First Parish Update – December 15, 2009
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Cohasset
E-mail Update – December 15, 2009
Christmas at First Parish will brim during the days ahead! On Friday, come by the Parish House anytime between 10 AM and noon. Come share your favorite story of Christmas, and bring along a few cookies to share with all who assemble. I’ll have coffee and tea and warm cider waiting.
On Saturday, join us at the Parish House at 3:45, warmly clad and flashlights in hand, for our Annual Caroling on the Common.
On Sunday, we’ll gather in the Meeting House for “A Holiday Service of All Ages.” Our choir will sing Bach’s cantata, Wachet Auf! Our children will perform a Christmas pageant. Sylvia Berry, forte pianist who performed here in October, will play the organ. I’ll offer a Christmas homily.
On Sunday afternoon, the a cappella group, Cappella Clausura, will perform “Gloria: A Renaissance Christmas Pageant,” in the Meeting House.
On Christmas Eve at 8 PM, we’ll gather in the Meeting House for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.
Tonight, many of us will honor the fifth night of Hanukkah, lifting the shamash, the servant candle, to kindle five candles commemorating the legendary miracle of temple oil that burned far beyond expectation.
Amid these holidays of light, may our spirits be renewed with hope and peace and love.
Love and Hope, Peace and Shalom for each and all of you—
Jan
Good news spreads on the Guatemala Trip of our Common Hope Vision Team!
Check out the illustrated stories of our First Parish UU Common Hope Vision Team hard at work in Guatemala this past October. Two stories are now up on the Common Hope website. Visit www.commonhope.org/volunteernetwork and enjoy!
Events for this week and more include:
Tuesday, December 15
11:30 AM – Staff Holiday Lunch
7:00 PM – Parish Committee – Atkinson Room
Deadline for January newsletter
Wednesday, December 16
9:15 AM – Circle Ministry (group led by Polly Cowen & Linda Daignault) and meeting this month on the 2nd & 3rd Wednesdays)
7:00 PM – Circle Ministry (group led by Jane Goedecke & Lisa Marder and meeting this month on the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays)
Thursday, December 17
7:55 PM – Choir Rehearsal – Meeting House
Friday, December 18
10:00 AM – noon – Christmas Stories with your minister – Atkinson Room
Come share your favorite Christmas story. Just bring your story ready to tell (no longer than 15 minutes please), and half a dozen cookies to share. Coffee and tea and warm cider will be waiting.
Saturday, December 19
3:45 PM – Caroling on the Common
Caroling on the Common calls us once again to gather at the Parish House with family, friends, and neighbors and go out onto the Common and sing familiar carols that warm our hearts and raise community spirits. Everyone is welcome to join in this community happening for all ages. You don’t need a great voice. Carols will be familiar and simple, and there will be song books for everyone. We’ll gather between 3:45 and 4 PM at the Parish House. Be sure to bring flashlights. We’ll then carol around the duck pond and at 4:45 return to the Parish House for hot cocoa, cider, and cookies. Cookie donations are most welcome! Again this year, there’s one more item to remember, please—socks, two or three pairs of new white cotton socks in men’s and women’s sizes. The socks that we gather will warm the feet of our neighbors at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless.
Sunday, December 20
8:00 AM – Circle Ministry (group led by Joan Kovach & Susan Meikleham and meeting on the 1st & 3rd Sundays)
8:00 AM – Circle Ministry (group led by Bill Baird & John Kornet and meeting this month on the 1st & 3rd Sundays)
9:45 AM – Childcare for our youngest in the Parish House. All other children will participate in the holiday service in the Meeting House.
10:00 AM – “A Holiday Service for All Ages”
The music of J.S. Bach sounds from our choir, who will sing the Bach cantata, Wachet Auf. Our children will present a holiday pageant, “The Stable Where Jesus Was Born,” based on the book by Rhonda Gowler Greene. Sylvia Berry, who performed for a Meeting House concert this October, will play Baroque Christmas music on the organ, and Jan will offer a Christmas homily. Come, as we celebrate Christmas for all ages.
Everyone is invited for refreshments and fellowship in the Parish House right after worship and RE classes.
4:00 PM – First Parish Concert Series – Cappella Clausura
“Gloria: A Renaissance Christmas Pageant”
This is a concert for all ages, for friends and family and neighbors too. Cappella Clausura has drawn rave reviews for their splendid a cappella performances. “Gloria” recreates the story of Christmas and features dancers, costumes, and giant puppets! Tickets are available at the door and are $15/adult and $5 for children under 12. Admission is free if you can volunteer. Simply contact Allegra at allegra.martin@gmail.com.
Christmas Eve:
8 PM – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service – The Meeting House
What else?
Poinsettias for the Holidays—for the Meeting House & You
It is still possible to ensure that we have poinsettias on our holiday chancel by contributing one. You can do so in honor or in memory of a loved one or simply in celebration of the season, by sending a check for $15 payable to First Parish UU-Cohasset and earmarked “poinsettias.” Send or deliver to the attention of Sandy Bailey, Parish Administrator. After our Christmas Eve service, enjoy the same poinsettia that has given beauty to our Meeting House in your own home or bring it to someone whose holiday might be brighter because of your gift given again!
“A Welsh Christmas,” performed by The Unicorn Singers and the Broad Cove Chorale, resounded with delight and raised funds for Wellspring
This much-loved concert last Sunday afternoon played to a full Meeting House and, with the Saturday concert at House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Hingham, netted $3,901 for the Diane Edson Fund benefitting Wellspring, the multi-service agency serving the needs of so many among us going through tough times. Bravo to all who sang, to all who attended, and to all who contributed!
Christmas is a full time, but not everyone is full.
Please remember The Cohasset Food Pantry!
As we consider our holiday purchases, let’s remember that many of our neighbors and perhaps some among our own congregation are going through hard times. The Cohasset Food Pantry continues its ministry to hungry neighbors on the South Shore. Our Outreach Committee reminds us that we can help keep its shelves full by filling those baskets in the Meeting House and at the entrance to the Parish House. Items especially needed are posted in the entrance to the Parish House.
For more information on activities at First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Cohasset, refer to our December newsletter, The Common, and to our website at www.firstparishcohasset.org.
May your holidays shine!
