The Annual Reports are published in advance of the Annual Meeting to give you the opportunity to reflect ahead of time on the activities of the Church. All church members are urged to attend the Annual Meeting to act on items in the Warrant, to pass the 2001 budget, and to provide the thoughtful discussion necessary to give guidance to church committees.

SENIOR MINISTER

In accordance with ancient tradition, established in 1996, I will give most of my annual report during the sermon on the morning of the annual meeting on February 4th. So this portion of my annual report to the congregation will be more statistical.

This is now my 6th annual report to the congregation, in this our 303rd year. Juxtaposing those two figures always keeps me humble. This church is much more than any one of us in so many ways.

I want to thank our terrific staff, who keep things running so smoothly at First Parish. I especially want to thank Sue Spencer, who has now completed her first full year with us. She has become a valuable asset to the church and a trusted colleague to me. After several years of staff changes, this year has been relatively stable, but we have welcomed a new ministerial intern Peter Boullata, beginning his two year internship on September 10, 2000; our new youth group advisor Matthew Chase, beginning September 12, 2000; and, after losing our new Director of Religious Education to a back injury, we welcomed Beverly Dillaway as Church School Coordinator on November 10, 2000. We also retained the services of an Information Technology Consultant in September 2000, but as of this writing, it appears he may not have the available time to continue.

During this year I completed my term as president of the Weston Clergy Association (one pleasurable duty of that office was to give the prayer at the ground-breaking of the new Dickson Meadows affordable housing project) and completed a fascinating work on the Weston Library long-range planning committee. Another town activity is being a member of the Weston Rotary Club, of which I'm told Miles Hanson (our parson 1927-1964) was a founding member.

During 2000 there were 12 funerals. The deceased are remembered and they will be missed:

We also note the deaths of longtime members Charles Woodman on September 6 and Kristin Cook on December 6.

There have been 18 weddings:

There have been 5 baptisms:

The following 2 baptisms were not reported in the 1999 News and Views:

And, as every annual report to any organization must say: we look to the past with pride and to the future with confidence! God bless you.

Respectfully submitted,
Thomas D. Wintle, Senior Minister

ASSOCIATE MINISTER

Introduction

"But what does the Associate Minister DO?" According to veteran "church doctor" Lyle Schaller, associate ministers often find themselves in limbo in large congregations, cast adrift with nebulous job descriptions and considerable role confusion. Happily, this is not the case at here at First Parish, where the role is well defined.

A look at the Terms of Call makes it clear. The Associate Minister provides ministerial leadership to the Church School Program, including the ministry to youth. She is responsible for Chapel services and storytelling on Family Sundays. She makes pastoral calls when parishioners request them, or upon request of the Senior Minister. She leads one or two adult education courses annually. About once per month, and for a month during the summer, she preaches and leads adult worship. She is the ministerial liaison to the Outreach and Denominational Affairs Committee, and attends Standing Committee meetings. She is available for general consultation with the Senior Minister.

Church School Program

The year 2000 was one of transition in our religious education programs. In June we said a grateful "so-long-but-not-goodbye" to Gwen Pozdena. Gwen served this congregation exceptionally well during her three years as Church School Coordinator. In my first year at First Parish, her efficiency, common sense, good humor, and middle-school teaching experience were invaluable in helping me get my bearings.

I was active in the subsequent staffing transitions, described fully by Jean Masland in the Church School Committee's report. Both the CSC and the DRE Search Committee put a lot of careful thought and hard work into the selection process, and have achieved an excellent result, albeit by a roundabout route. Beverly Dillaway has extensive experience as a church school teacher and "professional volunteer", and has already made many fine contributions to the Church School program. I'm very much looking forward to working with her this year

Matthew Chase, our High School Youth Advisor, is another delightful addition to the team. Matthew is new to the position but by no means new to First Parish. He grew up in the parish and was active in the church school and youth group. He brings wonderful enthusiasm, creativity, and experience to his role, informed by wisdom beyond his years. With his facilitation, the Youth Group has doubled in size since last year.

The Church School program is also blessed this year by the presence of Ministerial Intern Peter Boullata. Peter has shown himself to be an able leader of Chapel services, working as part of a team with Beverly and me. He also brings many helpful insights to staff brainstorming and problem solving.

Until Matthew was hired, I was meeting weekly with the High School Youth Group. In addition to Sunday conversations, our activities from January to June included bowling, a February ski weekend, and a movie and pizza night. The group also spent a Saturday hard at work on a Habitat for Humanity construction site, and a Sunday afternoon making cookies for an NWW party. I very much enjoyed my year as de facto youth advisor, but I also realize the importance of their having a youthful advisor! I do stay in regular contact with Matthew, and also keep in touch by attending the monthly meetings of the Church School Committee's Youth Ministry Subcommittee.

It's a joy to work with the Church School Committee, so competently chaired by Jean Masland. We've grappled with many critical issues this year -- staffing, mission, classroom management, teacher selection, involvement of children in the wider church community, and keeping our curriculum responsive to the spiritual needs of today's children and youth. They are a great working committee, as well as a wonderful resource and sounding board.

Outreach

I meet monthly with the Outreach Committee. This enables me to stay in touch with the programs we support (an impressive array, indeed!), and to help scout outreach opportunities for children and youth. Occasionally I offer initiatives of my own - for example, I've inquired into the possibilities of First Parish involvement with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization.

Sometimes I become directly involved in various Outreach Committee programs. For example, I spoke in September to a national gathering of UUSC volunteers on how to work more effectively with ministers. Whenever possible, I accompany the "fourth Wednesday" crew to Bristol Lodge. Finally, I'm a member of the UU Urban Ministry's Board of Directors and METCO's Community Coordinating Council.

Denominational Affairs

In every congregation I've served, the work of denominational affairs has fallen to a small group of people. First Parish is no exception. Since I came to First Parish a year and a half ago, Larry Coburn has been our "conscience" for contact with the wider Unitarian Universalist movement. His passionate commitment to the Partner Church Council is very inspiring!

In addition to attending meetings of the Denominational Affairs Committee, I was a delegate to the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly and two meetings of the Massachusetts Bay District of the UUA. I regularly attend chapter meetings of the Unitarian Universalist Minister's Association. I also keep myself informed about denominational affairs through one of my extracurricular activities, chairing the Mass. Bay campaign team for William Sinkford, one of the UUA presidential candidates. Elections for President and Moderator will be held at this year's UUA General Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio, and First Parish is allotted 12 delegates -- a chance to make our voice heard!

Preaching and Adult Education

During the regular church year, I usually preach on a text from the Revised Common Lectionary. Maybe it's the ex-lawyer in me, but I love to wrestle with a given text, in an attempt to find meaning for our own age. It's part of my spiritual discipline each week. In July, I departed from the lectionary and offered a four-part sermon series on the relationship of Christianity to other great religious traditions. Two of these sermons addressed general questions; the other two were devoted to specific traditions, namely Buddhism and Islam.

This fall, Tom Wintle and I collaborated on a continued exploration of world religions, through an adult education series on Sunday evenings. This was one of four adult education efforts on my part; the others were a two-part series on "Raising Moral Children", a Sunday evening discussion of Mary Pipher's The Shelter of Each Other, and a two-part workshop entitled "Unplug the Christmas Machine."

Other activities; consultation

Over the course of the year, it was a pleasure to be part of the Long Range Planning Steering Committee and the Stewardship Advisory Committee, and to engage in numerous conversations about congregational life. These are in addition to productive weekly program staff meetings, and regular (at least weekly) consultations with Tom Wintle. It is a joy to be part of the team!

Each program staff meeting begins with prayer, and our prayer always includes thanksgiving for the privilege of serving this special community. First Parish does indeed matter! Thank you for the opportunity to serve you during the year 2000.

Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne R. Spencer

STANDING COMMITTEE

Formally the work of the Standing Committee is to act as the principal governing board of the congregation. It sets policy, makes decisions regarding significant church governance, legal issues, major expenditures and other "big picture" matters. If that were the whole story, we would not be too different from any non-profit board. However, like every other committee, each member of the Standing Committee shares an attachment to the church. Through that attachment and our work together, we not only (on a good day) complete our formal assignments, we cultivate stronger connections with each other. These connections are satisfying in and of themselves, but they also serve the church, because the church needs us to make the best possible decisions. Fruitful deliberation requires thoughtful speakers who are willing to encounter disagreement and thoughtful listeners who are willing to be persuaded. Both sides of the conversation involve trust and respect. As a completely (dis)interested observer, I am happy to report that the Standing Committee, like First Parish in the whole, is populated with folks who know how to speak their mind, and folks who know how to let others speak -- and when to do which. The give and take has, I think, produced healthy results.

From the individual committee reports which follow, and from your own experience of First Parish, you can make your own assessment of the health of your church. The Standing Committee thinks it's pretty good. The individual committees and their members, whose work is described in the following reports, deserve tremendous credit for the programs and services they provide. The job of the Standing Committee is to provide coherence for the operation as a whole and support, in terms of resources or direction, for all of the church's programs and services to be as successful as possible.

Toward that end, the Standing Committee gave special attention this year to the efforts of the It's Our Turn capital campaign, the renovations and repairs funded by the campaign, the strategic planning process and Stewardship. With all the talk about money and bricks and mortar, a hasty observer might think the lay leaders of the church care more about finance and construction than the maintenance, growth and development of the spiritual and personal aspects of the community. To the contrary, we undertook these financial and building projects to provide a better framework over the long haul for the larger work of the church and the specific programs of individual committees. Our hope is that these efforts will be useful immediately and for years to come.

The Standing Committee wants to highlight the special contributions this year of: (i) the It's Our Turn Committee of Chris Nelson and Cai von Rumohr, Co-Chairs, and their core volunteers, Helen Bradley, Larry Coburn, Cindy Curme, Betty Lou Marple, Wes Marple, Michael McSherry, Bruce Peterson and Elise Rockart, for the gift of their time and energy, and for the gifts of the donors, which will benefit our current and future members; (ii) the Strategic Planning Committee of Tod Foote, Corky Hoffman, Linda Kilburn, Mary Lord, Michael McSherry, Sue Spencer and Tom Wintle, whose work (in progress) reflects a careful sorting of needs and goals in discreet areas of our operations and promotes (we hope) an increasingly shared sense of purpose at First Parish; (iii) the Building Committee of Peter Taylor, Chair, Imogene Fish and Mary Menino, who work with Jim Maynard, our construction manager, to develop specifications, solicit bids and advise the Standing Committee on renovations and repairs funded by the capital campaign, and whose work has already lifted spirits; and (iv) our energetic and undaunted Stewardship Committee of Merry Touburg, Chair, Ginny Hibbard and (though never voted on as members, a source of constant support and labor sharing) Dirk Coburn and Annie Stubbs. This year's Stewardship Committee took on a difficult challenge and tackled it with guts and creativity. Although the Committee was not able to secure pledges for 100% of the financial goal, it succeeded beyond expectations in addressing taboos about discussing money in the context of church, while showing us how to actually have fun in annual fundraising.

Although the Standing Committee did not set out this year to emphasize the work of the Investment Management Committee, we should all be grateful that the work of Glenn Strehle, Chair, Larry Coburn and Wes Marple in managing the investment of the church endowment funds produced a gain of 4.8% for 2000, while the S&P declined by two to three times that amount. Their report appears in detail later in this News & Views.

Finally, on behalf of the entire church community and a particularly grateful Standing Committee, I want to thank Wes Marple. Wes has served First Parish in many different capacities during his 20 plus years in the church. Serving as Treasurer twice, including the last 7 years, Wes has contributed generously of his time and expertise to manage the First Parish finances. A former chair of the Standing Committee, he has also been a gracious colleague -- patient, steady and unflappable -- the kind of committee member who knows when to advocate and when to mediate. For the many ways he has contributed, we are all grateful. Thank you, Wes.

The work of the church always belongs to every one of its members. In many different ways, it all comes back to building, maintaining and improving the right structure, tangible and other, for fulfilling our covenant.

In the love of truth, and in the spirit of Jesus Christ,

We join for the worship of God, and the service of humankind.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael S. McSherry, Chair

STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

• MEMBERS at LARGE:
  • Michael McSherry (Chair)
  • Chris Carlson
  • Dirk Coburn
  • Tod Foote
  • Ellen Touart-Grob
  • Carol McMullen
• PARISH CLERK:
  • Winifred Li
• TREASURER-COLLECTOR:
  • Wes Marple
• REPRESENTATIVE from the BENEVOLENT ALLIANCE:
  • Mary Parker
• LIAISONS from COMMITTEES:
  • Bob Kiskaddon, Music
  • John McCahan, Senior Church
  • Jean Masland, Church School
  • Peter Taylor, Facilities
  • Annie Stubbs, Outreach
  • Linda Kilburn, Membership
  • Larry Coburn, Denominational Affairs
  • Merry Touborg, Stewardship

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN: It's Our Turn

Tom Wintle began his January 9, 2000 remarks about the capital campaign by saying "What a wonderful church this is!" We would have to second that! Over 200 families from the First Parish Church have made generous contributions to the capital campaign It's Our Turn. We have raised more than $1.4 million to address much needed repairs to our facilities and to make a number of improvements that will enhance our worship experience, our religious education, and our community activities.

A host of volunteers have helped make this capital campaign a success. Much of the early work was handled by the Advance Gift Committee of Helen Bradley, BJ Clemson, Larry Coburn, Michael McSherry, Wes Marple, Chris Nelson, Elise Rockart, and Cai von Rumohr. Cindy Curme organized a number of Advance Gift events and coordinated a wonderful kickoff event with the assistance of Jessica Pohl and Diane Rosenblatt; Betty Lou Marple kept the parish up to date on our progress through The Cheerful Giver; and Ginnie Hibbard was our liaison to Stewardship.

The second phase of the campaign was handled by the Major Gifts Committee, headed by Bruce Peterson and including Ken Fish, Larry Grob, John McCahan, and Ren Parker with the original Advance Committee members continuing solicitations. And in the late spring, many brave souls came out to help in the phonathons: Cynthia Berg, Norm Berg, Helen Bradley, BJ Clemson, Katie Fagan, Tod Foote, Rob Kulow, John McCahan, Michael McSherry, Chris Nelson, Sue Newbury, Tare Newbury, Mary Parker, Ren Parker, David Peters, Bruce Peterson, Cai von Rumohr, and Pam Wood.

We are grateful to all of these solicitors for the many hours they have given to this campaign, as well as to Helen Bradley, Wes and Betty Lou Marple, Jim and Joan Vernon, Cai and Sally von Rumohr, and Tom and Suzanne Wintle for opening up their homes for Advance Gift events ... to Corky Hoffman for providing office space for the phonathons ... and to Tom Wintle, Sue Spencer, and Harry Hoehler for their invaluable guidance. And throughout it all, Annie Stubbs, our campaign coordinator, kept us motivated, organized and on track. We couldn't have done it without her!

One of the unexpected benefits of being involved in a campaign like this is getting to know our fellow parishioners better. Not only have we learned what makes the First Parish so important in the lives of the parishioners with whom we met, but we have had the opportunity to make many new friends along the way. This really is a very special place.

