The Newsletter of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church Of Scituate

February 2, 2010

The Sloop’s Log

“Risking Our Persons”
February 7, 2010
10:30 am
Rev. Richard M. Stower

The American philosopher,

William James, wrote, “It is only
by risking our persons from one
hour to another that we lie at all.”
Just about eery day we take risks,
great and small. To risk is to be
courageous.

Tea With The Minister Church Service

Hospitality
There will be a “Tea With The Minister” February 7 “Love: Looking Together
on Sunday, February 7th from in the Same Direction”
4 pm - 5:30 pm, ending long before the Greeters: Mary Ann and February 14, 2010
kick-off to the Super Bowl. The Tea is
Trent Linker 10:30 am
intended for the newcomers to First
Parish Scituate and is a step in the Rev. Richard M. Stower
process of becoming a member of First Flowers: Womans Alliance
Parish. People will share where they are
on their spiritual journey. Learn about Coffee Hour: Jane & Mark A Google search of the word “love”
Unitarian Universalist history and hear
McGuinness produces almost 1.5 billion hits. Is
how First Parish governs itself.
there a word more common in the
February 14 English language and yet is so
Whenever you believe First Parish is your complex an emotion?
spiritual home and you want to become a
formal member of the congregation Coffee Hour: Janie Versoy &
please see the Minister so that you can Brit Davis
sign the Membership Book.

PAGE 1
 The Newsletter of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church Of Scituate
RE News
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
PROGRAM UPDATE
Grades K-6th
The month of February marks the
conclusion of the Religious Education
program's first semester and the
beginning of a new semester with new
curricula.  Since late September, our
RE classes have focused on Unitarian
Universalist identity.  Youngsters
learned stories that relate to our seven
UU principles and famous historical
figures who were influenced by their
UU faith.  Beginning this month, our
RE classes will explore world religions,
paying special attention to the Bible
and its influence.  Our pre-K through
2nd grade class will be learning lessons
and stories from various religious
traditions, including Buddhism,
Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism,
Earth-centered spirituality, and ancient
mythology, in addition to the stories
and wisdom from the Bible.  Our 3rd/
4th and 5th/6th grade classes will delve
into the Bible, learning the myths and
history that have influenced our world
and culture over the centuries.
 
7th & 8th grade OWL program
This month, our OWL class will
address various topics including
healthy relationships, sexual identity,
lovemaking, and making a
commitment in a relationship.  Our
OWL program will engage several
guest speakers this month addressing
issues of sexual identity so that
students can understand a variety of
perspectives. 
Special congratulations to Michael
Feeney!  Michael attended a formal,
three day Our Whole Lives facilitator
training recently and now joins
Veronica Amelang as a certified Our
Whole Lives program facilitator.  Sanctuary. Thank you Alan Donaldson
First
Parish UU in Scituate is very for shepherding this project.
blessed indeed to now have not one,
but two formally trained OWL
Minister
Rev. Richard M. Stower
facilitators.
Church 781-545-3324
9th - 12th grade Youth Group Home 781-544-3574
Youth and Youth Group advisers have Director of Religious
been discussing ideas for activities Education
including volunteering at the Jim FitzGerald 617-983-0619
Marshfield animal shelter, bringing pets Parish Committee Co-Chair
to visit residents at the Cardigan Mary McRae 781-545-2504
nursing home, helping with
Claire Sherman 781-449-5286
CreativiTeens at the Scituate Library,
Church Office Administrator
and helping at the Scituate food pantry. 
Stay tuned also for dates for Christine Conway 781-834-2040
educational and fun movie nights for Treasurer
teens at First Parish. Judy Wolffer 781-544-0191
Parish Committee Secretary
Interested in helping out in our Janice Evans 781-545-5001
Religious Education program?
Collector
Now matter how much time you have
Vicki Davis 781-545-2369
to give or what talents you bring to the
program, there is room for your Buildings and Grounds
presence and help.  Please don't Erica Boyle 781-545-3452
hesitate to connect with me for a Frank Kilduff 781-545-9365
conversation about how you can Endowment
become involved in our RE program.
Joanne Fraser 781-545-4571
Finance
Many blessings,
Jim Sarah Murdock 781-545-8274
Leigh Todd 781-544-7767
Prayer Shawl Meeting Membership & Hospitality
The members of the Prayer Shawl group Brit Davis 617-275-5700
will meet Feb 8th, from 7:00pm-8:30pm. Denominational Affairs/
The meeting will be at Laura Smith's Social Justice
home 14 Mordecai Lincoln Rd. Carol Sullivan-Hanley 781-545-9341
All are welcome!! Public Relations
Katie Jacobsen 781-545-2504
High Treesin’
Religious Education
It’s always sad when an ancient tree
Laura Carson- Laciner
comes down. The old cherry tree in the
781-544-0220
Memorial Garden has been removed. Jean Shildneck
The rotting tree was home to a family of 617-275-5700
squirrels. It is believed that the tree was Religious Services
about 200 years old.
Barbara Gifford 781-378-1617
No Longer Blinded Jane McGuinness 781-545-6394
Social Programs
By The Light Sue Duff 781-545-5604
New shades with a softer look, have been Head Usher
Jack Shaw 781-545-0547
installed in The Old Sloop Room and the
2
 The Newsletter of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church Of Scituate

