What's Happening at First Parish  September 2020 We aspire to be a beacon of ... ...Liberal Faith

Sunday September 13 Grounded in Beauty: Water for our Roots Our regular services resume over Zoom at 10:30 a.m. with our annual Homecoming service. Pamela Barz will offer an interactive story for all ages and reflect on the ways our community sustains us these days. The service will include a video anthem from our choir of The Water Remembers by Jason Shelton as well as Elizabeth playing Improvisation on "For the Beauty of the Earth by Chuck Bell, Variations to "The Sicilian Hymn" by Benjamin Carr and When Morning Gilds the Skies by Joseph Barnby. You are invited to have a candle near you to light when Pam lights the chalice. Our offering this month will support the work of First Parish and the Scituate Food Pantry.

From Your Minister So how are you feeling as we move into our 7th month of pandemic isolation, the 4th month since the killing of George Floyd, and draw closer to the 2020 election? Anxious? Stressed? Worried? Or how about grateful and grounded? I've been hearing a lot of the first set of adjectives in my conversations with you this summer, not so much those last one . With so many unknowns in all areas of our lives and our society, it's no wonder those adjectives predominate. So in our worship this fall, we're going to focus on grounding ourselves - in community, in tradition, in gratitude, in beauty - to help us respond from that life-giving stance to whatever the coming months may bring. The Parish Committee put together a Health Advisory Team, made up of some of our members in health care professions, to help us determine safe practices. So with the Team's permission, Beth and I will be leading worship from the sanctuary with the help of Michael in videoing and connecting us all over Zoom. Though our choir can't be with us - singing is one of the most dangerous things we can do - thanks to technology and Beth's leadership, we will be sharing their anthems through video, as well as videos of other singers and musicians as well as readers. If you'd like to participate in this way, please contact me or Beth. We are also looking for one or two people to do the videoing on Sundays when Michael isn't available. If you have technical and artistic skills and would like to put together a video or make slides for hymns and other notices, please let me know. Though participation is different, this is still "liturgy" aka "the work of the people." And please remember if you would like to talk about however you may be feeling, I am here. See you in Church, Pamela

Back to School Blessing Sunday Sept 13, 4:30-5 p.m. We are broadening our annual blessing of the backpacks this year to bless whatever tools children, youth, and adults are using for the new school year. Bring your laptop or chromebook, your pencil box or crayon pack, your phone or your notebook! We will gather outside the church, distanced and masked, for a blessing led by Pamela Barz and followed by popsicles. In case of rain, the blessing will be drive-through.

Religious Education for Children and Youth 2020-2021

Registration for this year’s World Religions Religious Education program can be found at: RE Registration Classes will all meet over Zoom. Picture Book World Religions (PreK- Grade 1) will begin on Tuesday, September 22 at 7pm. World of New Religions (Grades 2-5) and Building Bridges (Grades 6-9) will start mid-October to allow families of school-aged children time to settle into the new school year. Start dates for the SciCoRockWell High School Youth Group will be announced at a later date.  Class times will be short - the youngest group will meet for 20 minutes, the middle group for 30 minutes, and the junior high for about 40 minutes. Learn about more our plans in this 3 minute video from Religious Education Coordinator. Please share it with anyone who might be interested in joining us.  Register now so we can plan the schedule.

Notes from the Music Director 🎶🎶🎶🎼🎶🎶🎶 September is here, and it brings more changes than just the season. I’m glad to be back in the Sanctuary with Pamela Barz and Michael. It is great to be able to play the organ and harpsichord again along with the beautiful Mason and Hamlin piano.   CHOIR rehearsals will be outside at the back of the church Sunday mornings in good weather through the end of October. We will wear masks and sit 10 feet apart. I will bring my electric piano. In poor weather we will have a rehearsal over zoom. I will use my computer from the sloop room.  I will post on the church web site if we will be over zoom. Rehearsal time : 9:00-9:45.     BELL CHOIR- we have some great little hand bells! Cathie, Vicki, Sarah and I already made a little recording for our first service.  If you read music and would like to learn how to play our bells, we will rehearse every 3rd Sunday in the sloop room in lieu of a choir rehearsal.   Here is our September /October Schedule:   9/13- Choir rehearsal    9/20- Choir rehearsal   9/27- Bell Choir rehearsal   10/4- Choir rehearsal   10/11- Choir rehearsal   10/18 NO REHEARSAL- I will be away.   10/25 Bell choir rehearsal   Best wishes for a safe and healthy autumn, grounded in the beauty all around us.   - Music Director

Monday Night Meditation September 14 and 28, 2020 Brian is offering a brief meditation session starting at 8:00 p.m., on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, helping us put off the stress of the day and prepare for a peaceful night. If you've been having trouble sleeping, as many are, meditation can help.

