This Week in RE, 6/14
dvanp...@firstparish.org
In this RE Announce…
News from the Religious Educator Search Team
RE Appreciation Dinner
First Parish Annual Meeting on June 14 – CHILDCARE PROVIDED
Details about Flower Communion on June 21 and Goodbyes to Merill Comeau, Brian Chenowith and Rachel Baker
Register Online for 2015 – 2016 RE and choir programs
Summer Services and Childcare
This Week, June 14 — Intergenerational Worship - No Regular RE
Next Week June 21 – Flower Communion
News from the Religious Educator Search Team
The Religious Educator Search Team has been hard at work interviewing candidates! To date we have interviewed three highly qualified individuals, with one more planned. Our candidate pool includes 3 women, 1 man, 2 ministers, and 2 DRE's (present or former) from various geographical regions both within the U.S. and abroad. It is our hope that we will conclude interviewing by June 18 and then make our selection by the end of June. Stay tuned for more exciting news as we embark on the next chapter of our Religious Education program.
RE Appreciation Dinner
Thank you Sarah Wilfert and the other members of the RE Council for hosting the volunteer appreciation dinner on Wednesday night. It was lovely to be together and share dinner while recognizing the volunteers that keep the RE programs running. There were over 100 people who volunteered their time to RE this year. Thank you all!
First Parish Annual Meeting on June 14, 11:30am
The First Parish Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 14, 2015 at 11:30am. At the meeting, the congregation will receive reports from staff and committees, vote on officers and committee members, approve delegates to General Assembly, approve the budget for next year, and more. All voters must check in and obtain ballots in the parlor during coffee hour immediately after the service and prior to the meeting. Who can vote at our Annual Meeting? Our bylaws state that First Parish members who have signed the Membership Book at least 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting may vote. All members and friends are welcome to attend the meeting, but only signed members who check in and collect a voting slip may vote.
If anyone has questions about the annual meeting or thoughts about warrant articles, please contact Mark Russell Prior by email at mark.russ...@comcast.net, by phone at 978-369-4901; or Moderator John Stevens by email at john_st...@comcast.net.
For families attending Annual Meeting…
1.) Childcare will be provided in the upstairs RE wing
2.) Please pack a bag lunch or hearty snack for your child(ren)
3.) Please plan to pick your child(ren) up by 1:45
Details about Flower Communion on June 21 and Goodbyes to Merill Comeau, Brian Chenowith and Rachel Baker
This was a beautiful service last year. We are hoping that families will come and be part of this special service. Brian Chenowith will lead the congregation though the traditional Unitarian Flower Communion created by Norbert Capek [1870-1942], who founded the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. Please bring a flower or two to contribute to the service. The flowers may come from your garden, a field, or the roadside. One interpretation of the flower communion states, “Our common bouquet would not be the same without the unique addition of each individual flower, and thus it is with our church community; it would not be the same without each and every one of us. Thus this service is a statement of our community. By exchanging flowers, we show our willingness to walk together in our search for truth, disregarding all that might divide us. Each person takes home a flower brought by someone else—thus symbolizing our shared celebration in community. This communion of sharing is essential to a free people of a free religion.”
During the service and at coffee hour, the congregation will say goodbye to Brian Chenowith, Ministerial Intern, Merill Comeau, Interim Director of Religious Education, and Rachel Baker, Director of Membership and Communications. The Women’s Parish Association will host a special coffee hour in the Debby Greeley Herb Garden immediately after the service.
Register Online for 2015 – 2016 RE and choir programs
Please remember to register for RE and choir programs for the 2015 – 2016 church year. Registration is online and you are able to register for both RE and Children’s Choir with the same form. The First Parish in Concord, Religious Education and Children's Choir Registration 2015 - 2016 is available on the First Parish homepage. Click on the yellow RE Registration button to get started. http://www.firstparish.org/cms/
Summer Services and Childcare
Children and youth are welcome to join their families in the sanctuary for worship during the summer. In lieu of staffed childcare, family members may accompany a restless child to the vestibule where there will be storage bins filled with age appropriate activities. Please remain with your child(ren). Family members are welcome to make themselves comfortable on the rocking chairs or sofa and listen to audio of the service as their children play. Audio of the service is also provided in the downstairs hallway, parlor and Parish Hall if this is a more comfortable place for you and your children.
This Week, June 14 — Intergenerational Worship - No Regular RE
9:50 a.m. – Regular Class, Babies-Preschool
10:00 a.m. – Service
9th-12th Grade - Youth Group – 7:00 p.m.
Next Week June 21 – Flower Communion
This was a beautiful service last year. We are hoping that families will come and be part of this special service.
10:00 a.m. – Service
Children of all ages are welcome in the Sanctuary. Childcare is not provided.