Cai von Rumohr and Chris Nelson
Co-Chairs

SENIOR CHURCH COMMITTEE

In September a new "Covenant Group" program was initiated. Covenant Groups are small gatherings of parishioners who have agreed to meet once a month over the course of a year to share their spiritual exploration and growth and develop deeper personal relationships with each other. The Covenant Group program is one which has been successfully implemented in many UU and other denominational churches across the country. Covenant Groups have been shown to nurture community by providing opportunities for church members to get to know each other better in an informal setting. Our experience with them to date bears out this promise. Two groups, one of 8 and one of 11, are currently underway. A third, early morning group is scheduled to begin in January. We would like to see this program grow and will continue to promote it.

Adult education included a series in February and March that was led by our own parishioners and arranged by the ministers. Bruce Black, Marcia Felth, Jean Masland, and Gus White conducted discussions in their areas of expertise. This fall, the ministers produced a series on world religions which will continue into the coming year.

A number of events enhanced the church community.

• Regular church service ushers are assigned each year. Those designated to usher turn out faithfully to facilitate our sense of worship.
• Intergenerational square dances were held jointly with the Church School Committee in March and again in November. The turnout in March was wonderful; it was even better in November.
• The June picnic remains a favorite event that winds up the church year before summer vacations. Dick Floyd continues to create new culinary triumphs.
• A "committee fair" during coffee hour in the fall made it possible for parishioners to learn more about the committee operations in the church and to express interest in committee work.
• The calendar year concluded with the Christmas Eve Vesper services. Special thanks go to members of the committee and other parishioners who arrange and usher these services which are so well loved by the church and by the larger community.

Respectfully submitted,
John McCahan, Chair

CHURCH SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Highlights of the Church School Committee year include hiring a new 20 hour per week Director of Religious Education and a new 10 hour per week Youth Advisor. The Committee developed a comprehensive strategic plan during its monthly meetings in the spring and held a planning retreat in the fall. The committee under the guidance of Rev. Sue Spencer has worked hard to fulfill its mission to the children and youth of the Church.

Mission Statement

The Church School Committee seeks to nurture our children's religious growth and broaden their understanding of themselves, both as religious persons and as members of the community at large.

The objectives are:

• To explore our religious and biblical heritage and provide an opportunity for worship.
• To give each child a sense of belonging to a church community that cares about him/her.
• To help each child develop a sense of commitment toward creating a more just, compassionate and free humanity.

To accomplish these objectives the projects and activities the committee supports are intended:

1. To provide an enjoyable and meaningful church and church school experience for our children, parents and teachers.
2. Provide a platform for transition to on-going involvement in the church and community in high school and adult life.

Religious Education

Teachers

A special thanks goes to our dedicated volunteer teachers: Laura Lamere, Jennifer Potter, Jim Beams, Jon Mello, Jeanine Kelly-Coburn, Sandy Coburn, Debbie Slotpole, Mary Menino, Ed Coburn, Deb Fanton, Rick Manley, Fiona Roman, Nancy Iuliano, Beverly Dillaway, Beth Hastings, Cristi Ruland, Sue Turner, Helen Jarrett, Dirk Coburn, Torrey Kulow, Janie Plank, Pam Wood, Meg Kelly, Cristy Ballou, Elise Patterson, Haley Kulow, Chris Nelson, Janet Pine, Katie Fagan, Martha Felch, and Rosalie Hailey.

The Infants and Toddlers room continues to be covered by Joanne Hamm who is in a paid staff position. We thank both Joanne and the high school assistants for their faithful service.

We want to recognize and thank all the high school teacher assistants who provide valuable support for the teachers and great role models for our children. The teacher assistants during the year 2000 were: Madeline Adams, Alexandra Boyle, Caroline Carlson, Lauren Foote, Carlie Grob, Colin Harvey, Carter Knight, Lydia Knight, Torrey Kulow, Lauren Marder, Cynthia Mauer, David Mauer, Hall McCann, Rick McMullen, Blake Mensing, Colin Oberg, Parker Oliver-Li, Allison Peters, Matt Peters, Lee Pendergast, Molly Turner, Ross Wrangham.

On May 7, 2000 the Church School Committee honored our teachers by holding a Recognition Breakfast and presenting a small gift of appreciation to each teacher.

To improve communication between teacher and staff we are now having quarterly Sunday morning meetings to share ideas and discuss issues as they arise.

The Director of Religious Education

A major focus for the year was the recruitment and hiring of a new 20 hour per week Director of Religious Education. Kathy Seidel started her new position in late August 2000; but because of a back injury, she stopped working and became eligible for worker's compensation in mid-October. In November Beverly Dillaway, a member of our Church and the Church School Committee, accepted a 10-hour per week interim Church School Coordinator position. Because of Beverly's very capable and enthusiastic support and the commitment of the Church School teachers and Rev. Sue Spencer, the Church School program has had a successful fall term. As of January 1, 2001 Kathy Seidel has resigned. The Church School Committee has asked Beverly Dillaway to fill this position. She is unable currently to work 20 hours due to prior professional (school and community) volunteer commitments, but is willing to commit to 15 hours per week. She will assume a position as Church School Coordinator beginning immediately. Beverly is interested in taking courses to move toward qualification as a Director of Religious Education.

Enrollment

Enrollment in the Church School has remained steady this year. There are 194 children attending pre-school through 8th grade. There are 64 youth in the Church in grades 9-12 many of whom are Church School Assistants, sing in the Youth Choir and/or participate in the Youth Group activities.

8th Grade Program

On May 14 in the Ceremony of Recognition and Commitment the following young people were recognized for completing the 8th grade program or "Covenanting Year" at First Parish: Kendall Davenport, Haley Kulow, Lane Marder, David Mauer, Lauren Nichols, Elise Patterson, Sally Pendergast, Katie Ruland, John Serino, Sarah Sincerbeux. They each spoke during the Church service about their faith journey. This year 14 young people are enrolled in the covenanting year program. Their year of study started with the traditional overnight retreat at the Church in September.

Youth Program

During the summer Matthew Chase was hired in a new 10 hour per week Youth Advisor position. Throughout the fall there have been 16 active members of the Youth Group. Matthew has done an outstanding job providing leadership for this group. We thank him for all his hard work. Matthew attends both the Youth Advisory Committee and the Church School Committee meetings on a monthly basis. His valuable contribution to those committees is greatly appreciated.

The Church Community Experience

The children and youth are an important part of the church as a whole and so those activities that have offered an opportunity for us all to come together are reviewed as follows:

• The Annual Church School Sunday was held on the first Sunday in June. During the service children were baptized, teachers and teacher assistants recognized, and graduating seniors were recognized. After the service a Church Picnic sponsored by the Church School Committee was held on the playground.
• The traditional Pancake Breakfast was a great success again this year. The Church School committee with help from middle and high school students served over 100 people on the last Sunday in October.
• The second annual Square Dance sponsored jointly by the Church School and Senior Church Committees was held in November. This is a wonderful event that we hope will become a tradition.
• This year there was a special opportunity for us all to work together on the Stewardship Campaign. The theme "Why First Parish Matters" was beautifully illustrated by an art show of church school student art work displayed in the breezeway. The family dinner sponsored by the Stewardship Committee and the wonderful show in which some of the children participated was another way for us all to work together and for the children to begin to understand the larger mission and work of the church.
• Thanks to Holly Kulow, Nancy Iuliano, and Beverly Dillaway, and all the children and youth who participated, the Christmas Pageant was a resounding success. The church was full and it was a wonderful opportunity for us all to be together.
• As always the BA Christmas Dinner and Carol Sing offered the traditional family gathering. Special thanks to Becky Allen-Mixter, BA members, and all the young people who made that event so special.

