Sunday News, Oct 16, 2005
The Week of October 16, 2005
(Listings with asterisks represent classes offered through the Wright Tavern Center for Spiritual Renewal.)
| Daily, Monday-Friday, 7:00am - Morning Meditation* | |
| Sunday, October 16 | |
| 1:30 | Crop Walk Registration |
| 5:30 | Time to Talk |
| 7:00 | YRUU |
| 7:30 | Rotation Model Workshop |
| Monday, October 17 | |
| 9:30 | Parish Visitors |
| 11:30 | WPA Luncheon |
| 12:00 | Newsletter Deadline |
| 12:00 | Bones for Life®* |
| 7:00 | Standing Committee |
| 7:30 | Opening the Hand of Thought* |
| 7:30 | Women's Book Group* |
| Tuesday, October 18 | |
| 9:30 | Kundalini Yoga* |
| 2:00 | Realities of Aging |
| 6:00 | T'ai Chi* |
| 7:00 | Cakes for the Queen of Heaven* |
| 7:00 | Stress Reduction & Relaxation* |
| 7:00 | Amnesty Human Rights Night |
| 7:30 | Denominational Affairs |
| 7:30 | OWL Parent Orientation |
| Wednesday, October 19 | |
| 9:30 | Tibetan Buddhism* |
| 12:15 | Listening for God* |
| 1:00 | Bell Choir |
| 4:30 | Junior Choir |
| 5:00 | Chalice Choir |
| 7:00 | Artisans Fair Meeting |
| 7:00 | Vision 2008 Meeting |
| 7:30 | Kripalu Yoga* |
| 7:30 | Play with Purpose* |
| 7:45 | Adult Choir |
| Thursday, October 20 | |
| 8:00 | Katrina Response Group |
| 9:30 | Kundalini Yoga* |
| 7:30 | Tibetan Buddhism* |
| Friday, October 21 | |
| 9:30 | Stress Reduction & Relaxation* |
| 7:00 | Jewish Awareness Group |
| Saturday, October 22 | |
| 7:30 | Men's group |
Parish Notes
Coffee, Chocolate Bars, and Calendars Available Today
Coffee and chocolate bars will be sold at both coffee hours today and on October 30. The First Parish calendar, Portrait of a Meeting House, is also available. Get your copy!
WPA Luncheon Meeting and Bones For Life® Program
Join old and new friends tomorrow, October 17, for a very special event. Social time will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by the lunch and program. Bring your own sandwich. Dessert, coffee and tea will be provided for a small donation. Reservations are not necessary. Sherry Seaver and Deborah Lotus will be the featured speakers. They will speak about the Bones for Life®, a Feldenkrais Method®-based bone strengthening and alignment program involving fun, invigorating and easy-to-do "exercises" that can be done anywhere. Bones For Life® classes are now being taught at First Parish on Mondays.
Katrina Response Task Force
Meet with us in the Chapel at 10 a.m. (with the Forum) to hear about how you can help with three exciting projects (Biloxi, Mississippi, Texas and displaced families).
The New U
If you would like to learn more about Unitarian Universalism or First Parish as a faith community, then this is for you! Facilitated by our ministers and lay leaders, it takes place only twice a year. This session runs for three consecutive Sunday afternoons (October 23 and 30, and November 6) in the Wright Tavern at 4 p.m. To sign up, please call the office at 978-369-9602 or e-mail Stephanie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Child care is available, but sign up soon!
Seasonal Dinner Parties
The Fall Seasonal Potluck dinner parties will talk place on Saturday, October 29. For additional information or to sign up, visit the table at coffee hour today or next Sunday, October 23; or call Vivienne and Dean Aldrich at 978-369-1228.
Caring Connection Cooking Session
The Caring Connection is restocking the freezer on Monday, October 24, starting at 9:30. This is a way to "give back" and do a small job of social action within our own First Parish community. Meals are prepared ahead and home-delivered to those who could use a helping hand in times of need. Please contact Diane Bleday ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 978-371-7080) or Rhoda Miller ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 978-369-6639) if you can help.
First Tuesdays Dinners
Meet First Parish friends, old and new, over supper in the Parish Hall on Tuesday, November 1. If you would like to help , contact Kathy Loving at 508-358-0722 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Look for Our Updated Website!
On November 1, we will launch our newly updated website, with a new, cleaner "look and feel," a cool slide show of photos, and more timely content. This design reflects the vitality and energy of our growing congregation. Stoney Ballard continues as volunteer webmaster, as he has since the website's origin seven years ago. Check it out at www.firstparish.org.
Children's Holiday Crafts Workshop Saturday, December 3, 1:30-4:30
Elves Needed
We will need 100 adult elves to work with children on the crafts, to help set up the Friday before, to shop for supplies in October and November, and to register children at the coffee hours through November. For information or to volunteer, please contact Patty Popov at 978-369-7008.
Call for Volunteers!
The Special Events Committee is beginning to work on our second annual New Year's Eve dance, "Saturday Night Fever," and we are eager to have some help planning this great party. We are looking for some assistance with decorations, selling tickets during coffee hour, etc. If you'd like to join our merry band, please contact Mary Lou Touissant at 508-517-2735 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or see Lillian Anderson at coffee hour.
Children's and Youth News
New RE Curriculum to Launch in 2006
Learn about our new, exciting RE curriculum called "Workshop Rotation," which will launch in September 2006. Share your ideas, get involved, or just come to hear what's in store for next fall! Join us tonight, October 16, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. All parishioners are welcome and child care will be provided.
