The Sloop's Log
 November 2018

Newsletter of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Scituate


 We aspire to be a beacon
of liberal religion, strong community,
and transformative service.
We aspire to be a Beacon of…..
 … Liberal Religion
Worship in November: “Gratitude”

All services begin at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary.
Children and youth begin in the sanctuary with the adults to share in the opening of worship, and then leave with their teachers for Religious Education. Nursery care is available upstairs for children over
18 months, but children are welcome to remain with parents.

All Souls Day - Sunday November 4          Our Complex Love     
Our annual multigenerational celebration of All Souls Day, when we remember loved ones who have died and our Universalist good news that they are still connected to us through love.  Pamela Barz will lead the service with Bill Ketchum and Elizabeth Dubuisson, and readers Richard Kermond, Sarah Lovell, and Mark McGuinness. Please email the names of people close to you who have died since last All Souls Day by Thursday, November 1st to the church office, firstparishscituate@verizon.net. You are invited to bring photographs and other mementos of people you are remembering to place in the sanctuary.  We could also use some pots of white mums for the sanctuary; please let Pamela Barz know if you plan to bring one. In honor of the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth, all the music will be by Bernstein, and in addition to the music of our choir, cellist Caroline Hine, violinist Donna Culley, and flutist Cathy Kang will offer music.

Claire Sherman will greet; Cathie McGowan and Vicki Davis will usher; and Sarah & Bob Murdock will host coffee hour.

Please remember to set your clock back one hour Saturday night.
 
Sunday November 11      Care Packages   The Rev. Ms. Merrie Allen, guest preacher
The sermon title is based on a passage from the Gospel of Mark (12:38-44), which is the familiar story of a widow who puts all that she has - two coins - into the synagogue treasury. One perspective on this story is of contrasting leadership styles. Our tumultuous political times invite thoughtful reflection on what constitutes good leadership. Kim Sullivan will assist her in the service.

The Rev. Merrie Allen is a retired United Church of Christ pastor, having most recently served the First Congregational Church in Stoneham. Merrie lives in Winchester where she raised two daughters. Meg now lives in Perth, Australia, with her own two daughters. Courtney lives in Los Angeles, and she too is raising two daughters. So Merrie spends a lot of time flying off to visit family! With her partner Jerry she enjoys museums, cooking, concerts, and reading among the many wonders that retirement affords. She counts herself blessed to have known Pam as a colleague and dear friend for the past 18 years.

The Choir will sing Season of the Grateful Heart. Joe Glennon and Liam Glennon will usher, and Ellen Isley will host coffee hour. We are in need of greeters.

Thanksgiving Sunday November 18 Heart Strings  The Rev. Ms. Judith Campbell
Judy Campbell returns to our pulpit to consider our hearts - how we continue to draw on its power and spiritual nourishment and how we use our hearts to stay in relationships even when we may differ. This sermon will help you get through difficult Thanksgiving dinners! Pamela Barz will lead the service with her.

Judy Campbell is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and the author of several books and articles. She has published children's stories and poetry, as well as numerous essays on the arts, religion, and spirituality. She holds a PhD in The Arts and Religious Studies and a Master of Arts in Fine Arts, and she offers writing workshops and spirituality retreats nationally and internationally.

The Choir will sing Canon of Thanks. Damian and Kim Sullivan will usher, and Jenn Bokavitch will host coffee hour. We are in need of greeters.

Sunday November 25                      What Are We Waiting For?
On the Sunday before Advent begins, we will look ahead to that season, greening the church and considering what good news we as Unitarian Universalists find in this season. Pamela Barz, preaching. Miles and Oliver Jones will usher, and Frank Kilduff will host coffee hour. We are in need of greeters. Our offering this morning supports the work of the UU Service Committee.

