The First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist

I updated the content for the Fellowship Committee page… sorry, a lot of info and a lot of text right now… Maybe we should focus on one event at a time??? Suggestions are welcome!!!   I am waiting for our ’save congregation’ class/meeting with David to add pictures, since we have naturally a lot of pics with people/kids on them.

Our mission is to create opportunities for adults to find spiritual, emotional, and intellectual growth by exploring diverse ideas and connecting in a safe environment.

Programs for Winter 2010:

Creating Rituals at Home – Sunday morning, Jan 31 from 10:00 – 11:00AM. Whether your family is young or older, let’s share some ideas for rituals that deepen our life at home and might even stimulate some interesting conversation around the dinner table. Bring your cup of coffee and join us.  Limited to 8 adults; please contact Bev Gillette to reserve your spot in this group.

The First Church Book Group

The First Church Book Group meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:30PM in the church library and is open to anyone on a drop in basis. For the cold month of January we are offering a book and movie night set during a hot August in the English countryside. (We can dream.) Join us for this and these upcoming months whenever you can.  Book recommendations and new members are always welcomed.

Co-led by Bev Gillette and Anne Stuart

Jan 27    A Month in the Country   by J. L. Carr   (6:30PM start)

Feb. 24   The Grapes of Wrath  by John Steinbeck

March 24 The Story of Edgar Sawtelle  by David Wroblewski

The Women’s Retreat

The outdoor chapel at The Senexet House

The Women’s Retreat

March 19-21, 2010

Friendships Across the Ages

One of the precious opportunities available in a church community is making friends across several generations.  This theme will create a backdrop for the 2010 women’s retreat, and for it to be realized we are encouraging women from multiple generations to attend.  Please join us for home cooked meals, quiet, meaningful conversation, great fun, and new friends for two nights at The Senexet House in CT.  Watch the Unitarian for sign-up information in February or call Bev Gillette anytime.

Small Group Ministry

Small Group Ministry at The First Church is for those adults who want to explore topics of faith within a small group setting and make close personal bonds within a group of 8—9 fellow parishioners.  If you are interested in joining a group or learning more about this program, please feel free to talk with Bev Gillette anytime

Men’s Dinner

Mark your calendars, peruse your recipes, and send Bev your email address.  The next Men’s Dinner is Friday evening, April 2 beginning at 7:00PM. An Evite will follow.

More Programs for Men

The men of the congregation are invited to join David Bryce on Thursday, February 25^th at 7:30PM to launch an open-ended conversation about new activities and groups for men at the church.  Whether you are interested in outdoor programs, speakers, specific topics or a new men’s group, please join us for some brainstorming and short break out groups. (Please contact Bev Gillette if you have questions or ideas to share.)

When Bad Things Happen
David Bryce, Nancy Bridges

Join fellow parishioners for a presentation by Nancy Bridges on loss and its challenges for us. David Bryce will present part of this workshop, speaking about spiritual strength in times of trouble.

Tuesday, March 16th, 7:30pm Parish Hall
For more information, please contact Bev Gillette at bgillette@uubelmont.org or 617-484-1054 x.207

Below are just three of the many ways you can participate in the Haitian relief efforts.

UUSC – The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonsectarian organization that has been advancing human rights and social justice in the United States and around the world since 1940. UUSC disaster relief efforts focus on those survivors less likely to have access to aid, such as child domestic workers (restaviks), women-headed households that work in the informal sector, and people living with HIV/AIDS.

CARE – CARE is a world leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty around the world. Among other things, CARE delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives. They have been working in Haiti since 1954 have together with CARE’s country office in Haiti have already established collaboration protocols with UNICEF and the World Food Program.

St. Boniface Haiti Foundation – St. Bonaface Haiti Foundation is a non-profit, volunteer organization founded in 1983 by the parishioners of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. They are celebrating 25 years of serving the poorest of the poor in rural Haiti. Over the years, efforts has grown from an immunization project to a full-service hospital in Fond des Blancs with over 100 employees, which is the only source of healthcare for a population of 250,000 rural poor over 107 square miles. Many walk 20 miles or more for care and in FY 2007-2008, approximately 50,000 patients were seen. To watch a video documentary created by FCB members based on their work in Fond des Blancs recently, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw_6sHxzmLM

Creating A Lay-Led Service
at First Church in Belmont

Creating a lay-led service can be a meaningful process for those involved as well as a highlight of the church worship calendar.

Prepare to be moved and to move others. Give yourself enough time to see the full potential of what you are bringing to the congregation.

