Second Parish Unitarian Universalist
Hingham, Massachusetts
Glad Tidings
From the Minister –
"In order to grow your congregation and my congregation and this movement of ours we just need to repel fewer newcomers.” -Rev. Peter Morales, President, Unitarian Universalist Association
Rev. Morales, who was elected president of the UUA last summer, has been making a priority of growing our congregations and our Unitarian Universalist movement, first as senior minister of one of our largest congregations, Jefferson Memorial Church in Golden, Colorado, and now as our president. One of his observations from his congregation is that more than twice as many people visited their church in the course of a year as were members; and he found that most congregations around the country have between 1 ½ and 2 times their membership visiting each year. The problem was that not enough of the visitors came back and became friends or members of the church. Hence the superscript of this article.
We at Second Parish don’t have quite such a large proportion of visitors, but we haven’t done a good enough job of keeping the visitors we have attracted. Like many other congregations, we need to work on whatever changes we need to make to do a better job of “repelling fewer visitors,” but more importantly we need to encourage more visitors to come and consider Second Parish as their congregation of choice.
One important way of getting people to visit Second Parish is – to invite them! Between 60 and 90 percent of people who join churches do so because a friend invites them to come and find out for themselves. Advertising, mailings, even web sites don’t attract most people to church – people do. To make this process easier, we’re going to have a special “Invite a Friend” service on March 7th. We’ll be asking everyone – from kids to adults – to find a friend, a neighbor, or someone else you know – and invite them to join us that Sunday. Like many other tasks, this one will be easier when all of us are involved. I’ll be speaking on February 21st about how to invite friends and how to welcome them when they join us on March 7th – or on any Sunday.
Please Note: Our class on Making Moral Choices Today now has two sessions – one in the afternoon, one in the evening. So if you weren’t able to join during the day, here’s your chance.
SERVICES – February 7th: Science and Sanity. Conflicts between science and religion have been ongoing for centuries, most recently over teaching evolution in the schools. We side with science in that conflict, but what might science have to learn from religion? February 14th: Love is Not Enough. Valentines Day is an occasion on which love is sentimentalized and glorified. Sometimes some kinds of love don’t work in the real world. February 21st: Invite Them In! Unitarian Universalists are not (ahem!) very enthusiastic about proselytizing. But we are committed to our faith and our congregation; how do we share it with others who need it too? February 28th: Victor Carpenter, Israel/Palestine Journey: Giving Life the Shape of Justice. Victor (Interim minister at Second Parish 2004-2006) will be returning to our pulpit to describe his recent pilgrimage to Palestine and what he found there. There will be an opportunity for discussion after the service.
In faith,
Paul
Calendar of Events for February
Weekly Meetings
Sundays Worship Service at 10:00
Mondays Sewing Group 9:30 to 11:00
Wednesdays Paul's Class on "Making Moral Choices Today" 1:00-2:30 or 7:00-8:30 pm at Linden Ponds
Dinners for Eight – see schedule inside
Sunday, Feb. 7 SUPER-SIZE COFFEE HOUR! Bring something to share.
RE Committee Meeting after church
Monday, Feb. 8 9:30 am Art Show Meeting – All are welcome
Tuesday, Feb. 9 7:30 pm Leadership Board Meeting
Saturday, Feb. 13 8:00 am Men’s Breakfast
Sunday, Feb. 14 Second Sunday Collection: Rosie’s Place
Tuesday, Feb. 16 7:30 pm Book Group at Hanberrys’ house, Mayflower Rd.
Book: King Leopold’s Ghost, by Adam Hochschild
Sunday, Feb. 21 No RE Classes. Rev. Kim teaches all ages class on the Parables
Exciting Art Show News!
Plans are underway for the 54th annual Arts and Crafts Show to be held May 6th to May 16th. This year we are excited to be expanding the art show to an “Arts Festival” by adding a concert by the vocal group “Ball in the House”. The performance will be on Saturday, May 8th at 3:00 followed by a wine and cheese reception at the art show.
Ball in the House is an amazing Boston-based vocal group that takes a cappella to the highest level with vocal drums/beatbox and vocal bass under their pop and rhythm and blues harmonies. They’ve astounded audiences of all ages on their national tours. They have played “Evening Under the Stars” at the South Shore Conservatory, the Today Show, America’s Got Talent and Las Vegas. They were voted the Best of Boston as a musical group.
