The return of The return of SOULFUL SUNDOWNSOULFUL SUNDOWN, ,

MidMid--week spiritual gatherings beginning at 6:15 week spiritual gatherings beginning at 6:15

PM every WednesdayPM every Wednesday

September 21:September 21: Sanctuary BostonSanctuary Boston

September 28: Fall Equinox celebration service with Rev. Tim HouseSeptember 28: Fall Equinox celebration service with Rev. Tim House

October 5:October 5: CURATE: Sharing Wisdom, Creativity and ActivismCURATE: Sharing Wisdom, Creativity and Activism----

Rev. Kendrick & special guest Rev. Kendrick & special guest

October 12:October 12: Diana Smith leads the serviceDiana Smith leads the service

October 19:October 19: Sanctuary BostonSanctuary Boston

October 26: The Dinner Service with Aisha AnsanoOctober 26: The Dinner Service with Aisha Ansano

November 2:November 2: CURATECURATE---- Rev. Kendrick & special guestRev. Kendrick & special guest

November 9: Celebration service and dinner for guest Rev. Csaba Mezei, Minns lecturer November 9: Celebration service and dinner for guest Rev. Csaba Mezei, Minns lecturer

and minister of our Transylvania sister churchand minister of our Transylvania sister church

November 16: Sanctuary BostonNovember 16: Sanctuary Boston

November 23: NO SERVICE. WE ARE PREPPING FOR THE COMMUNITY MEAL!November 23: NO SERVICE. WE ARE PREPPING FOR THE COMMUNITY MEAL!

November 30:November 30: Rev. House leads the serviceRev. House leads the service

December 7:December 7: CURATECURATE—— Rev. Kendrick with a special guestRev. Kendrick with a special guest

December 14:December 14: Vigil for Gun Violence VictimsVigil for Gun Violence Victims

December 21:December 21: Winter Solstice ServiceWinter Solstice Service

Services resume January 11th. Services resume January 11th.

*All services, times, and content are subject to change. Check www.firstchurchboston.org or contact 617-267-6730 for up to date information.

66 Marlborough St. | Boston, MA 02116 | 617-267-6730 | www.firstchurchboston.org

Things

First A Magazine for the First Church

Boston Community

Featuring

The Return of

Soulful Sundown

The Fall Minns

Lectures

The Learning

Community Series

Member Spotlight

And a Guide to

Upcoming Events

through the

Holidays

A Word from Stephen

So what is this new-fangled outreach--that looks sus-

piciously like an old fashioned church news-

letter? Well, when the digital age bloomed, we all

thought we had reached church-info Nirvana. Press a

button, boom, it's in your inbox, plus the whole thing

is free. Except all of our email boxes are full, and if

you don't open the e-news, you are left pretty clueless

as to what is going on here at First Church. Our lead-

ers wondered if we weren't, many of us, flying blind.

Plus, there was no sense of an overview, an arc to the church year. So we are now sending out this

little magazine (feel free to post it on your refrigerator if you're feeling nostalgic) three times a year to

help keep everyone posted.

Please know that, while 95% of this information will not change, "life happens," and some things will

shift or be added along the way--so check the weekly Friday E-news and the website to be com-

pletely up to the minute on activities and programs. And we couldn't fit everything into this little

format anyway--we are a happening kind of place, and the creativity of the members keeps things

bubbling up, as it should be.

In the maelstrom of this frantic and at times disturbing election season, also know that we are here

for spiritual comfort, challenge, reflection and repose--we take your feelings and longings seriously,

and in the music, the sermons, and times of prayer and silence, we are a community of purpose and

warmth and hope. We begin our 386th year with new activities, classes and outreach. There is so

much life and spirit among us. The magazine is only a taste of what's coming up through the holi-

days--so, "See you in church."

Live Inspired Help us to be the al-

ways hopeful gardeners

of the spirit who know

that without darkness

nothing comes to birth,

as without light, noth-

ing flowers

-May Sarton

The Minns Lectures, Fall 2016

Sources of a Global Faith

Come learn about the ideals that Transylvanian

Unitarians hold dear and core ritual practices vibrantly

alive in Transylvanian Unitarian churches. Transylvanian Unitarian

minister, Revs. Norbert Rácz, Maria Rácz, and Csaba Mezei will invite

attendees into a dialogue about the pressing questions facing religious

liberals in this time of unique opportunity for Unitarian and Universalist

communities around the world.

