The Spire

the electronic newsletter of

First Parish of Norwell,

Unitarian Universalist

In - Spire - ing News UUs Can Use

February 15, 2024

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In This Issue

Sunday Worship

An Invitation to Practice Together

Spiritual Snack

Caring Corner

From the Director of Community Engagement

Gratitude and Grief

Budget Info Session

Invested Funds Cottage Meeting

A Few Spots Left for Egg Dyeing Workshop

Climate Justice Movie Night

Interfaith Poetry Lunch Series

Talent Show

Red Cross Blood Drive

FPN Book Group

Mental Health Action Team Grants

Ongoing/Recurring Events

February Happenings at FPN Poster

Multiplatform Services on

Sundays at 10 am

Rev. Susan Chorley preaching

unless indicated otherwise

The Soul Matters Theme for February is Justice and Equity

Sunday, February 18: Practicing Together

This is an Outreach Sunday. The collection will benefit Showing Up for Racial Justice Boston. SURJ Boston is a local chapter of a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. For more information, please click here.

Sunday, February 25: Multigenerational Worship

For our February service project, we will be assembling “Welcome to Your New Apartment” boxes for the Friends of the Homeless South Shore. Funding from the Fogg Outreach Committee has purchased new comforter and sheet sets for these boxes, but we’d like to finish filling them with secondhand items you bring in over the month. We’ll have bins set up in the back of the Parish Hall for your contributions, so feel free to drop them off any time in February. Cookware, plates and cups and mugs and silverware, etc. – anything that would help a family get set up functionally in a transitional apartment.

click here to join any Sunday in February

Meeting ID: 863 9628 2968

Passcode: Justice

Dial by your location

+1 309 205 3325

Meeting ID: 863 9628 2968

Please send your joys and concerns to Rev. Susan by 8:30 am on Sundays. be sure to tell her if your news can be shared with the congregation or if it should be kept private. The 4th Sunday of each month will include am "open mic" component to Joys and Concerns.

An Invitation to Practice Together

The Christian season of Lent began on Wednesday, February 14 and continues until Easter which this year falls on Sunday, March 31. Many Christians honor this time by giving up something or withdrawing a bit from the distractions of life.

Rev. Susan invites us to consider setting aside some time each day for a sacred practice and has created a calendar of suggestions for each day. The practices range from 3 minutes to 1 hour - and everything in between. The purpose of the time is to slow down, get connected with beauty and care, art and imagination - and to notice what happens within you as you return each day over the course of the 4 weeks.

Though this is special/sacred set aside time for you, you are welcome to share it with others - perhaps members of your family, perhaps a friend.

Above all, these practices are not a demand - but rather an invitation to us all as we move towards Spring to nurture our soul as it awakens from Winter.

click here to view the calendar

Rev. Susan's Schedule

Rev. Susan will be on vacation February 21-28. If you have a pastoral emergency in her absence, please contact Hope Weinman in the Church Office or Marcia Babcock from the Congregational Care Team.

Spiritual Snack

"Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America"

Rep. John Lewis, D-GA

(He is pictured at left on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL, site of the Bloody Sunday protest of March 7, 1965.)

Caring Corner

Prue Miller continues at Harbor House in Hingham and appreciates cards and short visits. (Harbor House, 11 Condito Road, Hingham, MA 02034)

We send birthday wishes to Jean Christensen who turned 88 on February 9. Jean is receiving hospice care at home.

From the Director of Community Engagement

Hello, FPN Friends and Families,

During the month of February, our congregation is learning about the Islamic faith. In the poetry group, participants learned about the five daily prayers of Salat and saw them echoed in a poem broken up into five groups of stanzas; we discussed the ritual of a pause for prayer and the invitation to find our own space for pauses each day. Our youngest kids are working on art that features geometric patterns, inspired by the decorations found in mosques where none but Allah may create the image of living things. Our Holidays and Holy Days class learned about Ramadan and Eid al Fitr, imagining the challenge of fasting for a month. And our oldest students are discussing the Five Pillars of Islam, reviewing each of the religion’s central tenants.

When visiting this classroom, I heard some of these middle-school aged students really wrestling with the fact that “Islam” literally means “submission” in Arabic, that Muslims submit to the will of Allah. This was a challenging concept for our adolescents, as I imagine it would be for many Unitarian Universalists! We treasure an independent search for truth – that can feel antithetical to the concept of submission.

However, I wonder if there’s a context that makes this type of submission an inspiration rather than a contradiction for us. When talking with the FPN class, I challenged the teens to ask why Muslims would submit to Allah. The answer they agreed to: because of the belief in the benevolence and omniscience of Allah. In other words, if your guiding light is perfect, it makes sense to follow it steadfastly.

So what is your guiding light? What brought you to First Parish, and what motivates you to action as part of our community? And what might it look like to submit to that guiding light?

While this is just a thought experiment, it might shed light on a new path or perspective. I hope it’s interesting to contemplate! And I look forward to learning more about World Religions this year with you,

Amanda

New Weekly Series on Mondays in March - Gratitude and Grief

Feelings of grief and gratitude co-exist among all humans throughout the course of our lives. In fact, both experiences reveal to us our deep love for and connection to self, others and the world.

Through different modalities of meditation, art, music and poetry - we will explore together the transformative possibilities within grief and gratitude - making space for personal reflection. Join us on Mondays, March 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 12-1 pm in the Fogg Parlor.

This group will be co-led by Rev. Susan and Gabe Millins.

