Join Rev. Jenny Rankin of the First Parish in Lincoln and a small group to reflect, consider your life through a “spiritual” lens and write about it in a “Spiritual Autobiography” course over five weekly sessions starting Tuesday, Jan. 14 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the parish house (14 Bedford Rd.). Through in-class exercises and short writing assignments, participants will consider the different chapters or stepping stones of their life’s journey up until now. Some things to consider: What have been the gifts and graces of your life? Where were the losses and hurts? How would you articulate your sense of the sacred, God, or whatever spiritual vocabulary do you use? What “language of reverence” do you speak? Email sarah@fplincoln.org to sign up.
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church will host a Haiti Art Sale on Sunday, Jan. 26 after morning worship (8 a.m. spoken Eucharist, 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with choir). Items made by artisans from Haiti will be for sale, and all proceeds benefit the artists who are helping support their families. That evening at 5 p.m., St. Anne’s is hosting a four-parish Evensong — St. Anne’s choir will be joined by choirs from Church of the Good Shepherd in Acton, Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord, and St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Sudbury. A reception will follow. All are welcome.
Join The Walden Woods Project and RESTORE: The North Woods for a virtual lecture by Dahr Jamail on Wednesday, April 22 at 1:30 p.m. Jamail will discuss his award-winning book The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption, in which he journeys to locations experiencing the most dramatic impacts of climate disruption, climbing and diving alongside leading experts and front-line scientists. The End of Ice was named one of the 10 Best Science Books of 2019 by Smithsonian and is a finalist for the 2020 Pen/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award for exemplifying literary excellence.
The free virtual event will take place via Zoom. Directions for logging on will be sent to those who register online.
The Lincoln Public Library will hold its Friday Morning Book Group via Zoom on Friday, May 8 at 9:30 a.m. Participants will discuss Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen. Hepburn participated in the Dutch Resistance, working as a doctor’s assistant during the “Bridge Too Far” Battle of Arnhem, the brutal execution of her uncle, and the ordeal of the Hunger Winter of 1944. Copies of the books are available for download in eBook or audiobook formats. Email lincoln@minlib.netfor assistance and an invitation to the Zoom meeting.
The Lincoln Public Library’s Children’s Room Summer Reading Program kick off Wednesday, June 17 from 1–6 p.m. (rain date: June 18 at the same time). Children and families are invited to drive to the library any time during that period to pick up summer reading materials, including information about virtual summer programs and the beloved Summer Reading Challenge.
Families will remain in their cars while a masked staff member greets you and safely hands the reading materials to a masked family member in your car ready. The library is discouraging arrivals on foot or by bike and is asking all participants arrive and remain in their car. Come see what costumed character is on the lawn waving hello. Anyone with questions may email dleopold@minlib.net.
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is sponsoring a virtual talk on “Monarchs, Milkweed, and Citizen Science” with Kristin Steinmetz on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. Free, but registration is required; click here.
St. Julia Parish will offer outdoor Mass on the lawn (or under the tent in case of rain) on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 8 a.m. No reservations required. Please bring a blanket or chair and masks for attendees age 5 and up, as social distancing protocols apply. Parking is at the rear of the house or on the property on Weston Road.
Farrington Nature Linc will host James Edward Mills for a special presentation on “Over the Adventure Gap: the Path of Progress Toward Lasting Social Change” as part of their end-of-summer celebration on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 6:30–7:30 p.m. The event will also include a celebration of their staff and students and an online auction to support their work.
Mills is a freelance journalist who specializes in telling stories about outdoor recreation and environmental conservation. He is the author of The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors and the co-writer/co-producer of the documentary film “An American Ascent.” Tickets are free with suggested donation. A limited number of signed copies of “The Adventure Gap” are available. Click here for tickets.
On Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 7–8:15 p.m., Nathaniel Popkin and Gail Straub will discuss Popkin’s newest book, To Reach The Spring: From Complicity to Consciousness in the Age of Eco-Crisis in a Zoom event sponsored by the Walden Woods Project. In the shadow of an escalating eco-crisis — a looming catastrophe that will dwarf the fallout from COVID-19 — how can we explain our society’s failure to act? Popkin explores the moral, social, and psychological dimensions of the crisis, outlining a path to a future spring. Click here for more information and registration.
The First Parish in Lincoln welcomes everyone to a virtual service celebrating the longest night of the year. Join us as we honor the darkness and await the light in community. Visit www.fplincoln.org/events for the Zoom link.
