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The Herald a Publication of the First Church in Salem, Unitarian Universalist The Herald A Publication of the First Church in Salem, Unitarian Universalist VOLUME 16, NUMBER 3 OCTOBER 2015 Minister’s Musings In this issue Pg. This month we begin a new regular schedule that we hope members and friends will find October Schedule 2 stimulating, helpful and inspiring. We live during a time and in a place when and where our schedules are so jam-packed that it can be hard to make time for community and the needs of Around the Parish 2 our spiritual lives. We also live during an era when there has never been so much good infor- mation and resources at our fingertips as a result of online lectures, programs, classes and Calendar 3 talks. The world is changing and becoming more interconnected and cross-cultural. Our con- gregation lived during a previous time in American history when these trends were prevalent, RE Calendar 3 just after the Revolutionary War. As a result of that period during the Great Age of Sail, we Choir Rehearsal 3 embraced Unitarianism and Universalism, both humanizing and rational movements within American Protestant Christianity. Garden Update 4 So, with an awareness of how our culture is changing (and with a sense of adventure and ex- Religious Education 5 citement), we have decided to experiment with building regular programs into our Sunday morning program that all of us over time can come to expect and anticipate. Some of you will Henny Penny 6 think this is great and few of you will scratch your head and wonder, “why bother.” I invite all Stewardship 6 of you to attend and participate in a few programs that appeal to you and speak to your spiri- tual needs. Our community has never just been about “going to church.” Rather our goal is Music Director 7 to encourage people to “grow a soul” as Ralph Waldo Emerson once put it. UU Common Read 7 Here’s our regular schedule as we envision it now: First Sunday Big Ideas – Treasurer 8 A program or talk that features the latest research and ideas that contribute to creat- Get Involved/Events ing community and goodness and making the world a better place. Typically a 30-40 minute program after church, sometimes before. 9-11 Second Sunday Yoga – Family Promise Walk 12 Come for yoga, stay for church. This is a 55-minute session taught by local teacher Liz Gruenfeld and geared towards beginner and intermediate practitioners. We have mats and blocks. Just show up at 9 AM. Third Sunday Cultivating Soul – Practicing our values in our lives and in our world, through prayer, discussion, medi- tation, and hands-on learning. Sometimes before church and sometimes afterwards. We are hoping that over time many of us will contribute ideas and suggestions for these pro- grams and they will start to run themselves. The goal is to provide many different ways to practice what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist here in the 21st century, not just in our heads, but in our lives. “I’m so glad I live So check out the schedule for First, Second and Third Sundays for this month and join us for in a world where some or all of the programs. There is an old saying that “no one moves closer to God by acci- there are Octobers.” dent.” There are many ways to build community and cultivate soul. There always have been and some of them are inspiring, enjoyable and even… fun. Thanks for being a part of the First L.M. Montgomery Church, UU. Here’s to walking together on the journey. Anne of Green Gables See you in church, The Herald, November 2015 October Schedule of Events Around the Parish Congratulations to Rebecca Sun, October 4: World Communion Sunday and Tyler Hains as they 9am Choir Rehearsal welcome baby Xavier! In- 10:30am Choir Service with Communion troducing Xavier James After Service First Sunday Big Ideas: The Story of Consentino Hains, born on Stuff Hosted by the Social Justice Committee September 18 at 11:40 pm. The Hains family now has Sun, October 11 three sons under their roof! 9am Second Sunday Yoga 10:30am Service Tue, October 13 Eric Kenney spent one recent Saturday building a 12:00pm Lunch with the Pastor "sample" section of our hopefully new fence for the side Wed, October 14 garden here at the First Church. We are thinking of host- ing a "fence building party” one Saturday this fall and see- 7pm Witch Trials Lecture ing how much of it we can get done before the cold 7:15pm Standing Committee Meeting weather. Stay tuned for potential details. In the mean- Fri, October 16 time, feel free to share