We Commit Ourselves and Our Resources to 
Nurture the Spirit, Grow in Community, and Help Heal the World.

May 12, 2018
10:00 am

Isis:
The Egyptian Goddess
Reverend Christina Sillari
Upcoming Worship Services
May 19 | 10am
RE Sunday
Rev. Christina Sillari & Toben Cooney-Callnan
May 26 | 10am
We Forgot to Remember
Rev. Charlie Grindle
June 2 | 10am
Music Sunday
Scott Wheatley &
The Music Committee
Family Matters Class Series

Class 4: Discipline: Teaching that Strengthens the Child
and the Relationship  
May 11 th | 10:30-12:00 | Community Room

Class 5: The Relationship between the Partners
May 25 th   | 10:30-12:00 | Community Room

Explore the nature of safe and nurturing relationships that facilitate curiosity, comfort, and joy among all family members. Future classes will explore: discipline, couple relationships and the role and importance of grandparents. (Click the link below to READ MORE about each class). Taught by new First Parish Member Dan Hughes. Free to members; $5 for non-members. Contact Dan for registration and class details: dhughes202@gmail.com or 717-673-6119. 
MUUSAN SPRING CONFERENCE
& Annual Meeting

May 11 th | 9:30-2:30pm |UU Community Church of Augusta
69 Winthop Street, Augusta, ME 04330
 
This is our year! With a new legislature and governor, the State House hums with optimism and a culture of civility. MUUSAN members look forward to being able to successfully move the bills we have endorsed forward. 

Join us to hear a panel of legislators, who are connected to Unitarian-Universalism, discuss the process and share their priorities for the State of Maine's 129th Legislature. The social justice work of MUUSAN and our Maine UU churches and members will prevail if we continue the hard work, the holy work, of showing up. Join us as we gather together to live our faith in action.
RE Announcements

Children will begin & end in the Community Room for Children's Chapel on 5/12, in preparation for RE Sunday on 5/19 .

Childcare for babies and toddlers is available every Sunday in the Nursery (upstairs in the Parish House).

FMI about RE at First Parish, please contact, Toben Cooney-Callnan, Director of Religious Exploration, at dre@firstparishportland.org.
FP Youth Group Service Trip
Fund Raising  

This August the FP Youth Group will be going on a S ervice Trip to West Virginia ! How can you help? Simply visit  www.faithify.org   and do a search for First Parish Youth Group Portland, Maine. Our goal is to raise $2500 by mid-June. Thank you in advance for your generous support.

Share the Plate Collection
May 12 th

Furniture Friends


Furniture Friends provides donated furniture to people in need throughout Greater Portland. With ongoing support from the community, we are able to fulfill our mission of "Creating Homes. Rebuilding Lives."

Spring Fling Dinners are Here!!
 
Tickets will be on sale during Coffee Hour for the next few weeks!  Welcoming congregants open their homes to a small and intimate dinner party for this Spring Fling fundraiser. We charge $35 per seat for dinner and all the funds go to the church. It’s fun and it builds community.

Please email John Schaberg at johnschaberg@outlook.com (or call- 303-7203) with the above information if you would like to host, or if you have any questions. 
Furniture Friends'
Multicultural Music Fest
May 14 th | 6-9 pm
Portland House of Music

Come listen to great music and dance the night away with local and internationally-acclaimed musicians. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door:  www.portlandhouseofmusic.com .  
Breathing and Meditation Class

Wednesdays | 5:30-6:30pm
in the K-1 Classroom
 (upstairs in Parish House)


Come and explore breathing techniques to nurture your mind, body and spirit. Pranayama is an ancient practice from India used to heal dis-ease, prepare for meditation, and access spiritual realms. All are welcome to join in these powerful tools of transformation. Taught by Rev. Christina. Free to First Parish Members; $10.00 non-members.
Pete Seeger’s 100 th Birthday Concert
to Benefit the Poor People’s Campaign
May 19 th | 7:00pm | First Parish Meeting House 

Come help us celebrate the life and work of Pete Seeger on the 100 th anniversary of his birth! The concert will feature Annie Patterson & Peter Blood (creators of Rise Up Singing). This concert is a benefit for  Maine Poor People's Campaign  to support the crucial work they are doing for a more just and equitable society. Click HERE FMI. Adults: $20; students: $10. 
Creating Healthy Relationships Workshop
Saturday, May 18 th

Casco Bay Conversations, a project of First Universalist Church in Yarmouth, is excited to be offering this dynamic one-day workshop is for those who want to see healthy organizations, communities, families, and individuals flourish. All who are passionate about justice, counseling, or human relationships will find this workshop illuminating. 
Click HERE for more information.

Justice Bean Supper Dance
Saturday, May 25 th | 6-8:30pm in the Parish Hall


Featuring Jason Wentworth's Climate Comedy Act. 
John Schaberg will DJ after-dinner DANCE romp. 
$10 per person. Bring friends and family!
Contact angus@angusferguson.com or 749-6618
to RSVP and volunteer to help. 
MAINE WALKS WITH HAITI
10th Annual 5K WALK/RUN
June 8th | 8:30 am | Back Cove Park, Portland

ENTERTAINMENT • FOOD • HAITIAN ART • CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES
FREE T-SHIRTS TO FIRST 50 REGISTRANTS

Free for walkers (pledges encouraged) • Timed run for runners
Register & create a pledge page at WWW.KONBITSANTE.ORG.
First Parish Annual Meeting
June 9th | After service | Meeting House

