ORDER OF SERVICE MAY 24, 2020 CHIME WELCOME Thaddeus Thompson
PRELUDE “Bouree” Charlie Anderson, trumpet J. Canteloube OPENING WORDS Alex Jensen
CHALICE LIGHTING & COVENANT Annie and Ellie Levine With open minds and loving hearts, we gather to search for meaning, to care for one another, and to work together for a better world.
MUSIC “Dark Clouds” Wil Ryan, vocal/guitar By Dinty Child
TIME FOR ALL AGES “When You Are Brave” Kate Holland Written by Par Zietlow; Ill. By Eliza Wheeler
HYMN #114 “Forward Through the Ages” Jay Woodruff, hymn leader Forward through the ages, in unbroken line, Wider grows the vision, realm of love and light; move the faithful spirits at the call divine: for it we must labor, till our faith is sight. gifts in differing measure, hearts of one accord, Prophets have proclaimed it, martyrs testified, manifold the service, one the sure reward. poets sung its glory, heroes for it died. (Chorus)
(Chorus) Forward through the ages, in unbroken line, Not alone we conquer, not alone we fall; move the faithful spirits at the call divine. in each loss or triumph lose or triumph all. Bound by God’s far purpose in one living whole, move we on together to the shining goal. (Chorus) TIME OF PRAYER & MEDITATION Candles of Joy and Sorrow Roger Horine Moment of Silence Prayer Rev. Dr. May
OFFERING • Give online https://www.uuwayland.org/donate • Text your tax-deductible donation to 833-264-0104 (no dollar sign).
OFFERTORY “Danse Orientale” Charlie Anderson, trumpet Marcel Samuel-Rousseau
READING “How Boston Reacted to the 1918 Flu Pandemic” by Jack Lepiarz Rita Anderson
SERMON “A Familiar Hope” Alex Jensen
HYMN #346 “Come Sing a Song With Me” Jay Woodruff, hymn leader
(CHORUS): Come, *sing a song with me, And I’ll bring you hope come, *sing a song with me, * dream a dream when hope is hard to find, * walk in rain come, *sing a song with me, and I’ll bring a song of love * share a rose that I might know your mind. and a rose in the wintertime.
BENEDICTION Alex Jensen
Please join us following the service for a time of spoken Joys and Sorrows.
The First Parish Annual Meeting follows Joys and Sorrows today.
Today’s Flowers are provided by First Church in Wayland.
SEEK: Resources for Kids and Families provided by Kate Holland in our weekly eblast on Thursdays.
ONLINE “PLATE” COLLECTION
The unspecified funds collected during online services are being split equally with an organization supporting those impacted by this crisis. For the next few weeks we will be collecting for REACH Beyond Domestic Violence. REACH provides safety and support to survivors of abuse and engages communities to promote healthy relationships. More info at reachma.org.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTERESTING THINGS TO DO: Our First Parish community has a shared Google spreadsheet to list fun things to do during this pandemic. Check it out and add your own. There are lots of great ideas.
FACE MASKS FOR FIRST PARISH: Our own Face Mask Task Force has offered to make face masks upon request for members of the First Parish community. If you would like a hand-sewn face mask, please complete an online form at www.uuwayland.org/mask-request or contact Jim Van Sciver.
MAY LAY MINISTER IS KATHIE SCHMIDT: Please feel free to contact Kathie if you need a ride; meals delivered; or just a friendly, confidential visit or chat.
EVENTS AND INFORMATION: To find out what’s happening, remember: 1. Monday eblast: Weekly gatherings with Zoom connection information 2. Thursday eblast: Sunday service information, announcements, late-breaking events 3. Sunday morning eblast: Sunday service reminder with Zoom connection information 4. Website calendar: Find events on the calendar with contact information or contact the office
CALENDAR For connection information on upcoming online events check our Monday eblast or contact the office or the event coordinator.
