SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2015 "Our Escalating Inequality" This Sunday, we welcome the Rev. Judy Deutsch to the pulpit as she explores the huge gap in our nation's income and wealth, and examine how that gap came about. The Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty will conduct the Service.
Rev. Deutsch notes "clearly the income/wealth gap between the 'haves and have-nots' doesn't align with principles of democracy and the spirit of love. Nor does it align with Unitarian Universalist principles of justice, equality and compassion." Her sermon will challenge us to consider what might be done to partially eliminate this gap. Rev. Deutsch is a Unitarian Universalist minister emerita, and currently serves as the coordinator or First Parish of Sudbury's Faith in Action and Welcoming Congregation committees. She also serves on the boards of UU's for a Just Economic Community and the James Luther Adams Foundation, as well as the boards of the Sudbury Housing Authority and Mass-Care. Religious Exploration for children and teens takes place concurrently with the adult worship service. Children and teens begin in the worship service, and then go off to their own fun and interesting program of religious exploration. First Parish of Sudbury is a Unitarian Universalist congregation located at 327 Concord Road. We embrace diversity and welcome the participation of all persons who wish to join us for worship, activities and service to the greater communities. For more information about upcoming events, visit fpsudbury.org or call 978-443-2043
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 STEWARDSHIP
It's time to put your money where your heart is.
The 2015 Pledge Drive is underway. This year we have a unique opportunity to jump-start our future, due to two key conditions: - A generous pledge match that doubles the increase of your pledge, up to $3,000 per family.
- An outreach campaign to share our amazing church with newcomers in the MetroWest area.
When your Steward contacts you, please remember why you love this place, and then give from that place of generosity and abundance. We have something wonderful here, and we want our community and our liberal religious faith to endure for us and for the future. |
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WHAT OUR SHARE THE PLATE CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE ACCOMPLISHED
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 As you know, First Parish is a generous community of givers and has a practice of sharing the plate every other Sunday with an organization that helps others in need. We thought you might be interested in knowing what First Parish has accomplished so far in FY2015 with its Share the Plate donations. Click here. |
 SUDBURY LISTENING PROJECTThere is still time to be heard! Concerned about the political infighting in town in recent years, the Sudbury Clergy Association invited the Harvard program to help lead the "Sudbury Listening Project," the purpose of which is to "gain a better sense of the challenges Sudbury faces, as well as to identify opportunities to help the town moving forward," representatives for the program said in a press release. The community focus groups will be held March 6, 7, 13, and 14; residents can sign up by visiting http://tinyurl.com/qf5vzqt. The survey is also available online at http://tinyurl.com/oghp32v. More information about the Listening Project is available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sudburylisteningproject. - Click Here to see more information on the Listening Project. |
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HARVEST CRAFT FAIR
114th First Parish Harvest Fair.....
Last year marked the 113th Harvest Fair at First Parish. Help us keep the tradition going by volunteering to co-chair the crafter portion of the fair. We have one co-chair and need a second person who will who interact with crafters, receive crafter applications, assist with publicity, and participate in the jury process to select the crafters. The Fair has an excellent reputation in the crafter community, with over 50% of our vendors being repeats; many of the newbies are recommended by the veteran crafters.
The Fair is a fun community-wide event, with over 600 people attending from all over Metrowest. Many come annually and look forward to it each year. It also brings in about $8K to support the FPS budget. Almost everyone in the congregation does something to assist either by helping set up, day of, and take down - plus all those who make soup, bread, baked goods and jams.
The retiring co-chairs have made it easy with systems that need no tweaking this year - unless you want to. All documents are ready on a thumb drive. The former co-chairs are also ready, willing, and able to give guidance, advice, and tips. If you are interested, please contact Sherri Cline, Sheila Murphy, or Tom Arnold.
Help us make the 114th Harvest Fair a reality and have a good time in the process!
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Living Our Faith Water Fact 
The United Nations has reported that more people now die from contaminated water than from all forms of violence.
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March:March 11: REC Meeting (7:00 - 9:00 pm - Commons) March 11: Sustainable Sudbury (7:30 - 9:00 pm - Library) March 12: Insight Meditation (1:00 - 2:30 pm - Commons) March 12: FinCom Q&A (7:00 - 9:00 pm - Brackett) March 12 Choir (7:30 - 9:00 pm - Commons) March 14: Activist's Dinner Party - "Be the Change" (7:00 - 9:00pm - Parish Hall) March 15: Worship - Our Escalating Inequality - Rev. Judy Deutsch and Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty
March 15: FinCom Q&A (11:30 am - 12:45 pm - Brackett) March 15: Hop Brook Dancing (11:45 am - 1:00 pm - Commons) March 15: Senior High OWL (1:00 - 3:00 pm - Commons) March 15: Journey of Discovery-Why Soul? (2:00-4:00 pm - Brackett Room) March 15: Salon-Being Mortal (7:00 - 8:30 pm-Brackett) March 17: Yoga (7:30 - 8:45 am - Commons) March 17: Quilters (7:00 - 9:00 pm - Commons) March 18: PAG Meeting (7:30 -9:00 pm - Commons) March 19: Insight Meditation (1:00 - 2:30pm - Commons) March 19: Choir (7:30 - 9:00 pm - Commons) March 20: First Day of Spring! Coming up in March: March 22: Worship - Rev. Jane Thickston March 22: FinCom Q&A (11:30am - 1:30pm - Brackett) March 22: Landscape Meeting (11:30am-1:30pm - Library) March 22: Morris Dancing (11:45am. - 1:00pm - Commons) March 22: Sr. High OWL (1:00 - 3:00pm - Commons) March 22: COA Workshop (3:00-4:30pm - Commons) March 22: GMMS Dancing (4:45 - 6:45pm - Parish Hall) March 29: Worship - Palm Sunday March 29: Journey of Discovery - Contemporary Practices and Holy Week
Coming Up this Spring:
April 4: Seeker's Potluck - Work for Justice April 10-12: Women's Alliance Weekend Retreat
April 25: Rummage April 26: Journey of Discovery - Civility as a Spiritual practice. May 9: Service Auction May 31: Journey of Discovery - Sewing the Seeds of Transformation In the Fall: October 17 - Harvest Craft Fair
To view the full Meeting House Calendar Click here.
