The First Church in Belmont

THE UNITARIAN  February 25, 2014

In This Issue
Reflections from Rev. David Bryce
Music Notes from Alfa Radford
Children's RE Information
Upcoming Events
Calendar 

Next Issue: March 4

Deadline: 3pm February 27

 

Wednesday, February 26

7:30pm   FC Book Group. Lib.

7:30pm   Youth Cte. CR.

7:45pm   MemberDatabase. cl7.

 Thursday, February 27

6:45pm   Nova Choir. Sanct.

7:30pm   Grandparenting. Lib.

Friday, February 28

4:00pm   SGM. Library.

Saturday, March 1

4:00pm   Men's Group. Parlor.

7:30pm   Uplands Concert. PH.

Sunday, March 2

8:15am   Nova Choir. Sanct.

9:25am   Sr. Choir. Parish Hall.

4:30pm   COA. Parlor.

4:30pm   OWL. Library.

6/7pm    YAC/YG. Parlor/UH.

6:30pm   OWLParentOrient. Lib.

Monday, March 3

6:30pm   Jr; 7 Chan; 7:45 Youth.

7:00pm   Caring Conn. cl5.

7:30pm   Adult Programs. CR.

7:30pm   SAC V-Day Cte. cl7.

8:00pm   Meditation. Library.

Tuesday, March 4

4:00pm   SAC V-Day Cte. UH/K.

7:30pm   Membership Cte. cl5.

7:30pm   Partner Church. CR.

7:30pm   SGM. Library.

Wednesday, March 5

7:00pm   Communications. cl5.

7:30pm   Music in Our Lives.PH.

7:30pm   Women's Gr. Library.

 

Looking Ahead

March 14: Coffeehouse

 

Link to church calendar 

 
This Sunday 
Music:  March 2, 2014

Prelude: What Gift Can We Bring?

-Jane Marshall (contemp.)

Alfa Joy Radford, organ

Solo: Davron Monroe, tenor

9:00 Nova Choir:

Great Day! -Trad'l Spiritual

arr. Theron Kirk

9:00 Postlude: Echo Fantasy

-Samuel Scheidt (17c. German) 

Mary Beekman, organ

11:00 Sr. Choir: Great Day, the Righteous Marching!

-Trad'l. Spiritual

arr. Rollo Dilworth (contemp.)

11:00 Postlude: Festive Trumpet Tune

-David German (b. 1954)

Alfa Radford, organ
   
The flowers this Sunday are given by Cally Abdulrazak. Let's celebrate the coming of Spring!  
  
Ushers: Members of the New Connections Ministry
  
Welcome & Announcements:
Beth Westlund and Doug Burden
You're Invited
Marguerite Shaw, long-time Music Director at First Religious Society in Carlisle and Alfa's sister, is RETIRING! FRS Carlisle, 27 School Street, Carlisle MA invites the UU community to join them in celebrating Marguerite's bright career on Sunday, April 6 at 10:00am.
Spring Housecleaning 

At this time of the year we have a lot of activity related to our church annual pledges (thank you!). In order to keep accurate records, we need to know exactly which pledge period your check covers. Our current church year is July 2013 - June 2014, next year's pledge year is 2014-15. Please indicate on your check whether it's for the current church year (2013-14) or prepayment for next year's pledge (2014-15). Many thanks.

Social Action Corner

ACTION IS OUR PRAYER

Grow Clinic! Grow Clinic!  

It's almost time again for our annual MARCH MAC & CHEESE MADNESS campaign for the GROW CLINIC. Boxes of MAC & CHEESE fly off the shelves and demand always exceeds the supplies. Please help us collect stacks and stacks of MAC & CHEESE during March. Thanks!

FOOD: ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEDICINES

Concert for the Silver Maple Forest

A Benefit to Save the Belmont Uplands on Saturday, March 1. We hope you will join us Saturday evening for a fundraiser to maintain a small, magical forest that sits in the middle of the Fresh Pond/Route 2 over-developed space. You can be a voice for the birds and mammals that live in the Alewife Silver Maple Forest to save their habitat. Great Music for a Great Cause with Jon Svetkey and Heather Quay of The Loomers and Roger Gallagher and friends of foodbaby. Tickets at Coffee Hour or www.BelmontCoalition.org.

 

The Unitarian Newsletter 

Submission Guidelines

 

Please submit articles for the newsletter to Susan Street in the following format: 

- Times New Roman font, 10 point. 

- jpeg for photos

- pdf for attached documents 

- [email protected] for e-mails.  

- avoid phone numbers unless their owners don't mind them being published on the FCB website. 

