Second Parish Unitarian Universalist
Hingham, Massachusetts
Glad Tidings
From the Minister –
We are entering a period of increased social activity here at Second Parish. We have largely finished a very successful and rewarding round of Dinners for Eight, and opportunity to break bread together, increase our acquaintance with other members of the congregation, and welcome newcomers by showing them Second Parish hospitality. March 7th is our Invite a Friend Sunday, an opportunity to share the good news of Second Parish with unchurched family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. We have postcards inviting guests to that service at church – be sure to take a few to send out invitations. We’ll be hosting a special coffee hour that Sunday so that we can spend some extra time together with our guests.
We’ve scheduled a Potluck Supper and Game Night for all ages on Saturday, March 20th, an opportunity for all to bring favorite board games, etc., and share them within or across generations. We will be inviting our guests from Invite a Friend Sunday as well, so this will be a social occasion for young and old, long time members and newcomers alike.
April is our month for Covenant Renewal, the time of the year when we reflect on what we most value about this congregation and pledge our support both in time and money to the continued prosperity of this beloved community of memory and hope, starting with a kickoff dinner on Sunday evening, April 11th.
And, of course, our spring Art Show opens the first week of May and this year includes a new feature – a concert which will bring in a whole new audience to enjoy our sanctuary and our art show.
Lots to do, lots to enjoy, lots of opportunities to socialize. Welcome one and all!
SERVICES – March 7th: Welcome! March 7th is Invite a Friend Sunday. Everyone is urged to invite a friend, neighbor or family member who might be looking for a congregation like ours. We’ve printed some invitation cards and suggestions for how to approach potential guests. Our service will show off Second Parish at its finest and I will preach about who we are and what we stand for. March 14th: Seven Deadly Sins. During Lent, which began on February 17th, Ash Wednesday this year, Christians traditionally engage in self-denial and an examination of conscience. How can we as Unitarian Universalists experience the meaning of this time? March 21st: Living and Dying. As we approach the Easter season, the earth is beginning to awaken from winter’s rest to new life. Our lives, too, have seasons. How can we best inhabit the seasons of our own lives? March 28th: Palm Sunday, Rev. Kim Preveza. We will celebrate Palm Sunday with our traditional palms and reflections on the journey Jesus took to Jerusalem the last week of his life.
In Faith,
Paul
Music Schedule for March:
3/7: Choir
3/14: Elizabeth Morrell, soprano
3/21: Choir
3/28: Diane and David Whiting, vocalists
Calendar of Events for March
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
Sunday, Mar. 7 Invite a Friend Sunday with special coffee hour
Monday, Mar. 8 9:30 am Art Show Meeting – All are welcome
Tuesday, Mar. 9 7:30 pm Leadership Board Meeting
Saturday, Mar. 13 8:00 am Men’s Breakfast
Sunday, Mar. 14 Second Sunday Collection: Mary Martha Learning Center
RE Committee Meeting after church
Tuesday, Mar. 16 7:30 pm Book Group at Jane Shute’s house, 427 Gardner St.
Book: Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
Saturday, Mar. 20 5:30 pm Potluck Supper and Game Night – see Rev. Kim’s article
Community
Men’s Breakfast
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The next Men's breakfast will be on Saturday, March 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 Jane Shute’s, 427
Gardner St.
on Tuesday, Mar. 16th at 7:30 p.m. We will be reading Mornings in Jenin
by Susan Abulhawa. Call Jennifer Love (781-749-3423) with any questions.
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 Rosie’s Place, which raised $325, the children in the RE program held a bake sale on Valentine’s Day to raise money for Haitian earthquake relief. They raised $91.50 to be distributed through the UU Service Committee. Thank you all for your generosity.
The Second Sunday collection this month, to be held on March 14, will go to the Mary-Martha Learning Center. The Mary-Martha Learning Center is a residential program, located in Hingham, for homeless families, primarily women with young children, providing educational and social services. Their goal is to turn homelessness into an opportunity for personal growth that will produce an improved future for both the mothers and their children. The Center’s educational program promotes physical well being, assists in intellectual and career development, and enhances personal enrichment. The Center's faculty, along with instructors from collaborating agencies and professionals who volunteer their time, instruct students in a wide range of life skill and career development subjects. A Certificate of Achievement in Personal and Professional Development is awarded to those students who successfully complete the program. Students' accomplishments are celebrated at an Annual Graduation Ceremony. Please be generous with your contributions.
Making Moral Choices Today Class
“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.
News from our Cooperative Religious Education Program
This March, our Religious Education program is full of exciting events. These events are church wide all ages events. It is exciting to see the all the different generations being together, worshiping together, learning, reaching out to others.
