Latest News Archive
Easter Week Services at First Parish Church of Groton [ 2010-03-31 10:59 ]
First Parish Church of Groton will hold three services for Easter 2010:
Good Friday Service, Friday, April 2 at 7-8 pm
Easter Sunrise Service, Sunday, April 4 at 6:15 am
Easter Service, Sunday, April 4 at 10 am
Please follow the link for full details. ‣ more…
Keith Dawson’s Chalice Lighting, 2010-03-14 [ 2010-03-14 17:59 ]
A number of people asked for a copy of this chalice lighting. Follow this link for both text and printable versions. Also included is the W. S. Merwin poem that inspired both this chalice lighting and Elea’s matchless sermon (11 MB .mp3).Guess Who's Coming To Dinner Auction, 2010 [ 2010-01-28 12:22 ]
Four fun events are planned for our Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Auction. Here is a description of the events and a list of FAQs (PDF). Bidding will start on Monday, February 8 and end at the close of Coffee Hour on Sunday, February 21. You can bid to attend these events during Coffee Hour on two Sundays — February 14 and February 21. You can also place email bids to Ellen Todd. As these dinners are successful as both fund-raisers and community-builders, we are trying to make them more financially inclusive. Please note that the kitchen shower is a very affordable event. Donations will also be accepted to help people attend an event who would not ordinarily be able to attend an event. Please contact Ellen Todd or Elea Kemler if you wish to make a donation so that someone else may attend.An Ad Hoc Solstice Ceremony: The Dark Side [ 2009-12-20 13:41 ]
Join us on Monday, December 21 at 7:00 pm in the Vestry for a short exploration of the forces, fears, and hopes that drove our pagan ancestors on the longest night of the year — the eternal tension between darkness and light. Winter solstice celebrations were born from the fear that the cosmos might be out of balance, that the light would never return and all things would die. Winter solstice marks the return of the light when the waxing son overcomes the waning sun and the Oak King/Sun King/Giver of Life is reborn. The service will involve sitting in darkness and mature themes and may not be appropriate for young children. There will be childcare offered during the service and of course the refreshments following are for everyone! For more information, of if you would like to help with this lay-led service or help with refreshments, please contact Georgess McHargue at the address in the members' directory.Christmas Services At First Parish Church of Groton [ 2009-12-09 20:02 ]
Christmas Eve Services at 6 pm and 8 pm: Our two Christmas Eve services will include the singing of traditional carols and the passing of candlelight. The 6 pm service features the Children's Choir, a story for all ages and a message from the minister. The 8 pm service features the Adult Choir, ancient and modern readings and a message from the minister. There will be caroling in the Vestry from 7:15-7:45 pm. All are welcome.Photos From the Open Door Service [ 2009-11-23 21:47 ]
Bob Lotz captured a wonderful set of photos of the dramatis personae at the November 1 Open Door dramatic reading. See a montage here.Small Group Ministry Program Starting [ 2009-09-30 10:25 ]
Did you ever want to know other people better than you can know them in coffee hour? Did you ever wish for the opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings about the most important questions in our lives? Small group ministry allows us to fulfill two of our fondest hopes — for deep friendship, where we can be truly known and accepted for who we are, and for spiritual exploration, time to share our thoughts on questions of profound significance in our lives. Small group ministry serves members and friends of the church who have the yearning people have had throughout the ages — the yearning for intimacy and ultimacy.The Small Group Ministry program gets started in the first week of November; groups run until mid-December. Space is available in groups that meet Monday afternoons or evenings, and Wednesday evenings. The groups are limited to 10 participants each (with two facilitators).
For more details, please see the Small Group Ministry pages linked from every page of uugroton.org under “About OurCommunity.” Please sign up by October 27 by contacting the church office (978-448-6307 or ).
Blessing of the Animals Service, Sunday, October 4 [ 2009-09-15 11:03 ]
The blessing of the animals in honor of St. Francis of Assisi will take place at morning worship on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 10 am. The service will be held outside in front of the church, weather permitting, and inside if it rains. We bless our animals to remind ourselves that they, in their ability to live gently on the earth and to be present in every moment, bless us by their presence in our lives. All are welcome to bring pets, farm animals, and stuffed animals to receive a blessing. Animals should be non-aggressive and leashed, bridled, or otherwise contained.Words from the Gathering of the Water, 2009 [ 2009-09-13 14:17 ]
Every year in September, on the occasion of the first service of the church year, we hold a ceremony called the Gathering of the Waters — the beginning of the process of making the holy water we will use throughout the year for many purposes, including blessing infants and sending young adults on their way. Each member of the community brings some water from somewhere their life has taken them over the summer. We begin the ceremony by pouring some of last year's holy water into a large copper vessel. This water contains traces of the water from each year before, stretching back now 8 years. Then each member of the community adds their water to the mix and speaks a single word. We have gathered these words together into a single image (click the link to open a new window). Larger words were spoken more frequently.