Learn about Slavery in New England and Its Legacy: "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North" September 22, 2020 6:30pm – 9:30pm over Zoom St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has invited us to join them for this screening of the movie Traces of the Trade over Zoom, followed by a discussion about racism past and present in New England led by Dain Perry, a descendant of the family profiled, and his wife, a descendant of slaves. Traces of the Trade is an award-winning documentary of the largest slave trading family in America, the DeWolf family of Rhode Island. This film follows the history of the slave triangle and how it enriched this white family. Please email the Priest-in-Charge at St. Luke's, to join the session for free: stlukepriestnfs@gmail.com

"Waking Up White" Book Discussion  STRIDE (Scituate Together for Representation, Diversity, and Equity) is leading a conversation over Zoom on Tuesday September 29 of Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving. Thanks to donations by CORSE and St. Luke's Episcopal Church, copies of the book are available for people taking part in the discussion. To request a book and to reserve your space, click here: Reserve your Space and Request a Book

...Strong Community

Love Shows Up Sign and Love Shows Up T-Shirts Order your "Love Shows Up" swag and benefit First Parish and UU Urban Ministry in Boston equally. Lawn signs are in, and you can pre-order t-shirts, which are due next week.

Lawn signs are $15. T-shirts are $15 for regular design, or $20 with the church name proudly added on the back. Both shirts are a medium-blue 100% cotton - you choose a traditional cut or a "women's" fitted, S/M/L/XL. Payment by cash preferred, or by check for members. You -- or friends and neighbors -- can buy them in person at the Sunday vigil at the church, or email Kate at fpuuscituate@gmail.com to arrange payment/pickup. If you want to pre-order, please follow the link: Google form : https://forms.gle/6bYfhKe1vTJHLRvdA

Story Time Wednesday 16 at 7:00 p.m. Join Pamela for the last session of Summer Storytime. Pam will read Making the World by Douglas Wood, illustrated by Yoshi and Hibiki Miyazaki, in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Beginning Sept. 22 Storytime will move to Tuesday evenings and readers will offer stories of world religions as part of our Picture Book World Religions class.

Looking for Volunteers for a Big Fall Clean-Up at First Parish Many flexible times available and tasks for all whether you like trimming, tending to flower beds, pruning, weed wacking, laying mulch or even cleaning up trash! Please email Erica if you can help.   We are asking people NOT to go over and do any grounds work without connecting with Erica first because of the on-going Steeple and Roof projects. Thanks! -Erica, Buildings and Grounds Committee

...Transformative Service

Love Shows Up Sunday Stand Outs Ongoing - Sundays - at the church, from 3 to 4 pm We have gathered on the front lawn of the church every Sunday afternoon this summer with signs in hand in a show of support for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and especially in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The size of our protest has ranged from 3 to 30 people. One weekend we had some of the youth who have been active in the 3A Rotary and Lawson Common protests join us. We have been joined by people from Weymouth, Norwell, and other towns. It has been a nice way to meet some like-minded folks from outside of our church community, and we always have interesting conversations while we stand together waving at passersby. Drivers going by overwhelmingly support our standout, but there are some folks who make rude gestures and one driver this past weekend swerved his car menacingly to let us know that he could run us over easily if he wanted to. Some drivers have stopped in the middle of traffic to argue and yell at us that all lives matter. We decided this weekend that our future response to these people will be to invite them to move off of the street, park safely in our parking lot, and engage with us in a civil conversation. There seems to be support for continuing our stand out/protest, at least for the time being, while the weather is conducive to outside gathering, and, perhaps, until there is a sign that better policies might be implemented moving forward, both here in Scituate and in the country at large. We have also discussed that we might want to consider switching tactics, since some of the signs seem to anger people in a way that might be closing off meaningful dialog. On the other hand, just as we were discussing this option this past weekend, a black kid rode by on his bike and I was glad that I was holding a Black Lives Matter sign. Please join us on Sunday afternoons from 3-4pm, and let us know if you think this is a worthwhile endeavor, or if you think we should be spending our time and energy in a different manner. -Jean, Love Shows Up Committee

UU the Vote Hosts Gather the Spirit Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:30 pm. Join UU the Vote and UUs nation-wide for an online worship and celebration as they kick off a Week of Action to reach the goal of connecting with 1 million voters before November 3. Leaders from across our faith will join in to talk about what has been accomplished and to offer helpful tools to equip us for this week of action. Reserve your place here.

DRUUMM New England Gathering DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries)invites Unitarian Universalists who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color to participate in our New England (virtual) Caucus on September 19, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to deepen connections. The theme is Lamentations to Joy: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Rayla Mattson, Director of Religious Education for the Unitarian Society of Hartford, CT, and Nina Lytton, Chaplain at Brigham and Women's Hospital, will facilitate the gathering. The event is free but registration is required. Registration will be accepted until September 18. For general information about our New England Region Caucus please contact Karin Lin (kslnet@yahoo.com).

The Month to Come Sun.     13th    9:00    am       Choir Rehearsal                        10:30   am       Worship                            3:00     pm       Love Shows Up for Justice                        4:30     pm       Back to School Blessing   Mon.    14th      8:00     pm       Meditation   Wed.    16th      7:00     pm       Storytime                       7:30     pm       Parish Committee meeting   Sat.      19th      10:00   am       DRUUMM Caucus   Sun.     20th   9:00    am       Choir Rehearsal                       10:30   am       Worship                            3:00  pm        Love Shows Up for Justice                    Tues.    22nd    6:30    pm       Traces of the Trade                            7:00  pm       Picture Book World Religions   Wed.    23rd      7:30    pm       Gather the Spirit   Sat.      26th      9:00     am       Parish Committee Retreat   Sun.     27th     9:00     am       Bell Choir Rehearsal                        10:30   am       Worship                                3:00  pm      Love Shows Up for Justice   Mon.    28th     8:00     pm       Meditation   Tues.    29th      7:00     pm       Picture Book World Religions

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