WWW.MINNSLECTURES.ORG

Emily Dickinson Museum visit on Saturday, October 1

The Learning Community will host a First Church Boston excursion to

the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA on Saturday, Octo-

ber 1, for the "Emily Dickinson's World" tour, led by recent Learning

Community presenter Susan Snively. Discounted group rate tickets

are $11/each; gas, tolls, and meals will also be Dutch treat. We will

depart round 9am and caravan in individual cars to Amherst for

lunch at Judie's Restaurant, where we have a 11:45am reservation, and

ultimately arrive at the Emily Dickinson Museum in time for

a 1:30pm tour reservation. For more information about the Museum

and Emily Dickinson, visit emilydickinsonmuseum.org. The museum

requires a confirmed number of attendees (up to 15 maximum) and a

non-refundable deposit in advance. Please email Sarah Ra-

zor, squirrelrazor@gmail.com, to RSVP by Tuesday, September 13.

Upcoming Special Events, Programs and Services

Singing at First Church

As of publication, fall singing opportunities

are still in the planning stage, but volunteer

singers can look forward to November and

December. Our third annual Thanksgiving

Hymn Festival will take place during the

11am service on November 20. We will again

be joined by Triton Brass for a joyful

celebration of community singing, and our

choir will be augmented by volunteer singers

for a special anthem. Our first two years

featured choral works by Bach and

Mendelssohn, and we look forward to more

good music with brass. As the holidays come

around, we enjoy having volunteer singers

for choral music and for Back Bay caroling. If

you would like to sing for any or all of these

events, please contact Dr. Paul Cienniwa

(pcienniwa@gmail.com) for up-to-date

information on rehearsal schedule and

repertoire.

Sunday, October 2

Jeffrey A. Hoffman, NASA

Astronaut, retired,

and Professor of the Practice

of Aerospace Engineering,

MIT Department of

Aeronautics and Astronautics

“What Went Wrong with the Hubble Space

Telescope, and How Did We Fix It?"

Sunday, November 13

Leo Damrosch, Professor of Literature Emeritus at

Harvard University and author of Eternity's

Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake

“Connecting with William Blake”

Sunday, January 22

Adelaïde Gross, FCB Member and fisherwoman

‘On Fishing”

UPCOMING EVENTS THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS

September 11th: Opening Service-- Water Communion--

"Sitting at the Banquet of Consequences" by Rev.

Kendrick

September 18th: ”For All that is our Life" featuring all of our

ministry team! Sundaes will be served post service!

September 25th: Charter Day service-"Having Relations" by Rev.

Kendrick. “Chowdah” to be served post service.

October. 2nd: "The Hardest Word" by Rev. Kendrick. Learning Community to follow.

October 9th: “Choosing our Stories” by Diana Smith

October 16th: "It Isn't What It Is" by Rev. Kendrick. First Café to follow.

October 23rd: "Time for Plan(et) B" by Rev. Kendrick

October 30th: Rev. Tim House’s first sermon of the church year. First Café to follow the service.

November 6th: Annual Election Sermon--

"Choosing the Right Angels" by Rev. Kendrick

November 13th: Rev. Kendrick and Rev. Csaba Mezei, minister of

our sister congregation in Transylvania. Learning

Community to follow.

November 20th: Thanksgiving Hymn Festival featuring Triton

Brass

November 24th: Thanksgiving Community Meal, 12PM

November 27th: Aisha Ansano’s first sermon as a First Church

intern

December 3rd: Church Potluck, 6 PM

December 4th: "Long as Time and Brief as Love" Rev. Kendrick

December 11th: Rev. House preaching– Caroling & Kendrick Open House

December 18th: "Noli Timere" Rev. Kendrick

December 21st: Winter Solstice Service featuring Aine Minogue beginning at

6:15 PM

December 24th: Christmas Eve Service beginning at 5:30 PM

December 25th: Christmas Day Service

*All services, times, and content are subject to change. Check www.firstchurchboston.org or contact 617-267-6730 for up to date information.

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.

-Loren Eiseley

What's New at First Church

Probably the first thing you will notice on Sundays is that there is a new

pulpit. One thing is clear in church life--no one likes changing beloved

furniture! Our old pulpit, believe it or not, was meant to be a short term item after the church

burned down and was rebuilt--and here we are, more than 35 years on, with it still in use. But

the wood veneer is peeling, and with the long term wear and tear, we needed something

new. Former member Rowie Pittman has fashioned a lovely copper UU chalice that will deco-

rate the new pulpit (for which we thank him), and we think you'll bond with the new pulpit

quickly! But we are not doing away with the old pulpit, and you'll see it (hopefully after some needed repair) on

special occasions like Christmas Eve.

We live in the dual reality that change is good, and change is unsettling. But a liberal free-thinking community like

ours moves forward, and so we note far more important changes among us--such as our two new ministerial in-

terns, Diana Smith and Aisha Ansano.

We also welcome some new staff members who will be working with Zach Dunn to

support the church and its many activities, including outreach (and needed rental income) from the

wider community of Boston.

Diana Smith is a Master of Divinity student at Andover Newton Theological School. She began her studies

in January 2015 and expects to complete them in May 2018. Diana is pursuing parish ministry and is inter-

ested in bringing her background in environmental work and psychology, and her interest in religious

pluralism into her religious leadership. Diana became a Unitarian Universalist in 2009 and identifies as a

panentheist; she was raised in the Episcopal and Methodist churches. Diana moved to Boston in Fall 2015

from Olympia, WA, where she worked for the WA State Department of Ecology, was a lay worship leader

and religious education teacher at Olympia UU Congregation, and volunteered as a trainer and board

member for a crisis phone line. Diana loves hiking, walking, and camping with her dog and friends, as

well as gardening. She is a ceramic and fiber artist and also enjoys yoga, bicycling, knitting, and reading.

Aisha Ansano is deeply interested in the intersections of food, spirituality, and community, and considers

food to be her ministry. Aisha recently completed her MDiv at Harvard Divinity School and is excited to

take the next step towards ministry as an intern at First Church Boston! Currently in discernment about

pursuing parish ministry, community ministry, or some combination of the two, Aisha looks forward to

learning and growing alongside the First Church community.

Kim Ramsey-Winkler is out new accounting assistant. She relocated to Boston several years ago, and has

loved living here. Now that her children have grown and are moving on, and her writing career is estab-

lished, Kim looks forward to seeing what comes next in her life, and into seeing what Back Bay looks like

in winter. Welcome aboard, Kim!

Chris McCall is our new operations coordinator is a native of North Carolina. Having recently moved

to the Boston area to help his grandmother, he was in search for a different opportunity. Then, he

found First Church and he is happy to be on board and looks forward to growing with the organiza-

tion. Chris is a fun loving guy who loves to play basketball and other sports in his spare time. Wel-

come aboard, Chris!

Member Spotlight: Eileen BrewsterMember Spotlight: Eileen Brewster

Eileen Brewster on most Sunday services is seated in the back of the Sanctuary in her wheel-Eileen Brewster on most Sunday services is seated in the back of the Sanctuary in her wheel-

chair, which is adorned with positive messages and, on cloudy mornings, cheerful bright chair, which is adorned with positive messages and, on cloudy mornings, cheerful bright

colors.colors. She is a happy force, despite having had to face decades of difficult health issues and She is a happy force, despite having had to face decades of difficult health issues and

increased disability.increased disability. For many years, she was a notable disability advocate and activist in For many years, she was a notable disability advocate and activist in

Boston, being appointed at one point by Gov. Deval Patrick to the statewide Independent Boston, being appointed at one point by Gov. Deval Patrick to the statewide Independent

Living Council.Living Council.

But with increasing difficulties with her own health, she has cut back on her public role, But with increasing difficulties with her own health, she has cut back on her public role,

making her attendance at First Church even more important to her. Eileen says, "I get tired making her attendance at First Church even more important to her. Eileen says, "I get tired

of seeing just medical professionals, so church is an outlet for me to see the world, to laugh, of seeing just medical professionals, so church is an outlet for me to see the world, to laugh,

and get involved with different activities."and get involved with different activities." Born at sea, she first came to Boston as a teenager Born at sea, she first came to Boston as a teenager

to visit relatives, and she has lived at the Alice Taylor apartments for the last twenty years.to visit relatives, and she has lived at the Alice Taylor apartments for the last twenty years.

