Aug 7, 2023
Sunday Sermon given August 6, 2023
Prayer by David Whitford, Worship Associate
https://firstparish.info/
First Parish
A liberal religious community, welcoming to all
First gathered 1739
Offering
For the months of June, July and August, half of the offering
supports two recipients:
The Mass Building Electrification Accelerator
(http://www.electrifybuildings.org/)
and Educate Girls Now
(https://educategirlsnow.org/).
The remaining half supports the life and work of this Parish.
To donate using your smartphone, you may text
“fpuu offering” to 73256. Then follow the directions in
the texts you receive.
About the Sermon: As First Parish explores its history we are becoming more aware of the people who lived here before Europeans arrived, and also of the people enslaved by the founders of our church. Even though those founders would find our church completely unrecognizable, we are still called to understand how we have been beneficiaries of their decisions. We were not there when the systems that rule our lives were created, but we live every day with the echoes that persist from choices made long before we were born. How might we react to what we learn?
Diane Taraz has been a member of First Parish for decades. She met her husband at coffee hour and they were married in the Sanctuary in 1991! She is a singer-songwriter with a particular interest in historical music, presenting programs that look at various eras through the songs of the time. She created the First Parish timeline. Diane’s new book, “Candace,” is available at Amazon and other outlets. More about her at www.dianetaraz.com.