MIDDAY MEDITATION, Tuesday, May 26, 12:00 p.m. Penny Beer and Suzanne Reitz are hosting a noon time meditation group. Watch the Monday eblast for Zoom connection info or contact one of them. MIDWEEK CHECK-IN, Wednesday, May 27, 4:30 p.m. A chance to touch-base with one another during the week about how things are going for you. Come to listen, come to share. Hosted by the Lay Ministers and staff. As needed, we will break into smaller groups online for closer connections. AIR POLLUTION, COVID-19 MORTALITY AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, Wednesday, May 27, 6:00 p.m. Webinar presented by the MetroWest Climate Solutions Group. Register at https://tinyurl.com/pollutioncovid19. SHARE THE FACEBOOK EVENT. KNIT 1, LAUGH 2, Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. Do you love to knit or want to learn? The knitters are always happy to see new faces. This small group meets on most Wednesdays--now online. Come knit yourself into a new community. Contact Greta Stone for log-in information. CHOIR GATHERING, Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Choir meets for Music Theory, Fundamentals of Musicianship and Sightsinging, with an occasional musical guest speaker. All are welcome! Contact Kathleen Lang for connection information. SACRED TEXT READING GROUP, Thursday, May 28, 5:00 p.m. This session is a reading and discussion of the Zoroastrian book of Bundahis, chapter 15, verses 1-10 (Available HERE). Contact Andrew Mackay for questions. FUN & GAMES FOR ALL Saturday, May 30, 7:00 p.m. Join Kate for some fun and games. Let's get together on Zoom and explore some fun games like Drawful, a game like pictionary but poor drawing skills make the game much more fun. and Quiplash a fun fill in the blank game that is sure to get you laughing. Contact Kate Holland for more information. MAY MONTHLY THEME: COMMUNITY—NURTURING THE 3RD SPACE
The “third space” refers to a space that is neither “home” or “work” in which people cultivate a sense of communal identity. In other words, “third spaces” are places that can foster a sense of community—places like libraries, coffee shops, and, yes, congregations like ours. During this time of social distancing, staying home, and worshiping online, we may be feeling the absence of such third spaces as well as the experience of being in community. How might this time help us to reflect upon the gifts of these spaces and of community? Even as we practice social distancing, in many ways we continue to foster community. Here in this moment when we could far more easily create distance from one another, why reach out? What do we find in community that we do not find when on our own? Our theme and these questions call us this month to consider the meaning of community for each of us and for all of us together.
Which question is calling to you? Where is it leading you? 1. How do you define community? 2. To which communities do you belong? 3. What “third spaces” do you frequent and/or find community within? 4. What “third spaces” do you miss most during this time of social distancing? Why? 5. What aspects of community do you find enriching? Challenging? 6. In what ways do you intentionally foster and/or sustain community?
Wise Words: My life means nothing, either theoretically or practically, unless I am a member of a community. Josiah Royce, 1913
We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. Dorothy Day
The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. Coretta Scott King
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. George Bernard Shaw
Teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the center of an education. Alice Waters
We are not our brother's keeper we are our brother and we are our sister. We must look past complexion and see community. Maya Angelou
One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals. Jean Vanier
What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured. Kurt Vonnegut
Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Beloved community is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world. bell hooks
A few years ago, Robert Randall wrote a little book about why people come to religious communities. He says the "yearnings" which bring us to religious congregations fall into four major groups. We come to church or temple or mosque, looking: 1) to be Understood, 2) to Understand, 3) to Belong, and 4) to find Hope. Linda Hoddy
The central task of religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of each of our individual lives. Once felt, it inspires us to act for justice {and with compassion}. The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see that all must be seen, and our strength too limited to do all that must be done. Together, our vision widens and our strength is renewed. Mark Morrison-Reed
Creating sustainable community is like moving into a home with unique, lovely features and regularly maintaining that home. The home has certain features that attracted us. Rather than allowing those features to deteriorate, we polish them. We prevent them from getting damaged. We repair our home on a regular maintenance schedule. Our home, though, is our town, our nation, or the planet Earth. Pamela D. Couture
There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. Margaret J. Wheatley Books: • The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community, Ray Oldenburg (1999) • Celebrating the Third Place: Inspirit Stories about the “Great Good Places” at the Heart of Our Communities, Ray Oldenburg (2009) Articles: • “Why we Long for Cafes, Barber Shops, and other ‘Third Places’ to Reopen,” by Setha Low, Chicago Sun Times, May 4, 2020. • “Where is Your ‘Third Place’?” by Chayenne Polimédio, New America Weekly, Nov. 2, 2017.
Families/Kids: • Look Where We Live!: A First Book of Community Building, Scot Ritchie (2015) • The Curious Garden, Peter Brown (2009) • Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson • A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham