From Your Minister
“Nope, not gonna happen!” It’s the caption chosen by one of our children in Religious Education for their illustration of three other children walking away from a bus. The heading that inspired it? “1955 1956: Martin led a boycott of the buses in Montgomery, Alabama, that lasted 385 days.” Just yesterday we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday. It was so gratifying to have our youngsters with us for the first part of worship in the Meeting House before joining their teachers for the “RE/religious education” part of their morning. When the rest of us walked into coffee hour after worship, we paused. Suspended from a clothes line along the window span of the Parish House hallway are illustrations of happenings that began in 1929, with the birth of Dr. King, through 1983, with the declaration of his birthday as a national holiday. Our teachers supplied the headings. Our youngsters provided illustrations and sometimes additional captions.
The wisdom of our children and the vision of our teachers moved me yesterday and continue to move me. Each piece of art and heart is my favorite. Visualize if you will how a child illustrated Dr. King’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. I’m tempted to describe it, but my description couldn’t compare to what you’ll see if you come and see for yourself! And don’t miss the poster on the doors leading into Trueblood Hall. You’ll find a bus filled with kids and the caption: “We’re all on the bus together!” So we are. We’re all on the bus together. We’re all on this planet together. As we hold up the life and legacy of Dr. King reminding us again and again that we’re all in this life together, we hold in our hearts the suffering and the hope of our neighbors in Haiti. Yesterday’s and next Sunday’s full nonpledge plate offering are dedicated to the UUSC/UUA Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund (www.uusc.org). Thanks to the decision of our Outreach Committee, this fund will also be the recipient of our 25% non-pledge plate offering from February through August. The truth learned by our children holds: We’re all on the bus together. Our faith calls us, children and adults together, to affirm “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” In the words of Dr. King, “We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” So come, let us worship and learn and live a faith that stretches our souls, opens our hearts, and calls us again and again into the transforming embrace of love. Come, bring your children, bring your un-churched friends and neighbors. Come, be a part of what our children who were here yesterday have already taken to heart.
I love you each and all,
Jan
February Services
February 7
10 AM – “Afterlife”
February 14
10 AM – “Love’s Edge”
February 21
10 AM – “Covenantal Action: Beyond Light Bulbs”
Percussionist and UU worship leader Matt Myer will lead us in a service of rhythm, music, covenantal community and collective action.
4 PM – Meetinghouse Concert
February 28
10 AM – “The Walk We Walk Together”
11:30 AM – Welcome to U & UU for new and prospective members
25% of our non-pledge plate offering from February through August will go directly to our UUSC/UUA (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee/Unitarian Universalist Association) Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, as decided by our Outreach Committee. To learn more visit www.uusc.org or pick up a flyer at the entrance to the Parish House.
Mission Statement
We welcome all to our inclusive spiritual community. We affirm our Unitarian Universalist Principles and put them into action by worshipping together, caring for one another, and working for a safe, just, and sustainable world.
New Directories
New First Parish will be available February 1 at the entrance to the Parish House. If you would like one mailed to you, please phone Sandy Bailey at 781-383-1100.
Contact Us!
Minister
The Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull
jcarlssonb@aol.com
Regular hours:
Monday through Thursday, 10-4
I welcome meeting with you. To ensure that I can allow ample time for you, please call to make an appointment during my regular hours or on an evening. In case of an emergency, call me anytime at church
(781-383-1100), at home (781-545-7912), or on my cell phone (781-733-0355). If you leave a message, be sure to state your name, your phone number, and the best time to reach you.
Director of Religious Education
Jim FitzGerald; jfitzgerald@firstparishcohasset.org
Office hours: Tuesday. 9:30 – 1:30 and designated Sundays, 9:30 – 1
Music Director
Allegra Martin
allegra.martin@gmail.com
Parish Administrator
Sandy Bailey
sbailey@firstparishcohasset.org
February Care Circle Coordinator
Nancy Robertson 781-545-8295
Parish Committee
Dear Friends,
What is your ministry at First Parish? How do you participate in our church? For the last four years my ministry has been the Parish Committee, the last three as chair. This is a demanding and time-consuming job, but for the most part I have genuinely enjoyed it. I like the work because through it I have gotten to know so many of you and to learn more about this faith that I love. I’ve attended meetings of the Parish Committee and the Council on Parish Ministry and several other committees, participated in fundraisers, and worked on stewardship. I’ve also represented First Parish at numerous UUA sponsored events. Each time, I have learned something new or made a new or stronger connection. I believe that my work, our work, makes a difference. Congregational polity is not an easy way to run a church. We do not have a church hierarchy to make all the decisions and do all the hard work. It is up to us. The members of our congregation have so many jobs: caring for our historic structures, caring for each other, teaching our youth and adults, social justice and outreach, music, making coffee, fundraising, attracting and retaining members, and general administration, just to name a few. Each of these jobs, big or small is its own ministry, a way of ministering to ourselves and to others. Yes, it takes precious time, and we all seem to have so little of that these days, but the rewards are so worth it. I marvel at the dedication of so many of our members to the health and longevity of our church. Many of you serve in very demanding roles, often on more than one committee. You spend countless hours attending meetings and on the phone and computer, but also working from home, or around our buildings. Why do you do it? For the same reason that I do, because you love First Parish in Cohasset Unitarian Universalist.
