Updated March 31, 2023

Contact information for individuals is omitted from this page unless requested by that individual, but can be found in the emailed newsletters and announcements.

Church Announcements
Rev. Ellen Contact Info and Schedule: My office phone, 978-256-5555, is now a cell phone so you can call or text me at this number if you need to reach me. You can also email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I am generally at church on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (and Sundays of course!) mid-morning to mid-afternoon, with staff meetings on Tuesdays from 10:30 to noon. It is best to call before stopping by, as I might be in meetings or out for meetings, pastoral visits, etc. And I am available by appointment as well. Mondays are my day off and Fridays are my sermon writing day. –Rev. Ellen

Member of the congregation seeking assistance:
We have a member of the church who is looking for assistance with errands and rides. If you can help, pleaseemail Rev. Ellen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be put in touch with them. Thank you!

20-Minute Pop Up Choir!
We will be doing a 20-minute pop-up choir on Sunday, April 2 at 9am, where you can join the choir in singing a simple arrangement of Sara Bareilles’ “Brave.” Carrie I. will be singing the verses as a solo, so all you’ll need to sing is the chorus and bridge. You can listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/QUQsqBqxoR4.
Sheet music will be provided. Whether you have always wanted to sing in the choir and want to see what it is like or you love to sing but can't commit fully to joining the choir or if you just love this song, please join us!
Any questions, reach out to our music director: Dr. Christopher Grills, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Readers for Tenebrae: Thursday, April 6 at 7 pm, I will be leading our annual Tenebrae service. "Tenebrae" means "into darkness" and is part of the Christian tradition of Easter Week, a reminder that the joy and celebration of Easter was preceded by a time of grief, fear, and loss. Our tradition is to pair modern reflections with the traditional readings of Maunday Thursday and Good Friday. If you are interested in being a reader for this service, please email me: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Thank you - Rev. Ellen

Cook, Eat, and Chat Gatherings!
Join us April 8th, 11am to 2pm
Chef of the Day: Bonnie Rankin
Food: Easter Delights~ Soup, Salad, English Toasties, Angel Food Cake with Strawberries
This month’s Chat Theme: 'A UU Passover'
What is this? We Cook lunch together, We EAT together, and then we Chat about UU... love, values, etc.
How will it work?
1. Cook: One person volunteers to be the "chef of the day." The ‘chef of the day’* plans a meal where all those
who are able to participate in cooking, help out making the meal.
2. Eat: Then everyone sits down at the table together to enjoy the meal (including chef)
3. Chat: Open UU/FPCC oriented/compatible topic.
Interested in joining?
Please RSVP; (you’ll be added to scheduling list for this and future “Cook, Eat Chat” gatherings)
Note: Anyone, (because of allergies or other reasons) If you are unable to eat the food prepared, you are welcome to bring your own and join us to enjoy the comradery of conversation. You are welcome to just "hang out" or helpset up tables, table clothes, utensils, etc.)

Annual Mother’s Day Walk - The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute’s 27th Annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace is May 14, 2023. You can join our First Parish team or donate to support us at https://www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org/Team/View/172899/First-Parish-Chelmsford.  This year the walk will be in person, following a 4.3 mile route that starts and ends at the Town Field in Dorchester.  This event is a wonderful way to bear witness through service to justice and peace. You can contact Susan Woodmansee with questions or to coordinate carpooling for the event.

Friday Game Nights! - TENZI! BANANAS! UNO! PIZZA! POKENO! These are some of the things you might hear coming from the chapel on Friday nights. Want to wind down after a busy week of school, work and activities? Come on down to First Parish on Friday evenings anytime between 7 and 9 and join us in GAMES NIGHT! You can bring your own games! We'll mix up the games through the night so everyone can play.

Healing Conversations  -  Second and Fourth Mondays at 7:15 pm
Rev. Karen Hering writes: "If it seems odd to think of grieving as a skill, then it may be just a threshold skill worth your time and attention...the medical sciences tell us that grieving is a normal and necessary human experience, as natural a response to loss as exhaling is to our inhaling. The grief we don't express doesn't just evaporate; it becomes packed into our bodies and our psyches in tight knots of pain and distress that will cause us trouble, whether we recognize these true origins or not." If her words resonate with you, know you are welcome to join our First Parish grief support group, Healing Conversations as we help one another untangle some of these knots. For more information, please contact Rev. Ellen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A Request from the Music Committee - One of the small chores that supports our First Parish Music Ministry is keeping our music library in order. First Parish has a large music library, built up over many decades. It is an asset we tap every time one of our choirs sings. That music needs to be correctly filed away after it is used, so it can be found and used the next time that particular piece is wanted to enhance a worship service.