We hope that the concert will be profitable in two ways: both from tickets sales and by attracting concert-goers to the art show where they will make purchases. We will need help from everyone to make this expanded art show a success. There are many ways you can contribute: selling tickets to the show, inviting friends, helping with publicity, setting up the show, putting on a reception or hosting at the art show, to name a few. The art show is not only our biggest fund raiser of the year, it is a great way to showcase our church to the community. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. Come join us!
Our next committee meeting is February 8th at 9:30 a.m. in Cushing Hall. We would love to increase the size of our committee. All are welcome to join or just sit in. We are open to your suggestions and appreciate all help.
-Submitted by the Art Show Committee
Super Sized Coffee Hour February 7
Come spend a little extra time at coffee hour on Sunday, February 7, catching up with everyone. If you would like to stay and share a little lunch, bring a dish to share. It can be some sandwiches you threw together, a box of brownies from your favorite bakery or your grandmother's best chicken dish. We aren't having a sign up and no planning is required. We will have a few tables set up for people to sit down and share lunch.
-Submitted by Julianna Dunn
“Making Moral Choices Today” Class at Linden Ponds
“Making Moral Choices Today” is a new class based on the book When Jesus Came to Harvard by Harvey Cox, recently retired professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School. We will be applying the methods of reasoning Jesus taught to his disciples to the choices we face in a far different world than he encountered during his life. The class now offers TWO meeting times; either Wednesdays 1:00-2:30 in the catering room of the Derby Clubhouse at Linden Ponds or 7:00-8:30 in the Derby Clubhouse Classroom. Contact Paul for further information.
Outreach: An Outpouring of Generosity
Parishioners have been extremely generous in this season of both giving and need. In addition to our Second Sunday collection for the UU Urban Ministry, which raised $376, the following Sunday we raised $628 for Haitian earthquake relief to be distributed through the UU Service Committee. The Guest at Your Table program, which ran from Thanksgiving until January, raised $797. Thank you all for your generosity.
The Second Sunday collection this month, to be held on February 14, will go to Rosie’s Place in Boston. Since 1974, poor and homeless women have found hope and nourishment at Rosie’s Place. The mission of Rosie’s Place is to help women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives. Many of the women assisted are working and in housing but simply can’t make ends meet. Some are newly homeless, while others women have been living on the streets for years. The mission at Rosie’s Place has evolved over time to include permanent solutions through advocacy, education and affordable housing. Please be generous with your donations for Rosie’s Place on February 14th.
Music Schedule for February:
2/7: Choir
2/14: Diane and David Whiting, vocalists
2/21: Choir
2/28: Elizabeth Morrell, soprano
Community
Men’s Breakfast
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The next Men's breakfast will be on Saturday, February 13th at 8:00 a.m. in Cushing Hall with the usual delicious menu. All men in the Parish are welcome and encouraged to join us for an hour of conversation. Come prepared to talk about whatever is on your mind. Please let Lou Belknap know if you will attend by phone at 781-749-5519 or by email at lsbelknap@verizon.net.
Book Group
The book group will next
meet at Nancy Hansberry's on Mayflower Rd. on Tuesday, Feb. 16th at 7:30 p.m. We will be
discussing King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in
Colonial Africa by
Adam Hochschild, a tale of the colonization of the Congo. Call Nancy for directions (781-749-7994) or Jennifer Love (781-749-3423) with any other questions.
Can you help collect food for the Hingham Food Pantry?
After the Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukah distributions food pantries are depleted and need our help. South Shore UU churches (Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Kingston, Norwell and Scituate) are planning a food drive to support our local pantries the weekend of January 30th. Second Parish will be working with Old Ship Church at the Hingham Stop and Shop on Sunday, January 31st from 12:00 to 4:00. Volunteers from both churches will greet each shopper, give them a list of items needed by the pantry, and ask them to buy a few to donate. The items will be collected and boxed at each doorway and then transported to the Hingham Interfaith Food Pantry at Second Parish.
We need at least 8 volunteers. There will be two shifts, 12:00 to 2:00 and 2:00 to 4:00. On each shift three volunteers will pass out flyers at the doorways and box the donated items, and two volunteers with either a truck or van will transport these items to the pantry.