She was introduced to the church nearly a decade ago by Jamie Simpson, who invited her to She was introduced to the church nearly a decade ago by Jamie Simpson, who invited her to

our Thanksgiving Community meal, and the visit had a profound effect on herour Thanksgiving Community meal, and the visit had a profound effect on her----to this day, to this day,

Eileen always contributes at least four turkeys to the feast, and is always there to greet the Eileen always contributes at least four turkeys to the feast, and is always there to greet the

homeless.homeless. Her generosity makes her a star of our thanksgiving outreach. But it is in her in-Her generosity makes her a star of our thanksgiving outreach. But it is in her in-

domitable spirit that she affects the congregation in such powerful ways!domitable spirit that she affects the congregation in such powerful ways!

Awakening to Joy Beginning October 11 First Church Boston member Connie Hill

will offer an AWAKENING TO JOY gathering on the second

Tuesday of each month in Hale Chapel from 6:30 – 8 pm. In a

relaxed group setting Connie

will introduce practical spiritual

wisdom, tools, and practices that

can fundamentally shift one’s

experience of life. As she de-

scribes it, the class will provide

guidance for releasing the inner

resistance so many of us have

that limits our receiving life’s

blessings. All are welcome. Do join us to enjoy the contagious

and infinitely freeing energy of enlightening up!

For further information, contact Connie at hconhill@verizon.net.

Thanksgiving

Community Meal

Please join us for our Annual

Thanksgiving Community Meal,

Thursday, November 24, 12:00 PM

in the Auditorium. Everyone from

our congregation and the surround-

ing community is invited to come

together for an afternoon of celebra-

tion, good company, and delicious

food. Neighbors and friends are

encouraged to come join in the feast

by lending a helping hand, by mak-

ing a donation or by bringing a dish

ample enough to share. For more

information, contact Zach Dunn at

zach@firstchurchoston.org.

CHILDREN’S RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: LOVE SURROUNDS US

At the core of our Unitarian Universalist community are our seven Principles.

The Principles encompass all the ingredients of a good and faith-filled life based

on equality, freedom, peace, acceptance, truth, care, and love. This program ex-

plores all the Principles in the context of Beloved Community.

The program concentrates on the communities that are most recognizable to kin-

dergarteners and first graders—their Beloved Communities of family/home,

school, neighborhood. Participants engage in activities that emphasize the

love they feel in community. Principles are introduced with opening activities

and story. The processing through wonder questions is extremely important

to allow children to see the Principles at work in the world.

SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2016 FIRST CHURCH BOSTON

RE PROGRAMMING

Sunday, 11 September: First Fall Sunday Service and Water Communion

Sunday, 18 September: Family breakfast at 9:00am

Saturday, 22 October: Storytelling at FCB at 3:00pm

Sunday, 23 October: Post-service conversation with Tim and Jasmine about RE curriculum (childcare

provided)

Monday, 31 October: FCB open for Halloween!

Saturday, 19 November: Pumpkin Pie making at FCB at 3:00pm

Sunday, 04 December: Bring a friend to church day

Saturday, 10 December: Tentative choral performance just for children at FCB at 3:00pm

Saturday, 17 December: Family Christmas party at the Kendrick’s home on Beacon Hill at 3:00pm

Jasmine Baetz RE Teacher

December 11, 2016

Kendrick Open House: 1:30 pm –3:30 pm

Back Bay Caroling: 12:15 PM

meet in Auditorium

All are welcome to join us as we set out

around the Back Bay and Beacon Hill carol-

ing through the streets on route to the

Kendrick Open House. If you would like to

participate in the caroling, simply go to the

Auditorium after the service and await the

caravan’s departure while enjoying some

warm refreshments.

First Church Boston's RE program is seeking

your talents and contributions! This year, we

would like to incorporate members’ talents into

our Sunday RE classroom programing. Are you

a musician, painter, storyteller and do you

want to share your talents with the youngest

members of our congregation? Or do you have

other ways you would like to enrich the RE

program? If so, please reach out to the RE coor-

dinator, Rebecca Connell at

fcbrecoordination@gmail.com. Please let Re-

becca know about how you would like to par-

ticipate and she will contact you to coordinate

possible dates. Thank you in advance for your

assistance!

Rebecca Connell,

RE Coordinator