will host a variety of local artists and craftspeople for a fabulous Spring Fair. Come enjoy the day surrounded by creativity and beauty! Come and support local artisans whose creations will be for sale. Save the date!  See you there!
 

 

The Spring Fair needs you, and you need the Spring Fair.  A beautiful object, a friendly smile, a chance to be part of the church reaching the community. Please:

  1. Publicize - tell your your friends, inform your newsletters, and get flyers up everywhere (see above). Here's a script you can use, but make it yours:
    "I'm part of a great community event on Saturday June 6th, it's a craft fair, with amazing vendors, you have such good taste you'll love it.  We can have lunch -  and  goodies. You won't want to miss the treasures! It's from 11 AM to 4 PM - you really want to be there." 
  2. Sign up for shift - we need car un-loaders and people to work the gates 
  3. Be bold! Be a sandwich - we want everyone in JP Center to know about our event - it will look great on your resume - walk around with a sandwich board engaging people and passing out postcards - sign up for a shift.
  4. Come!!!

Food at Spring Fair

Can you help with food at the June 6th Spring Fair? Please let Margaret know if you are willing to make something to contribute, help serve and/or clean up.    Email margaret at: margaretsuby@msn.com.  


JP Forum Cancelation
Announcement:

Friday, May 29th, 7-9pm

Listen Yankee: Why Cuba Matters with Tom Hayden has been cancelled.


JP Forum Presents:

Tuesday, June 2nd 7-8:30pm
Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt with Chris Hedges 

Popular uprisings in the United States and around the world are inevitable in the face of environmental destruction and wealth polarization. 


 




Food Pantry
Our most popular item at Food Pantry has always been pasta sauce! Donations of a jar or two of any brand of pasta sauce are needed and welcome at all times. Thanks so much in advance for bringing some in.

 

Eliot Street Soir?e
Come join us for a very special Eliot Street Soir?eSunday, June 7th, 6pm here at First Church.


 

Yoga at First Church
We will continue yoga on Wednesday evenings through May, from 6:30pm to 7:45pm, for $10. If you are interested in participating email Margaret: 

margaretsuby@gmail.com or 
Carol:cbell2@partners.org. Please join us! 

Young Adult Group 
Please join in our conversation as we create a closer young adult community by providing a space to discuss how we fit in with religion, faith, social issues, and more at this transitional stage of life. We will look for opportunities to assist in congregational functions, host intergenerational dialogue, be a part of community outreach, and more! Meetings are held after Sunday services, part way through social hour. Look for Anna Lawrence or Alicen Roberts. Questions? Contact Anna: annakathleen3@gmail.com.

 

JP Porchfest

We are excited to announce the participation of First Church as a "host porch" in the 2nd annual JP Porchfest. In its first year, the Jamaica Plain Porchfest featured 65 bands/solo musicians on 35 porches to a roving audience of 7000 people, and this year they're looking to make it even bigger! We'll be hosting four local bands/performers on the front lawn, Saturday, July 11th (rain date July 12th) from 1:00 to 4:00pm.  Stay tuned for more details or visit: www.jpporchfest.org.

SUMMER SERVICES
Summer Services begin June 21st.  Please note: These services begin at 10AM (an hour earlier than usual) in the Parish Hall to take advantage of the cooler part of the day.   The tentative schedule of preachers is as follows:
June 21st - Margaret Suby and David Dorney
June 28th- Ghanda DiFiglia 
July 5th- Karl Haakonsen
July 12th- George Smith
July 19th- Lyra O'Brien
July 26th- Abby Krueger
August 2nd- Patrick Simmons
August 9th- Pamela Kristan
August 16th- Paul Miller
August 23rd- Ista Zhan
August 30th- Roy Lincoln Karp
September 6th- Alisa McGann
A special thank you to all of you volunteering to lead a service!  If you would like to be involved with Summer Services in some way, but aren't sure how, please reach out to Alisa McGann at  akmcgann@yahoo.com

 
EMBRACE OUR FUTURE:

The First Church Capital Campaign

 

As we move along into what feels like real summer, our capital campaign moves along as well.  Since the campaign kicked-off in April, most of the steward visits to members and friends have been completed, with a total pledge of approximately $ 300,000.00, an amount that moves us closer to our campaign goal of $350,000. We know we can meet this goal! If you are still considering pledging to the campaign, please do so before the Annual Meeting, which will be held on Sunday, June 7. To arrange a campaign visit, contact Margaret Suby at margaretsuby@msn.com, or contact the First Church office. Donations to the campaign may also be mailed to the church or placed in the Sunday collection baskets.
 

Our financial goal for the campaign is ambitious, because our dreams and plans for the Church and for ourselves are ambitious.  Once we complete this phase of the campaign,  active solicitation to members and friends, we will reach out to community organizations, businesses, long-term church renters, and grant-funding organizations to continue raising funds to meet, or exceed our goal.
 

If you have pledged to the campaign already, thank you.  Your contributions will help us begin the work on the church soon, and show to the community that First Church members and friends have firmly come forward to support the campaign. If you are thinking about giving, please let us know.  The future of First Church is here, today, ready to be embraced.


WE ARE SEEKING 

ARE YOU AN AMATEUR VIDEO BUG? The capital campaign is seeking someone who would like to help put together a short, simple video for our crowd sourcing campaign. You do not need to be an expert (and the video doesn't need to be polished for maximum effect). If you think it would be fun to work on this with us, we'd love your help on this finite, short term project. Help the campaign reach its goal and join in! Contact Penny Wells pennywells@aol.com or Betsy McDowell frango58@hotmail.com.
 



CALENDAR OF EVENTS
  • May 31, 9:30am Welcome breakfast.
  • June 6, 2015 11am - 4pm: First Church Spring Fair.  Crafts and more. Details to come.
  • June 24-28, The annual General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Portland, Oregon. 
  • July 11, 1:00 - 4:00pm JP Porchfest.