HOW TO BEGIN
Develop a proposal  Describe your service topic and goal(s) in writing. State the message you are trying to get across. It doesn’t have to be polished at this stage.

Present it to the Worship Committee  Arrange to present your proposal to the Worship Committee. Include any information you already have formulated, such as ideas about music, readings, and the people involved. (If you need help in forming your proposal, contact the Worship Committee for assistance.)

The discussion will be aimed at exploring and elaborating the spiritual mission of your service and rallying any needed support or expertise. One or more Worship Committee members will act as liaison members of your service team to help guide the process. NOTE: The Committee will review your idea and let you know about approval at a later date.

RALLYING SUPPORT
Find other people to work with you  Lay-led services are a great collaborative activity. You will learn much from each other and enjoy yourself more.

The beauty and power of this type of service comes from the outpouring of those you work with to create something that will be a lasting collective memory. The original idea will often be bettered, and then bettered again as the spirit of the group takes hold. Allow time to fully develop your message.

Sermon vs. shorter talks  It is generally easier to have three or more short talks than to have one person deliver a sermon. A few short talks can also be more interesting since different perspectives are included. It breaks up the service nicely, too. The congregation really appreciates the variety of inspiration that comes from having more than one participant.

STAFF INVOLVEMENT
Once your proposal is approved  The following are helpful people to contact for de-veloping the different elements of your service:

MUSIC — Alfa Radford, our Minister of Music, needs to be contacted several weeks beforehand regarding your music needs; she’s a great source of ideas as well.

STORY/HOMILY — If you want to include a story/homily, Laurel Whitehouse, the Director of Religious Education, is a wonderful resource.

CANDLES OF CONCERN AND CELEBRATION — Rev. David Bryce

CONTENT/PLANNING — Katharine Canfield, Richard Waring

Nothing is carved in stone  Does your group want to tell the story or would you feel better having the DRE doing it? How about the Candles of Concern and Celebration? The music is often best left in Alfa’s capable hands.

Usually what happens is that the group dynamic leads to possibilities that seemed daunting at the beginning. Be open. Rise to the occasion!

TIME FRAMES
You probably need at least 8 weeks  to plan and bring about a well thought out service. It’s much like a theatrical performance: content will need much thought and work, and delivery will require repeated rehearsals at home and one in the sanctuary itself. Be sure the sound system is on so you can get used to hearing your voice amplified. It can be very disconcerting at first. Coordinating the various elements is no small task. It’s a lot more complicated when several lay people are conducting the service than when one or two professional ministers are doing so. Two rehearsals may be needed: one the Saturday before and the other the Saturday of your service.

Logistics  Two weeks before your service (find out the deadline), submit a short blurb (3 or 4 sentences) to go on the cover of The Unitarian. One week before (find out deadline), submit an Order of Service to Susan Street.

A word about music  Much of what you work with will be the words of your service. Music can lend incredible support. Rightly chosen, the hymns, solos, and anthem can take us places beyond words or act as a needed solace or counterpoint to the service theme. Welcome both opportunities. Reminders of our fine tradition in the form of music and responsive readings give us a context in which to comprehend and digest your service’s meaning.

Timing  Plan for about 35-40 minutes because it will tend to run longer than the time you plan.

A BRIEF HISTORY
Lay-led services have been varied

• The Environment, April 27, 2008; participants included Deb Lockett, John McAlpin, John Howe, Priscilla Cobb, & Donna Ruvolo.
• Forgiveness, January 27, 2008, by Small Group Ministry participants, including Tom Neel, Karl Klasson, Victoria Thatcher, & Bev Gillette.
• Darfur, May 6, 2007; participants included Linda Mason, Monte Allen, & Lisa Eschenbach.
• Healing Power of Words, April 15, 2007; participants included Richard Waring, Parrish Dobson, Ron Benham, Peter Guthrie, & Sandy Stephens
• Sorting Stories & the Meaning of Life, November 12, 2006; Edwin Taylor.
• Divorce, February 28, 1999; participants included Jonathan Watson & Anne Stuart.
• Death and Dying, October 25, 1998; partici-pants included Mont Fennel, Joe Weiss, Katharine Canfield, Meg O’Brien, & Hayat Weiss.

Each of the above people is your peer in worship and would be happy to share experiences and expertise.

CELEBRATE
Have fun!  Feeding the soul of the congregation is hard work! It’s great to plan a celebratory meal afterward for the participants to enjoy your success. You have ministered to and nourished us and done our tradition proud. Thank you.

SUMMER SERVICES
Different approaches/deeper ties

Summer lay-led worship services have become an important aspect of our shared ministry. Usually held in the Parish Hall, they allow for different seating arrangements and musical offerings in a more intimate setting.

