We Commit Ourselves and Our Resources to
Nurture the Spirit, Grow in Community, and Help Heal the World.
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Sunday, March 29
10:00 am
ONLINE Worship Service
The Wisdom of Positivity
Rev. Christina Sillari
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Meeting ID: 517 005 8808
Call in as early as 9:30 am
to test your Zoom connection,
and say hello to other First Parish friends.
Please have a candle ready to light during the service.
One tap mobile:
+19294362866,,5170058808# US
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Please spread the word regarding Online Worship Services
to any First Parish Members & Friends
who may not receive this email.
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Need Help Getting Started on Zoom?
Thanks to Kate Stenberg, Worship Team, we now have our very own
Have a look through this guide well before Sunday morning so you are up and running for our online worship service! Or
watch this helpful Zoom video.
If you run into trouble accessing our online worship service, please email or call Sheila in the Office (
office@firstparishportland.org or 773-5747), and someone from Communications Team will contact you to help troubleshoot your tech issues.
If you are not able to join us at 10 am on Sunday mornings, we are working behind the scenes to post all of our Sunday services on our
First Parish Facebook page. Be sure to
Like us on Facebook, and you will be alerted when services are LIVE!
Our Zoom account has a limit of 100 people. Once we are up & running with streaming services on Facebook LIVE, we'll ask FB users to watch the service from there.
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Upcoming
Online
Worship Services
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April 5 | 10am
Liberation
through Stillness
Rev. Christina Sillari
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April 12 | 10am
Easter:
Mary Magdalene
Rev. Christina Sillari
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April 12 | 10am
The Earth is Liberating Us!
Rev. Christina Sillari
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Prayer & Meditation
Gatherings
Thursday Mornings | 8-9 am
Join Rev. Christina on Zoom on Thursday Morning's for Prayer and Meditation. We will share prayers and poetry and spend time in silence together. All are welcome.
Meeting ID: 250 298 315
One tap mobile: +19294362866,,250298315#
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Pastoral Care Calls &
Office Hours for Meetings
with Reverend Christina
Mondays | 9 am - 12 pm
Tuesdays | 2-5 pm
Reverend Christina will be holding Pastoral Care calls and Office Hours for meetings by phone or Zoom every Monday & Tuesday for
members and leaders
of First Parish. Please
email Sheila
to schedule a call in the weeks ahead.
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Online
Breathing and Meditation Class
Wednesdays | 8-9am
Join Zoom Meeting
Explore breathing techniques to nurture your mind, body and spirit from the comfort of your own home! 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.
Meeting ID: 630 981 602
One tap mobile
(audio only): +19294362866,,630981602#
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March is
Stewardship Month!
Our goal this year is to collect $225,000 in pledges!
Please, take the time to fill out your pledge card and return it to us, or
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If you did not receive a pledge packet, please contact
Stay tuned for the new date for our Annual Stewardship Brunch.
The magic of what we do together is the miracle of community.
Thank you!
The Stewardship Team
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Seeking Tech Savvy Volunteers!
We are looking for folks who are comfortable with technology to join our Tech Support Team! Do you know the in's & out's of Zoom? How about livestreaming on Facebook? Perhaps you'd like to help get people up and running to see our services online? You don't need to be an expert- just a quick learner! Please email Laurie if you can help:
membership@firstparishportland.org.
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Coffee Hour Community
Laurie Hasty, Membership Coordinator
The community of First Parish has always been one of the important connections in my life. It is the people here together who make our church strong. Our online Sunday worship service is a wonderful new way for us to continue to gather!
I encourage everyone to log in as early as 9:30 am to the Zoom call before the service begins. Bring your morning cup and enjoy the moments to casually greet one another as we all filter in to the service. Please sign in on Zoom with your first and last names which will serve as your virtual nametag so we can get to know each other. After the Worship-led service, please remain on Zoom for the second part of service, with more readings, music, and breakout groups.
Following the service, stay on Zoom for our virtual coffee hour!
We may not be able to physically stand next to one another right now, but when we do get together again in our treasured space, we will find friendly faces that we did not know before this health crisis began. Here's to new friends!
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Article Suggest by Rev. Christina
An Anarchist Quaker’s Prayer
to Soothe Anxiety
What my therapist said when she closed
her office because of coronavirus.