On March 7th, we will celebrate Invite a Friend Sunday. This is an opportunity to invite someone who does not have a church to come join you. This is a church wide, all ages event. To Parents: Chances are your children may have someone in mind they would like to know better and would love to have join them on Sundays. You may be more or less shy than them about inviting someone to church. I am more than happy to talk with you about it. I can be reached by phone
617-775-3424 or email mre@secondparish.org.
On Saturday, March 20th we will have a Potluck Supper and Game Night from 5:30 pm -8:00 pm. This will be a fun night of food and games for everyone. All ages are invited to come play. We will have a sign up for the potluck and games to bring. And guess what – March 20th is the first day of Spring! What a great day to get together.
The following week the Easter Season starts with Palm Sunday, March 28th. I will lead a service exploring the Parables of Jesus in his teachings, his life, and death. The Primary and Intermediate classes have been learning about the Parables of Jesus by acting them out. This will be the first Sunday they will share one of their plays for the Time for All Ages.
Happy Spring,
Rev. Kim
Minister of Religious Education
Volunteer Hands for Church School
Many thanks to all who have volunteered to assist the teachers in the religious education classes on Sunday mornings.
The following is a chart of upcoming services and volunteers.
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2/7 Anna Maude Jane Shute |
2/14 John Belknap |
2/21 Rev. Kim combined class for all ages |
2/28 Tasha Allan Jane Shute |
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3/7
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3/14 Thomas Weisenbeck Alex Droster |
3/21 Lynn Mayo Deedee Sprecher |
3/28 Betty Tower Art Project |
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4/4 EASTER SUNDAY |
4/11 Sandy Peavey |
4/18 Rev. Kim combined class for all ages |
4/25 Union Service |
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5/2 Elaine Cadogan |
5/9 Rich Bowker John Belknap |
5/16 Dinah Collins Doug Preveza |
5/23 |
5/30 Rev. Kim combined class for all ages |
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6/6 Elaine Cadogan |
6/13 RE Sunday |
6/20 Flower Communion
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Wider Community Events
Spring into Vitality through Food
As the earth spins towards regeneration and life, orient yourself towards better health and energy through the ‘Food as Medicine’ Workshop Saturday, March 20th, 10 am -12 pm at Old Ship Church, Hingham. Learn about body holism, blood pH and health, nutritional balancing, and healthier snack/ dessert alternatives. Help improve sleep, energy, focus, immunity, and weight for adults and children. Food samplings during the last half hour. For information/sign-up, contact Anne McGuire at 781-337-3678 or Puppyanna6@comcast.net.
Hold the dates: Thursdays, March 4, 11, 18, 25
I
am proud to say that the town of Hingham has been selected by the Greater
Boston Fair Housing Center to
host a dialogue series program called "Race & Place". It is based
on the PBS documentary called "Race - The Power
of an Illusion". It will be hosted by the Town Library on
Thursday evenings from 7:00
pm to 8:45 pm throughout the month of
March. Participants will view the documentary in one-hour segments and
discuss each with the guidance of a facilitator. The first three segments are
titled:
• The Difference Between Us: understanding why the peoples of the world
cannot be divided into distinct biological groups
• The Story We Tell: tracing the origins of the racial idea to the
European conquest of the New World
and the American slave system
• The House We Live In: dealing with institutional
racism and its effect on neighborhoods and communities
in this country because of its impact on housing.
The final session will be devoted to bringing the issues down to the local
level; what have we learned from this series that has impact and relevance for
our town.
The goal of this dialogue series with community
leaders and residents is an increased awareness of the historic
relationship between race, place, and current economic prosperity.
Feel free to contact me at mitchmarcusclu@gmail.com if you would like to attend or if you have any
questions.
-Thank you for your continued support, Mitch Marcus
Womensphere Spring Gathering
Please join Unitarian Universalist women at a Day for Women with Dharma Teacher Joanne Friday, Buddhist teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. The day’s theme will be “Listening as a Spiritual Practice, Hearing with the Heart”. The program will be Saturday, March 27, 2010, from 9:30am through 3:00pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth, 840 Sandwich Road, Falmouth MA. The deadline to register is Friday, March 19. The fee of $20 includes registration and lunch. Scholarships are available. Contact dschmader@cox.net
UNIVERSALIST CONVOCATION 2010
May 14-16, 2010
First Universalist Society of Rochester, NY
Keynote: The Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed, “Dragged Kicking and Screaming to Heaven”
For more information please go to nmuc.org/Convo
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: March 15, noon
Production Date: March 23, 10:00 am
Newsletter Team: Alice Brewer and Sandi Smith
Editors: Lou Belknap and Susan Weisenbeck
Edition: February, 2010
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