The Music Committee is looking for people to volunteer to do this small task. If a well organized file cabinet makes your heart sing, this could be the project for you! If you find yourself frequently in the building waiting for your child to finish their event – this could be the project for you! We will be organizing training for the volunteers. Contact Beth B.

Auction Donation Deadline: The final day to submit items for the auction will be Monday, March 27th. Please see the Auction announcement below for how to donate:

This year the auction will be a 2 part event:
Part One: Online bidding will take place from Thursday, March 30th until Saturday April 1st (noon).
Part Two: The LIVE auction returns to an in person event on April 1st!

What we need:
Donations:
Handmade/homegrown goods of all kinds; tickets to events, memberships to museums or subscriptions; time at a vacation spot or a planned day trip; teaching a skill like woodworking, sewing, gardening, photography, cooking, etc; host a dinner/tea/bonfire, or deliver a meal; services such as yard-work, painting, handy-person work, cleaning, etc; tech lessons needed to keep in touch, order online, etc; themed baskets: wine, crafting, etc; books, framed prints, small appliances, etc.
To donate use this link and fill out the form: https://fpchelmsford.breezechms.com/form/bababb4016511
OR Paper forms will be available at Social Hour

Volunteers:
Set-up and clean-up for the live auction on April 1st
Distribution of items for winning bids and payment collection
Questions? Want to volunteer? Email Aggie

Thank you,
Aggie, Jeanette and Theresa

Trusting Change Course: "Finding Our Way through Personal and Global Transformation"
This course is based on the book by Unitarian Universalist writer, Rev. Karen Hering, Facilitated by Rev. Ellen and Dolores~, LFFD.
We ask you to join as we explore "Thresholding Together out of a Time of Goo." (Goo: "living in the gap in between, when old familiar ways are dissolving or already long gone but the new ones have not yet taken shape or name.") Six Sessions covering topics from a personal and global lens: Letting Go; Equanimity; Navigating the Unknown; Companionship; Imagining the Way/Moving On, and Trust.4pm to 6pm on these Sundays: March 5, 19; April 2, 16, 30; May 7th. Participation in all sessions is encouraged, but not necessary. For more info: Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

From the Treasurer:
Believe it or not, it's time to put together the budget for fiscal year 2024, which we will vote on at our annual meeting in June and will then begin on July 1, 2023. I will need initial budget requests from all committees by the end of February. I hope this gives your committee enough time to get together to review your plans and needs for next year. To submit your budget request, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with the subject "FY24 Budget Request for [committee name]." In the body of the email, tell me the total amount you are requesting and then break that amount down into categories. If you have any questions please find me on a Sunday, call or send me an email. Thank you! –Diana Keohane, Treasurer

Women’s Discussion Group
The March gathering of our group will be on Saturday March 11th, from 12pm to 3:30pm. The host will be Cindy B. and it will take place at her community clubhouse, 4 Bower’s Landing Drive in Merrimack, NH. Topic is to be announced. Please RSVP via text or phone.

General Assembly is fast approaching. This year it will be held in Pittsburgh, PA and online on June 21 - 25, 2023. See www.uua.org/ga for more detailed information.  Everyone is invited to attend (friends and members) – there is an associated fee (which increases the closer we get to June) for both the program portion and housing. First Parish has financial assistance available – if you need financial assistance, please speak to Reverend Ellen.

We need Delegates in addition to “regular attendees” – a Delegate is a person who is comfortable with voting on behalf of First Parish on different topics. This year we are electing a new UUA president, so this year is extra important. Information sessions will be happening in the future to help prepare for these votes.  If you are interested in attending as “regular attendee” or a delegate, please see Caroline Snow at coffee hour or use the contact information in the Directory (text or email).

Some helpful reminders about Sunday mornings:
With more people coming to the sanctuary, parking once again can become tight. Please leave the two spots we have reserved for newcomers and visitors in the lot available. And give yourself time to find parking, if necessary. Overflow parking is available at the Eliopoulos Building across from the common.

At the recommendation of the Safety Committee, we have been locking the main entrance doors on Sundays at around 10:15, as often, it’s only two adult volunteers with our children and youth in the chapel downstairs during the service and they cannot monitor the entrance. We will leave a sign with a phone number you can text for someone to come open the door if you arrive after 10:15.

For the comfort and safety of some members of our congregation, we are reserving the last two rows of pews and the row of chairs on the 110 side of the sanctuary for mask-required seating. There are signs posted at each end of the row.