"Hello sweet one. I see how much you care about the world, about your communities, about all of us surviving plagues and capitalism and a world on fire.
That clench in your throat, the knot in your gut, the tightness in your breath — this is how our bodies try to hold the world’s anguish. We write the wrongness into our bodies, a beautiful and devastating lament..."
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Hello Families!
Toben Cooney-Callnan, DRE
Finding daily ways to connect with our Unitarian Universalist identity and principles is an essential part of practicing our faith. Committing to practicing them together is what unites us. As we are looking for ways to adapt to these circumstances and are unable to share physical space together, I thought it was important to find ways to share intention and action as a congregation. So, I created a
Daily Practice Calendar
for the upcoming week. Feel free to join in as many of the suggested practices as you would like.
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Music for the Soul
Scott Wheatley,
First Parish Music Director
During these stressful times, let music calm your soul. I’ll give you a new piece every week to help us all through this. This week-
Adagio for Strings
by Samuel Barber.
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Tara Brach's
Podcasts & Guided Meditations
Sheila Sullivan,
Congregational Administrator
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Wisdom and Imagination Service:
Our Seven UU Principles
Angus Ferguson, Speaker
Gary Desrochers, Worship Weaver
March 22, 2020
Did you miss last week's homily on the Seven UU Principles, by Angus Ferguson? You can read the transcript of the service here-
Wisdom and Imagination Service.
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Letter from Rev. Christina
March 20, 2020
Dear Members and Friends of First Parish,
What a surreal time for us humans…we are entering unknown territory as a species, as a world community, as a people of faith. None of us know what the future may bring. I am using the earth, spiritual practices, my ancestors, and people in my life to stay grounded and calm as I witness our world transforming. It is a scary but necessary time. Our beloved earth is waking us up. We must really listen to her right now. Every morning the birds remind me that I am alive and life is precious and beautiful.
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Fun-A-Day Community Creative Show
Stay Tuned for New Date
Tap into your CREATIVITY
while staying safe at home!
Do you have a hobby, craft or talent waiting to pop out? Are your doodles looking more original? Do you write poetry or songs or keep a journal? Here’s your chance to play and display what fun things you like to do. All ages welcome! Contact John Tiedje to show or volunteer:
johndesignx@gmail.com
or 730-2630.
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MAINE 211
Resources for the Public
Maine State Government announced yesterday that 211 will be available 24x7 to answer questions regarding COVID-19. The ways to contact them include:
• Text your zip code to 898-211
How to live with someone who has suspected Covid or who has Covid illness:(from CA Dept of Health):
COMMUNITY PANDEMIC MITIGATION STRATEGIES:
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Interested in Becoming a
Member of First Parish?
For more information on Membership at First Parish, please email Laurie Hasty at
membership@firstparishportland.org
.
Please join us for the next class leading up to the New Member Ceremony:
Path to Membership Class |
Stay tuned for new date
Join members of the Leadership Team to explore membership at First Parish. We will look at the benefits and responsibilities of membership, opportunities for spiritual development, as well as community connections.
Childcare is available!
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Child Dedication Ceremony
Through this ceremony, we honor the children of First Parish members, and dedicate ourselves to building the kind of world in which this child and all children can grow to be spiritually, ethically and morally mature individuals. Although child dedications are most often provided for infants, a child can be dedicated at any age, and more than one child may be dedicated at a time in the ceremony.
If you would like to have your child dedicated at an upcoming service, or have questions about Child Dedication, please email Toben
dre@firstparishportland.org.
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Mass Poor People's Assembly
&
ONLINE
Moral March on Washington
June 20, 2020
The Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington is going digital! On June 20th, we will hold the largest digital and social media gathering of poor and low-wealth people, moral and religious leaders, advocates, and people of conscience in this nation’s history. A global pandemic is exposing even more the already existing crisis of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. On June 20, the 140 million poor and low-wealth people across this nation will be heard!
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Volunteer to feel Connected!
There are so many ways to get involved and make connections at First Parish:
- Usher/Greeter
- Community Dinner
- Flowers for Sunday Service and more!
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Office Notes:
Sermons
We receive many requests for copies of Rev. Christina's thought-provoking sermons. You can now find her sermons in this
Shared Sermons Folder. Please allow up to a week for sermons to be posted here.
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425 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04101 207-773-5747
Nurture the Spirit, Grow in Community
and Help Heal the World
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