Junior Youth Group Events for the Fall
Sunday, October 23 Cemetery Scavenger Hunt and Pizza
3 to 5 p.m. (Meet at First Parish to divide into teams.)
Sunday, November 20 Southern Turkey Fry-Cooking and Crafts
4 to 6 p.m. for Open Table (You may also bring your own turkey to deep fry for your family; they are delicious.)
Katrina Backpack Social Action Project for Kids
Social Action Sunday was a big success. Thanks to all of the adults who helped to make this happen. Over 65 kids showed up for the work, and they did it all. They organized each other, divided all of the materials, inventoried each of the 25 backpacks using a "backpack recipe" and enclosed a personal note. They were great! Thanks for all of your donations and support for this project.
Senior Youth
Time to Talk, a new forum for youth to talk about issues in their lives, begins today from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel. Youth are welcome to drop in on any Sunday.
Senior High Our Whole Lives (OWL), a new class for 10th-12th graders, will begin on November 1. Turn in your registration form and money to Mary-Wren by tomorrow, October 17. There is a mandatory parent orientation Tuesday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m.
Wright Tavern Center
Opening the Hand of Thought
Join Carol Ziegler and her Zen-inspired circle to read and discuss Kosho Uchiyama's book, Opening the Hand of Thought. The weekly readings, discussions and chance to meditate together are a good introduction to Zen for beginners as well as those more practiced.
Mondays: Oct. 17-Dec. 5 (date change) 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Listening for God
Join Gary Smith and others for a discussion of short stories taken from Faith Stories. Bring a bag lunch. This month's story is God's Goodness, by Marjorie Kemper.
Wednesday, October 19 12:15 p.m.
Dharma and Chai
Join the Venerable Tenzin LS Priyadarshi as he provides the platform for thought-provoking conversation, contemplation and action. The question this month is, "Can humans do without religion?"
Monday, October 24 (date change) 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Into the Deep and Fertile Dark
Join Karen Foley and others for a weekend retreat at Our Lady of Hope, House of Prayer in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. Preregistration is required; call the church office to register.
Friday, October 28-Sunday, October 30 $175
Bones for Life®
Come try this program designed to promote strong bones, good posture and biological optimism. Learn exercises designed to put spring in your step and encourage the prevention and possible reversal of osteopenia/osteoporosis. Two versions are taught, one in chairs and one for the more limber. Co-taught by Deborah Lotus and Sherry Seaver, certified Bones for Life® teachers.
Mondays: October 31-December 19 $112 (course)/$16 (drop-in)
10:00 - 11:30 Bones in Chairs 1:15 - 2:45 Bones for Life
Social Action Community
Important Petition
Today during both coffee hours, at the Department of Peace table, there will be an opportunity to sign petitions for a referendum that would require the Governor to recall National Guard troops from Iraq and retain them in Massachusetts.
SAC Grants
Part of your FP pledge payments "go out into the world . . . to help the suffering" through the SAC Grants program. Please send us nominations for recipients. Our fall deadline is today. As citizens of Concord, our state, the United States and the world, we support work in many geographic areas, as well as UU efforts where our contributions will make an impact. Application forms are on the First Parish website. Submit them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the SAC mailbox in the church office today for fall consideration.
Crop Walk Today
The 25th annual Concord Crop Walk for the Hungry will take place today, starting here at First Parish. Stop by the Crop table at coffee hour to pick up a registration form or to sign up to sponsor our minister Jenny Rankin. Come at 1:30 and listen to the CCHS Pep Band play on our steps during registration. If your car is parked in the circle in front of the church, please do not leave it parked there past 1:00, as it will be in the way as the band sets up and performs. Crop Walks fund Church World Service, which was one of the first aid organizations on the scene of the earthquake in Pakistan.
P-FLAG Meeting at Trinity Episcopal Church
The Minuteman Chapter of P-FLAG – Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbian and Gays – will meet tonight, October 16, and the third Sunday of every month, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the library of the Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street (enter on the River Street side). The meeting is free and open to the public.
Human Rights Evening
Amnesty International Group 15 invites you to the 8th Annual Human Rights Evening this Tuesday, October 18, at 7 p.m. at First Parish. The featured speaker will be Carol Rose, Executive Director, Mass. American Civil Liberties Union, who will speak on the Patriot Act and its Human Rights consequences. The talk will be followed by a film featuring victims of post 9/11 unlawful detention. For more information, call Phil Villers at 978-371-7400.
"Giving Without Loss"
The United Nations declared that its millennium goal is to eliminate poverty. This is at a time when many claim to have "compassion fatigue." Venerable Lobsang Phuntsok will speak on Tuesday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel, about the practice of generosity from a Buddhist perspective. He will address giving with limited resources in a time of overwhelming need. Following the talk, time will be allotted for a question/answer session.
Vision 2008 Committee Small Group MeetingsWe need your input to help determine the Capital Campaign proposal for an All-Parish vote this fall. Sign-ups for the Vision 2008 Small Group Meetings will begin today at coffee hours. Sign up now or call the church office during the week. Meetings will take place from October 28 to November 6. Sixteen meetings are planned, so choose the time that is best for you. |
A Message from the Annual Campaign TeamFirst Parish relies of the generosity of this congregation to fund its own programs, services and day-to-day operations, including the salaries and benefits for our ministers and staff. |
Next Meeting House News deadline: tomorrow at noon. Please limit submissions to 100 words.
e-mail:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.