  Ministries of Hospitality

There are many opportunities for ministry each Sunday as we greet, create space for conversation, and add color to our worship. Please sign up to serve in the Sloop Room or online at the following:

Sign up to be a Greeter:  http://www.signupgenius.com/greeters
Sign up to host coffee hour:  http://www.signupgenius.com/coffeehour

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
From the Minister  
I am excited to share with you all the good news that I am one of 20 women clergy nationally to have been accepted into the 2018-2020 Women Touched by Grace program. This program, funded by the Lilly Endowment for Sustaining Excellence in Pastoral Leadership, brings together women of a variety of Protestant denominations (and I am the first UU accepted into it), to mentor one another and to explore ways to deepen and renew our spiritual practices. But the program isn’t only about my spiritual practice and how I live it out – it will also offer me tools to help our congregation root ourselves more deeply in spiritual values and ensure that our shared ministry comes out of those values. This will support the work the Parish Committee is already doing. 
 
I will be attending the first session on “Creating Community” Monday November 4 through Wednesday November 14 and will look forward to sharing what I’ve learned when I return.    
 
See you in Church,   
Pamela

Religious Education News


    

 We have continued our yearly religious education focus on the Bible. We have been recently learning about the story of Noah’s Arc and Joseph with the multi-colored coat. We, teachers, noticed the story of Joseph resonating with many of the children because of the theme of sibling relationships playing out in this ancient story.

We also looked at the Cain and Able story which was a good bridge story into our recent all religious education classes focus on death. Death is a difficult topic to discuss but in many of the conversations children brought up the death of a pet or a grandparent. Sometimes it takes a while to process death and this was an opportunity to express some thoughts on death.

We use many words for observing death. Our classes gently introduced words like grief, sorrow and tears. The children had many questions about “epitaph” but a good understanding of “moment of silence.” We talked about “ Urns ” for ashes. Did you know the recently deceased singer Prince’s ashes are in an urn shaped like his former mansion?

Nursery , is led by Moira Feeney with help from Robbie Murdock and they have two rooms to move around in for many activities. I peeked in to see Moira explaining the cosmos to a group of three year olds! The sun, moon and stars all under the canopy of a room divider and toy trucks moving the earth.

Pre k-2 nd grade is led by Jen McGonagle Dziedzic and Jenn Bokavich with help from Tracey Timmons. The class is based on Picture Book Bible Tales, and the rich stories with vivid pictures has been a fun read. The focus in November will be learning about Moses and the Exodus.

Grades 3-4-5, is led by Juliana Dunn and Suzanne Oliver. This group will focus on Moses and The Ten Commandments during the month of November.

Grades 6-8 , which are led by Brian and Patty Sutton, Ann Corbo and Jim Nidostitko. This class will be looking at stories in the Book of Exodus , based on Living The Promise a Unitarian Universalist curriculum. The class will be discussing death and how we observe death through poems during the second week of November.

Please note this Sunday, November 4, we will have a multi-gen service based on observing All Souls Day.

Our Religious Education classes will continue through November and then we break for pageant preparation and the pageant in December. We could use some classroom volunteer help for those upcoming three Sundays of classes in November. Please contact Bill Ketchum ( firstparishscituatedre@verizon.net ) if you have an interest in helping out. 

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The OWL ( Our Whole Lives) is led by Joe Glennon and Jenn Mackey. andhas 12 participants this year. The OWL group will be meeting the 11th and 18th of November, at 5:00 pm.

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The Youth Group also known as SciCohRockWell, with advisor Billy Timmins has had meetings in Rockland and Scituate with future meetings planned for Norwell and Cohasset.

The youth group went to a local corn maze on a cold October evening before the rains came, and had a great time after their walk getting warm around the camp fire.

Below is a calendar of events through the end of the year. We will fill this out with other events that the youth want to do this year.