As a whole all of the churches will be distributing food to the following food pantries: Cohasset, Hull, Hanson, Hingham, Marshfield, Norwell, Plymouth and Scituate. All are welcome to help, men, women, and children. Please call Jane Shute at 781-749-6518 to volunteer. -Submitted by Jane Shute
Dinners for Eight Planned for Early February
We are planning four Dinners for Eight for the first two weekends in February. This is a great way to spend some more informal time getting to know friends from church over a casual dinner. Please sign up in Cushing Hall. If the dinners fill up before you get a chance to sign up, please let us know. We have more hosts waiting in the wings. We would love to have everyone participate in at least one dinner. -Submitted by Jane Shute and Susan Weisenbeck
Dinners for Eight Hosts:
Saturday, Feb. 6: Ann Diamond and Wayne Wilson
Sunday, Feb. 7: Sarah Phillips
Friday, Feb. 12: Pam and Chip King
Saturday, Feb. 13: Kim Shaw
Saturday, Mar. 13: Sue and Allan Viden (full)
News from our Cooperative Religious Education Program
This coming month is one of great opportunities!
An Opportunity to Help Our Larger Community: On January 31st, we have the opportunity to help collect food for the Hingham Interfaith Food Pantry as part of a larger effort by many Unitarian Universalist churches throughout the South Shore. That weekend, congregations from Second Parish, Old Ship, Cohasset, Situate, Kingston, Duxbury and Norwell will all be going to local grocery stores and giving people a list of needed items. People can then buy the item and donate it on their way out. Families, tweens and teens will all have the opportunity to do something for people in need. There will be two shifts at the Hingham Stop and Shop from 12-2 and 2-4. Please contact Jane Shute if you would like to be involved.
An Opportunity to Teach: We have a wonderful group of kids in our Primary Class (kindergarten through 3rd grade) who are exploring our Seventh Principle of caring for the earth. They go outside almost every week. We need some new teachers to be a part of the team for the spring term. Come help this enthusiastic group learn about caring for the earth! There is always an assistant to help.
There is also an opportunity for one more teacher in the Intermediate Class (Grades 4 through 6). We will be exploring values and ethics in life choices. Please speak to me or the chair of the RE committee, Jane Shute.
An Opportunity to Share Second Parish: We have something we really need to share. We have a great community and wonderful children. We have a Religious Education program that teaches children to explore and question, that gives them knowledge of the Bible and other religions, and encourages them to live a life in service of their neighbors. We have thought provoking worship, beautiful music and singing. We are a place where people respect each other in our search for truth and meaning. We are a place where people can talk about God and Jesus and be free to believe or question. We know people need a place like this. You are lucky; you found it. Now it is time to invite someone to join you and share it with you. Invite-a-Friend Sunday will be on March 7th. We will explore more about how to invite friends of all ages over this next month. Please let me know your questions.
An Opportunity to Explore the Parables through Acting: On vacation weeks on long weekends, I am teaching an all-ages class on “Acting Out the Parables”. We have had two lessons so far and the children seem to really enjoy it. I am so impressed with each and every one of them. They have excellent ideas and enthusiasm. I look forward to acting out more parables with them on February 21st. In the meantime, I encourage you to sit down with them and read some of the parables in the Bible. There are Bibles in the RE library you can borrow if you don’t have one. Please let me know if you need a one. You can also find parables on the internet. Try googling them or looking at Wikipedia where there is a great list with brief explanations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parables_of_Jesus)
Blessings,
Rev. Kim, Minister of Religious Education
SECOND PARISH UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
685 Main Street, Hingham, MA 02043
Minister: Reverend Paul Sprecher, Email: minister@secondparish.org
Minister of Religious Education: Reverend Kim Preveza, Email: mre@secondparish.org
Paul: (781) 210-2016 – Home and Office
Church: (781) 749-1671 Email: secondparish@yahoo.com
Website: www.secondparish.org
Paul’s Office Hours: Mon. & Wed. 9:00 am-noon, Fri. 3:00 pm-6:00 pm
Church Office Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs, 7:00 am-noon
Sunday Service: 10:00 a.m.
The newsletter is published monthly.
The deadline is the 3rd Monday of each month.
Next Newsletter Deadline: February 15, noon
Production Date: February 23, 10:00 am
Newsletter Team: Alice Brewer and Sandi Smith
Editors: Lou Belknap and Susan Weisenbeck
Edition: February, 2010
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