We Commit Ourselves and Our Resources to
Nurture the Spirit, Grow in Community, and Help Heal the World.
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Sunday, September 27, 2020
10:00 am
ONLINE Worship Service
Becoming Hollow Bone
Rev. Christina Sillari
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Join Zoom Meeting:
(This link will work for all upcoming online services.)
Meeting ID: 387 790 755
One tap mobile
+19294362866,,387790755# US (New York)
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.
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Upcoming Online Worship Services
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Oct. 4 | 10am
Listening to Our
Heart's Song
Rev. Christina Sillari
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Oct. 11 | 10am
Truth, Grief & Reconciliation
Rev. Christina Sillari
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Oct. 18 | 10am
UU the VOTE!
Carl Capello
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Greetings from Rev. Christina
Dear First Parish Community,
I enjoyed a restorative break in August and I am excited to be entering my eleventh year of ministry with you. Time on Cape Cod, Owls Head, and Lake Champlain was rejuvenating and healing. My husband, daughter and I also enjoyed a visit from my seven year old grandson, Langston, from California (pictured above).
Hope to see you soon on Zoom! Much love to all of you.
Christina
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Wayside Pulpit
Laurie Hasty, Membership Coordinator
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RE Update
Toben Cooney-Callnan, RE Director
Sundays | RE Zoom Meeting | 9-9:45 am
Children Pre-K through 7th grade are invited to join together with teachers for a Religious Exploration Zoom call. This will be a space for easing back in, catching up with each other and playing games. Please email our DRE Toben at dre@firstparishportland.org if you have not yet received an RE Calendar for September.
September 27 | Youth Group Kick Off Meeting | 6-7:30 pm
Youth in grades 10/11/12 are invited to join together with Toben for our first YG meeting of the year. We will be using this meeting to reconnect and to come up with some ideas for the 2020-21 year. We will also use this time to discuss possible times for the remainder of the YG meetings. Please contact Toben if you would like more information.
October 6- December 14 | Coming of Age
Tuesdays | 6:30-7:45 pm
This Fall the RE program will be offering Coming of Age Workshops for Grades 8/9. The purpose of the Coming of Age Program is to encourage youth to investigate their personal spirituality as they move from children to youth. Please contact Toben if you would like more information.
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COVID + Construction:
Getting in Touch with First Parish
With the combined challenges of COVID and the CFE construction project, business is anything but normal at First Parish! We lost phone and internet service for a few days this week, and there's a good chance this will happen again in the coming weeks. Our apologies if you tried to call and could not get through. Phone and internet is back up and running as of Friday afternoon. Email is the best way to reach all First Parish staff. Please keep in mind that Scott, Toben and Laurie work part-time, and will return messages when they are able. Thank you for your patience and understanding!
- Reverend Christina: minister@firstparishportland.org
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Sheila Sullivan: office@firstparishportland.org
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Scott Wheatley: music@firstparishportland.org
- Toben Cooney-Callnan: dre@firstparishportland.org
- Laurie Hasty: membership@firstparishportland.org
- Moe Blanchard: office@firstparishportland.org
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Welcome to our
New Members!
We are so excited that five wonderful women signed the historic Membership Book recently and joined First Parish... Sue Cook, Christine Hey, Cat Koger, Megan Lauer, and Corene Wickenheiser!
This week, let us introduce you to Sue Cook: Susan (Sue) Cook moved to Portland last fall with her husband Jim Cook, to enjoy the many resources and activities available within walking distance of their home. She is an active member of the YMCA and discovered pickleball! She retired from the alumni and development office at Colby College in 2016, and had several part-time jobs until COVID-19. She currently volunteers for Planned Parenthood and is a member of the First Parish Choir. Always on the lookout for a good book, Sue is likely to ask you “What are you reading?”
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Your Presence is NEEDED at the NNED* Annual Meeting
*Northern New England District of the UUA
September 26 | Zoom
The NNED is a group of seventy active UU congregations in NH, VT and Maine. At this year’s meeting we will be voting on whether or not to dissolve the NNED! Would you like to attend? If so, contact Jamie Jarvis (GB clerk), at jamiej123@ymail.com. For more information, click HERE.
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Back with Bach
Livestreaming from
Merrill Auditorium
September 26 | 7 pm
Join James Kennerley, Portland’s Eleventh Municipal Organist, for a FREE online concert performed live from Merrill Auditorium. Kennerley will share the best-loved works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Enjoy the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, the Jig Fugue, and the great Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor -- just to name a few. Find the full program at https://foko.org/event/bach. Digital access for this FREE livestreamed event must be reserved at PortTIX.com or by calling PortTIX at 207.842.0800.