Join award-winning producer, film composer, and author Ruth Mendelson of Lincoln to discuss her new book, “The Water Tree Way,” on Monday, Feb. 22 at noon. The main character Jai (pronounced “Jay”), filled with spunk, stealth and blazing courage, leaves everything she’s known to embark on a journey that would be hair-raising for anyone. A 240-page children’s book intended for readers of all ages, the story exalts the triumph of the human spirit as experienced by a girl who can be none other than her unabashed self. To learn more and read reviews, including Jane Goodall’s video endorsement, visit www.TheWaterTreeWay.com. Please call the COA 781-259-8811, if you would like to pick up an author’s copy of the book (there are a limited number of copies). Click here for the Zoom link.
People of all faiths and people in search of faith are invited to join youth from St. Joseph’s/Julia’s Parish and the First Parish in Lincoln as they present a Taizé service on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Taizé is a monastic community in Taizé, France with an ecumenical emphasis as expressed on their website, which says the community “wants its life to be a sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples.” A Taizé worship service involves sung and chanted prayers, meditation, a period of silence, and liturgical readings. There is no preaching. This style of prayer has attracted many worshipers from around the globe and from many different denominations. Services are usually candlelit, so please have a candle ready when you join using this Zoom link (meeting ID: 954 7757 9039, passcode: 405331).
Join a virtual reading and Q&A with Lincoln’s Ray Shepard, author of Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge, on Monday, March 8 at 6 p.m. Email dleopold@minlib.net for Zoom invite. This program is recommended for families with children ages 7+.
Would you like to read or listen to library books on a Kindle or iPhone? Elizabeth Creighton and Kate Tranquada can show you how to borrow e-books and audiobooks and are available for troubleshooting as well. Contact Kate at ktranquada@minlib.net to get the Zoom link.
St. Anne’s in-the-Fields will host its second drive-in Evensong service on Sunday, March 14 at 5 p.m. During the service, which originates from the monastic hours, the choir offers certain portions while the congregation joins in the prayers, hymns, Creed and responses. In the lower parking lot, each singer will sit in their car with a wireless microphone while Music Director Jay Lane conducts from the upper lot. The singing and pre-recorded organ music are mixed in real time and the results are broadcast over an unused FM radio frequency. Parishioner Tom Vollaro is the sound engineer. This 45-minute service will feature Walmisley’s “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis in D minor,” Wesley’s “Lead me, Lord,” and a hymn everyone can sing together. Read about the choir’s first drive-in Evensong in The Boston Globe.
Musician, storyteller, and educator Anna Adler will lead the First Parish in Lincoln Passover Seder again this year using an adaptation of the 10-minute Haggadah starting at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30. Participate in the seder traditions for Passover, then “stay for dinner” — all via Zoom. See this FPL web page for the Zoom link, as well as tips on how to create a Passover Seder plate and some menu ideas and things you might like to have for your table).
Monica White, author of Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement, will speak on Wednesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. Her talk is part of “On Belonging in Outdoors Spaces,” a free virtual speaker series featuring prominent speakers whose are advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the benefits of time in nature. Register here.
Children and families are invited to walk, drive, or bike to the Lincoln Public Library on Thursday, June 24 any time from 1-6 p.m. to pick up a summer reading packet including information about summer programs and the Summer Reading Challenge. Can’t make it? All of the summer reading materials will be available beginning June 25.
Every journey begins with a single step, or in Anders Morley’s case, the shush of cross-country skis. Morley will discuss his book, This Land of Snow: A Journey Across the North in Winter, on Monday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The book offers insightful glimpses into life at the edge of the great northern wilderness, the history of cold-weather exploration and Nordic skiing, the right-to-roam movement, winter ecology, and more. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library For Zoom invitation please, email lrothenberg@minlib.net.
A panel discussion with all five 2021 Agatha Award nominees for best first novel
Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
Meet the country’s best new mystery writers in this all-star panel discussion featuring all five nominees for this year’s Agatha Award for Best First Novel: Esme Addison (A Spell For Trouble), Tina deBellegarde (Winter Witness), Mary Keliikoa (Derailed), Erica Ruth Neubauer (Murder at the Mena House), and Laura Jensen Walker (Murder Most Sweet). Award-winning author Catriona McPherson will serve as moderator. Click here to register.