Happy Pride First U Friends!

I hope many of you will join me at the Portland Pride Parade this Saturday, June 18th, to march in the name of fierce love and fabulous joy. We’ll meet on the steps of First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street, around 11:15 am and get into parading position at Monument Square at 12:15 pm. The parade begins at 1 pm. You can learn more about the Portland Pride festivities here.

Pride has meant many things to me over the course of my life: a protest, a party, a refuge, a reality check, and often an opportunity to don my radical queerleading uniform and get riled up!

No matter the mood and needs I bring to pride each year though, the through line of this party-protest for me is always to lift up the alternatives– that is, to celebrate ways of being, feeling, dressing, relating, and loving that are different from what’s expected and deeply rutted in our (too) well regulated society. Pride is a time to love what we love and love ourselves because of what we love.

So in honor of all the lovely alternatives we flaunt this pride, here’s a love poem by the wise and queer bell hooks, whose proverb “love is an action” will be proclaimed on the First U banner we’ll parade with this Saturday.

In love

there are no closed doors

each threshold

an invitation

to cross

take hold

take heart

and enter here

at this point

where truth

was once denied

Yours in the alternatives - flaunt ‘em baby!

Rev. Hillary

PS – For good measure - a photo circa 2005-ish of Rev. Hil (in the middle) with her radical queerleading squad, the “Queer Liberation Army.”

Join fellow UUs from across the state of Maine to march in the Pride Portland! parade on Saturday, June 18th.

Meeting to line up for the parade begins at First Parish Portland at 11:15 am and the parade starts at 1:00 pm. Please come by no later than 12:00 pm to find a spot in line. The parade lasts about 45 minutes and ends at Deering Oaks Park where the festival will be held.

MUUSAN, who First Universalist will be marching with, suggests wearing yellow (the color for the "Side with Love" campaign). We'll be bringing First U banners - including the "Love is an Action" banner! - to the parade. You can also bring your own signs!

The festival takes place from 1:00 - 5:00 pm in Deering Oaks Park. If you can't make it to march in the parade, come watch or come to the festival!

Sundays, July 24, 31, and August 7, 14, 21, 28, at 5:00 pm

Whether you were on the beach or in the berry patch, playing games or hosting guests, come find the peace of our Summer Vespers practice at First Universalist. We gather on Sundays at 5 pm for a half hour of reflections and sharing of joys and concerns, then enjoy a freestyle potluck supper of whatever we had handy! Bring kids, bring guests, bring your self, and scoop up some friendly centering at the end of your summer Sunday. FMI write to Sarah Witte sarahcoffinwitte@gmail.com.

Channels will be on hiatus the following Fridays: July 1, July 8, and August 5. Channels will be published on Fridays, as usual, all other summer Fridays: June 24, July 15, July 22, July 29, August 12, August 19, August 26, and September 2. As always, please have any announcements for Channels sent to Gwen on Wednesdays at 12 pm. Thank you!

First U is ONLY offering parking for those with physical disabilities who need accessible parking spaces during the Clam Fest (July 15-17). We seek teams of 2 for short shifts who would like to just be a friendly face and guide, collecting $10 per car. It's really EASY duty - no fryers, no fridges. Interested? Call Marge 207-272-9345 or email mjtbean@aol.com or sign up in the Gathering Room on Sunday. Thanks for considering!

Marni Prince is leading a yoga class just for First Universalist members and friends on Saturday mornings at Riverbend Yoga Studio in Yarmouth. This is a very gentle yoga class focused on healing and restoration. Classes cost $10 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the church. To get on the email mailing list for more information, please contact Marni Prince at marniprince@gmail.com.

Children are invited and welcome to join Mack and Gwen for the last Children's Chapel of the church year this Sunday, June 19th, during the church service. We'll be celebrating the blessings of our time together and wishing summer blessings upon one another.

This summer, the Adult RE Council invites you to read Mill Town: Reckoning With What Remains by Kerri Arsenault.

About the book: Kerri Arsenault grew up in the small, rural town of Mexico, Maine, where for over 100 years the community orbited around a paper mill that provided jobs for nearly everyone in town, including three generations of her family. Kerri had a happy childhood, but years after she moved away, she realized the price she paid for that childhood. The price everyone paid. The mill, while providing the social and economic cohesion for the community, also contributed to its demise.

Book discussions: With all that this book contains, the Adult RE Council is inviting you to two discussion sessions in August, one to cover the first half of the book and one for the second half. These book discussions will be held on Thursday, August 11, 4:30 - 5:30 pm, and Thursday, August 25, 4:30 - 5:30 pm, and will be facilitated by the Adult RE Council.

We are a group of Yarmouth volunteers who are helping to provide transportation to the recently arrived asylum seekers in our community. 

We are currently using the Town of Yarmouth passenger van to provide a weekend shuttle service as well as on demand group rides. We’d love to expand these services and are looking for more volunteers! If you are interested in helping these New Mainers, please email Anna and Johannes:

anna@steffeney.com and johannes@jynxproductions.com.

On Wednesdays from 12:00 - 1:00 pm Rev. Hillary will be holding an outside drop-in space at our church picnic tables. All are welcome to come by and check-in. (Weather permitting.) Throughout the week, Rev. Hillary will be holding office hours for individual conversations. These conversations can be on Zoom, over the phone, or in-person. Please reach out to Rev. Hillary directly to schedule a conversation, firstuminister@gmail.com. Note that Rev. Hillary is not available to meet on Saturdays and Mondays.