Goods and Services Auction Coming Up [ 2009-09-12 10:55 ]
On Saturday November 7th, the FPCoG Goods and Services auction will be held at 7:00 in the Vestry. Please see the poster (this is a PDF file) for details and, on page 2, for ideas to get you thinking about what services you might want to donate. When you have decided on a donation, please download the donation form (PDF), print it, fill it out, and return it to either or . And thanks!Summer Services for 2009 [ 2009-06-16 09:18 ]
Rocky Sandy has pulled together the 2009 roster of lay-led summer services. Join us at 10:00 on Sundays beginning June 28 in the cool of the FPCoG vestry for these intimate, often surprising, and always worthwhile services.FPCoG At the Boston Pride Parade [ 2009-06-14 15:51 ]
Dina Samfield captured a number of photos at Saturday's Boston Pride Parade. Here are two showing the FPCoG contingent with the banner that the Worship Committee produced. People at the parade say that the banner was a huge hit and will show up in many people's photos of the event. Here are the rest of Dina's photos on Facebook.
Making Room Task Force (Phase I) Report [ 2009-06-05 16:24 ]
Last March the Making Room Task Force, which had been meeting and working over the previous year, presented their report at a meeting convened by Leadership Development. You can download the report in PDF format (450 KB) from the Members area of the site. (A password is required; please if you don't have yours.) The second phase of the Making Room Task Force has been gathered and is carrying on this work.Kenyan Peace Activist Getry Agizah Anguya Speaks [ 2009-04-17 08:33 ]
Kenyan Peace Activist Getry Agizah Anguya speaks about Grassroots Reconciliation after the Post-Election Violence in Kenya — Monday April 20, 7 pm
Download flyer (PDF).
Following Kenya’s disputed national election held in December 2007, violence broke out in many parts of the country. Quakers — Kenya has the largest body of Quakers in a single nation — very quickly organized relief and reconciliation activities that included and brought together Kenyans of all ages and from all sides of the conflict. One year later, their work to help people heal from trauma, restore communities, and mediate and prevent conflict continues. What can their model teach us about peacemaking? Come hear Getry Agizah Anguya, a 27-year-old Kenyan woman and a member of the Religious Society of Friends, speak about her work as a peacemaker and a facilitator of Alternatives to Violence Project and Healing and Rebuilding our Community workshops. Since March 2008, nearly 5,000 Kenyans have participated in these workshops.
As the Program Coordinator of Friends in Peace and Community Development, Getry is in charge of organizing and coordinating AVP and HROC workshops at the Friends Peace Centre in Lubao near Kakamega, Kenya. She has conducted over 100 workshops herself and serves as the host for visitors, workshop facilitators and participants who visit the Peace Centre. Additionally, Getry has volunteered with the Uzima Foundation doing documentation and training youth about reproductive health and gender-based violence. A very committed peace worker at the grassroots level, Getry is very much involved with ongoing efforts to reduce personal and societal violence by teaching conflict management techniques. The programs Getry works on promote community trauma healing and reconciliation, and they encourage peaceful co-existence with family, neighbor, and community.
Admission to this extraordinary lecture is free and refreshments will be served. Monday evening, April 20, 2009 at 7 pm in the Vestry of the First Parish Church of Groton, 1 Powderhouse Road (junction of routes 119 & 40), Groton, MA. For more information, contact at 978-448-5369. Event sponsored by the Prison Ministry of First Parish Church of Groton, Friends Peace Teams, the Alternatives to Violence Project of Massachusetts, and Our Prison Neighbors.
Transcript of Elea’s March 15 Sermon [ 2009-04-01 21:10 ]
A transcript of Elea’s sermon, Quiet in Heart and in Eye, Clear, is now online. See the Sermons page for more transcripts and audio from FPCoG.