Welcome back to church! The joyful work of reconnecting and welcoming is our focus this month, beginning with the annual water ceremony and Blessing of the Backpacks, as the congregation reconvened on Sept 8 after the summer break. We also welcomed Tricia, our new Religious Education coordinator, who will start RE on Sept 15. We're gathering again in the next weeks for game night and preparation of homemade goods to be offered at December's Snowflake Fair fundraiser — all great opportunities for people to gather and get to know each other better. There are many other opportunities for fellowship and committee leadership; reach out to the Parish Committee to see what might be a good fit for you.   Read More

The work of the church continues whether we gather on Sundays or not! The Search committee is diligently learning and gathering information in the ministerial search process. Social Justice co-hosted a successful Pride Breakfast at the end of June and continues now to work on voting rights issues. Fiddidlers are crafting, as well as canning all the fresh fruit and veggies that the summer is yielding. (And Erin got married - congratulations!) Details in the newsletter!  Read More

The end of the church calendar year in June is marked by Pride Month celebrations, notifications about General Assembly and UU summer camps, but also the continuation of governance, social justice, and fellowship. June 9th is Flower Communion and Annual Meeting. Happy summer!  Read More

Spring comes to First Parish, in the familiar form of Spring Fair preparations (planting! digging!) and the Annual Meeting— and in large part, planning for even bigger activities in June (Pride month, General Assembly, and the final services of the church year). Social Justice begins its Welcome Renewal activities this month; those and other parish activities detailed in the newsletter bring us together as a congregation and in the wider community.  Read More

April's theme is Grace. Rev Erin quotes Matthew Fox for this month's newsletter: “Community is another source of grace. In community we are meant to grace one another; to be sources of grace; healers by way of grace." Our community offers these sources, with information in the newsletter: the April 21 kickoff of our Welcoming Renewal program, that demonstrates 'our ongoing commitment to being welc...  Read More

March is bursting with sprintime energy at First Parish: another spirited, intergenerational Game night; the 15th Blue Boat Coffeehouse (the first since the pandemic); Canvass kickoff; a show of support for Trans Visibility Day; gearing up for the Spring Fair in May; the start of an 8-part anti-racism workshop; a member's book launch; the kickoff of UU Mass Action initiatives for both local social...  Read More

February for First Parish is a time for both reflection and for taking action. Our theme is Silence, for this cold winter month “when we share the silence of sacred space.”  The newsletter provides options for engaging in quiet learning about (or actively engaging with) social justice issues with the UUA Side with Love programming or with BLUU; about denominational policy as the GA approaches; or ...  Read More

The New Year brings a little peace back to First Parish after the busy-ness of the Snowflake Fair, and the children's pageant and the holiday services. We move into a time of introspection now, guided by Rev Erin, in keeping with our ministerial search process. Continuing social justice work and parish activities can be explored in the newsletter.  Read More

December at First Parish UU starts with the flurry of activity of the Snowflake Fair! Everyone's contributing their talent, time, and treasure to our annual fundraiser, which looks to be as polished and festive as ever — and as successful, we hope. Then the season of Advent ushers in a time of reflection. At this time, Rev. Erin is preparing the congregation for the work ahead in the new year. She says: : "The interim years are 'a time for looking back and for looking ahead, for uncovering who you have been and discovering who you want to become together.' An interim period is intentional time you have given yourselves so that you can do the best you can to ensure a solid foundation as you create your next chapter together." In the coming month, First Parish members will learn more of the specifics of what a two-year interim period is like, and what happens when. Sometime in January or February, there will be more small group conversations similar to the ones conducted last fall.  Read More

Over the last weeks, we have discussed ways the testimonies, memories, and wishes collected during Rev. Erin's intro conversations could be used as a basis for our church's future understanding and growth. In November, we continue this work even as the busy-ness of the holidays approach, and as we engage with Erin's worship theme for the month, Gratitude: "What are you most grateful for right now, and why? What does 'having enough' mean to you? What practices help you to express gratitude; for others, for life, for the earth, for the Sacred?"   Read More

October finds First Parish setting its pace for the season ahead... We are creating connections between ourselves, and connections with our Interim Minister. We are making time for reflection on the questions posed by Rev Erin for this month about how we recognise and even cultivate reverence, awe, and humility. We are setting goals, rolling out our social justice initiatives, rallying help in meeting community needs, and fundraising so that we can continue to do all of the above (currently, with the help of Grandma's Can-Canners and a team of elves!).  Read More

This September brings unsettled weather, and the potential for an unsettled beginning to our first church year in a decade without our settled minister... but another potential beginning is apparent, as you'll see in this month's newsletter— the First Parish community is well into planning many ways to renew our connections and recall ourselves into covenant, beginning with opportunities for small...  Read More