Community Service

Community service projects sponsored by the Church School this past year include:

• 3rd graders held a bake sale on February 13 which raised funds to purchase a coffee urn for Bristol Lodge, the Middlesex Human Service Agency shelter in Waltham. The children went to Bristol Lodge to present their gift and to learn about the shelter.
• 4th graders participated in the annual daffodil bake sale on April 9 to raise funds for the Heifer Project.
• 5th graders collected items for housewarming baskets given to Bristol Lodge families during Lent.
• 8th graders held a video movie collection for Renewal House on March 19th and 26th to enhance a new VCR that had been donated by Weston Girl Scout Troop # 3061. 8th graders also delivered the food collected at the Thanksgiving church service to the Weston Council on Aging food pantry and the Bristol Lodge Shelter.
• Youth Group sponsored a Halloween costume collection this fall for the children at Bristol Lodge. They also baked and delivered Christmas cookies to Sunrise Assisted Living with youth from the Congregational Church in Weston.
• Children from the Church School participated this fall in both the Crop Walk in Weston and the Project Bread Walk for Hunger. Many children also participated in the annual St. Nicholas toy gathering for children at the Bristol Lodge Family Shelter.
• Chapel Funds and Outreach Monies were used this year to help needy children in the Philippines, to purchase additional Halloween costumes for Bristol Lodge children and to put together stationary kits with stamps for Bristol Lodge families.

Next year we hope to expand our community service projects so that all grade levels have at least one project.

Music

The Youth Choir under the direction of Luellen Best has again provided wonderful performances throughout the year. The outstanding performance of "I Never Promised You a Butterfly" music set to poems written by children in the Terezin Concentration Camp, was a particularly special event this year. The Christmas Vespers service is another annual program performed by the Youth Choir. Thank you Luellen and the members of the choir for your commitment and the special offering you bring to our Church.

The Children's Choir has continued under the direction of Kathryn Denney with administrative help from Jeanine Kelly Coburn. A very special thank you to both of you. About 19 children have participated this year. Rehearsals continue to be at 9:30 on Sunday morning and the children perform regularly throughout the school year. This year they sang about 12 times in Church and once at Sunrise Assisted Living. Over the last 3 years 36 children have participated, four of whom have gone on to sing in the Youth choir.

Ongoing Challenges

Teacher Recruitment: Teacher recruitment is always a challenge. We are working on two specific goals: 1. To move toward team teaching so that one person does not carry the full burden. Depending on the size of the class we hope the teams will each have 2 or 3 people. The team concept offers many advantages both in terms of what we offer to the children or youth and in providing opportunities for teachers to attend church periodically or to be away without losing continuity. 2. A second goal is to expand our teacher base to include people other than parents of the current student body. Having the whole congregation, young, old, single and married folks without children, participate in the church school experience will enrich not only the lives of our children but all of us as a church community.

Conclusion

We want to offer special thanks to Rob Kulow for his longstanding membership on this committee. Rob has been on the committee for six years, chairing for a year and a half. During his tenure he wrote the current Christmas Pageant which has been used at Christmas for at least four years. We will miss his perspective on the history of the church school and his honest and humorous input to our discussions.

Finally, the Church School Committee wants to thank Rev. Sue Spencer for her continuing support and inspiration. Her quiet steady manner keeps us on track and challenges us to ensure that our Church School program truly speaks to our children and youth in a way that will instill in them a strong and lasting faith.

Respectfully submitted,
Jean Masland, Chair

YOUTH GROUP

A New Year brings new ideas and new enthusiasm!

I would like to take the next few minutes to tell you about the First Parish Church Youth Group. Since September 2000 I have been the Youth Group Advisor I have had fun and learned a lot about myself and the other members of our youth at the First Parish. Not only is this a large group but a group that has great ideas, which they are very willing to share!!

This group has done a great deal within the past year. The 1999-2000 School year was started with a snow filled ski trip to New Hampshire and ended with a successful joint program with the Congregation Church at a Habitat for Humanity site!

The 2000-2001 school year has started with an afternoon of picking apples, a Saturday of baking and a phenomenal bake sale on Sunday thanks to all of you. Then a hiking trip to the Blue Hills Reservation and a Cookie baking adventure trip, along with singing and visiting, with the Congregational Church to Sunrise Assisted Living on North Avenue to visit some of our very own parishioners. As I mentioned that has been since September of 2000 and we have planned a Ski Trip to New Hampshire in February, a potential trip to New York City and another project with the Habitat for Humanity group in the second half of the year.

When we were not out of the church on these adventures and giving back to our community (we live in) we have been having great discussions around our individual Spiritual Growth. We have been meeting on a weekly basis in the Youth Room and discussing topics of the "Five Marks of Youth Ministry." We are using these five marks as a structure within the group; Teaching and Learning, Proclamation of the "Good News," Community, Worship and Service. Our conversations are varied due to the issues within the lives of the youth on a weekly basis but they are important to all of us.

If you have any questions about the Youth Group, please feel free to leave a message for me at the Church at (781) 893-7798 or you can reach me at home in the evenings (781) 647-9521. Ideas for the Youth Group are always welcome! A special thanks to all the parents and friends who have given time, food, and ideas to us all!

Thank you for your time and this great opportunity,

Matthew D Chase
High School Youth Advisor

MUSIC COMMITTEE

The First Parish Senior Choir had a strong year 2000. Some early concerns over membership were largely resolved by increased recruiting efforts and a response by church members. Section leaders Luellen Best, Jim Egede-Nissen, and John Bradshaw provided consistently high quality leadership and solo performances. The senior choir practices every Thursday and before Sunday services, a major commitment of time by it members to worship at First Parish Church. Appreciation for a job faithfully and well done is expressed to all.

This year's musical highlights included the Beethoven "Mass in C" accompanied by Terry Decima with guest alto soloist Maria deStefano, John Williams "Five Mystical Songs" with soloist John Bradshaw, and three settings of "Ein feste Burg is unser Gott" on Reformation Sunday. The December all music service featured a brass quartet and included works of Scheidt, Pezel, Praetorius, Bach, Pinkham, Thompson, and Poulenc.

Luellen Best also deserves continued appreciation for her work with the Youth Choir, and Kathryn Denney with the Junior Choir. Kathyrn, Bryce, and Erin Denney also performed instrumental solos during the year. Bill Sano and Terry Decima gave outstanding leadership as they have consistently done in the past.

The Music Committee accomplished its goal of improving the First Parish pianos. A generous donation brought a new Yamaha electronic piano to the sanctuary. The Everett piano from the sanctuary was then used to replace the marginal Chickering in the Parish Hall, and was refurbished with a donation from Sangerfest. The Steinway in the Parlor is presently being repaired.

Funds allocated as part of the Capital Campaign for the Chapel organ were augmented by a major donation, and new plans are in progress to use these funds to best advantage. It is anticipated that greatly enhanced organ capacity and quality will be brought to this lovely room.

Appreciation is expressed to retiring member Winifred Li for her five years of service to the Music Committee, including time as chair.

Respectfully submitted,
Bob Kiskaddon, Chair

THE GALLERY AT FIRST PARISH

"The Gallery at First Parish" was "born" in September. "Mountains of Wonder," the photographs of Bradford Washburn was our first show. His photographs capture the beauty of some of the most remote and inaccessible points on earth. "A Blockbuster."

In November and December Dilla Gooch Tingley exhibited her colorful delightful fabric wall hangings. Her clever creations are take-offs on famous artists'images. Our present show "Healing through Art" is a collection of monoprints by Claudine Bing from her book "Painting Out of Sorrow" and drawings from a journal by Wendy Wheeler, "Path through Fire," done while she was recovering from breast cancer.

