First Parish Church of Groton : Summer Worship Services 2018

Summer Worship Services 2018

During the summer months, informal Sunday services are offered on the first floor of the main church building — the coolest place in town, most summers. These are lay-led services, and they start at 10:00 am. ( Here are archived the services from 2017 – 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013 – 2012 – 2011 – 2010 – 2009 – 2008 – 2007 and 2006. )

Scroll down for the summer 2018 schedule.

Summer Services for 2018

Date	Leader	Title, description
June 24	Paul Funch	The Miracle of Music: A flute quartet will play a variety of music, from old to new, interspersed with spoken reflections on the power that music has: to relax, stimulate, soothe, agitate, sadden, and inspire each of us, and thereby provide a full palette of emotional memories that are built and then later retrieved by our aural senses.
July 1	Pat Fairchild	Happy Birthday America! Let’s celebrate. Bring your fife and drum, or guitar, ukulele, harmonica or kazoo. And certainly your singing voice. We will remember our beginnings and sing our favorite songs about us, led by The Ladies of Summer.
July 8	Christina Rogers	Nature, Peace, and Spiritual Health: We will explore how nature and the outdoors positively affects our minds and hearts. We will do this through a collection of poems, meditation, and listening to the sounds of nature. Maybe you want to share a photo of a nature spot you enjoy or a story of a place that gives you peace. Please join me on my hunt for peace of mind!
July 15	Irving Rockwood	History and Its Uses: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun (1951) In these uncertain and anxious times, when our lives and our world seem to be moving faster than we can comprehend, what can we learn from history? Does history have anything to tell us about life amidst political turmoil, rapid technological change, social conflict, or anxiety about the future? This morning’s program will examine several major historical events in search of lessons from the past.
July 22	Allen King	Genealogy: How you became you. The search for your family origins.
July 29	Carol Swift	My Love of Trees and Flowers: …began when I was a child growing up in the 1940s. And when I was in my 40s, as a nurse, I needed to develop a way to deal with my feelings of loss when caring for people who were terminally ill. And so my love of gardening grew into an addiction — an addiction that isn’t all that bad when you consider all the other choices.
August 5	Barbara Rich	Show Up, Quiet Down, and Relax: Short, simple, powerful ways to unwind, let go of judgments, and be a friend to yourself.
Also August 5	–	Joint UU Service: Several local UU congregations are combining for a joint service. We are not joining them this year, but for those interested there is a pick-up choir. Join them at 8:30 am at 725 Main St., Lancaster.
August 12	Clio Fisher	A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever
August 19	Margaret Burdine	Poetry Sunday: Bring a poem or short written piece to share, original or not, or just come to listen. Music by The Ladies of Summer.
August 26	Sarah Iacobucci	Our Hindu Neighbors: We will get to know more about Hinduism and our Hindu neighbors, and experience the healing powers of a Sanskrit chant.
September 2	Carol Bousquet	It’s Your Turn — To Tell That Story! Our community loves and appreciates storytelling. This service is an opportunity to tell a brief, 5-minute max. story in a very supportive setting — you know, that story that has become part of your lore; the story you often tell — or that may be percolating in your mind and you haven’t told yet; the story you always get a reaction to; that story even you get a charge out of! This might be an opportunity to practice telling that story for the larger stage — perhaps at FPCOG Storytelling January 2018 or even a local Moth Storytelling Slam one day? You’re invited! Please let Carol Bousquet know in advance if you’d like to tell a story. You can contact her at clbousquet@gmail.com or call 978-835-8134.
September 9	Rev. Elea Kemler	Big church resumes: Don’t forget to bring some water from your summer.