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PARISH OFFICE
The Parish Office is staffed week days
from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
If you need to contact the office outside of regular office hours, please send an e-mail to office@fpsudbury.org
or leave a voice mail at 978-443-2043. E-mail and voice mail will be checked regularly on week days.
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| Everyone is talking about what's coming up at First Parish Meeting House
this weekend!
Dinner Theater, March 14
Journey of Discovery, March 15
The Salon, March 15
See Below
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Come to
FIRST PARISH's first Dinner Theater!
Saturday, March 14
at 7:00 pm.
The play is titled 'Be the Change: An Activist Dinner Party'
Performed by our very own First Parish congregants, it is a one-act 45-minute play with a message about staying engaged and fighting for social justice, important at this time - 50 years after the march from Selma.
And you can have some fun while doing it.
Come at 7:00, and curtain goes up at 7:30. Drinks and Dinner will be provided but you can bring dessert if you want.
Contact Liz Rust for more information
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Journey of Discovery
Why Soul?
March 15, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm.
Why Soul? It is said "that it takes a lifetime to grow a soul" but what are concepts such as spirit and soul and how do they pertain to a secular or spiritual life? A bigger question for us to contemplate might be why do we even need spirit and soul? (Join Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty and Aline Kaplan to share some thoughts and ideas about this topic.)
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 The Salon: "Being Mortal" The Religious Exploration Salon is a group that meets on the 3rd Sundays to discuss
various topics in the format called Bohm Dialogue. The topic for March 15 is "Being Mortal". We will dialogue about medicine at the end of life when it may no longer make sense to look for a cure or life extension. The topic
is inspired by the book Being Mortal by Atul Gawande but reading the book beforehand is unnecessary and most of us won't have done so. If you have time there is a free Frontline program online on the subject that you can
watch but that is optional too.
Everyone is welcome. To read more about this Salon and Bohm Dialogue click here. |
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Living Our Faith
A Roadmap Toward Justice
A chance to learn about bills related to mass incarceration and prison reform that have a chance to become laws. Fact sheets, time for questioning, as well as excellent speakers, and information about how you can help make our criminal justice system more fair and effective will be provided.
Topics covered will include parole reform, restorative justice, jobs not jails, and alternative sentencing for children's primary care givers.
Saturday, March 14
1:00pm to 4:30pm
First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington
630 Mass Ave, Arlington
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The following is a project led by one of our youth, Camille Slattery. Thank you, Camille!Help Buddy Dog Humane Society
A collection box has been set up at the church to benefit Buddy Dog Humane Society. This is a great organization that helps homeless dogs and cats in the community. Buddy Dog asks for donations of new or gently used collars, leashes, blankets, dog beds and old newspapers. Science Diet Brand dog and cat food, cat litter, treats and all cleaning supplies are greatly appreciated. Gift cards to Home Depot, Petco, BJ's, Walmart and cash/check donations are accepted on Sunday mornings during coffee hour when organizers are present. Hurry, because the drive ends on March 29th. Thank you for your support!
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 FROM LIVING OUR FAITH
UU College of Social Justice
The UU College of Social Justice has had a busy winter, successfully running four back-to-back programs to Haiti, India, and the Southwest border. Spring and summer are right around the corner, and we've got justice programs for everyone! To read more about these programs, click here. |
SERVICE AUCTION
Saturday. May 9, 2015
Every year First Parish holds a gala auction in the Parish Hall to raise money for our operating budget. There will be food, music, a silent auction and a live auction - and always a lot of fun. Please be sure to attend. Child care will be provided. The Service Auction Committee will be contacting you to see what delightful items you can donate for the auction. Be creative!
Service Auction Committee Members:
Gail and Jan Hardenbergh, Liz and Erin Llewellyn, Sherene Aram, and Sherri Cline.
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Coffee Hour and Kitchen Notes: Two new tablecloths, one large and one extra large were provided to cover two rectangular tables for refreshments. Thank you to Valerie Tratnyek for this donation. There were also two blue and yellow checked tablecloths that were provided last year. Last week it was noticed that some of them were missing. A couple of them were tracked down but one of the blue and yellow checked is still missing. Please, if you borrow tablecloths, put them back in the kitchen before coffee hour. Also, please take a look at home to see if you might have taken one to wash and inadvertently forgot to bring it back. Thanks.
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Volunteers needed for Nursery Care: Michelle won't be able to care the Chalice Babies on March 29, May 10, 17, 24 and June 14. Can someone step up to help? Contact Michelle Stolow or Leslie Lowe for training to sign up for your preferred date. Thank you.
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Weekly Connector: The next issue of the Weekly Connector will be published on March18. The deadline for articles is March 13.
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Sunday Helpers for March, 2015
Ushers: Marty and Steve Shugrue
Greeters: Peg Espinola
Fellowship: Dave and Alex Andrews and Ginger Gauss
Flowers: Helen Russell
March 22:
Ushers: Nancy Moore and Helga Andrews
Greeters: Peg Espinola and Bridget Hanson
Fellowship: Valerie Tratnyek and Sally Sweitzer
Flowers:
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