Through the Parish Post, our parish web-site, the Town Crier and by word of mouth, our gallery is becoming more visible to the community and we see and hear from an increasing number of visitors. I would like to thank the "Art Committee" (Tom Wintle, Jim Maynard, Carol Hinckley, Toni Junkin, Betty Lou Marple, Karen MacDuffie, Wendy Wrean and Serena Domolky) for their enthusiastic support and companionship during these months of creative fun in making this gallery possible.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Jo Rines

OUTREACH COMMITTEE

The main function of the Outreach Committee, set forth in its Policy Statement, is "to advise the Church of effective and appropriate ways to fulfill the final phrase of its covenant, 'In the love of truth and in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we join for the worship of God and the service of humankind'."

In 2000 the Committee allocated its Parish budget of $40,425 among twelve organizations in four categories.

Developmental Needs of Infants and Children

Support for the following organizations was provided: The Martha Eliot Health Center; OnTRAC; The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC); The Horizons Initiative and the Kasiisi and Kanyawara Schools in Uganda.

Homelessness and Affordable Housing

The Committee continued to support Bristol Lodge; Newton, Wellesley, Weston Community Living (NWW); the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing (WATCH) and the Shelter Legal Services.

Victims of Violence

The Committee continued to fund Renewal House. Miscellaneous funds were provided for METCO and the Interfaith AIDS Ministry. We directed our discretionary funds to Bristol Lodge, NWW and to the Weston Affordable Housing Foundation, Inc.

In October, members of the First Parish Church participated in the second town wide CROPWALK, an interdenominational walk, in Weston, which raised money for international hunger relief, with a portion going to the Weston Council on Aging and Bristol Lodge. First Parish walkers raised $2,200, a 55% increase over last year. We would like to thank Paul Arkema and Elly Pendergast for serving as coordinators of this successful event.

Special recognition goes to Helen Jarrett and Sue Spencer and the 8th grade Sunday School class for their wonderful work in collecting children's videos for Renewal House for their service project. The Outreach Committee would like to thank parishioners who purchased the beautiful Ugandan baskets from Elizabeth Ross to help further fund the Kasiisi and Kanyawara School project. Our thanks to those who contributed food and also their time to the NWW Harvest Dinner with special recognition to Virginia MacDonald.

The Committee would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of Inge Engler, who will be retiring this year. We admire her enthusiasm and passion for the UUSC and her lasting interest in the work of the Outreach Committee. Other members of the Committee we would like to acknowledge for their invaluable input are Ken Fish for his

work with WATCH, the METCO Scholarship Fund and as well as Weston Affordable Housing, Inc.; Denise Mosher for her continued effort and support of the UUSC, even with a new baby; Anne Sincerbeaux for her contribution to the Martha Eliot Health Center and her help with this Fall's Committee Fair and Tom Van Duyne for his support and help with the OnTRAC program. Special appreciation goes to Annie Stubbs who does a fabulous job of taking the minutes of our meetings throughout the year as well as being an invaluable resource for the committee.

We take very seriously the responsibility with which we are entrusted, to direct church funds "in the service of humankind."

Respectfully submitted,
Sue Diehl and Elizabeth Ross, Co-Chairs

FACILITIES COMMITTEE

This was a year for a flurry of construction activity involving both the church and the parsonage. It marked the commencement of the implementation of the rehabilitation of the church buildings as a result of the successful completion of the capital campaign.

The first task we tackled was the reshingling of the parsonage roof, including new gutters and rebuilding three chimneys. This work was accomplished during the late winter and early spring, and when it was completed it attracted many admiring looks.

The winter and spring months were spend in planning the various tasks. Our basic guidelines were the Hardenburg report, which itemized all the rehabilitation tasks and categorized them based on their perceived importance and degree of disrepair. Thanks to the splendid organization and experience of Project Manager Jim Maynard, the preparation of work packages and the solicitation of bids was carried out expeditiously and when summer arrived the various contractors were ready to start. In this very heated building climate it was no small task to get the contractors to perform within the specified time frame.

The "Facilities" committee took a back seat to the Building Committee during the planning stages as well as during the summer months. They provided oversight as well as made timely decisions regarding the implementation of the various tasks. They also monitored the expenditures and provided the Standing Committee with a monthly progress report.

A great deal was accomplished and the following is only a summary of the various projects and tasks which were carried out with a good deal of input from the ministerial staff, the committee members and the Project Manager.

• New Heating System
• New roofing shingles, gutters and downspouts
• Exterior painting of windows and trim
• New double glazed windows in the breezeway
• Various improvements to the landscaping and drainage
• New offices and basement rehabilitation (partial)
• New Art Gallery
• Many improvements to the electrical system
• New water heater
• New dishwasher (Courtesy of the Benevolent Alliance)

The color scheme for the exterior trim was a much debated topic and we are indebted to the wise council of Ellen Touart Grob for the fine results.

Once again, the church with its refurbished clock tower and freshly painted trim is a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.

The parish staff survived the dust, noise and inconvenience with patience and good humor. Alan Flynn and Steve Mearls were unflappable throughout and managed to keep the essential parts of the church in good shape for the special summer events.

We look forward to completing the interior renovations in the coming year.

Respectfully submitted,
Peter K. Taylor, Chair
On behalf of Facility Committee members
David Neeson, Tom Best, Bob Seavey, Ren Parker,
Charlene Lynch (BA Liaison), Betty Lou Marple (Consultant)
and Ad Hoc Building Committee members Imogene Fish and Mary Menino,
with Ellen Touart Grob as Consultant.

DENOMINATIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

The Denominational Affairs Committee had a relatively quiet year in the year 2000. It continued to provide modest financial support to the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Massachusetts Bay District of the UUA and such ecumenical organizations as the Massachusetts Bible Society and the Massachusetts Council of Churches. It maintained the church's dedication to the Christian witness within the UUA by supporting the UU Christian Fellowship and the Council of Christian Churches within the UUA. Finally, it renewed the First Parish's commitment to its spiritual partners, the Theodore Parker Unitarian Church in West Roxbury, the Epiphany community Church in Fenton, Michigan, and the Unitarian Church in Torda, Transylvania.

Denominational travels took Tom Wintle, along with Gabriella and Larry Coburn, to Torda in May for the rededication of the Unitarian church building in that historic Unitarian locale. The building had been severely damaged by water in recent years, but was handsomely restored for this occasion. A beautiful plaque recognizing the contribution of The First Parish Church in Weston to the restoration was unveiled by the Unitarian Bishop of Transylvania during the rededication communion service. A month following this venture, the same trio, along with Sue Spencer, attended the General Assembly of the UUA in Nashville, Tennessee.

As we look ahead, the Denominational Affairs Committee continues to seek members of the Parish who are or might be interested in participating in its broad range of activities in the future. At the same time, we are grateful to the members of the committee, Bert Fullerton and Matthias Kretschmer, and its ministerial liaison, Sue Spencer, for their participation and contributions during the year just ended.

Respectfully submitted,
Larry Coburn, Chair

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

The Membership Committee (Linda Kilburn, Pat Hambrick, Phyllis and Paul Wiggin, Debbie and Randy Harwood, Debbie Knight, Joan Taylor, and Sally Schloemann) has had a busy year. Committee member, Linda Perrin, was on leave for personal reasons. In addition to manning the Membership table each Sunday from September through mid-May, the Membership Committee has hosted a variety of events to encourage, educate and incorporate new and prospective members into our church community. These events included:

• February dinner at the Parsonage hosted in conjunction with the Senior Church committee attended by 45 people
• Series of 3 March classes (12th, 19th and 26th) and one make-up class (4/1) for prospective members
• New Members' Recognition and Reception Sunday May 7 (21 members joined)
• Fall cocktail party attended by 48 persons including 17 new and prospective members
• Fall general information session for those wishing to learn more about First Parish and membership
• Participation in the church Committee Fair with an elaborate display on membership and the church spanning First Parish's 300 plus year presence in Weston (November)

The Membership Committee makes personalized contacts with new and prospective members throughout the year. These contacts include the delivery of bread after their first visit to the church and calls to encourage participation in new-member specific events noted above as well as general church activities and social events, particularly the December Christmas dinner, the June all-church picnic and the 12th Night event.