Recent themes have included silent worship, food issues, global warming, prayer, and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Some services revolve around talks while others involve sharing circles, with music provided by a cappella singing or CD recordings. These are important touchstones during summer months, when travel and vacations separate us as a community. What personal or professional interest do you have that would enrich us?

— Worship Committee, 2010

My first brush with Unitarianism came when I was in elementary school. On the way home from school one day, Wendy Wentworth, a girl I knew, pressed her face against an elm tree and curled her finger into a “come hither” gesture. I went behind the tree and she kissed me. She was a Unitarian. This was my first taste of Unitarianism: bold, possessed of great names like Wendy Wentworth, and secretly pleasing.

Since then, I’ve always wanted a spiritual home like the one I found at First Church in 1989. For many years, religion was either too hot with emotion or too cold with issues, never just right. I started out Episcopalian, not realizing until after -college that I was a Democrat among Republicans. I tried on Judaism and came away with a lot of great Yiddish words. The Quakers came close with their calls to action on -cherished beliefs, but I felt at times while working at the American Friends Service Committee that I was loved more for the causes I supported than for who I was. Buddhism was a source of endless wonder and still is. When I finally turned to Unitarian Universalism 20 years ago, it was a homecoming, where I belonged, where all the pieces fit.

I told my parents that I was now a UU, attending a church with a wonderful woman minister. “Oh,” they said, “when did they start having women ministers?” “1863,” I said, “but she will be leaving and a wonderful gay man will be taking over.” “Oh boy,” they said.

First Church is the place where I turned in my pew to ask Hugh Robinson if he’d like to start a men’s group. There had been supper clubs and outings for men in the past but this was different — a support group. One man showed up saying, “I thought we were going bowling” but is still meeting weekly with our group 14 years later.

I was part of Victor Carpenter’s Ministerial Relations Committee, helping sort out the challenges of moving to two worship services. I served on the Worship Committee for seven years, during the time when the idea of a casserole dish filled with sand and candles took root to replace the passing of microphones among the pews. As a member and former chair of the Adult Programs Committee, I’ve put together the last nine brochures you find in the Unitarian. I’ve toiled in the underworld of Children’s R.E. and had the immense privilege of working with the Youth Group for almost a decade. Along the way, I’ve organized lay-led services on topics ranging from divorce, depression, and organ donation to men’s stories, the healing power of poetry, family matters, and forgiveness.

In other words, I’ve been given a chance to grow and become, be the changer and the changed, to find succor and opportunity here that eluded me elsewhere. This is the place where my son was dedicated with the help of his two godfathers who have been together longer than most of my straight friends. This is the place where my marriage fell apart and I was lifted up and held together by my companions here. This is the place where I spoke with grief of needing to have open heart surgery and I spoke with joy of the happy outcome and your heartfelt help along the way.

And beyond the individuals I so love, there is also the institution I love. Ours is not a religion fixated, like the History Channel, on events that happened long ago. My friends, the Bible is still being written by poets found in our Hymnal — Walt Whitman, William Blake, Emerson, Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Denise Levertov, and many others. I used to think that men were from Mars and women were from Venus. Through this church I have come to realize that men are from Earth and women are from Earth — deal with it! There is no age of sages riper than this one.
We are the people we’ve been waiting for.

~ Richard Waring, May 2009

Our Responsibilities

To work with the professional staff and congregation to foster meaningful worship in the church community, in keeping with our Principles and Purposes, by:

1. PROVIDING feedback to the professional staff and acting as a sounding board for the congregation on matters of our worship life.

2. ACCEPTING responsibility for and evaluating the presentation of lay-led services.

3. EXAMINING the form and content of services — at a detail/process level — to determine what works well and what could be improved upon.

4. OPENING and sustaining dialogue with the congregation on matters of worship.

5. TAKING risks and experimenting with new elements in the worship service and soliciting feedback.

6. ENCOURAGING and facilitating the development of other types of worship gatherings.

Submitted to the Parish Board by the Worship Committee, March, 1998. Revised slightly, September, 1998-2009.

The members of the Worship Committee agree to:

DEDICATE ourselves to facilitating meaningful worship at First Church.

RECOGNIZE and support the creative talents in ourselves and each other.

COLLABORATE and cooperate to fulfill our missions.

ATTEND monthly meetings, informing the group when we are unable to attend.

LISTEN to one another with an open mind and an open heart, avoiding interruptions and quick judgments.

PROVIDE honest feedback to each other and to members of our church.

BE open to new and different ways of worship.

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