Sunday News for May 17, 2009

Listings with asterisks are classes offered through the Wright Tavern Center for Spiritual Renewal.

Parish Notes

Career Transitions Circle

Have you been recently laid off? Has your friend or family member? Are you in a career transition? Do you fear you may be laid off soon? Are you trying to redesign your work life? Are you looking for a supportive environment to network? If so, join Tony Gallo and Jenny Rankin on Tuesday mornings, 9 to 10 a.m., in the back room of the Wright Tavern. Open to all, this networking group has been going on for several months. Each week there is usually a specific topic and ìresource speakerî from the wider community. To learn more, please contact Tony Gallo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Sunday Flowers

If you would like to contribute flowers for a memorial or celebration, please contact Peg Hedstrom at 978-888-8133.

Want to Get Away?

The list of First Parish attendees continues to grow for the September 18-20 Community House Dedication in Székelykeresztúr. All are invited. In addition to the remarkable weekend festivities, our resident expert Rodger Mattlage will coordinate some special excursions. It's a wonderful opportunity to travel together and experience the magic of rural Transylvania. If you're interested in joining us, please contact Rodger at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

From the Collector

If you are currently paying your pledge by automatic deduction from your bank account and have chosen another method for the new year, please remember that we can't discontinue or change your deduction without a signed form from you. The deductions as they are now would just continue past June. The forms are available on the church website (www.firstparish.org) or in the office. Thank you.

Offering Envelopes

Offering envelopes for the new pledge year are in, and can be picked up downstairs today. They will also be available for the next two Sundays. If you use envelopes, please pick yours up as soon as possible.

Unite Your Ideals and Your Job!

First Parish is looking for a rare individual who can combine his or her fundraising expertise with a sense of mission in the part-time position of Development Director-20 hours per week for 10 months of the year (some Sunday mornings), and flextime according to need. A bachelor's degree is required, as is a background in development or fundraising. What is most important, though, is the desire to have your work matter to a dedicated and caring community. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, designing and implementing a comprehensive development program. First Parish is a busy, flexible and dynamic environment, and its professionals and volunteers work at a high level of expertise. Send resumes to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

May 30th Flea Market and Plant Sale Update

Contact Pat Kane at 978-369-8418 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to rent a Flea Market table for $35. Contact Ginger Lang at 978-369-2346 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to donate perennial plants from your garden and get advice on how to prepare your plants. Also, call her to volunteer your time at the plant sale itself, or the day before helping to price the plants. Contact Dian Pekin at 978-263-0426 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to offer your help at the Flea Market.

Meeting Rescheduled

The first meeting (previously scheduled for May 19) of our new committee-Transcendentalists at First Parish and Beyond-has been changed to Tuesday, June 9. Look for more information in the newsletter for June.

Annual Appeal 2009

To date we have received 427 pledges, for a current pledge total of $786,473. An average pledge of $1,680 per family is necessary for us to maintain our current operation and programs. Please do your part! Our goal is $924,000, which is what we raised last year. Without everybody's pledge, we cannot create a realistic operating budget for next year. Now is the time-fill out your pledge form now if you have not already pledged.

Our Wider Community

First Parishioner to Sing

First Parishioner Camilla Vilain will be singing with the Boston Harmony World Music Choir at a concert tonight, May 17, at 6 p.m. at the Concord Academy Chapel. Suggested admission is $10, $5 seniors and students. Music is from South Africa, Georgia, Bulgaria, renaissance Spain, American shape-note and gospel.

Children's and Youth News

Today, May 17-Surprise Visitor Cindy Rivka Marshall

    8:50 & 10:50 a.m.-Regular Classes, Babies-Preschool
    9:00 & 11:00 a.m.-Services
        K-6 Children Begin in the Sanctuary, Dismissed to Parish Hall
        7th Grade Neighboring Faiths to Common Cathedral

Next Sunday, May 24-Memorial Day-Sanctuary

    10:50 a.m.-Regular Classes, Babies-Preschool
    11:00 a.m.-One Service Only
       K-8 Join their Families in the Sanctuary
       No 7th Grade Neighboring Faiths

RE Registration

If you missed RE Registration, please visit our website to get the forms you need. Go to firstparish.org, select Education & Spirituality and click on the RE Registration Link. Please call Jane Barnes in the RE office, 978-369-9602, with any questions.

Surprise Visitor Today

We are thrilled to have Cindy Rivka Marshall back with us as our Surprise Visitor. She is a renowned storyteller who uses song, music and theatrics to provide a delightful time of entertainment for our children. Today we will begin in the Sanctuary with a children's message from Ms. Rivka Marshall, and then our K-6th graders will gather in the Parish Hall for more stories and laughter. We are not able to have this luxury next year, and programs of this quality have been a true gift from our congregation.

The Good News Garden

Sue Ryan and Pam Howell have secured a plot in the Hugh Cargill Community Garden (across from the Concord Court House). They will work with our First Parish kids planting seeds, digging beds, weeding and picking produce in the summer and fall. We will donate the vegetables to Open Table. Would your children like to be involved? If so, please let Pam know. Sign-up in the Parish Hall for a one- or two-week commitment to care for the plot. Exploring the joy of gardening and growing food is one of the ways your child can experience the power of our earth. Exploring the joy of giving to others is one of the ways your child can experience the power of the human spirit. We hope your child and family has the time to participate in this simple but powerful ministry this summer. Not an experienced gardener? Don't worry! Sue or Pam will assist you.

Social Action Community

The Drinking Gourd Project

Today, the Drinking Gourd Project invites you to come back in time today from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at First Parish, followed by a guided walking tour of Walden Woods led by Elise Lemire. Join together in a walk through lost history, unearthing stories of ìordinary peopleî who led extraordinary and heroic lives in Concord, in the 17th-19th centuries. Keynote speaker: Elise Lemire, author of newly released Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts. Recommended for ages 8 and through 108. Please contact Sue Ryan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.