Upcoming Events:

Sun Nov 11, 2018 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm youth group meeting Norwell 
Sat Nov 17 - Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:00 pm – 9:00 am youth group sleepover at Channing -
game night and movie night

Sun Dec 2, 2018 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Youth group meeting - Channing 
Sun Dec 16, 2018 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Youth group meeting - Norwell (Yankee swap - $20 max gift)

Sun Jan 6, 2019 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Youth group meeting - Scituate 
Sun Jan 20, 2019 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm youth group meeting - Channing 
Fri Jan 25 - Sun Jan 27, 2019 All day 2-night CON this weekend. SciCohRockWell hosted at Channing 

Sun Feb 3, 2019 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm youth group meeting  

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First Parish OWL Registration 2018-2019!
Please remember to register your youth. Y outh must be registered to participate in the program.
Registration forms for OWL are be available at church on Sundays or online: OWL Registration Form . You may fill them out and either bring them to church, or email them to Stephanie Stewart, our parish administrator, firstparishscituate@verizon.net

First Parish Religious Education Registration 2018-2019!
As we plan for the coming year, it would be very helpful to have children and youth register now. Registration forms are attached to this email RE 2018-2019 . We also rely on parents and other adults to serve as teachers and members of the RE Committee. While you are registering your child(ren), please take a minute also to fill out the "Support our Children's Religious Education Program" Form and indicate how you will contribute this year. In our cooperative program, each family is asked to support the program in some way, whether by teaching, serving on the RE Committee, or coordinating a program or event. The forms will also be available at church on Sunday. Please either drop them off at church, or email them to our parish administrator at firstparishscituate@verizon.net .

Blessings,

Bill Ketchum, Director of Religious Education

Notes from Beth Dubuisson, Music Director
 
There are many people to thank for lending their musical talents in October:
 

Cathy Kang and Richard Kermond for providing all the music in my absence on October 14th.

Brian Sutton for singing “Make me a pallet on your floor” on October 21st.

Moira and Michael Feeney for sharing the lovely song Remember Me for our Halloween service on
October 28th.

We are a lucky church to have such talented musicians in our congregation!
 
Our Silent Movie Night was a huge success due to all the hard work by Kate Glennon, Claire Sherman, Cathie McGowan, Vicki Davis, along with Brian and Patty Sutton. They designed the flyer and wrote press releases and posted to Facebook and our web site. They decorated the Old Sloop Room and provided wonderful Halloween food, sold tickets and erected the huge screen and ran the projector like professionals!  Many hands made this night work.  Thank you to all who helped.
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November will bring more special music:
 
November 4th: To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, all the music will be by the American composer Leonard Bernstein.  Caroline Hine, cellist, Donna Culley , violinist will join Cathy Kang , flutist, and Moira Feeney , vocalist, along with the adult choir.
 
November 18th- Win Lawson will play two movements of a Telemann sonata.   Frank Kilduff, guitarist,  will lead us in singing “Thanksgiving Eve”.
 
The Adult choir anthems for November are:
 
11/4- Take Care of this House by Leonard Bernstein https://youtu.be/R3L8Pbfy_uI

11/11- Season of the Grateful Heart by Jim Scott

11/18- Canon of Thanks by Donald Moore
 
11/25- No choir rehearsal or anthem
🔔 🔔  Save the date! 🔔 🔔
 
Saturday December 8th, 7:30 Back Bay Ringers in concert in our Sanctuary. Come hear how the hand bells fill our church with holiday music.
 
To purchase tickets in advance :  http://www.backbayringers.org/events/

Tickets will also be available at the door. General admission $20, Students/seniors $15
Monday Night Meditation
Would you like to incorporate meditation into your spiritual practice? Would you like to learn how to meditate? Would you like to add the energy of others to your already existing practice? You are invited to come to First Parish’s bi-monthly meditation sessions on the 2 nd and 4 th Monday nights from 7 -8:30 p.m ..November 's dates are Monday 11/12, and Monday 11/26. All are welcome.  Email Brian or Patty Sutton with any questions at brsutton@hotmail.com or pattysutton@gmail.com .
Community Book Discussion: “Seedfolks” by Paul Fleischman
The Community Book Discussion on Issues of Diversity continues looking at books included in the Gates and Scituate High School curriculum. Seedfolks is currently read by 6 th graders but is on the list of books some parents in Scituate would like banned.  The novel centers on a vacant lot and a group of strangers who become a community as they transform the lot into a community garden.  Come join the discussion on Tuesday November 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Scituate Library Community room. John Scopelleti, chair of the English Department at SHS and Gates, will lead the conversation. Middle and high school students are welcome to attend.
“Frankenstein” Discussion
On Sunday October 28, as part of the 200 th anniversary celebration of the publication of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Pamela Barz preached on the novel (you can read her sermon here:  http://firstparishscituate.org/blog/2018/10/28/frankenstein-the-monster-and-us-october-28-2018) and proposed a reading and discussion of the novel and the issues it raises in January. Please let her know if you are interested in participating so that we can find a date which works for everyone.
... Strong Community
Around the Parish
We offer our sympathies to Sandy Kingsland and Haley and Brooke on the death of Sandy’s mother in August… and to Vicki Davis on the death of her brother-in-law Steve Davis also in August...
 