Our leadership development committee (the LDC) has done excellent work conducting a survey of members’ interests and talents and following it up with a booklet of volunteer opportunities at First Parish. We still have many openings on committees. And with the annual meeting 4 months away, the LDC has begun its critical job of nominating willing candidates for elected offices and members of the Parish Committee. I urge each of you to consider how you might become more involved, or be involved differently. Join a committee; try a leadership role; volunteer, recruit your friends and colleagues. Again I ask, what is your ministry?
In fellowship,
Mary S. Parker
Religious Education
While February is the shortest month of the year, it is a packed 28 days for our religious education program. This month, grades Pre-K through 2nd grade class continue their exploration of various world religious traditions, our 3rd through 6th grade classes will delve into Hebrew and Christian scripture, our 7th and 8th grade OWL class will address what it means to be in a healthy, committed relationship, and our 9th-12th grade youth group will engage in both community service initiatives that put their UU faith into action and some fun social activities that allow our youth group members to bond as a family. This month marks the official half way point of our church school year. As with any program, the half way point invites us to reflect on the first half to consider what has gone well and what we would change in moving forward to the next half of the year.
What is going well.
In reflecting on the first half of the church school year, clearly the time, talent, and love our RE teachers and volunteers offer our children is without doubt a blessing. Last month, Abigail Alves and Kristen Winikoff offered a One Room Schoolhouse lesson celebrating the life and spirit of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. The beautiful work and messaging our children created can be seen in the Parish House hallway. Enjoy!
What we would like to improve.
What hasn’t gone so well is that our church school lacks consistent attendance. While attendance always permits classes to be held on Sunday mornings, the make up of the class is often different. This interrupts the flow and continuity of curriculum preventing lessons from building on one another from week to week. Additionally, the class dynamics change making the planning of lessons very difficult. Finally, youngsters in attendance miss their missing classmates.
Moving forward
The second half of our church year offers an opportunity to build on the wonderful foundation our RE teachers have established. All families are welcome to participate in our RE program, and feedback on how we can make our RE program even better is most welcome. If you have feedback, please don’t hesitate to connect with me. I’d enjoy the conversation.
Jim FitzGerald, Director of Religious Education
Building Community Within and Beyond
Thank you!
To Bev Burgess and our Outreach Committee for counseling us right after the earthquake struck Haiti to dedicate the full non-pledge plate offerings of January 17 and 24 to our UUSC/UUA Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund and for deciding that this fund will be the recipient of our 25% of non-pledge plate offerings from February through August.
To the entire Common Hope Vision Team for a wondrously memorable worship experience on Sunday January 24 in Trueblood Hall. Specifically, thank you to Pat Baird, Margie and Steve Brown, Bev Burgess, Dee Lehner, Carol and Jack Martin, and Kay Mixon. Through “Making a Difference—One Child at a Time,” you brought the experiences and reflections of your ten days in Guatemala last October into the heart of this congregation and inspired others to become part of the Common Hope experience.
To Bev Burgess as our Care Circle Coordinator for January and to Nancy Robertson, who will coordinate for February. Thanks to all who have provided meals and cards and more for those among us facing life challenges during these past months and also for families welcoming a new child into their midst.
Thank you to all who have kindled our chalice and offered chalice reflections through the month of January—Marie Caristi-MacDonald, Martha Jackmauh, children of First Parish, and Jim FitzGerald. Thank you to all who have ushered and/or provided flowers through the month of January—Linda and Eric Kluz, Margie and Steve Brown, JoAnne and Woody Chittick, and Chris Hetherington. (As of this input, ushers for January 31 are unknown.)
