The First Religious Society Newsletter
The Steeple Biweekly

Scroll down to find these news sections. 
  • Sunday Worship
  • From Your Minister
  • Summer at FRS
  • Joys and Sorrows 
  • Calendar of Events
  • Within Our Community
  • Journey of Faith
 

Sunday Worship

Sunday, June 19 at 10:30am
Compass
Closing Sunday of the Regular Church Year
"Not Farewell, Fare Forward!"
The temptation this morning will be to try to say it all, which for your sake and for my own, I will do my best to avoid. As so often over the last twenty-one years, I will turn to some poetry to try to express something of what I am sure I will be feeling. It is time to move on, both for me and for the FRS. T.S. Eliot wrote that "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." My final sermon will investigate the truth of Eliot's claim. John Mercer will offer a reading.--Harold Babcock

After the service: our traditional Closing Sunday cookout. Enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, and strawberry shortcake, and take a final opportunity to bid Harold farewell. Email leannasorcar@yahoo.com if you can contribute a salad, side dish, cut-up strawberries, biscuits, whipped cream, gluten-free hamburger and/or hot dog rolls, or lemonade. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket if you'd like.

Collection for Cause
Half of June's unpledged cash collection plate donations will go to Community Service of Newburyport, which provides a food pantry, clothing, emergency relief and referral services for people in need in Newburyport, Newbury, and West Newbury. In May, $1,208 was collected for Turning Point's Children's Campership.
From Your Minister--One Last Time

Dear Members and Friends of the First Religious Society,

Sabrina and I want to thank you for all the cards, gifts, and well wishes we have received as we prepare to retire. It has been a wonderful twenty-one years. I confess that this "long goodbye" has begun to take its toll emotionally (my fault for announcing my retirement so early!). Read more...
Joys and Sorrows
Gay pride rainbow

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected or touched by the shootings in Orlando, Florida. FRS members are invited to join a Community Vigil on Wednesday, June 15 at 7pm in Market Square, Newburyport. The Vigil is hosted by Mayor Donna Holaday and the Interfaith Council.

A memorial service for Betty Baker will be held on June 25 at 11am at the Needham (Great Plain Avenue) Congregational Church.
Summer at FRS

Summer schedule for our ministers
Harold will be attending the UUA General Assembly from June 20-26. On July 16, he leaves for Amsterdam to attend the bi-annual meeting of the International Council of UUs. This will be followed by an international ministers gathering. Read more...
 
Summer office hours begin June 20
As in past years, the office hours at church will be limited this summer to Tuesday through Thursday, 9am to noon. While you will likely see staff in the office at other times, we use the summer to complete larger projects and to catch up on work that isn't easily done during the church year. Diane Young will be away until August 22. Have a great summer!
 
Pastoral care over the summer
In the event of a pastoral care emergency, please call the church office (Nicole, Ext. 401 or Bill, Ext. 404). Do not call Harold's extension. The office will relay the information to the minister who is providing coverage. Coverage through the middle of July will be provided by Harold; from the middle of July to August 1, by area ministers; after August 1, by our Interim Minister Susan Milnor.
 
Summer steeple lightings
June 26: Diane Stowe-Cohn, in memory of Kenneth H. Cohn, MD
July 3: Florence and John Mercer, in memory of Erica Provencher
 
Summer services at Hampton Falls church
FRS does not hold services in the summer. Church here will reconvene on September 11. The First Congregational Society (UU) of Hampton Falls welcomes you to its summer services on Sundays at 10:45 a.m. Read more...
Calendar of Events

Friday, June 17: Book discussion group. Conference Room, 10am. Join the group as it begins a new title, to be read over many weeks: The Bible According to Mark Twain.

Friday, June 17: Chalice Circle potluck. Parish Hall, 6:30pm. RSVP to Walter Power. 

Sunday, June 19: Closing Sunday cookout. Patio, 11:30am.

Wednesday, June 22: Retired Ladies Lunch. Noon at Shea's in Essex. RSVP to Peg Mays, 978-462-5025. (July 20 at Sea Glass.)

June 23-26: General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Watch live-streamed events at FRS. See details in the section below.

During Yankee Homecoming: Book sale fundraiser. Your donations are welcome beginning June 21. Books may be left in the upstairs vestibule as long as they do not block doors or stairs. Enter the church through the office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 9am to noon. Organizer: Barbara Owen. Read more...

See the website calendar for a complete listing of events.
Within Our Community

Collecting memories for Harold
We'll be compiling a "Memory Book" for Harold that may include poems, sentiments, photos, memories...whatever you would like to share. Each contribution should be 8.5" X 11" (standard paper size) or less so we can add them to the book. We'll be collecting these until the end of the church year. You can drop them off at the church office through Friday, June 17.--The Harold Celebration Committee
 
A letter from a sister church for Harold's retirement
The First Universalist Church in Providence sent a delightful letter thanking FRS for an invitation to the "Celebration for our well-esteemed colleague...as he prepares to retire to the Elysian Fields, or perhaps Maine." Read more...