with Eric or one of the other 6pm Halloween Family Fun Night members of the Standing Cmt what you think of the new fence. Sat, October 17 8am Family Promise Walk We have received a donation of $500 for the express pur- 1pm Garden Bulb Planting pose of “renovating” a pew in the Meetinghouse, one that could serve as a prototype for refurbishing all the Sun, October 18 pew boxes. To hear more about this, speak with Lynn 9am Choir Rehearsal Taggart or a member of the Standing Cmt. 10:30am Choir Service Blessing of the Animals following the service New wiring and lights were installed in the basement hall- After Blessing Third Sunday Cultivating Soul: way and kitchen this month, with the projected coordi- "Cultivating Soul and Living our Values" nated by our own Deacon Jaime Tanch. 4pm UN Program 7pm Youth Group One weekend in September, Crystal Truong, our Assistant Treasurer, was here paying bills on Friday night, volun- Wed, October 21 teered to serve dinner with the Church at Lifebridge Sat- 4pm Salem Pantry Bagging urday night and then turned around to help out with Sun- 7pm Lecture & Book Signing day School on Sunday morning. Thank you Crystal! Sat, October 24 Our Whole Lives, our sex education program for teenag- 9am Salem Pantry Distribution ers, has begun a new session this month. There are 17 10am Choir Rehearsal kids participating: 11 from the First Church and 6 from 4:45pm Lifebridge Dinner Team the UU Church of Greater Lynn. This year long program will meet 20 times over the next school year. Special Sun, October 25 All Hallow’s Eve Sunday thanks to Deb DiGuilio for organizing this program and to 10:30am Service Claire Donaldson and Mike Fritz for (yet again) “stepping up” and working as program leaders, and spending many Sat, October 31 Halloween hours over the next year working with our kids. This is an important ministry, one that our kids will never forget! To submit an item for Around the Parish, speak with the Minister or call the Church Office. The Herald Vol. 16, No. 3 OCTOBER 2015 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 World Communion Sunday 5 6 7 8 9 10 9:00am Choir Rehearsal 10:30am Choir Service with Communion After Service First Sunday Big Ideas, The Story of Stuff 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 9:00am Second Sunday Yoga 12pm Lunch with 7pm Witch Trials 6pm Halloween 8am Family Promise 10:30am Service Pastor Lecture Family Fun Night Walk 7:15pm Standing 1pm-4pm Garden Committee Bulb Planting 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 9:00am Choir Rehearsal 4pm Salem Parking Fundraiser 9am Salem Pantry 10:30am Choir Service Pantry Bagging Distribution Blessing of the Animals 7pm Lecture & 10am Choir following the service Book Signing 4:45pm Lifebridge Third Sunday Cultivating Soul 4pm UN Program Parking Fundraiser 7pm Youth Group 25 All Hallow’s Eve Sunday 26 27 28 29 30 31 Halloween 10:30am Service Parking Fundraiser Parking Fundraiser Religious Education Calendar Choir Sundays & Rehearsals Sun, Oct 4: World Communion Sunday Sun, Oct 4, 9:00am Bread Baking Sun, Oct 18, 9:00am Wed, Oct 14: Decorate Willson Hall for Halloween Sat, Oct 24, 10:00am Fri, Oct 16: Halloween Family Fun Night Sun, Nov 1, 9:00am Sun, Oct 25: Halloween Sunday and Sat, Nov 14 10:00am Trick or Treat for Trash Sun, Nov 22 9:00am Sun, Nov 22: Pageant sign up Sun, December 6, 9:00am Sun, Nov 29: Pageant rehearsal Sat, December 12, 10:00am Sun, Dec 6: Pageant rehearsal POTENTIAL: Sat, Dec 19, 10:00 am Sun, Dec 13: Pageant rehearsal Sun, December 20, 9:00am Sun, Dec 19: Pageant rehearsal Thursday, December 24, 6:00pm Sun, Dec 20: Pageant and Christmas party (Christmas Eve) The Herald, November 2015 A View from the Garden "I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope and is always thrilling." - May Sarton We have turned the corner into October and, as gardeners do, we are making plans for next spring. The daffodils that will riotously welcome us then must be in before the ground hardens, so we are scheduling a planting session for 1:00 – 4:00 on Satur- day, October 17. We hope that many of you will be walking with the First Church team for Family Promise that morning and that you will be able to spare an hour or so back at church to help us with this project. After the majority of the leaves have fallen, we will be looking for a volunteer army to help cut back the perennials and rake the lawns and beds to prepare for the dormant season. Our Fall Cleanup date has been scheduled for Saturday, November 14, from 9:00 – noon.
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