Thank UUs: To all who built our “wall of food” in our October collection for the Food Pantry. We collected 304 items! And to Alan Donaldson for coordinating the collection and to our other Food Pantry volunteers:  Andy Culbert, Frank Kilduff, Ruth Kuhn, Howard and Nancy Mathews…. To all who ushered, cared for the building and the grounds
My Ecclesiastical Council, Bill Ketchum, DRE
First of all I want to say I am not going anywhere but I am on a journey. I entered Andover Newton Theological School in the fall of 2010. My goal then was to become an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC). You can probably imagine that since I am very happy to be the Director of Religious Education at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Scituate that I have had many wonderful unexpected experiences on my journey to be an ordained UCC minister.

My UCC local association, called the Pilgrim Association, roughly from Quincy to Plymouth and out to the Bridgewaters and Stoughton will call a “Ecclesiastical Council” (EC) on my status. I am currently a “student in discernment.” The EC will hear my presentation and talk about my life and theology. The public is invited. Authorized ministers and delegates from local UCC churches will ask questions and vote whether to approve me for ordination pending an ordainable call to church leadership.

Ecclesiastical Councils are very interesting. It is a traditional way, in the UCC, to choose who will be their clergy. Clergy members are not decided on by a Bishop but by the local church association who are in covenant to each other to be part of the clergy decision process. My Ecclesiastical Council will be Tuesday December 4 th , 2018 7:30 pm at the Hingham Congregational Church 366 main street. Hingham, Ma.

Debi and I have been overjoyed by the reception we have received since I became your DRE. The EC is the final part of a process that included graduating from seminary, ministry field education training in Marshfield and Randolph Churches. A four month Clinical Pastoral Education training at a health care facility in Rosindale, where I was a chaplain, yearly review process and many intense evaluations. I have been lovingly supported by my home church which is the Hingham Congregational Church during this long process. If you are able, please consider yourselves invited to the church I grew up in to hear my story.

-Bill Ketchum, Director of Religious Education
The Joy of Money - Another Perspective.
Enjoying enough money to run the church is an excellent thing, and so we need to talk about it openly.  Our vibrant church programs (worship, music, religious education, and social events), plus the necessities of keeping our building warm, dry, and inviting, cost nearly $200,000 for the current 12 months.  Since we have approximately 100 active adult members and friends  in the church, this comes to an average of $2,000 per person. Now consider how much you as an individual have currently pledged to pay this year. The total amount that you and I have promised to pay regularly through June 2019 adds up to only 40% of our church income. What makes up the difference?
The earnings we take out of our Endowment provide an additional 25%. We raise another 20% from renting out our space (upstairs, downstairs and the parsonage), 9% from fundraisers (two fairs and collecting bottles and cans) and 5% from other gifts and religious education fees.  Many experts in church finance recommend that a healthy, self-sustaining church should obtain 80% of its income from annual contributions by current members and friends of the congregation. If we could do that, we could let the Endowment build up to pay for emergencies, special projects, future growth and scholarships instead of depending on it for current income. We could contribute the extra money we raise from fairs to help the poor and suffering through our social justice outreach efforts. We could send our fair share to the denominational offices that have helped us in our times of transition and that do fundamental work to keep our religion and principles alive and inspiring.

So please think about this. We are not asking everyone to double their pledge so that we can reach 80%. We understand that some people can only give a little. And others, at different periods and circumstance in their lives, could give considerably more. We’re providing some numbers so you can think about what the church means to you 52 weeks a year, and what you could do to keep the church healthy and joyous now and into the future. Thanks very much for thinking.

-Alma Morrison and the Finance Committee.
The Snowflake Fair!
  The Snowflake Fair is our biggest fund-raiser of the church year. It’s an event that unites us in fellowship and fun! Last year we raised an unprecedented amount and hope to build upon that success in support of the works of our congregation. This year’s fair is scheduled for Saturday, December 1, from 9 am. to 2 pm.
 
There are many ways to participate: cooking food for the baked good table or luncheon, crafting items to sell, selling raffle tickets or by helping to make wreaths and beaded snowflake or lending a hand as a fair worker.

  • Baked Goodies (pies, breads, cookies, cakes, loaves and bars – and more)
  • Holiday Crafts and Gifts (lovely, unusual, and unique)
  • Grandma’s Cupboard (jellies, pickles, jams and other preserved items)
  •  Jewelry (vintage and handmade)
  • Raffle Items (to be finalized - in the past Celtics tickets, framed art work and handmade afghan)
  • Trees and Wreaths (freshly cut from Vermont; wreaths expertly decorated by FPUU elves)
  • And lunch at the Old Sloop Café (featuring chilis and chowders, corn bread, hot dogs, beverages; all from the celebrated chefs in our own kitchen), and freshly baked gingerbread snowflake cookies!
 
We are in need of the following workers to:
  • Sell raffle tickets at Village Market and Shaw’s on November 10 and 17 in one or two shifts from 9:00 am -1:00 pm.
  • Work two-hour shifts the day of the Fair: 8:30-10:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and 12:30-2:30 p.m.
  • Hang posters the community
  • Decorate wreaths on November 28, the Wednesday prior to fair
  • Design and make signs for various tables at the fair
  • Crew to set up tables and signage for fair, crew for cleanup
  • New ideas, new crafts and arts, innovations - your input about new ways to make the Fair even better
 
Please sign up and SHARE ALL YOUR WONDERFUL TALENTS AND IDEAS on the MASTER SIGN-UP BOARD in the Old Sloop Room. Watch for the link to a sign-up genius in the What's Happening.
 
There will be two craft nights for making items for the Fair:
 
Beaded Snowflake Night  to be scheduled
Wreath Making
On Wednesday November 28, decorate festive wreaths, 6:30-8:30 p.m. All materials are provided and no experience required. Children are welcome to assist an adult.
 
No particular expertise is needed to participate - just a willing heart and body.
If you have questions, contact the appropriate committee chair or veteran fair organizers:
Chair : Kim Dickinson ( kaliced@comcast.net ; 
Fudge : Laura Carson ( laura@laciner.com)    or Leigh Todd (lcdwtodd@gmail.com
Trees and Wreaths:  Erica Boyle ( ericaboyle1@gmail.com )
Bake Table : Sarah Murdock (smurd377@verizon.net)
Crafts Table : Donna Brindley(donnasbrindley@aol.com) or Roxanne Greim (roxeyg7171@aol.com)
Grandma’s Cupboard : Claire Sherman ( clairesherman@comcast.net )
Luncheon : Bob Murdock (Robert.Murdock@coxinc.com)  or Ray DesRosches (rjdesroches@verizon.net)
Jewelry : Laura Smith (fldtsmith@aol.com)
Space Planning and Signage at Fair: Hal Stokes ( halkim@comcast.net )
Raffle : Chair Needed (contact Kim Dickinson)
Veteran Planners:  Vicki Davis ( kenneth.davis10@comcast.net ) or
Alma Morrison (almamorrison8298@gmail.net)
Happy Birthday in November!
Bob Murdock                                     
Danny Todd                     
Cathie McGowan                  
Wendy Brown                       
Elizabeth Dubuisson             
Jenn Mackey                         
Patrick Hale                          
Katie Jacobsen                      
Joanne Fraser                       
Sheri Nidositko                      
Bren Matthews                     
Emory Matthews         
Nov 2
Nov 8                          
Nov 13
Nov 14
Nov 15
Nov 20
Nov 22
Nov 28
Nov 29
Nov 29
Nov 30
Nov 30                
... and Transformative Service
Men’s Ministry
The Men’s Ministry of First Parish gathers monthly, usually on the first Saturday of the month, for breakfast and a service project in the community. All men and boys are welcome to participate. On Saturday November 3 they will gather at 8 a.m. for breakfast at the home of Alan Donaldson, 64 Satuit Trail, and then stay on to help Alan and Eileen with yard work. Please bring clippers, rakes, and other garden tools. Contact Chuck Jones ( Charles_A_Jones@yahoo.com) with questions or ideas for future projects.
The Blue Boat Coffeehouse is Back!
On Saturday, November 10, 2018, from 6:00-9:00 pm, we are proud to present our eighth Blue Boat Coffeehouse to highlight the incredible talent of local adults and youth while raising funds for a local non-profit organization ... the Scituate Food Pantry.

Please help us help our community by attending our coffeehouse AND bringing a canned or boxed food item.

Suggested Donation is $5. Donations of non-perishable items for the Food Pantry also gratefully accepted. Baked goods and other refreshments will be available for purchase, with all proceeds going to the Food Pantry.

For information and the latest line-up of performers for the Blue Boat Coffeehouse on 11/10/18, please visit “The Blue Boat Coffeehouse” Facebook page.

 UU Urban Ministry
A warm reminder that you are enthusiastically invited to the UU Urban Ministry to learn more about supporting peace work in Boston.

T he UU Urban Ministry will provide a free dinner at 6 pm Thursday Nov. 8 in support of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace . The Peace Institute is a center for healing for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief and loss.
 
The goal is learning how UUs can support the Peace Institute and Walk, and to start planning now.
 
Peace Institute founder and President Tina Chéry, whose 15-year old son Louis – a member of Teens Against Gang Violence - was killed in crossfire in 1993, will speak about her work for peace in Boston.
 
We can be proud that UUs are among the best-represented faith traditions supporting the Mother’s Day walk – and we can do even more.
 
Please let me know if you or a designee from your congregation can join us.
 
We would love to see many of our UU member congregations represented!
 
In faith,
M ary Margaret, Executive Director and Senior Minister
The Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry
10 Putnam St.
Roxbury, MA 02119
617-318-6010 x 202
November Calendar
Sat. 3 rd             8:00   am     Men's Ministry
 
Sun. 4 th             9:00  am      Choir Practice
                       10:30  am      Worship
                       
Wed. 7 th          10:30  am      Fididdlers
                        
Sat. 10 th           6:00   pm      Blue Boat Coffeehouse
 
Sun. 11 th          9:00  am       Choir Practice
                       10:30  am       Worship and RE
                        5:00   pm       OWL Meeting
                         5:00  pm       Youth Group – Norwell
 
Mon. 12 th             7:00 pm      Meditation
 
Wed. 14 th          10:30  am      Fididdlers
                          Scituate Town Meeting
 
Fri. 16 th              7:00  pm      Scituate Ceilidhe

Sat. 17 th - Sun. 18 th             Youth Group Sleepover -
                                           Channing Church, Rockland
 
Sun. 18 th          9:00  am      Choir Practice
                       10:30  am      Worship and RE
                         5:00  pm      OWL Meeting
                       
Wed. 21 st       10:30  am      Fididdlers
 
Sun. 25 th          10:30 am      Worship and RE
                         
Mon. 26 th           7:00  pm      Meditation
 
Wed. 28 th        10:30  am      Fididdlers
                         6:30  pm      Wreath Making Workshop
 
Fri. 30 th             4:00  pm      Fair Set-up
 
 


Our Mission
Liberal Faith: We commit to participate side-by-side across generations  in worship, religious education, social activities, environmental protection,
and social justice work—learning, sharing, and growing together. 

Strong Community : We commit to care for one another, nurture the light that shines within each of us, and support each other’s individual search for truth and meaning.
 
Transformative Service: We commit to pursue diversity, justice, equality, reason, and discourse;
provide inspiration through music, creativity, and the arts;
and work cooperatively to affect positive change in our community and beyond.