Second Parish Unitarian Universalist
in Hingham
Glad Tidings
From the Minister –
And so we begin another New Year, bringing with us from Advent Hope, Peace, Love and Joy – and the greatest of these is Love.
Hurray! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve service with a great turnout of old and new friends, members and families. How wonderful to have a joyful service filling the sanctuary up to the balconies. Even some passers by were delighted by the music we made! What a superb way to round out the holidays and to energize all of us for a great New Year.
Classes: The two classes which garnered the most interest were the Bible Workbench and Parents as Religious Educators, and the best times were Monday & Thursday evening. So we’ll start the Bible Workbench on Thursday, Jan. 18th at 7:30 (get materials on Sunday, Jan. 7th or in any case before class) and the Parents class on Monday, Jan. 22nd at 7:30. Signup sheets will be in the Parish Hall.
Soul Work Conversations Starting Jan 14th: Ken Read-Brown from Old Ship, Jan Carlsson-Bull from Cohasset & I have agreed to launch a series of Sunday afternoon conversations based on Soul Works: Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue, co-edited by Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley with our sermons for Martin Luther King, Jr., Sunday. We will start this series of meetings on Jan. 14th in Cohasset at 12:30. Cohasset’s Religious Education staff will organize work and play sessions for children while the adults hold a discussion on the current status of anti-racism in our denomination and in our society. Copies of the book will be available at that time. Please call or email me with any questions about this vital topic; we are dedicating this series to Marjorie’s memory.
Friday Soup & Salad on Jan. 19that 6 pm: Hot Topic—Next Steps for Iraq
The Iraq War has divided the nation, the town and this congregation. By a vote of 4,991 to 4,258, voters in the Town passed a non-binding resolution calling upon our state representative to “vote in favor of a resolution calling upon the President and Congress of the United States to end the war in Iraq immediately and bring all military forces home from Iraq.” How do you feel about that question and what do you believe our nation should do next in Iraq? Signup sheets will be in the Parish Hall.
Time Away: Deedee & I are away until Wednesday, Jan. 3rd, visiting my parents for their 60th wedding anniversary in Madison, Wisconsin, my brother and his family in Rockford, IL, and also friends in Ridgewood and New York. I can still be reached on the parsonage number while away – (781) 210-2016 – and I will also be checking email: minister@secondparish.org most days.
Office Hours: As I indicated in the last newsletter, I’m changing my day off to Wednesday starting in January. My office hours will now be Monday 9-12, Tuesday 9-12 & Friday 3-6. During those hours I can generally be reached in my office at (781) 749-2690.
In Faith,
Paul
Leadership Board Notes
The
plate collection on the second Sunday in January is allocated for Father Bill's
Place in Quincy, an interfaith shelter for
homeless adults serving the South
Shore. The money will be
designated for items desperately needed in winter which the shelter cannot
afford, such as cough medicine, new socks, sweatpants, hand warmers. Thank you.
Any questions, please call Mary Collins at 781-740-4576.
A Call for Sunday Service Volunteers
If you are going to be around this winter, please sign up to be an usher, greeter, bring flowers or do a coffee hour. Call Alice Brewer at 781-749-2873 if you would like to help out. Thanks! -Submitted by Alice Brewer
Community
Men’s Breakfast
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The next men's breakfast will be held at 8:00 a.m. in Cushing Hall on Saturday, January 13th. All men of the parish are welcome to join us for a high cholesterol breakfast and conversation. We have no set agenda. Come prepared to talk about anything on your mind. We break promptly at 9:00 a.m. Call
Lou Belknap at 781-749-5519 if you can join us, or email me at lsbelknap@verizon.net.
Book Group
The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Betty Tower’s home (56 Garrison Rd.). The book for this meeting is The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Any questions call Jennifer Love at
781-749-3243.
Glad Tidings Holiday Fair Results
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Many thanks to all that contributed to the success of our annual Holiday Fair. The gross total is over $4,500 and after expenses we made over $3,800! As always, we couldn’t have done it without the support of everyone in the church family. It is one of the two major fund raisers for the church and we are happy with the results. Thank you everyone. -Submitted by the Craft Connection
Music schedule for January
January 7: Choir, January 14: Beth Morrell, January 20: Choir, January 27: Beth Morrell
Honor the past! Look forward to the future!
Please plan to join us on Sunday morning, December 31, 2006, for an informal worship service of readings and hymns, followed by our usual coffee hour. What better way to end one year and anticipate the next than in the company of the Second Parish family!
If you haven’t requested a reading or hymn, feel free to bring one with you to share. This will be a very flexible and informal service.
