ORDER OF SERVICE MAY 31, 2020 CHIME
WELCOME Kathy Genovese
PRELUDE “The Colors of my Life” Polly Oliver, piano Cy Coleman (from the Broadway Musical “Barnum”) OPENING WORDS Rev. Dr. Stephanie May
CHALICE LIGHTING & COVENANT Cullen Family 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.
HYMN #358 “Rank by Rank” (v. 1 and 3) Jim Kitendaugh, hymn leader
Rank by rank again we stand, Though the path be hard and long, from the four winds gathered hither. still we strive in expectation; Loud the hallowed walls demand join we now their ageless song whence we come and how, and whither. one with them in aspiration. From their stillness breaking clear, One in name, in honor one, guard we well the crown they won; echoes wake to warn or cheer; higher truth from saint and seer what they dreamed be ours to do, hope their hopes, and seal them true. call to us assembled here.
TIME FOR ALL AGES Wonder Box Kate Holland
READING “Welcome as Spiritual Practice” Alex Jensen by Zr. Alex Kapitan
HYMN #1008 “When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place” Jim Kitendaugh, hymn leader
CHORUS: When we tell our story from deep inside, When our heart is in a holy place, And we listen with a loving mind,
When our heart is in a holy place, And we hear our voices in each other’s words,
We are bless’d with love and amazing grace, Then our heart is in a holy place.
When our heart is in a holy place. CHORUS When we trust the wisdom in each of us, When we share the silence of sacred space, Ev’ry color ev’ry creed and kind, And the God of our Heart stirs within, And we see our faces in each other’s eyes, And we feel the power of each other’s faith, Then our heart is in a holy place. Then our heart is in a holy place. CHORUS CHORUS
INTRODUCTION TO CREDOS Rev. Dr. Stephanie May
CREDO Bryn Leonard
OFFERING • Give online https://www.uuwayland.org/donate • Text your tax-deductible donation to 833-264-0104 (no dollar sign). (continued…)
OFFERTORY “Prelude in C Major” Barbara Rutledge, piano Frederic Chopin TIME OF PRAYER & MEDITATION Candles of Joy and Sorrow Kathy Schmidt Moment of Silence Prayer Alex Jensen
CREDO William Shimada-Brand
CLOSING REFLECTIONS Rev. Dr. May
MUSIC “Concerto no. 3 in G major” Bryn Leonard, violin (Movement no. 1, Allegro)
BENEDICTION Rev. Dr. May
10:45 a.m. – Breakout groups for “Coffee Hour” following the service 11:00 a.m. – Spoken Joys and Sorrows (rejoin the “Main Session”) 11:15 a.m. – “Transforming Hearts” presentation
Today’s Flowers are provided by First Parish 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 Family Promise Metrowest, which helps homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a computing-based response.
Transforming Hearts Join us for a short presentation to introduce the congregation to the series of videos that the church purchased from The Transforming Hearts Collective. According their website "The Transforming Hearts Collective represents a vision of a world in which queer and trans people can show up fully as ourselves in all of the places we call home.” Presented by Andrew Mackay and Greta Stone.
CALENDAR For event connection information check our weekly eblast or contact the office or the event coordinator.
MIDDAY MEDITATION, Tuesday, Jun 2, 12:00 p.m. Join Penny Beer or Suzanne Reitz for a noon time meditation group. MIDWEEK CHECK-IN, Wednesday, Jun 3, 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. 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. THE ROAD MAP TO CARBON NEUTRAL FOR MA: Thursday, Jun 4, 7:00 p.m. Rep. Joan Meschino, lead sponsor of the bill in MA House to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, will discuss the legislation and answer questions. Sponsored by MetroWest Climate Solutions and Mass Audubon. Register: https://tinyurl.com/carbonneutralma MEN’S BOOK CLUB: Thursday, Jun 4, 8:00 p.m. Wow, a mystery with a card shark, an ex-con, and stolen art! Join us at our next Zoom meeting on Thursday, June 4, at 8 pm to discuss The Mechanic, a Boston Globe serialized novella by Ben Mezrich. Contact Keith Sims for more info. PC LISTENING HOUR: Saturday, Jun 6, 10:00 a.m. Join John Thompson and Kathy Genovese for their last Listening Hour as co-chairs. Stop in to talk about First Parish issues and ideas. TRIVIA NIGHT: Saturday, Jun 6, 7:00 p.m. Come and zoom in for our second trivia night! Bring a pen and paper and your thinking cap as we compete to see who will be the trivia master for the evening! Contact Kate Holland for more info.
ANNOUNCEMENTS First Parish Job Opening:
Summer Technology Facilitator For details: www.uuwayland.org/our-church/job-opportunities/
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.
JUNE LAY MINISTER IS SUZANNE REITZ: Please feel free to contact Suzanne if you need a ride; meals delivered; or just a friendly, confidential visit or chat. 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