Thank you to all who have hosted coffee hour during the month of January—Art and Penny Myles, Leah Taylor Roy and Tref Borden, Ron and Shirley Wallace, the Common Hope Vision Team, and Polly Cowen and Annie Spang and Will Cowen.
Thank you to Allegra Martin, the First Parish Choir, Carrie Bates and Maureen Hague, and guest organist Sylvia Berry for glorious music all month long.
Abundant thanks to all of you who deserve to be cited here and have not been. Please send us your brief stories of members and friends whose actions large and small deserve our thanks!
Member Milestones
We celebrate and suffer. We hope and hurt. We revel in youth and ripen with age. In community, we seek to care for one another and for our larger world. Here we call attention to these member milestones—births, weddings, dedications, injuries and illnesses, and deaths.
Births:
Congratulations to Kim and Mike Reilly and Lily on the birth of Charlotte Jean. Charlotte arrived on Friday evening, January 8, at South Shore Hospital, weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces. Reports are that big sister Lily is ecstatic!
Injuries and Illnesses:
We hold in our hearts and prayers: Bill Bell, also a longtime member of this congregation, is recovering from hip surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is at home at 75 Elm Street, Cohasset, MA 02025. Linc Bloomfield, also a longtime member of First Parish, underwent hernia surgery at Mass General on January 14 and is recovering at home. Then on January 20, he returned to Boston for eye laser surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Linc continues to rest and recover at home at 37 Beach street, Cohasset, MA 02025.
We hold in our hearts and prayers:
Locke Tousley, longtime member of this congregation, is resting at home. Cards are welcome and may be addressed to her at: 37 Stoneleigh Road, Cohasset, MA 02025.
Barbara and Mike Bliss. Over this past year plus, Barbara has spent valiant months of hospital care, intensive physical and occupational therapy, and renewal of spirit. You continue to inspire us, Barbara and Mike, for your loving marriage and for riding these challenging waves with amazing grace.
Shirley and Ham Tewksbury. Shirley continues at Allerton House in Weymouth and Ham at Colonial Rehab in Weymouth. Notes may be sent to Shirley at: Allerton House, Apt. 160
43 School House Road Weymouth, MA 02188 Her phone number there is 781-335-3556. Her cell phone is 781-626-2203. Notes to Ham may be sent to:
Colonial Rehabilitation and Nursing Home, Room 246A 125 Broad Street
Weymouth, MA 02188.
Deaths:
We hold in our hearts and prayers:
Steve and Susan Etkind and their sons. Steve’s father, Irving Etkind, died on Tuesday, January 5, at the age of 93. He had suffered a fall in early December.
Grace Tuckerman. Grace’s husband Edward (“Ned”) died peacefully on Thursday, December 17, at the age of 90. Grace is grateful that all their children arrived to say farewell before he passed away.
Care Circle
At some point in time, we all need a little extra care…during a divorce, illness, the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a move to a new home, or after an injury, to name a few. We are fortunate, as members of First Parish in Cohasset, to be a part of a community that offers support during these times through the Care Circle. Just as we can all be recipients of the efforts that Care Circle extends, so, too we are the Care Circle providers. Will you be available to prepare a meal, send a card, provide a visit, offer a ride, or serve as a monthly coordinator? Please let us know how you can help out. Care Circle is organized through monthly coordinators. If you or someone you know could benefit from our outreach, please contact our Care Circle Coordinator for February, Nancy Robertson. You can reach Nancy at 781-545-8295.
Penny Myles, Care Circle Coordinator pmyles74@comcast.net
Circle Ministry
It’s early Sunday, (or Wednesday morning, or perhaps in the evening on a Tuesday) and a group of people meet. They have known each other before a little, very well, or perhaps even not at all, but for a while they have been meeting twice a month, gathered in a circle, to share some readings, discuss a topic, and learn something about themselves and the others. This time they are discussing the thoughts and feelings and memories that are stirred by the topic: Taking Down the Tree. Another week they might be discussing “leadership” or “money” or “regrets” or “dreams.” The topics are supplied. The conversation evolves, stimulating, inspiring, never the same, never predictable, always enriching.
This is Circle Ministry, a program of First Parish that brings folks, members and non-members, together for connection and inspiration. There are six groups, meeting at various times, each led by two facilitators, with topics and readings supplied by a leadership committee. There are still openings in the groups that meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday mornings and evenings (two different groups) and the 2nd and 4th Wednesday mornings and evenings (two different groups).