Other activities this year included the development and publishing of a pictorial "directory" of Class of 2000 new members (December); review of an all-church address and phone directory update published and distributed by the church office (Summer, 2000); regular updating of a new and prospective members' bulletin board for the breezeway; preparation of pictorial and biographic documentation for a "Meet the New Members" display outside of the Parish Hall in the breezeway (summer, 2000); completion of input to the all-church strategic planning process; construction of an updating of name tag banners for the breezeway (summer, 2000) and periodic updating of a photographic scrapbook on new and prospective member events (last updated October, 2000).

Committee leadership for 2001 will be Pat Hambrick and Susie Nichols acting as Co-Chairs. Three members of the New Member Class of 2000 will be joining the committee in February of 2001; Marnie Phillips, Sara Brote and Kathleen Colby. Linda Perrin will be returning from leave of absence in January of 2001. Retiring from the committee are co-chair Linda Kilburn, Debbie Knight and Joan Taylor.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda Kilburn and Pat Hambrick, Co-Chairs

STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

This year the two-member Stewardship Committee faced the enormous challenge of seeking an additional $60,000 in pledges right after a successful and well-publicized Capital Campaign. In addition, we were asking folks to make large increases in their annual giving for the second year in a row. It was clear that we could not hope to accomplish this feat using the "business as usual" approach and that we would have to try out some more aggressive approaches.

With the fiscal goal a real long shot, we decided early on to establish some other goals for the campaign: to experiment with some new methods of fundraising; to build community by involving as many people as possible; to break down some of the barriers to honest talk about money as a critical element in church life; to come as close to the financial goal as we could, and to have fun.

To overcome the clear obstacles before us, we relied on extra-committee help, and found it primarily from two stalwart "volunteers" - Dirk Coburn and Annie Stubbs. As long-time members of the church representing the views of those younger than us, their contributions to this year's effort were invaluable. Their presence at the nearly weekly meetings of the committee through the summer and fall added immeasurably to our planning and our execution, not to mention our attitude!

We also relied on the assistance of an Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to whom we turned for counsel and moral support in the planning stages and who continued to help in many ways as the campaign proceeded. Many thanks to Tom Wintle, Michael McSherry, Dirk Coburn, Lisette Cooper, Lee Engler, Ken Fish, Georgia Foote, Corky Hoffman, John McCahan, Carol McMullen, Chris Nelson, Mary Parker, Sue Spencer, Annie Stubbs for their advice and help. Many of these same individuals also signed on as canvassers, volunteering to make personal solicitations. Hats off to Michael McSherry, Dirk Coburn, Ken Fish, Georgia Foote, John McCahan, Chris Nelson, Helen Bradley, Tod Foote, Bob Kiskaddon, Larry Coburn, Mary Lord, Wes Marple, Bruce Peterson, Elise Rockart, and Peter Taylor for taking on this sensitive task.

Mary K. Elliott, the professional consultant who masterminded the Capital Campaign. also met with us several times early on and we benefited greatly from her suggestions. Based on the advice from our internal Advisory Committee and outside consultant, we planned a very full range of initiatives for the stewardship campaign, hoping that if one technique did not work for certain people another one might. The action steps are outlined below:

• We adopted a campaign theme, First Parish Matters, in an attempt to link the fundraising effort to the importance of the church in the lives of its parishioners.
• Dirk Coburn delivered a "moment of inspiration" during a service in late May to alert the congregation to the importance of the coming stewardship campaign
• We created new materials, including a new logo and brochure, to enhance our communication.
• We created a series of letters to different audiences based on giving histories.
• We established an "ask amount" for each pledging unit and asked directly for this amount in our letters and or/visits.
• We organized a team of volunteer canvassers and held a special training session for them led by Mary K. Elliott.
• We mailed out personalized letters to all pledging units -- the first batch in late September and the next batch in late October.
• During the month of October, we conducted an advance canvass that included not only church leaders but also major donors. We also published a series of quotes from parishioners in the Parish Post about why First Parish Mattered to them.
• We held a Financial Forum after church on October 29th. It was sparsely attended.
• We launched the actual campaign with a new event on Friday night, November 3 - The First Parish Follies. The evening, attended by about 100 people, included a family style dinner (prepared by the ubiquitous Annie Stubbs), and a Church School Art Exhibit on the theme, "First Parish Matters," organized by Ginnie Hibbard and Sally von Rumohr. The evening's entertainment was provided by the premier of "A Parish Home Companion" - a wonderful parody written by Dirk Coburn with lyrics by Merry Touborg. Linda Kilburn's ragtime piano and Ed Coburn's masterful sound effects added to the efforts of a superb cast performing brilliantly after only one rehearsal: Tom Wintle, Sue Spencer, Michael McSherry, Winifred Li, Wes Marple, John McCahan, Rob and Holly Kulow, Lance Dillaway, Jay Mixter, Tod Foote, Jean Masland, Mary Parker, Barbara Penfield, Larry Coburn, Chris Carlson, Peter Taylor, Annie Stubbs, Peter Boullata, Gwen Coburn and Becky and Molly Dillaway.
• The show made fun of First Parish fundraising and of our "Weston Ways" and, if it accomplished nothing else, spawned lots of interest in doing something like this again.
• On Stewardship Sunday, Ginnie Hibbard spoke eloquently about her own reasons for caring about the church and we began to track the campaign's progress on a chart in the church hallway. Weekly exhortations in the Parish Post reminded folks to pledge as the canvassers called and/or visited with some donors.
• In early December, Merry Touborg made a special appeal during the Sunday service and reminder cards were mailed to those who had not yet pledged.
• After the holidays, a final push was launched to send another reminder letter to those who had still not pledged and to make calls to some of them.

As of early January, with many pledges still outstanding, we have pledges totaling $343,000. Fifty-eight percent of those who have pledged already have increased their pledges, and some of those have increased significantly.

While it is still too early to tell how close we will come to our financial goals, we believe that we have accomplished our other aims and learned a great deal in the process. Among the lessons learned are the following:

• It is apparent that more work remains to raise awareness about the actual costs of running a church like ours with an active and engaged congregation. It costs the church about $1500 per year for each member household while many routinely pledge well below that amount or not at all.
• There's little interest among the membership in having home visits during the stewardship campaign. Although we agree that the home visit is the ideal, we found that it was hard to arrange for the longer, deeper conversations about First Parish that we had hoped to generate.
• There were some early signs that the weakening economy may be having an effect on pledging.
• In spite of our efforts and our forthright discussion of the subject, we continue to rely on a group of loyal and generous donors to support the institution. It is still too early to know what the average pledge was for this year or how close we will come to the re-distribution of giving we had sought, but at this point we do not seem to have succeeded in "spreading the burden" more evenly.
• Though we issued a barrage of messages about stewardship we have a larger number of outstanding pledges this year in January than in the past two years when we relied almost exclusively on phone solicitations.
• There is a great deal of untapped enthusiasm across the age groups for the chance to get together in a theatrical production of some kind. Those involved with the Follies represented a wide range of ages and church experience and had a wonderful time. We heartily endorse the idea of finding more ways to come together for laughter and singing!

