What's Happening
at First Parish -
Our Weekly Newsletter

December 4 - 15, 2019


 We aspire to be a beacon
of liberal religion, strong community,
and transformative service.

We aspire to be a Beacon of…..
 … Liberal Religion
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Hope from Heartbreak
As the Ghost of Christmas Past helped Scrooge understand his own past differently and so free himself for new life in the present and the future, how may understanding our past help us to forgive ourselves and live more fully? Pamela Barz preaching. The choir will sing an English Advent Carol .


Sunday, December 15, 2019
The Music of Christmas Present
In our annual Christmas Music Sunday, the choir will offer anthems from several musical versions of A Christmas Carol along with music of its times. 



Sunday December 22, 2019 at 4 p.m. A Celebration of the Winter Solstice
This year serendipitously, December 22 is both the first day of winter and the first night of Hanukkah. Each year the Scituate clergy offer a contemplative service for the solstice, with music, silence, singing, and readings to remind us of the value of the darkness and the power of the light. This year we will honor the light of the Advent wreath, the Solstice candle, and the Hanukkah menorah, and plant bulbs to remind us of this time of germination. St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 465 First Parish Rd, Scituate, will host this year's service. After the service at 5 p.m. St. Luke's hosts their monthly community supper: you are invited to stay for that
Tuesday December 24 - Christmas Eve       Keeping Christmas Well
At the end of his journey with the ghosts, Ebenezer Scrooge resolved, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year," and it was said of him thereafter that he knew how to "keep Christmas well." On Christmas Eve we celebrate keeping Christmas well, living with grateful hearts throughout the year. Since Christmas Eve is also the third night of Hanukkah, we will light the menorah at both services. Our Christmas Eve offering will support the work of the International Rescue Committee to aid refugees and people whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster. Readers of all ages are needed for both services.  Please speak with Pamela Barz if you would like to read.

4 p.m.              Children’s Carols and Candlelight service 
The first of the evening services offers the traditional story and carols, just in a less formal setting than the later service.   Pamela Barz the service.    
 
7 p.m.                  Traditional Candle-lit Christmas Eve service
A reflective service of lessons and carols led by Pamela Barz and Elizabeth Dubuisson with music from the choir.
From the Minister
I've just finished reading Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass and it was not what I thought it would be. I picked it up looking for ideas for our Thanksgiving service, and though I did use Diana Butler Bass's Thanksgiving Prayer November 2016 in our service on November 24, this is not a book about sharing grace around a table or even saying "Thank you." It is about the power of gratitude to transform individual lives, communities, and even politics. In the author's view, gratitude, practiced correctly, is a radical act, upending the traditional hierarchies of power and privilege. She writes, "Gratitude is not about manners and courtesy. It is never truly private. It is about the nature of society. It is deeply and profoundly political and opens us to the revolutionary idea of a debt-free community that shares in the mutual benefit of creation's gifts while unmasking privileging and permanently undoing all forms of slavery." This book made me think and see in new ways. You'll hear its echoes in my Christmas Eve sermon on Scrooge, gratitude, and awe, and in other times too. But I'd like to do more than talk about it to you - I'd like to talk about it with you. Last winter many of us participated in small groups exploring the work of Brene Brown on fear. This winter, I'd like to invite you to participate in a 5 or 6 week series of discussions on Gratitude, using the book and videos based on it (so that you can participate without having to read the book). Please let me know you'd be interested in participating in a group and if you'd like to facilitate one.

See you in Church,
Pam
poinsettias.jpg
2019 Christmas Eve Flowers
Let’s make our sanctuary festive for Christmas Eve! Members and friends are invited to purchase a plant(s) to decorate the church on Christmas Eve. The plant(s) can go home with you after the 7 p.m. service that evening or after the service on December 29. Names of donors and any dedications will be included in an insert in the Christmas Eve order of service.
Please fill out the form: Christmas Eve Flowers and return it to the church office with your check by December 8th. Copies of the form will also be available at church. Checks should be made out to the “First Parish Scituate” with “Christmas Flowers” on the memo line.
... Strong Community


Snowflake Fair is this Saturday!
December 7 th  - 9:00am to 2:00pm




It’s not too late to help!