To learn more, pick up a Circle Ministry brochure at the Parish House or contact a member of the Circle Ministry Coordination Team: Jan Carlsson-Bull (JCarlssonb@aol.com), Jack Martin
(DrJandMrsG@verizon.com), or Annie Spang (asang1@verizon.net).
Why not explore the possibility of joining a group?
Contact Joan Kovach, Circle Ministry facilitator
Circle Ministry leads First Parish UU/Cohasset for Ballou Channing District Food Drive This past spring, the Circle Ministry group led by Jack and Carol Martin arranged with Stop and Shop to hand out to shoppers printed lists of food requests for the benefit of the Cohasset Food Pantry. They simply asked shoppers to purchase at least one item on the list and place it in the grocery cart provided by group members. They collected an ample supply of food, far more than anticipated, and with enthusiastic follow-up, delivered it all to the Cohasset Food Pantry at St. Anthony’s Church. So successful was this venture that when Eva Marx, our Ballou Channing District’s trustee on our UUA Board of Trustees, recently contacted our congregation with the idea of such a food drive undertaken by all the congregations of our district, it was a natural that her request received a positive response through our Circle Ministry, given the commitment of each Circle Ministry group to undertake one service venture for the benefit of the larger community and the success of Jack and Carol’s group last spring. The Circle Ministry groups responding are, once again, the group led by Jack and Carol Martin, and this year, the group led by Annie Spang and Nancy Robertson (whose group last year regularly delivered to the Cohasset Food Pantry contributions left at the Parish House). On Saturday, January 30 from 10 AM to 2 PM, members of Jack and Carol’s group will be posted at Stop and Shop; members of
Annie and Nancy’s group will be posted at Shaw’s. All participants will again hand out to shoppers printed lists of food requests, but this year for both the Cohasset Food Pantry and Wellspring. Again, group members will have shopping carts waiting to receive the purchased goods. If shopper generosity is as ample as it was last year, it’s likely that both groups will accumulate several cartloads! They could use help from the rest of us to:
1) stand with them at Stop and Shop or Shaw’s, handing out lists, and gathering the purchases; 2) come by the Martins’ on Tuesday morning (February 2) and help transport the food from their barn to Wellspring and the Cohasset Food Pantry.
This is a splendid way to make a difference for our neighbors who are going through the worst of difficult economic times. If you can help out, please contact Jack Martin at 781-383-6577 or
drjandmrsg@verizon.net or Annie Spang at 781-749-3364 or aspang1@verizon.net.
Pajama Potluck – Kids Come in Pajamas, Everybody Come & Enjoy –
Friday, February 26, Parish House – Early evening, time TBA
Kids, come in your pajamas. Parents, come in comfort clothes. It’s a family potluck. No agenda! Just come and bring something that will feed 8 or so and perhaps a board game or Bananagrams or Go Fish or whatever sounds like a fun game for all ages. We’ll have a cozy corner set up with blankets and pillows for the sleepiest of sleepyheads. Bring your friends and neighbors! Come and enjoy!
T-Mobile Update
A building permit was issued to T-Mobile, on January 5th for installation of a cell phone antenna in the Meeting House steeple spire. T-Mobile and a team from Atlantic Concealment arrived in Cohasset on January 12th to take measurements and develop plans for replacement of the spire with an exact fiberglass replica (at TMobile’s expense). Why? Radio waves from antennas cannot penetrate the wood of a steeple. All steeple based cell phone antenna systems require either fiberglass panels (installed over the antennas) or complete replication of the steeple in fiberglass. Hingham Congregational Church, North Street Community Chapel, New North Church in Hingham and First Parish in Duxbury (partial) are examples of panel construction. First Congregational churches in Westwood and Whitman, the Methodist Church in Duxbury, the Unitarian Church in Stow, MA, First Baptist Church in Hingham and First Parish Church in Duxbury (partial) are examples of replacement fiberglass steeples.
(Photo by Rod Hobson) The steeple and spire of our Meeting House are not original to the structure. The original steeple was destroyed by lightening in 1852 and again in 1869.
The current steeple dates to the 1930s and was partially rebuilt in 2002-2003.
A final review of the plans is expected in 3-4 weeks with completion of the installation by April at which time we should begin to receive monthly lease payments of $1800. The T-Mobile team (Bill Baird, Rod Hobson, Art Myles, Ron Wallace) will continue to review plans and communicate with T-Mobile as the project proceeds. For further information and comments please contact Art Myles. Thanks to Mary Parker and the Parish Committee for their continued support.
Music & Worship
Dear Friends,
I hope you are all surviving the blustery, wintry weather. One good cure for the winter doldrums is to both make and listen to music! The concert series has a couple of exciting concerts coming up.
On February 21 at 4 pm, Syncopation will be back! Syncopation is the jazz quartet we had the pleasure of hearing last year, and they are really hitting it big; last July 4th they sang at the Hatchshell with the Boston Pops! We are very lucky that they decided to come back to us; they are truly an unbelievably good time, so I encourage you to save the date and spread the word. Please tell all your friends and neighbors; I think older kids would especially enjoy this concert, so please encourage them to come as well. I encourage you to check out their website at www.jazzsyncopation.com – you can watch videos of them singing, among other things! And if you want to make music yourself, don’t forget that the doors of the choir and bell choir are always open to you!
Yours in song,
Allegra
allegra.martin@gmail.com
(617) 872-0461
February and March Openings for Ushering/Providing Flowers/Hosting Coffee Hour We’re well into the second tri-mester of planning who will usher and adorn our chancel with flowers or other arrangements and host our post-worship refreshments. Opportunities await us! Please check the sign-up charts during Sunday coffee hour and anytime mid-week, OR contact Sandy Bailey, our Parish Administrator, at 781-383-1100 or sbailey@firstparishcohasset.org and let her know when you would like to do what and confirm that your desired dates are free.
Ushers and coffee hour hosts will receive clear directions for what to do and a confirmation alert from Sandy roughly a week in advance. When you sign up, please note that if you then can’t make it, part of caring community is to find someone who can and let Sandy know right away. Commitments thus far are as follows. If you haven’t taken a turn or two, please plan now when you might do so. Thanks so much!
February 7th
Ushers/Flowers Coffee Hour
Holly Harris & Marie Caristi MacDonald
Joan & Larry Lunt
February 14th
Bev Burgess
February 21st
Kornet Family
February 28th
Sue & Galt Grant Bev Burgess
March 7th
TBD
March 14th
Joan & Larry Lunt Joan & Larry Lunt
March 21st
Bev Burgess Dee Lehner & Martha Jackmauh
March 28th
Bill & Pat Baird
Membership
New to First Parish and considering membership? Come join us on this February Sunday after coffee hour.
Welcome you to First Parish UU!
An Overview, Discussion & Brunch for New & Prospective Members
February 28 – 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Minister’s Study
Child care provided as needed Discover who we are and what we’re about—as Unitarian Universalists and as First Parish in and beyond Cohasset. These gatherings are the first step in the membership process. While they don’t obligate you, they do prepare you to receive the “right hand of fellowship” during New Member Sunday. Our minister, Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull, will be joined by a representative of our Membership Committee, leading us in conversation and story as we meet and learn.
Please register for this session and note your need for child care by Wednesday, February 24 through Sandy Bailey or Jan Carlsson-Bull at 781-383-1100. We look forward to welcoming you!
Outreach Help fill the bins and hungry tummies! In addition to the Circle Ministry Food Drive, we can help fill the need of the Cohasset Food Pantry week after week. Our Outreach Committee reminds us to keep those baskets in the Meeting House and at the entrance to the Parish House full. Items especially needed are posted in the entrance to the Parish House.
Please be sure that the items you contribute are within the safety parameters indicated by the expiration dates!
Delivery is on Tuesday mornings. No one should go hungry! To learn more, contact Jane Ellis at jellis67@comcast.net.
Our Larger UU World
Thanks to First Parish for your generous contributions to our UUA through Association Sunday 2009!
On October 18, we celebrated the many ministries of our Unitarian Universalist Association through Association Sunday. The full non-pledge plate offering was dedicated to our UUA. This offering in addition to checks received later totaled $721! We received a thank you message from Tom Klein of the Stewardship and Development Department of our UUA thanking us for our generous support!
Dr. King’s Legacy and Beacon Press
Our UU Justice Action update reported that when the family of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was deciding on a publisher to re-release a treasure-trove of Dr. King’s non-academic writings, they chose Beacon Press. Founded in 1854, Beacon Press is an associate member of the Association of American University Presses and a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Check out the first two releases from the King Legacy Series, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story and Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? You’ll find both at www.beacon.org.
First Parish casts its vote in our UUA Congregational Poll Decisions at stake in this social witness process of our larger UU world were:
1) To advance the revised Statement of Conscience on Peacemaking to the agenda of
General Assembly (GA) 2010; and
2) Advancing up to five of the proposed Congregational Study/Action Issues to the agenda of GA 2010.