Stewardship Committee
Merry Touborg and Ginnie Hibbard, Co-Chairs

BENEVOLENT ALLIANCE

After nearly deciding to disband itself, the Benevolent Alliance had a very good year. Chairmanship is divided among Mary Parker, Karen MacDuffie, and Barbara Penfield. Those three, plus Carol Hinckley, Treasurer, form the Executive Committee.

The Annual Meeting in May featured Marty Carlock who described her experiences as a restaurant critic for the West supplement of The Boston Globe. Everyone left the meeting with some insight about the review process and a list of Marty's recommendations.

BA purchases for First Parish included a Hobart commercial dishwasher that washes dishes in two minutes and new, red folding chairs for the Parish Hall that are a little higher and a bit sturdier than the old ones. We gave 40 of the old chairs and a storage cart to the Newton Wellesley Weston Committee for Community Living.

The BA and the First Parish Arts Committee collaborated to make September 17 a gala day, with both the BA Fall Reception and the opening of The Gallery at First Parish. On December 8th, Becky Allen-Mixter again did her magic with the Christmas Supper. Ongoing BA activities included Sunday Coffee Hours, weekly kitchen clean-up, decoration improvement, Marcia Matthysse's Monday drop-in knitters and stitchers group, and the income-producing Sports Exchange, Attic Treasures and The Book Room.

The Sports Exchange opened in October with its new policy of no longer accepting merchandise on consignment. Goods are now received only as donations. For tax purposes, the Exchange gives donors a listing of the items, but it is up to the donor to determine the value of the donation. The volunteers appreciate not having to deal with the paperwork of tracking consignment sales. However, we anticipate that the proceeds from Sports Exchange will be reduced.

The BA continues its outreach policy of supporting community and U-U organizations and annually distributes over $8,000 to about 18 organizations. This included a special donation of $1,000 voted by the Board to Weston Community Center.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Penfield

LIBRARY COMMITTEE

The Library once again received from the Benevolent Alliance an annual money gift, which is our only source of funding. We are reading reviews and preparing the list of books that will be purchased with this money. The committee has had three work sessions to label, cover, and catalog older books already owned by the library to increase the number of books in our uniform cataloging system.

Some new titles in circulation are The Alzheimer's Sourcebook for Caregivers, Strong in the Broken Places, Children's Letters to God, A Book of Psalms: Selected and Adapted from the Hebrew, Losing a Parent, The Culture of Disbelief, Women in Praise of the Sacred; 43 Centuries of Poetry by Women.

We received many donations of books this year. Sandy Ashley gave us Thomas Cahill's The Everlasting Hills. Mrs. Arthur Coburn gave The Gospel According to Thomas. Suzanne Wintle gave The Big Book of Peace. Alice Douglas gave us The Splendors of Christendom. Mary Jo Rines gave us Wendy Allen Wheeler's book Path through the Fire. Sue Newbury gave Dr. Laura Schlessinger's The Ten Commandments. Verna Douglass gave us a handsome copy of Thoreau's Walden Pond. Two authors donated their own books to the Library. Jonathan Moore gave us Hard Choices; Moral Dilemmas, The UN and Complex Emergencies, and Morality and Independence. And artist, Claudine Bing, gave us Painting Out of Sorrow to accompany her exhibition in the Parish Gallery in January 2001.

The Library also received the beginning of an overdue facelift. To increase the use of a wall for furniture and shelving use, the thermostat was moved to a more suitable location. We are most grateful for the Persian rug and lamp table donated by Dr. Barry and Linda Davidson this year. The BA has plans in the works for next year to modify the flooring around the rug, to improve the wooden lower cupboards, and to replace the curtains. The Library is most appreciative to the BA for its thoughtful considerations.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Marder, Chair

ALTAR FLOWER COMMITTEE

The Altar Flower Committee has continued traditions at First Parish, with fresh flowers on the altar every Sunday and special decorations on significant holidays.

The flower arrangements on the altar throughout the year are possible through the generosity of Church members who donate memorial flower arrangements. During summer months, committee members offer informal arrangements with flowers from their gardens. Times of special focus are Easter and Christmas, when the committee decorates with flowers and plants appropriate to the spirit of the holiday.

Memorial contributions for weekly altar arrangements, and for Easter and Christmas flowers, provide members with a way to honor family and close friends. Most often, flowers are distributed after the services to members who are not able to come to church and would appreciate a greeting from First Parish friends.

Many thanks and appreciation are offered to all who helped with committee activities this year -- Sue Newbury, Meg Himmel, Ginny Hibbard, Alice Moylan, Tootsie Thomas, BJ Clemson, Elly Pendergast, Arria Sands, Bryn Madden, Pat Peters, Becky Deptula, -- and especially Lynn Taff, a friend at every turn who helped guide the committee each week throughout the year.

To Serena, much appreciation for her cheerful and careful attention.

Respectfully submitted
Mary Lord

MEMORIAL GARDEN COMMITTEE

The Miles and Gertrude Hanson Memorial Garden

2000 has been another year in which the garden was granted a period of maturation. A small amount of planting was completed during the year, mostly to fill in with some color and to honor a gift. No interments took place this year.

Although some professional help is required, many wonderful volunteers from the congregation oversaw watering and weeding. The Committee hopes members of the congregation will continue to be willing to volunteer from time to time to care for this very special place. We had several welcome contributions for upkeep and new plantings from the Benevolent Alliance and individuals.

The garden continues to be an area of multiple uses, from Sunday School classes to a quiet place for thought and reflection.

Charlene Lynch and Betty Williams have continued to add to their expertise and time to keep the Garden in shape.

The Courtyard Garden had a rough year with the renovations to the building, but is beginning to recover. Otherwise, no major changes took place.

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Iuliano, Chair

HISTORIANS COMMITTEE

The Historians Committee Room is still being reorganized after the installation of the new heating units. With the acquisition of a large chart file, the maps, building plans and some large display units have been housed in appropriate storage. There is still much more to do to return the room to good order.

During the summer Peter Cook, great grandson of the Rev. Charles Frank Russell, minister of the First Parish from 1882 to 1916, spent the afternoon with me looking over the papers we had of his great grandfather, and touring the church with me. He lives in California and had come east to trace his family's east coast origins.

In closing, I want to make a plea to all photographers in the church ... we welcome any photos that record the activities and special occasions that occur in the church. Also, if you wish to make use of anything in the History Room, please contact me beforehand.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Coburn

COURTYARD GARDEN COMMITTEE

This Committee has its work handled by the Hanson Memorial Garden Committee.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Unlike in 1999 our operations in 2000 were in the black. Our surplus was $10,091, representing about 2% of our planned expenditures. This fortuitous outcome was due largely to lower than forecast expenditures, as our gross revenues were just about as forecast, $522, 479. These numbers do not reflect the It's Our Turn Capital Campaign which is the subject of a separate report.

The major sources of operating savings were Music, Church School and Other committees as can be ascertained from the summary financial statement accompanying the proposed budget for 2001.

The finance team overseeing the finances of the Church continues from 1999. Andrew Chase maintains the books and prepared the checks. Bruce Kirch reconciles financial statements with bank records. Serena Domolky prepares payroll documents and manages a major expense center, the office. Again, Tod Foote audited the financial records of the Church. Annie Stubbs maintained records both for the stewardship program and the capital campaign. Increasingly, she is managing the recognition of securities donations.

The insurance program of the church continues to be overseen by Bob Cook and the Investment Management Committee overseeing the endowment continues to be chaired by Glenn Strehle.

We are indebted to all of these dedicated peoples who so ably facilitate the functioning of our church.

In closing, I want to recognize Kris Cook who worked with me and several other treasurers for many years as an unpaid assistant. With calculator and 18 column spreadsheet she meticulously managed our accounts. A quiet pillar, she is missed.