Committee on Ministry News Book Group Selection – February 2010

 The Committee on Ministry (COM) has been working The Professor and the Madman:
hard on developing a questionnaire to assist in the work of
this committee in "tracking the heartbeat" of the First A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The
Parish community. This questionnaire is very important to Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
the COM, and we hope very much that you will all take the
time to read it over and provide us with feedback.  When the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary put
out a call during the late 19th century pleading for "men of
There are several ways you can participate in completing the
letters" to provide help with their mammoth undertaking,
questionnaire! 
hundreds of responses came forth. Some helpers, like Dr.
1. You can pick up a copy of the questionnaire
outside the sanctuary in the Old Sloop Room near W.C. Minor, provided literally thousands of entries to the
the COM's suggestion box and then complete it in editors. But Minor, an American expatriate in England and
writing and return it to the COM.  a Civil War veteran, was actually a certified lunatic who
2. You can email any one of the COM members and turned in his dictionary entries from the Broadmoor
we'll send you an electronic copy of the Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Simon Winchester has produced
questionnaire for you to fill out and send back to us a mesmerizing coda to the deeply troubled Minor's life, a
by email!  life that in one sense began with the senseless murder of
3. You can choose a convenient time to answer the an innocent British brewery worker that the deluded
survey via telephone with a COM member. Minor believed was an assassin sent by one of his
  numerous "enemies."
COM members will begin to contact people in early
February to see if you have received a copy of the DATE: Wednesday, Feb 24
questionnaire, and if you'd like to set up a phone interview
or if you'd like to answer in writing.  You can either
complete the survey anonymously or you can attach your TIME: 7:30 pm
name to it!  We expect that our phone calling will take
several months to complete, so don't worry if you aren't
contacted right away.  We'd like this to be both painless LOCATION: Sloop Room
and productive!

Once we have collected a critical mass of questionnaire

responses, the COM will work to summarize them, group
them, and convey information to appropriate First Parish
committees.  If there are comments that need immediate
attention, then we will work to address them expeditiously. 
The COM will compile a report of findings to submit for
the First Parish Annual Report prior to the annual meeting.  
 
Please feel free to speak with any one of us in person or
contact us by phone or email.  Unless you say otherwise,
we will consider your comments confidential. 
MaryAnn Linker; 781-545-3241 fal15@comcast.net ; Date and place subject to last minute changes. If you are
Kim Ryan; 781-545-1714  kimryan47@comcast.com ; not on the book group email list and would like to attend,
Ann Lattinville Hale; 781-545-1428 annlattinville@yahoo.com please contact Chris Berkeley @545-6901.
 
 
 

3
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
330 First Parish Road
Scituate, MA 02066
781-545-3324
www.firstparishscituate.org
E-mail:firstparishscituate@verizon.net
Founded in London, 1616
Gathered in Scituate, 1634
~ Rumi
“ Only from the heart can you touch the sky.”
Something to think about.......