Julia Terry, our congregational Administrator, will be working remotely from Alaska until late August. Office hours will be covered by Luz Carrazola. All communications to the church should go through the church email: firstchjp@aol.com. All materials for the weekly newsletter must be sent to the church email by Wednesday at 8 pm or they will not be included.

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CHURCH HAPPENINGS

***This Sunday, August 5th, at First Church***
Join us at Summer Services with Lyra O’Brien, preaching a sermon titled “Celebrating the Harvest.” We will meet in the Parish Hall.

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***Next Sunday, August 12th***
Join us with guest preacher, Ghanda DiFiglia.

September 8th
Our wonderful tradition for launching the church year continues on Saturday,  September 8, with a potluck supper for members and friends of FCJP in the  amazing backyard of Terry, Marie and Sarah Power at 32 Burroughs Street.   SAVE THE DATE!  Details will follow.

Church Summer Services
8/12       Ghanda DiFiglia
8/19       Margaret Suby & David Dorney
8/26       Cathy Baisly
9/2         Alice Kociemba/ Rev. Terry Burke

Please visit our calendar online at:

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***Office News***
Rev. Terry Burke will be out of town August 2-9 visiting family in Michigan and attending the Cape Cod Writers’ Conference.  During that time Rev. Sheldon Bennett of Quincy will be on call for pastoral emergencies.  Rev. Bennett can be reached 617-471-4946.***September 2nd***

For Labor Day weekend, Terry Burke and Alice Kociemba are speaking on “What Work Is,” things they learned spiritually, politically, and otherwise from their early work experiences.Weaving Together
Please bring back a string, twig, vine, ribbon, paper, or bit of fabric from your summer travels!  We will weave together our summer souvenirs, as we weave together our congregation in September.  (We can add buttons, shells….)  Speak to Ellen McGuire for more information – email firstchjp@aol.com.

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A close friend of Rev. Burke sends the following on behalf of a parishioner:

You may be able to save my daughter. Please keep reading.

Julia, an amazing 29‐year‐old woman, has end‐stage kidney disease, and only a kidney transplant can return her to normal life.

In our search for a kidney donor so far the closest people have turned out to be either medically unqualified or blood incompatible.

Would you consider being a donor or may you know somebody who would?

In the words of an expert: “Research has shown that there’s little long‐term risk for kidney donation, provided you’re carefully screened before becoming a donor. As a potential kidney donor, you’ll receive a thorough medical exam to determine whether you’re a good match for the potential recipient. And you’ll be carefully checked to make sure you don’t have any health problems that might be made worse by donating a kidney.”

Julia is registered with Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital transplant center. Not only is it one of the best in its trade, it also provides an independent Living Donor Advocate that helps the potential donor fully understand the risks of donation. I’m sure many bighearted and brave people instinctively take risks when they see a stranger in an urgent life‐threatening situation. A living donor can give a gift of life based on a conscious decision after thoroughly assessing all risks and possible rewards.

Please spend some time thinking about it. Julia’s potential donor should meet the following criteria:

“O” blood type (if you don’t know your type, we can help to find out), free of diabetes or hypertension, Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or below, between the ages of 25 and 60.

If you may consider being a kidney donor or just want to learn more, please go to www.savejulia.com and fill out the contact form, or call Deblyn Palella ‐ a dear friend helping to organize everything involved in this process ‐ at 310‐245‐5515.

Thank you for being who you are.

Julia’s mother, Natasha Raevich

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Did you know that you can rent the Parish Hall or a smaller space for a celebration, group meeting or other event?? Contact Monroe Heyman for more details.

Yoga News
Yoga will resume September 3^rd.  Margaret will return with co-teacher Debby Allen. Join us on Monday for Evening Yoga (6:45 – 8:15 pm) for 90 minutes of stretching, flexing and core strengthening (suggested donation: $15). Please try to be on time, out of respect for other attendees. Some mats and props will be available to borrow. Bring a friend! For any questions about yoga, contact Margaret. All donations go to the work of First Church in our community.

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When submitting items for the weekly newsletter, please limit them to 250 words or less. If you have a special event that may need more space, please check in with Julia (Firstchjp@aol.com) for special parameters. If you would like your announcement included in the weekly newsletter, please send them in by Wednesday evening at 8 pm. Announcements will run for no longer than 3 weeks, unless there are specific date parameters. You may resubmit your item after it has run for the allotted time.

Regular office hours are currently 9 am to 1 pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays. You may contact the church administrator, Julia, by emailing Firstchjp@aol.com.

Julia Terry, Congregational Administrator

First Church in Jamaica Plain UU

6 Eliot Street

P.O. Box 300186

Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

617-524-1634

Website: www.firstchurchjp.org