See you in church. –Submitted by Stephanie Kelsch and Elaine Cadogan
South Shore Cluster Dinner, LIFE IN THE WORLD’S POOREST COUNTRY
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, UU Church of Weymouth, Rte 3A at Sea St.
Laura Bacon reflects on 2 ˝ years as a Peace Corps worker in Niger, the world’s poorest country (UN Human Development Report, 2005). Social at 6:30, dinner ($8) at 7, program at 8, out by 9.
Thank you, All
Many thanks, boys, girls, Katie, parent volunteers, Liliane, Susan, cellists, adult choir & Mark, Stephanie, Paul, and hospitality committee who helped to make the 2006 Christmas pageant this past Sunday so wonderful! It was really a special service, and I was so proud of each and every member of the pageant troupe for their effort and execution. Lines were enunciated beautifully, singing by youth and congregation was lovely, and the goodies afterwards were scrumptious! Katie and I were so touched by the beautiful Christmas cacti you gave each of us in appreciation. They're in the center of our dining room table now and will happily remind us of the wonderful day we shared together. There is nothing like getting back to the true meaning of Christmas and commemorating it in a caring community. Thank you for all your hard work! God bless each one of you in this holiday season. -Submitted by Anne McGuire
Education
UU Service Committee Fund Raising Program to Support Human Rights Work
Please return your Guest at Your Table donation to Helene Soini in early January. Please complete the form on the box or envelope, have your children count the contents of your box and write a check for the total amount made payable to UUSC. We will mail them together, along with your name and address. You may become a member of the UUSC for a year, if your contribution is as follows: $40 general membership, $75 dual membership, $10 students, $20 seniors (65 years and over.) The UU Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, NY, matches contributions of $75 or more from individuals. We will let you know our total contribution. Thank you all for your support.
Note from Religious Education Committee:
As of the end of December, I will be completing my term on the Religious Education Committee. I am pleased to announce that Pam King and Sue Viden will be joining the committee in January. The other committee members are Tasha Allan, Heidi Brieger and Richard Bowker, with Heidi and Richard focusing on the Coming of Age Program. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped out in the RE program during my tenure, and especially to Liliane Verdier, our RE Director, who has been instrumental in our success. Please continue to support Liliane, Pam, Sue, Tasha, Heidi and Richard in this program that is so important to our church’s growth and vitality. -Submitted by Susan Weisenbeck
News from our Cooperative Religious Education Program
We had a busy and productive time during the past month.
We enjoyed a truly charming performance, on the theme of winter light, by our Junior Choir on Sunday, November 26.
A grateful thank you to Fernanda, Lissa, Olivia and their leader, Katie.
Our children’s Christmas Pageant service was a delightful event that was very well received. Many, including the entire staff, contributed to its preparation and success. Thank you so much to all and in particular to the children for doing so well with only three rehearsals ("it was hard work, but it was worth the effort" one of them told me). Special thanks also goes to our artistic director Anne McGuire, our narrator Stephanie Shute Kelsch, our young musicians Katie, Dana Mackey and James Bowker, our volunteer helpers Tasha Allan and Suzette Droster , and last, but not least, our dedicated RE chair Susan Weisenbeck. If you took pictures please let me know. We could post them in Cushing Hall, our web site and perhaps the Hingham Journal.
A warm welcome to our new Religious Education Committee members Pam King and Sue Viden. Special Thanks to our outgoing Chair, Susan Weisenbeck, who has worked tirelessly beyond the call of duty . We are grateful for her hard work and guidance and am glad that she will continue as our expert RE consultant.
Our
Winter term starts January 7 with the following teaching teams :
Primary Class : Anna and Michael Maude
Intermediate Class : Anne McGuire and Liliane Verdier
Junior Class : Pam King, Kurt Weisenbeck and Marcia De Sousa
We are continuing with the excellent curricula of,
respectively, "A Discovering Year", "A Questing Year"
and "Jesus and His Kingdom of Equals".
As you know, our senior class members are participating in a special Coming of Age program this year. So far they have learned about "UU History" and "UU Theology". Starting in January, mentors will join them in activities relating to "Spirituality" and "Social Action ". We are very happy to welcome Gene Chamberlain, Kim Shaw and Deedee Agee Sprecher as mentors.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Happy Holidays and my very best wishes for the New Year 2007 to all.
-Liliane Verdier, Acting Director of Religious Education Lilianevhing@aol.com, 781-749-9581
Thanks for all the poinsettias and for help from Diana Meigs, Sue and Allan Viden, Julianna Lovell and Paul Sprecher.
-Alice Brewer
We are updating the church directory. If you have any changes to make, please let me know. Feel free to add email addresses for family members as well. -Thanks, Sandi