FY25 Stewardship Drive

If you are new to the canvas process and the budget, or just need a refresher, please join Dave Traggorth, our Treasurer, on Monday, February 19 at 7:30 - 8:30 pm on Zoom for an intro into the budget process and an opportunity to ask questions and get some answers. A recording will be made available if your unable to make that time but would like to listen in. Email Dave Traggorth if you have any questions.

click here to join

Meeting ID: 815 7409 4338

Passcode: 805539

Invested Funds Committee Cottage Meeting

The Invested Funds Committee invites interested members to a Cottage Meeting with John Sargent, our investment manager from Middleton Co. This is a time to learn and ask questions about the FPN endowment, fund performance, investment and distribution decisions, etc. Join us on Sunday, February 25 at 11:30 am in the Parish Hall.

Congregational Conversation 2/4/2024

Twelve people attended the meeting after church, with JP Bourque and Mary Mercier, members of the Shared Ministry Team, facilitating. There was a brief review of the history of the development and the purpose of, the Right Relations Covenant. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss and give feedback on how we are doing as a beloved community in relation to the principles of the Right Relations Covenant, #3 Listening and Speaking: We listen with respect and attention and speak with care; and #4: Serving our Church Community: We serve our church community with generosity and good humor, and we acknowledge the service of others.

A lively discussion ensued, with all attendees actively participating. In general, the group felt that we have made a great deal of progress in both areas. Rev Susan has provided opportunities and modeling of ways to really listen to others, such as during the Courageous Conversations, as well as encouraging people to directly address disagreements and conflicts in a respectful manner. There was discussion about the ongoing challenges in the past 9 years or so with the intense political divide in this country. There was some disagreement about the appropriateness of any “political” discussions in church. Some felt that issues that had been considered social justice issues are now politicized – and our UU Principles call us to work for social justice. We are called to follow our Principles.

There was also discussion about the positive work being done by Amanda Adams, our Director of Community Engagement, providing a multitude of activities that individuals and families can participate in. There was discussion about various small groups in the church. The idea of Small Group Ministries was raised as something to consider in the future as a way of opening small groups to everyone.

There's Still a Few Spots Left!

On Saturday, March 2 we will be hosting a Pysanky Easter egg dyeing workshop at Norwell Public Library. There will be a morning (10:30 am-12:30 pm) and an afternoon session (1-3 pm) and we can accommodate up to 14 people each session. There is a $20 charge per person for supplies. People 12 and older are welcome. Register here, or email Hope in the Church Office.

If you are not familiar, Pysanky is a Ukranian tradition using wax and special dye to make unique designs with vibrant colors. Rev. Susan attended a workshop last year at The Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA and recruited the teacher to come and lead workshops here.

Climate Justice Team Sponsors a Movie Night Out

We are pleased to support a local partner, Norwell Farms, in raising awareness around climate issues with a fundraiser that includes a screening of the 2023 documentary "Common Ground" at Reel Harbor Cinema in Scituate. This special screening will be Thursday, February 29 at 6:30 pm. The exclusive screening highlights the untold stories behind our food system and shows examples of how regenerative agriculture can help heal our planet. For more information and to purchase tickets please go to the Norwell Farms website: https://www.norwellfarms.org/2024-movie-night

Our Climate Justice Team (through funds from the Helen Fogg Outreach Committee) has made a donation to support the event, making it free for all students under 18.

Monthly Lunchtime Interfaith Poetry Series

Rev. Susan will be leading an Interfaith Poetry Group on a monthly basis this year. On the second Thursday of each month from 12-1 pm we will learn about a unique world religion, as well as a poet who represents that religion. We will then read a poem by that poet and reflect on its meaning for us in this moment as well as its illustration of the religion we are centering. Join us for a lovely and unique way to learn together through the arts. Our next meeting is March 14 in the Fogg Parlor.

Church Talent Show

Join us on Saturday, March 9 at 6:00 pm. Mark your calendars! Get out your music! Tune up your sax! Put on your dancing shoes! For this years’ All Church Talent Show. We are looking for all kinds of talent to join the fun. Young people who would like to sing, dance, act, or play an instrument, let Marie Miller or Amanda Adams know. We’ll help you. Adults also should let us know what their act will be and about how long it runs.

Red Cross Blood Drive

Tuesday, February 27 from 1-6 pm

More information will be coming down the pipeline, but for now, here’s a link to sign up for an appointment. We hope people can take a late lunch break or come after work! Blood is desperately needed in the winter because people tend to need more but donate less in the holiday season. Thank you! We will also be looking for volunteers to greet donors and staff the snack table. If you can volunteer, please contact Amanda.

First Parish of Norwell Book Group

Please join us for any or all of our monthly book discussions. We meet on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 pm on Zoom.

Monday, February 19: "West with Giraffes” by Lynda Rutledge

Monday, March 18: “Rough Sleeper” by Tracy Kidder

click here to join

Meeting ID: 847 0898 5879

Passcode: Bookworms

Mental Health Action Team Grant Program

The Mental Health Action Team (MHAT), an arm of the Fogg Outreach Committee, offers a financial aid assistance fund to aid parishioners of First Parish of Norwell with high deductibles or large co-pays who wish to access mental health services. The application is on the First Parish website and Rev. Susan confidentially reviews all applications. Members of the congregation and long-time attendees are encouraged to apply soon - the money allocated is there for you! Questions and comments regarding the application process may be addressed to Rev. Susan.