Sunday FEAST: fellowship, eating, art, sharing, together

Service Description:

First Sunday FEAST (FSF) is First Parish’s version of a combination of Small Group Meeting and “Dinner Church”.  This is a service and a meal woven together to tap into what it means to be in community with one another. Due to the improved public health situation, we are able to share breakfast together this month!

FEAST is a Small Group discussion with the addition of a few short components from a typical service, such as Chalice Lighting and Extinguishing, some music and short readings.

There will not be a long message, but instead a 3-4 minute story or reading, along with a few questions to get a lightly guided conversation started. We will be using the Soul Matters monthly themes. The May theme is Nurturing Beauty. You will have the option to join in the conversation or just listen.  We usually break into small conversation groups and then rejoin and share a word or phrase that can be taken away. We may talk about actions that we can take as a group.

Questions & Quotes to Guide Conversation

  • What is beauty?
  • Are there objective standards of beauty? Or is beauty in the eye of the beholder?
  •  When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us. When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and the arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace. Beauty is mysterious, a slow presence who waits for the ready, expectant heart. – John O’Donohue
  •  What’s something you know now about beauty that you didn’t know when you were 16 years old?
  •  We’ve all had those moments. The ordinary suddenly appears extraordinary. One minute the objects around us blend into the background, sit there as “things.” The next they come to life, so clearly carrying meaning and memory. What once seemed possessions now somehow possess us. They are a part of us. And us them. When it happens, it’s beautiful. (from Soul Matters Spiritual Exercises)
  •  Have you ever had this experience, when an ordinary object suddenly appeared extraordinary?
  •  Under the spell of beauty, we experience a rare condition called plenitude, where we want for nothing. – André Aciman
  •  Why does beauty matter? Do beauty and happiness go together?

Led by the Worship Committee

NOTE: This service will meet in person and also be broadcast on Zoom. Facemasks are currently optional in the First Parish Stoughton building. For the health of all in our community, please attend online if you are ill.

Zoom Information:

Join Zoom Meeting (online – computer, tablet, smartphone): https://zoom.us/j/99622652377

Meeting ID: 996-2265-2377

THIS ZOOM MEETING IS PASSWORD PROTECTED The password was sent to the First Parish Stoughton mailing list. If you did not receive the email with the password, please email webmaster@firstparishstoughton.org.

Call-in from Phone (Audio only, no video):
 +1 301 715 8592 US
Meeting ID: 996-2265-2377

You can use Zoom on a computer, smart phone, or tablet. If you don’t already have it downloaded, you can create a free account at: https://zoom.us/ You do not need your own professional account, you will be joining a meeting hosted by a professional account so your personal account can be the free one. Some answers for Frequently Asked Questions about Zoom can be found here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206175806-Top-Questions

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