Recycling at Church
The recycling industry is in a fragile state. The commodity value of recyclables has taken a hit lately, and the cost to process our recycling is getting more expensive. Every little bit we each can do to be sure that what we put in our recycling at First Parish and at home is recyclable helps.
With good intention, many of us can fall into the trap of “wishcycling,” where we put something in recycling because it is made from material that should be recycled. Just because it should be recycled doesn’t mean it will be recycled. The MRFs (Material Recovery Facilities) that our recyclables get brought to, sort incoming materials more by shape than by what the material is. They sort mixed paper, cardboard, bottles, jugs, jars and cans. Everything else is considered “contamination” that they must then haul to a trash incinerator or landfill. The more “contamination” in the recyclables, the more costly and time consuming for the processor, who passes the costs along to us. We can all do our part to keep these costs down by making sure only recyclables are being sent for processing. Here are the common contaminants found in recycling:
• Plastic bags and film (please bring to grocery or department store and look for recycling bag collection box)
• Rigid plastic packaging
• Food or liquids left in recyclable containers
• Straws
• Chip bags
• Glass vases, plastic garden pots
• Aseptic cartons (broth, milk, juice – the nearest facility that can process this material is in Springfield, which is too far to justify transporting to)
• “Tanglers” - hangers, cords, hoses
• Styrofoam
• Scrap metal and wood*
• Textiles*
• Electronics*
* These materials are also banned from our trash in MA because they can and should be reused or recycled
It is also important to break down/flatten cardboard boxes so that our recycling carts have enough room for all our recyclables. A great resource for checking to see if something will indeed get recycled and not become part of contamination here in MA is: https://recyclesmartma.org
As hard as it is to swallow, the new motto of our state’s DEP is: “When in doubt, throw it out.” If you have any questions about your recycling or recycling here at First Parish, I’m happy to try and answer them. Thank you for being good stewards of our Earth!- Diana Keohane

First Friday Zoom Cafe - On the first Friday of every month at noon there will be a Zoom gathering for anyone from First Parish interested in checking in for a visit. Stay for the entire hour or hop in and out as your schedule permits. Feel free to add it to your calendar. Maura Snow will be our host.https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81810610028?pwd=MnBTa1NXWTZjWGlLcWEzM2VPL2lPUT09
Meeting ID: 818 1061 0028
Passcode: 802420

UU Mass Action *Virtual* Advocacy Day
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
RSVP here by March 15: tinyurl.com/virtualadvocacyRSVP
Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/736777261026109
Legislative Priorities: tinyurl.com/LegisPriorities
Do you care about racial justice but are looking for ways to put your values into action? Do you want to have an impact on critical social justice issues facing our communities in MA? Do your UU values ground you in your social justice work?Join UU Mass Action for our annual Virtual UU Advocacy Day to live out our values by taking action together this March! At this annual event, we come together as UUs from across the state to build power for our movements. Participants will meet with legislators about our key areas of Immigrant Justice, Climate & Environmental Justice, Economic & Housing Justice, Indigenous Justice and Decarceration & Ending Solitary Confinement. As we begin our new 2023-34 legislative session, this would be a critical moment to show up together as UUs grounded in our faith, to let our legislators know which bills - out of the thousands that are filed we care the most about. Crucial changes are needed in Massachusetts. Let’s put our faith into action this March!
*NEW* Sign up to be a House District Leader! Learn more here: tinyurl.com/HouseLeadSignUp
Agenda:
There will be training opportunities in the weeks leading up to this day!
● Community Gathering: 11AM
● 12pm Optional Lunch MeetUp for Groups
● 1:00 - 2:30 House Meetings Window
● 2:30 - 4:00 Senate Meeting Window Or Action Hour

★ Accessibility note: we will have live captioning for the main program on advocacy day from 11am-12pm as well as the evening prep training, and auto captions for the afternoon prep training please email Rev. Jo Murphy by March 15th if you have other accessibility needs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The FCU Racial Justice Action Committee Presents
The 1619 Project – in Six One-hour Episodes followed by a discussion on these Sunday evenings: 3/19, 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/21, and 6/4, 6pm – 8pm. Sponsored by First Church Unitarian, Littleton www.fculittle.org

The SUDC Foundation
March is Sudden Unxplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Awareness Month. The SUDC Foundation is the only organization nationwide that raises SUDC awareness. For more info contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2023 Theodore Parker Lecture
Policing Black Communities, 1854-2023
Changing Public Safety Narratives
    Reverend Rahsaan D. Hall
    Sunday March 26, 2023, 2pm
      Theodore Parker Church
      1859 Centre Street
      West Roxbury, MA
Register to Join in Person or ON Zoom:
tinyurl.com/theodore-parker-lecture-2023