While the opinions of the total membership were solicited re: the above decisions, this was a complicated Congregational Poll to figure out. Our Parish Committee discussed and decided how to cast our votes on behalf of our congregation. Their decisions were:
1) Advance the revised Statement of Conscience on Peacemaking to the GA 2010 agenda.
2) Of the six proposed Congregational Study Action Issues:
A. Ending Slavery – voted Yes
B. Energy, Peace, and Justice – voted Yes
C. Immigrations as a Moral Issue – voted Yes
D. National Economic Reform: A Moral Imperative – voted Abstain
E. Nuclear Disarmament – voted No
F. Revitalizing American Democracy – voted Yes
Thanks so much to the members of our Parish Committee for their thoughtful decisions. These will be cast as our congregational vote with our UUA at the same time that we re-certify as a member congregation of our UUA. As a certified congregation, First Parish is eligible to send up to four delegates to General Assembly, held this year from June 23-27 in Minneapolis. No sub-zero temperatures in June, promise! If you’re interested in serving as a delegate, please contact Mary Parker, Chair of our Parish Committee, at
msparker@comcast.net or our minister, Jan at JCarlssonb@aol.com or 781-383-1100.
UU B & B’s!
Think Florida anytime between January and April! You can live with a UU host family and enjoy the “tropical paradise” of southwest Florida when our beloved New England is not so tropical. For close to 20 years the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers has been hosting guests from throughout our UU world. It’s a fund raiser for them and a fun getaway for any of us. For an information packet, call 239-561-2700 or visit www.uucfm.org. Or ask our minister, Jan, for the information that she has in a gem of a directory of UU B & B opportunities from Canada to the Netherlands, from Alaska to Arizona!
The Gifts of our Ballou Channing District: A host of timely workshops…
(registration information and flyers on Parish House bulletin board or ask Jan)
Saturday, January 30, 2010 – 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Growing Stewardship and Generosity in Our Congregations with Laurel Amabile, Director of the UUA Annual Program Fund Unitarian Church of Barnstable, 3330 Main Street, Barnstable, MA
Presentations about strategies for effective, year-round stewardship and fund-raising programs and experiential learning through role playing and small group discussions. Designed for congregation leaders, ministers, finance and canvass committees
Registration fee: $10.00 (payable at the door)
The Gifts of our Ballou Channing District: A host of timely workshops… (Cont’d)
Saturday, February 6, 2010 – 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Don’t Hit Back: Responses to Button-Pushing Behaviors with Rev. Dr, Ken Reeves, a clinical psychologist, UU minister, First Parish Unitarian Universalist Canton, 1508 Washington Street, Canton, MA A look at how congregations can handle behavior that blocks progress or that hurts others, or escalates conflict, while still valuing freedom and the inherent worth and dignity of everyone. Primarily designed for congregational lay leaders, ministers, staff and committee chairs
Registration fee: $20 per person or 3 for $50.
Saturday, February 27, 2010, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Walking the Talk: a workshop on congregational action for social justice with Rev. Richard Gilbert
Channing Memorial Church, 135 Pelham Street, Newport, Rhode Island
Co-sponsored by Ballou Channing District and Channing Memorial Church, this workshop features Rev.
Richard Gilbert, UU minister for 45 years and now Social Justice Coordinator for the St. Lawrence District of our UUA. Dick has authored the Building Your Own Theology series, The Prophetic Imperative, How Much Do We Deserve, and In the Holy Quiet of this Hour: a Meditation Manual. This workshop will explore the spiritual roots of our concern for social justice and the unique UU mission to translate concern into action. Participants
will gain organizational tools for working with a congregation and planning for change.
Registration Fee: $15.00 includes Lunch. Pay and Register online: www.channingchurch.org/walkthetalk Please complete the Congregational Self-Analysis Survey available on the website. For more information, contact office@channingchurch.org or 401-846-0643
February at First Parish UU Cohasset—
“Sing like no one’s listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth. Mark Twain
February Sundays: Worshipping and Learning and Loving Together Delivering the Harvest of Circle Ministry/BCD Food Drive – February 2
BCD Workshop: Don’t Hit Back – February 6
Meeting House Concert – Syncopation – February 21
Pajama Potluck – February 26
BCD Workshop: Walking the Talk – February 27
Welcome to U & UU & First Parish – February 28