 

 

 

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First Church Office
:: 617-484-1054
5 Things To Know This Week
  • Stewardship Update
  • Survey Coming on Children's RE Sustainability Options
  • Transcendentalist Series, Feb 25
  • First Church Book Group, Feb 26
  • Music That Moves Us, March 5 
Sunday, March 2          

Possessions: Do We Own Them Or Do They Own Us?

Rev. David M. Bryce

 

9:00 & 11:00 Church Service                           

Childcare for infants and young children

(For weather-related Service and Children RE class cancellations, please check 617.484.1054 x250.)   

 

Most of us are in that small contingent of people who are able to gather things. But our possessions can shape our lives in ways we do not intend. 

 

** Next Sunday, March 9 **

Rev. David M. Bryce preaching

 

Sermons in text and audio format can be found at uubelmont.org/sermons

Reflections from Rev. David Bryce, Senior MinisterRev. David Bryce

The Olympics

When you receive this the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, will just have ended.

 

What I most appreciate about the Olympics is the fact that it is a peaceful, graceful and beautiful gathering of the nations of the world.

 

Some of the goals of the Olympic Movement are similar to or congruent with our Unitarian Universalist goals.

 

"...a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles";

 

"...the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity"; and,

 

"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play".

 

I love that global view, that sense of humanity as one that pervades the Olympic Movement. I hope it someday pervades the vision of every person. 

Alfa Radford
Music Notes from Alfa Radford

OUR MUSIC PROGRAM - LOOKING AHEAD:

JR & CHANCEL CHOIRS sing in church March 10.
Jr. Choir
(K-Gr4) arrives 8:30am. Sing at 9am Multigenerational Service.
Chancel Choir
(Gr5-6) arrives 10:15am. Sing at 11am Multigen'l Service.
Youth Choir
(Gr7-High Sch) Sing at 11am on March 30.

Choristers should be sure to attend upcoming Monday night Rehearsals!

 

SPRING MUSIC SERVICE: Palm Sunday, April 13, at 10:30am Choir, Soloists, and Orchestra.
REQUIEM by contemporary Welsh composer, Karl Jenkins, is a sublimely beautiful choral work to which, in addition to the traditional Latin movements of a requiem, the composer has added five Japanese 'haiku' poems with ethnic percussion and Shakuhachi (ancient Japanese bamboo flute). We are very fortunate to have engaged someone who will play it with us on SPRING MUSIC SUNDAY!

 

On the personal front: Last week, I had a wonderful vacation, visiting friends and former Sr. Choir members, Ed and Elizabeth Roberts, in Sarasota, Florida. We packed a lot into the five days: opera, ballet, movies, beach walking, a concert, and the CIRCUS! (Sarasota is home to the Ringling Brothers.) Every activity was exciting, and even invigorating! I am now refreshed, and greatly anticipating a Springtime full of wonderful music and other pleasures!
−Flying high, Alfa

Children's Religious Education Information  

Sunday School Program Notes

The spring term focus for grades 1 through 6 will be Our Judeo-Christian Heritage, UU Source #4. Grades 1 and 2 will learn about Bible stories, including Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah and the whale, Miriam, and David and Goliath. Grades 3 and 4 will follow the Bible Super Heroes curriculum, with active lessons about Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, Joseph and Esther. Grades 5 and 6 will be using the Bibleodeon curriculum, with lessons on the books of the Bible, creation, the Gospels, the life of Jesus, Jesus as a teacher, healer, and radical thinker.

 

The 7th grade Neighboring Faiths class will be learning about and visiting the Church of the Latter-day Saints (Mormon), a Buddhist temple, and a Jewish synagogue, as well as a Pagan Beltane service here at FCB.

 

Survey Coming on Children's RE Sustainability Options

The Children's Religious Education Committee will soon be sending out a survey to gather your feedback on various options to improve the sustainability of the children's RE program. CRE at FCB is facing some serious structural program challenges which its current cooperative education program is not meeting. Volunteerism is down, not just in CRE but across the scope of FCB programs - a national trend other UU congregations are also experiencing - as families face increasing demands for their time and commitment. We need to reassess what is possible and to re-frame the CRE program to thrive in the current volunteer climate.

 

The survey questions consider various options for revising current approaches in hopes of increasing the viability of the CRE program design, reducing the need for teachers, and improving the ability to achieve the overall mission and goals of the children's RE program.

 

Your survey response feedback is crucial to ensure that the Children's RE Committee has the information it needs to choose the best path forward towards making changes. Please be watching for an email announcing the survey, and follow the embedded link to answer the questions it poses. The list of questions is brief, but their impact will be a huge factor in improving the children's RE program and enabling it to meet future challenges.