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Breathing and Meditation
with Reverend Christina
Wednesdays | 7:30-8:30 am | Zoom
The practice of pranayama is essential to a calm mind, a healthy body, and a free spirit. Through breathwork, kriyas, mudras and sutras we prepare for silence and stillness. Free to members. $10.00 per class for non-members.
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New Time!
Poetry Hour with Reverend Christina
Thursdays | 8-9 am | Zoom
We listen to poems, reflect on them, and share how they touch our beings.
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Redesigned Class:
Bible Study with Reverend Christina:
The Book of Thomas
Tuesdays | October 27- November 17 4:00-5:30 pm | Zoom
The Bible is a sacred text worth exploring. All are welcome to join in community to read, interpret and discuss "The Book of Thomas" from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. Registration required; must sign up for whole series. Free to members. $50 for the series for non-members.
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Voting Resources from MUUSAN
Absentee Voting Guide:
Voter Registration FAQs:
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Vote LOVE 2020!
When we're living out our values together, we have so much more power. We are all we have AND we are all we need.
We must do all that we can--the risky, the uncomfortable, the loving, the caring, and even the mundane and ordinary actions to move forward towards our collective liberation.
We are calling on all Unitarian Universalists to live out the radical politics of our faith and pledge to #VoteLove in 2020.
I pledge to take actions and invite people to actions towards that end. Specifically I pledge to:
- Act local alongside candidates and issues that have direct and material impacts on the communities in which I have declared political solidarity with.
- Get Out the Vote through phonebanks, text banks, postcards, and voter registration.
- Have values-based conversations with my community and networks about my values and what I am voting for in 2020.
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Church for EveryBody Project
Weekly Update
Work is moving quickly on First Parish's Accessibility Project, The Church for EveryBody! Demolition is taking place on all the ceiling finishes and some of the walls in the lower level Community Room and kitchen. Demolition is also underway on the 1st floor with the fireplace, chimney & interior of Moe’s office. Moe’s office will become more compact, and an accessible toilet room with shower will be added in the remaining space. The lower level mechanical room is receiving and impressive amount of new power boxes and panels for our upgraded power supply. Learn more about the project here.
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Furniture Friends
Virtual Slumber Party
Saturday, October 3rd
Furniture Friends is hosting a Virtual Slumber Party and we hope you'll join us! This will be a fun, family-friendly and all ages way to raise money and awareness for Furniture Friend's mission of providing donated furniture to people in need throughout Greater Portland. Click here to learn more about the event or sign up.
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A Family for ME
Be A Hero.
Be a Resource Parent!
Did you know that YOU could be the life-changing person for a child here in Maine? Yes, YOU can become a foster or adoptive parent! Learn more about the licensing process and the different ways you can help Maine children by contacting A Family for ME today! www.afamilyformemaine.org
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Survey re: Remote FP Events
The First Parish Membership team would like to host online groups for our First Parish Family to still feel connected even though we are temporarily apart. Please fill out the survey at this link if you would be interested in participating or even leading a remote event with our First Parish Community. Thanks! For more information, please contact Emily Bolt at emswah@gmail.com.
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Worship Committee Seeking
Additional Members
Are you interested in helping create our services? Join the Worship Committee! Members learn research, public speaking, and tech skills on a warm and friendly team. For more information, contact Jenna Nunziato at jennanunziato@gmail.com.
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Finance Committee Seeking
Additional Members
Are you looking for a way to make a meaningful contribution to First Parish that involves money but doesn’t require writing a check? The First Parish Finance Committee performs essential financial and operational functions of the church. If you have an interest or skills in finance, accounting, communications, fundraising or special projects we would like to talk with you. Please contact Claire Cowan for more information:
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Ongoing Meetings & Resources
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Text to Give/
Mail Pledge Checks
You can now make donations
to First Parish via TEXT
by following these steps:
- Type in (833) 763-0068 in the "To:" field of a text
- Type in the amount you want to give in the text box
- Click on the link to enter your billing information
- For subsequent donations, simply text the amount you want to give to the (833) 763-0068 & hit SEND.
OR... Mail Your Pledge Check!
Many of our parishioners usually pay their pledges with a check placed in the Offertory, and may prefer not to give online. If this is YOU, please mail your pledge checks to the church office at 425 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101. It is essential for us to maintain a smooth cash flow in these difficult times.
Thank you for your generosity!
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Rev. Christina's 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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Have you visited the UUA's website recently? Many great resources can be found there, including the following:
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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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