Respectfully submitted,
Wesley W. Marple, Jr. Treasurer/Collector

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The market value of the assets in the endowment rose to $3,384,000 at December 31, 2000. This was an increase of 1.6 percent from $3,331,000 at the end of 1999. Of the increase, almost $31,000 was added at yearend from endowment gifts and the remainder was the retention of market gains after the distribution of income for spending of $134,200.

The holdings of five mutual funds (Fidelity Puritan, Putnam Vista, Putnam Money Market Fund, Vanguard Wellington, Vanguard European Stock Index Fund) are 95 percent of the assets with the remainder in a restricted fund at the UUA held for our benefit. For comparison purposes, the combined total investment return in 2000 for the five mutual funds was a positive 4.8 percent, if income had been reinvested instead of spent, and excludes the effect of new gifts to endowment.

Our combined mutual fund holdings in common stocks usually vary between 70 and 75 percent of the total with the remainder in bonds and short term fixed income securities. The stock holdings are approximately evenly divided between the value-oriented stocks held in the Puritan and Wellington Funds and the growth-oriented stocks held in the Vista fund. The remainder is in the bond portions of the Puritan and Wellington Funds, which are balanced with about 35 percent in long term bonds, and the Putnam Money Market Fund. Value stocks and mid-capitalization growth stocks generally outperformed the stock market averages in 2000 while bonds outperformed common stocks. Since these categories and a money market fund describe almost all our holdings, our results significantly exceeded the total return performance of the S& P 500 Stock Index which declined by about 9 percent.

The Committee follows a statement of investment policy that is reviewed and revised by the Standing Committee from time to time. It was reviewed twice during the past year. In summary, we seek to achieve total investment return "without accepting unreasonable risk" by "a portfolio divided between fixed income securities and common stocks" which are "diversified consistent with the size and needs of the portfolio." Our results reflect such diversification. Those who follow these reports from year to year can compute that our overall total investment return has compounded at a rate of more than 15% a year over the past five years.

The portfolio has not included non-U. S. stock holdings except for the small amounts held from time-to-time by our U.S.-focused mutual funds. Many endowment funds have diversified into such non-U.S. stocks to take advantage of markets abroad. The Committee has chosen not to invest internationally and benefited from the generally more favorable results of U.S. markets in recent years. However, in late October we moved $150,000 into the European Stock Index Fund to begin such investments. The European currencies had sharply declined relative to the dollar and we had an "expectation that it would stabilize," so it "seemed an attractive opportunity to take advantage of the decline in European stocks as measured in U.S. dollars." Our holding appreciated, including income, by 6.7 percent through yearend.

During the year the Committee reviewed whether the holdings of value-oriented stocks and bonds in our balanced funds could be better invested in a mix of value-oriented stock funds and corporate bond funds. The Committee found that many stock funds described as value-oriented were, in fact, heavily invested in growth stocks and, if purchased, would reduce our diversification. We also found that a combination of value-oriented stocks and corporate bonds would not have improved our results. As a result we decided to maintain our current holdings in the balanced funds. The Committee noted, however, that a large proportion of other balanced funds are now invested in growth stocks, rather than value stocks, and we can expect comparisons with these funds to vary depending upon the relative market popularity of value or growth stocks. In 2000, such comparisons were favorable to the value stocks in which our two balanced funds are invested.

Respectively submitted,
Glenn P. Strehle, Chair

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

First Parish is blessed with dedicated and capable volunteers who give vitality and energy to the 16 committees in our church. To those of you who gave of your time, I thank you. These last six years, for me, have been a vehicle for service and an instrument for getting to know many of you in a more thoughtful way. When we join a church we pledge our time, effort and support. I urge everyone to take a turn.

Respectfully submitted,
April Kiskaddon, Chair

MINISTERIAL INTERN

Let me begin by saying that I am grateful for the opportunity to be here and to be doing my internship in such a vibrant, well-established, Christian congregation. As many of you know, I have come to you from Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto and will be among you on a part-time basis until May 2002. Within that time, I hope to have also completed my two remaining academic courses locally and finished a basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. I am living in Boston and working full time at the Unitarian Universalist Association for the ministers' professional association. Some of you may not know that I came of age in the Unitarian Church of Montréal, and have been involved in the national Unitarian scene through, among other things, sitting on the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Unitarian Council.

I have put together a set of learning goals that I hope to realize by the end of my time among you. My hope is to focus on the areas of religious education, especially with our younger members. Understanding and responding to the religious needs of children is important to me and to my ministry. Another area of focus for me is stewardship, and I have observed with great interest the First Parish Matters campaign. I was able to observe some of the planning for this campaign, and even had a role to play in the wonderful musical kick-off to the campaign at the beginning of November. I also hope to round out my experience in the ministerial arts of preaching, leading worship and pastoral care.

My time so far at First Parish Church in Weston has been stimulating. To date, most of my activity has been in the area of worship. I have been leading the children's chapel services somewhat on a regular basis. This has provided me with an opportunity to get to know the children. Preparing for and participating in the conversation around the scripture passage we read in chapel, has been an engaging spiritual practice for me. I have had the opportunity to participate in the adult worship as well, preaching twice, in October and in December.

In September I participated in the eighth grade overnight retreat, the commencement of an exciting program for them as they come of age. I led the monthly Protestant worship at Weston Senior Care in November. This was an opportunity not only for worship, but also for pastoral care and outreach.

I am glad that I had the chance to stay in Massachusetts for Christmas. The pace of the Advent and Christmas season here at First Parish Church is certainly hectic. The annual Christmas dinner, at which I helped monitor our young servers, was a wonderful occasion, as was the Twelfth Night festivities. The December 24 worship services (all five of them!) helped me to recognize how much a central part of this community First Parish Church really is. Despite being brusquely turned away from the first evening service, what I saw in the candlelight that night was a Christian church community living out the story of its faith and history.

Over the next few months, I will be leading and/or assisting in a number of adult religious educational efforts. This includes a weekly Bible study through February. I will be hosting a film discussion series this spring as well. During Lent, I will be leading a number of evening services. These will be in the style of the Taizé community, that is to say, with the singing of simple chants, along with quiet reflection.

I am looking forward to getting to know more of you in the coming months, and to the learning experiences that await me.

Yours in Christ,
Peter Boullata

PASTORAL CALLERS and CARING COMMITTEE

The members of Pastoral Callers Committee work with the ministers to help meet the caring needs of the congregation. This year three new members, Imogene Fish, Barbara Gibb and Peter Perrin have joined the committee.

We receive calls from the church office, the ministers or members of the congregation concerning an individual or family within the congregation in need of assistance. One of our members will then contact that family to determine the needs, if any, that they may require. A Pastoral Caller will then either personally respond by providing the requested help or will contact members of their neighborhood caring group to do so. Thus all members of the congregation are an integral part of the caring network we provide for each other. Thank you to all who have come to the aid of your neighbor in times of difficulty.

Pastoral Callers are available to the members of the congregation for help in coping with the problems of aging, sickness, childcare, transportation, loneliness, visitors or other areas that "people helping people" can serve. If you, or someone you know, need support or help, please call one of us. If we cannot help personally, we have many referral sources that may be able to address a particular problem.

We depend on you to let us know of any problems that members may be experiencing. We thank those of you who take the time to call the church or one of the pastoral callers to inform us of a member who may need some support. We could not do our work without your help. Please call the church office or one of the pastoral callers listed below. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for caring.

Harold Bossung
Fran Brooks
Harry Crawford
Imogene Fish
Barbara Gibb
Linda Perrin
Peter Perrin
Jean Thurston
Joan Vernon