Interior of the Lower Meeting House to be painted
As one of the summer projects this year, the public areas of the Lower Meeting House will be painted. During July and early August access to that space will be limited. If you think you have a meeting scheduled in this space, please contact Nicole at x401 for updates on availability. Thanks for your patience.
 
The power of UUs at GA
If you are interested in attending any of the live-streamed events below, please RSVP! We need a head count so as to accommodate everyone. RSVP to Sophia Lyons by Monday, June 20. Thank you!

Join your FRS friends to view the live-streamed celebration of Harold's official end of ministry, called the "Service of the Living Tradition," at General Assembly (GA). BYOB (non-alcoholic), fellowship, singing, and the experience of 3,000 UUs celebrating! Thursday, June 23, at 7pm in the Lower Meeting House.  Read more...

Deadline for Alliance presenters is June 19
The Alliance welcomes applications for presenters for its 2016-17 season, from anyone in Newburyport and the surrounding area. Consider sharing your specialty with a one-hour presentation at one of the FRS Alliance's five Wednesday afternoon meetings. Send us a creative description of your topic and a brief biography. Photos or visual aids are encouraged. Wow us! Excite us! Email your application to Nicole Salemi.

Join our Phone Buddy program
Do you live alone? Would you feel safer and more secure if you were in regular contact with another member of the Beloved Community? Our Chalice Circle will help identify and put you in contact with another community member who is seeking someone to check in with on a regular basis. If you would like to be part of this, please contact Greg Garnache or Nancy Kidd. Read more...

Friendship Table crew laments well-oiled machine
Our last Friendship Table at the Salvation Army was held May 19. As of Sunday, nine people signed up to bring lasagnas and we needed thirteen. I wrote a few emails to people whom I know to be faithful contributors, and all was well. Thank you.  Everything went so well that I lamented to the kitchen crew that I was not going to be able to report on any drama. Read more...

John and Florence Mercer with Harold Babcock
Photo by Jay McCarthy
John and Florence Mercer receive Steeple Award
Harold Babcock gave this citation on June 5: "On behalf of the congregation of the First Religious Society, it gives me great pleasure to present the Steeple Award for Outstanding Church Service to John and Florence Mercer. The Steeple Award is awarded periodically to a person or persons 'who illustrate concern for and devotion to the First Religious Society by giving unselfishly of time and energy to the work of the church.' Read more... 
 
Chalice Circle has successful first year
The Chalice Circle Steering Committee is pleased to report a successful first year of Chalice Circle meetings. We recently surveyed the 80 members and facilitators to get feedback about the program, its value and its topics of discussion. Read more...

More service projects from our Chalice Circles
The Tuesday morning Chalice Circle has planted a garden behind the church. Freeman and Maureen Condon of Beach Plum designed the perfect area and provided plants at cost. Earth was tilled, raked, dug and planted with hydrangea, brunnera, hosta, ninebark, etc. Check it out!

A Young Church faith journey
Tess Broll
Tess Broll gave this talk as part of the Young Church service on May 15.
One of my most prominent childhood memories is of being forced into the back of our little Jetta and being dragged, kicking and screaming, to this church. I know how ridiculous this sounds, me standing up here saying this now, but in my defense I was in one of those phases where I was rebelling against everything my mother liked. I fought going to church as hard as I fought reading books and eating vegetables. Read more...

In the Tiny Gallery
Nina Tanis has installed Agnostic Liturgy, a site-specific sculpture made especially for the Tiny Gallery. The work's materials are string, yarn, water, plastic, wire, and glass.
 
Keep up with Program Council
We're building an email list for people interested in our new Program Council. If you haven't made a meeting yet and want to get updates, email Diane Young. The next meeting of the Program Council is Tuesday, September 6.
 
Climate Action Project (CAP) summer reading
What will we say to our grandchildren--when they ask where we were and what were we doing to combat climate change?
"The science is clear: catastrophic climate change is upon us...the fossil fuel industry has doubled down, economically and politically, on business as usual. We face an unprecedented situation... As an individual of conscience, how will you respond?" Read more...

Alliance seeks new officers
The Alliance is seeking a new president and vice-president for 2016-17. To express interest or find out more, contact Patty King, current Alliance president . Learn more about the Alliance.

James Funston's Journey of Faith

James Funston
This journey of faith begins before I was born. After her marriage, my mother, Margaret, abandoned the strict Scottish Presbyterian Faith of her family and ancestors, for the spiritual liberties of Quakerism to which my father, Arthur, had converted. 

My parents were not much given to explicit religious instruction.  Instead my Christian education came from my maternal grandmother who lavished much love on me and motivated my memorization of Bible verses with gifts of money. Thus to this day the text of the 23rd Psalm comes easily to mind. For both my grandmother and for me some of this was literary, for we both loved the language, imagery, and cadences of the King James Bible. Read more...
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