Decorate wreathes tonight in the Sloop Room, from 6:15 until we’ve done them all.

Help set up and decorate , Friday afternoon through evening.

Help on Saturday.  Even if you haven’t signed up, see Alma Morrison and she’ll assign you somewhere.

Bring your friends, so we aren’t just selling things to each other, but to the world.

Bring cash or a credit card.  We accept both.

Stay to help clean up after 2 p.m.

HAVE A GREAT DAY AT THE SNOWFLAKE FAIR!
    -Many Thanks from Team Snowflake
Wreath Decorating - Tonight, Wednesday December 4th
On Wednesday December 4, decorate festive wreaths, 6:15-8:30 p.m. All materials are provided and no experience required. Children are welcome to assist an adult. No particular expertise is needed to participate.
Unity Club Dinner
All Women of the Church Welcome!
Wednesday December 11, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Welcome Ladies t o our holiday Pot Luck Get Together . Come enjoy friendship, good food, and some laughs. Please bring your favorite appetizer or dessert to share, a donation for the Food Pantry, and yourselves!
 
See you on Wednesday, December 11th at 6:30!

 -Unity Club
First Parish Needs Your Help!
Here's how you can serve our church and strengthen our community this week. Please contact Pamela Barz if you can help.
We need:
  • Coordinator(s) for our new Soup + Song community suppers
  •  Adults to help with Pageant Prep in December
  • RE teachers for January and February
  • Readers for both Christmas Eve services
Teams Hosting Coffee Hour This Year
This year we are trying to make hosting coffee hour easier for everyone by eliminating the sign-up sheet. We will try this for the year and see if it works!

We randomly created fifteen teams so each team will host coffee hour two times during the year. More people will lessen the work and expense. More people doesn’t mean “more food”! Let’s bring simpler snacks which makes clean-up easier.

If you do not see your name on any team and you want to be included, please let us know and we will include you. Also, if you feel you cannot serve in this way, you may ask to be removed from the teams list.

If you can’t be there on the date, you could supply some snacks and give them to a team member to bring to church.

Each team consists of four to six people. Duties include setting the table, putting snacks on serving plates, make the coffee and heat tea water, wash the dishes and put the trash in the shed. The team will also bring a quart of half and half and juice. We will send out a more details of how to set up.

Thank you for trying this!!! Please call or email if you have a question.

The Parish Committee
Transformative Service
Planning meeting for Soup + Song this Sunday
The first of our community dinners is a little over a month away, Sunday January 12. It's time to plan the details! Please gather after church this Sunday December 8 to lay our what needs to be done to make this happen and to divide up the responsibilities among us.
Caroling, Caroling through the Town
On Sunday December 15 , we will be led in caroling at the homes of a few church and community members. We will meet at the church at 1:30 p.m. to run through the carols, car-pool to sing, and then end up back at the church for cookies, cocoa, and more caroling around the piano. We will be finished by 3 p.m. All ages and singing abilities welcome. And if you know of someone who might welcome a caroling visit, please let Beth or Pam know. And please let Beth know if you're planning to sing so that she can have enough songbooks.
Calendar for December 4 - 15, 2019

Wed. 4th
10:30 am Fididdlers
6:15 pm Wreath Decorating

Fri. 6th
9:00 am Snowflake Fair Setup - all day

Sat. 7th
9:00 am Snowflake Fair

Sun. 8th
9:00 am Choir Practice
10:30 am Worship and RE
11:45 am Planning Meeting for Soup + Song
5:00 pm Youth Group - Rockland

Mon. 9th
7:00 pm Meditation

Wed. 11th
10:30 am Fididdlers
6:30 pm Unity Dinner

Thurs. 12th
7:00 pm Committee on Ministry

Sun. 15th
9:00 am Choir Practice
10:30 am Worship and RE
1:30 pm Caroling
5:00 pm Youth Group - Norwell
Save the Date



January 12 Soup + Song

January 26 Synergy Sunday
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.