 

Substitute Teachers Needed

Every week we are in need of substitute teachers in various classrooms. Specific information about upcoming substitute opportunities is posted on the bulletin board downstairs in the RE hallway. Please consider helping out, even if you only have one week available - it will be much appreciated!

Laurel Whitehouse, Director of Children's Religious Education 

Stewardship Update: Learn - Reflect - Decide - Respond

As we prepare for the active phase of the March Stewardship Drive, the coming days are the time to DECIDE! Pledge forms and supporting materials will arrive at the homes of all parishioners early this week. Next Sunday, March 2, the church will hold a special, celebratory service at which all parishioners will be invited to present their pledges at the offertory. Please give careful consideration to this year's appeal for strong across-the-board increases. Our goal is a 20% rise in both the average and median pledge level. Achieving this mark will strengthen our church's financial foundation immeasurably, and make up for the generous support of a passing generation whose pledges sustained and strengthened this church for decades. A strong parish-wide response to this appeal is our best way of honoring this legacy! − The Stewardship Committee

Caring Connection  

The Caring Connection is a group of Church members and friends who provide support to members of our community who find themselves in some difficulty and need short-term help. Please let us know if you could use some assistance, or know of someone who would benefit from our support. You may fill out a Caring Connection card, available in the hymnal holders and drop it in the collection basket, or contact Laurie Graham at [email protected] or Susan at the Church, 617.484.1054 x201.

Among Us
To submit your own virtual candle, contact Jim Staton at [email protected] or call him at 617.484.1054 x207. Guidelines for these submissions are available on the Church website at uubelmont.org/caring-connection.
Lay Pastoral Care Team 

As members of the lay pastoral care team we are called to be present with you, members and friends, when you wish a compassionate listening ear during times of transition and stress whatever form it might take. We support those who are adjusting to change, loss, illness or death. We share in moments of celebration and happiness. We reach out to those who are unable to get out and who would like a visit. We share in situations that require a special touch of human kindness and an open ear. Please contact us if we might be of help or comfort. We count on the congregation to keep us in touch with pastoral needs of our community.   - Janet Amphlett, Devon Beckett, Nancy Davis, Steve Saar, and Martha Spaulding

Save the Date!

We are all cordially invited to the ordination of
Allison Palm

and the happy celebration that follows

on

Saturday, May 31 3:30PM - 6:00PM
here at The First Church in Belmont 
(This is the Saturday after Memorial Day!)
 

Upcoming Events: 

TRANSCENDENTALIST SERIES: Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson - Tuesday, Feb 25, 7:30pm, Library

Jan Turnquist, director of Orchard House, home of the Alcotts, will discuss Bronson Alcott's remarkable friendship with Emerson and the impact it had on both their lives. Al Herter will reflect on "Waldo & Me: My 45 year friendship and reliance on "The Sage of Concord," a program which will be part of the European Unitarian Universalist retreat this spring in France. These two men helped to shape nineteenth century American culture and thought and served as an inspiration for generations to come.

FIRST CHURCH BOOK GROUP - Wed, Feb 26, 7:30pm, Library

The book for February is House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid. In 2006, Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Prize winning foreign correspondent, resolved to rebuild his ancestral home in Marjayoun, Lebanon, which had been devastated by war. In House of Stone, Shadid tells not only the story of his efforts to restore the house, but also the story of his family's history in Marjayoun and their eventual migration from Lebanon to Oklahoma in the 1920's. Published posthumously shortly after Shadid's death while on assignment in Syria in 2012, House of Stone was a finalist for the National Book Award. Hayat Weiss will be leading the discussion and sharing her personal insights as a former native of Lebanon.

 

Book Group is open to new members. There is no long-term commitment. Feel free to join us for a single evening's discussion or to become a regular participant. We ask only that you confirm your intention to attend on a particular evening by the Monday before that session. Please contact Anne Stuart [email protected] or Karl Klasson [email protected] to confirm attendance if you are interested in participating or have any questions.

GRANDPARENTING NEAR AND FAR

Thursday, Feb 27, 7:30pm, Library

ML Landfried will facilitate our discussion about our own grandparents as models for our roles. Bring pictures to share of your grandparents and your grandchildren.

SAVE THE DATE!

MUSIC THAT MOVES US

Roger H. Brown, Alfa Joy Radford, Ken Stalberg

Wednesday, March 5, 7:30pm, Parish Hall

We will explore the various ways music has supported, consoled, uplifted and deepened the moments of our lives. Please bring your favorite piece of music to share and help us to understand what it has meant in your life. Our panel will guide us on a journey to a deeper understanding of why music is elemental to life. Refreshments.