This meeting is a critical function of our self-directed and self-funded church, where we members make our own decisions and elect our own leaders. This year’s agenda includes the following: report on the results of the Accessibility Project Feasibility Study; election of new leaders and trustees; committee reports; approval of the First Parish budget, and more. All members are encouraged to attend this important event.
Please Welcome the following
NEW MEMBERS to First Parish!
Jill Babcock: Act 1: Trenton, NJ, place of birth where I was raised in a traditional Reform Jewish home. Grew up a non-believer, married a Catholic, raised two children in NY metropolitan area. Act 2: Divorced, moved into Manhattan and life began all over. At 45 I returned to school and received my RN license. I attended my first FP service when my grandchildren sang with the children’s choir. I have found my tribe......and so, Act 3 of my life begins. 
Lindsay Chard first started attending First Parish at the age of five. She participated In RE, Youth Group and the OWL program, and joined First Parish as an associate member at the age of fifteen. She currently works in Development at the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Lindsay is delighted to return to First Parish as an adult and recommit to this wonderful and special community.
Liz Crane lives in Portland with her husband Tom, who has been an active member at First Parish for several years. Liz and Tom have two daughters who live in New York City. Liz is a social worker and has a private practice in South Portland. She is an avid squash player, meditates and works out regularly, and she is interested in holistic alternatives in both mental and physical health care. 
Rich Hooks Wayman , his husband Aaron, their six children, and their ferocious chihauhau (aka "Moose") moved to Portland in 2018. Rich serves as the CEO for Volunteers of America Northern New England. He has spent most of his career as a public interest lawyer, policy analyst, and nonprofit executive devoted to ending child poverty and homelessness. Rich has been a UU member for over 13 years and continues his life-long quest to find the perfect chocolate malt.
Michelle Lamb works in wealth management and financial planning in Portland. She grew up in Falmouth, went away to college at Brown, traveled in Europe where she met her Australian husband, and they now live back in Falmouth with their two sons. She is currently raising her kids to be part of the UU tradition, following in her late mother’s footsteps, and is very happy to be part of such a wonderful, welcoming, and informed church community.
Cecily Merrill navigated much of her childhood in First Parish Church. She started in the nursery and continued through her teenage years when she acted as the president of the youth group. Cecily and her husband, Wyatt Dumas, recently moved back to Portland with their almost three-year old daughter Eleanor tobe closer to family. Cecily will continue her involvement on the Worship Committee as well as direct the Nativity Pageant this December.
Susanna Preziosi grew up in New Jersey and spent many summers in Maine. Susanna is a clinical and forensic psychologist who has practiced and taught in a variety of settings; she currently works as a therapist with college students. She has enjoyed reconnecting to her music roots as part of the First Parish Choir. Susanna loves planning adventures abroad when she has the privilege to do so and is looking forward to exploring more of her new home state this summer.
Philip Ptacin was born and raised in Chicago, found his wife in Chicago, and then spent 40 wonderful years in Battle Creek, Michigan. Moved to Portland one year ago to bring the family closer together geographically . Phil is a family physician working in Biddeford. Interests: working out, learning Spanish, movies & theatre, meditation, traveling, reading, hanging with his wife and family.
Maria Ptacin was born, raised and educated in Poland (masters in physics). Emigrated to the US, and met the love of her life in Chicago. Was an educator in Poland and did research in Chicago at Northwestern Medical Center. Moved to Michigan and raised three children and opened a fine dining restaurant in Battle Creek, Michigan - turning a hobby into a business. Interests: reading, movies, theatre, getting together with family and friends, traveling and music.
Debbie Schulz has been married to Jim Schulz for many years, and they have two grown children and two grandchildren. Debbie recently retired from nursing after 41 years in Oncology nursing. She now spends her time walking her dogs, repairing her house, knitting, gardening and visiting National Parks. She attended Episcopal church with her grandmother as a child. She has been a Unitarian Universalist most of her adult life.
Jim Schulz  graduated from Del Norte High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and married his high school sweetheart, Debbie Schulz, at the Unitarian Church in Albuquerque. Jim was in the US Navy, where he trained to be a submarine reactor operator. They joined the Unitarian Church of Sharon in the late eighties and were part of that congregation until recently. Jim is now a pensioner and is looking forward to seeing what that means.
Jennifer Stenberg moved to Maine from NH with her husband, Jim, and two daughters in 1997. She has always worked in the healthcare sector; most recently a registered nurse in family practice. In addition to enjoying yoga, meditation, and nature, Jen also loves learning about other cultures through travel, is passionate about women's health & rights issues and exploring her own creativity.
Do you love our
Stone Soup Newsletter?

We are looking for a volunteer or two to take ownership for First Parish's Stone Soup Newsletter , currently published twice a year. Please contact Sheila in the Office for more information: office@firstparishportland.org.
New!
SIGN UP to VOLUNTEER
at First Parish!

Check out and SIGN UP for a wide variety of volunteer opportunities --Community Dinner, Ushers, Sunday Drivers, Flowers, Tours, etc.-- at our new SignUp Genius site! Or link to the Volunteer Sign Up via the Volunteer Page on the FP website. If you have any questions about our online Volunteer Sign Up, please email Laurie Hasty, Membership Coordinator, at membership@firstparishportland.org .
Office Notes

Be sure to ask for a Bulletin when you pick up your Order of Service on Sunday, so you don't miss out on any First Parish news or events!

Large Print Orders of Service are available every Sunday! Ask a Greeter, or look for them at both entrances to the from the Meeting House.
425 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04101   207-773-5747  

 Nurture the Spirit, Grow in Community 
and Help Heal the World