The First Parish Auction was a huge success. However, we still have available seats at some of the events – this is a wonderful way to help raise money for First Parish and get to know people! To purchase a seat, email auction@firstparishcambridge.org. If you want more than one seat, just state in the email how many seats you would like to purchase. If you have questions, email auction@firstparishcambridge.org.

Origami Fun – February 1st
Learn to fold a crane, make a little gift box out of a magazine cover, create a lotus out of a napkin, and more. All can be used for Valentine’s Day giving. Relax with tea, punch, and cookies afterwards. Hosted by Lois Markham, Lindsay Lucke, Iris Fennell, and Karin Lin.
Recommended for adults and kids 8 and up.
$15 adults, kids ages 8-17 free (16 seats still available as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 1, 2025, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Location: First Parish in Cambridge chapel

Guided Tour at the Museum of Fine Arts – February 10th
Joanna Fink will lead the group through this timely exhibition of works across the centuries examining artistic interpretations on the theme of democracy. Flat fee of $35 includes museum admission. Stay for an optional Dutch treat lunch afterwards at the Garden Cafeteria in the museum! The MFA is fully accessible.
$35 (includes museum admission; 5 seats still available as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Monday, February 10, 2025, 10:30 a.m.
Location: Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Jazz Night with the First Parish Jazz Trio – March 28
An evening of jazz with the First Parish Jazz Trio – Joe Reid (piano), Dave Landoni (bass) and Steve Langone (drums). This year they will be joined by a special guest vocalist! Donated by Cushing Giesey and Jan Ellertsen with Grier and Irene Merwin.
$20 or as able – for this event rather than notifying the auction committee that you want a seat, just purchase a ticket at the door. Please invite friends to join you!
Date/Time: Friday, March 28, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Location: First Parish in Cambridge, Meeting House

Body Wisdom Qigong class – March 30
Join Katrina Piehler for this energy balancing movement class – in person, at the church. Qigong is a body-mind practice that weaves together ~ gentle stretching, mindful breathing, self massage and slow flowing movements.
From Traditional Chinese Medicine, qigong (pronounced “chee gung”) translates as the practice of working with (gong) or cultivating one’s energy or life force (qi). It’s a simple, yet surprisingly powerful way to manage stress and feel more healthy and energized in your day to day life.
As a massage therapist and wellness coach, Katrina loves how these easily accessible and intuitive exercises help you release the tension in your muscles and joints, while strengthening the vitality of all your body’s systems.
$20 (4 seats remaining as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Sunday, March 30, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
Location: First Parish in Cambridge, Mikelson Room

Italian Pasta Night – April 5th
Join friends at First Parish for a home-made Italian buffet including appetizers, salad, baked pasta (meat and vegetarian) and dessert. Great food and good conversation! Options will include a gluten-free pasta and vegetarian pasta. All options include dairy. Offered by Valerie Fullum, Carol and John Lewis, Eileen Sullivan, Maria Altamore, Jane Sturtevant, Sylvia Wheeler, Marcia Hams, Susan Shepherd, and Grace Hall.
$20 adults, kids free (11 seats remaining as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Saturday, April 5, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: First Parish in Cambridge parlor

Walking Tour of Mt. Auburn Cemetery – April 27th
Mount Auburn is more than just a cemetery: it’s a botanical garden, an arboretum, and a wildlife sanctuary. America’s first garden cemetery, Mount Auburn became the model for cemeteries everywhere. And, back in the day, everyone who was anyone wanted to be buried in Mount Auburn; it’s a virtual “Who’s Who” of Boston’s nineteenth-century luminaries. Join First Parishioner Tod Hibbard for a two hour walking tour of this extraordinary local treasure and meet some of its most fascinating “residents.” We’ll visit the grave sites of William Ellery Channing, Hosea Ballou and John Murray, Transcendentalist authors and Fireside Poets, slave traders and formerly enslaved persons, abolitionists, suffragists, feminists and other reformers: “the Flowering of New England,” as Van Wyck Brooks called them, amidst the springtime flowering of that magnificent botanic garden that is our own Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Mt Auburn is accessible by MBTA bus. Walking over mostly level ground. We will adjust tour as necessary to accommodate all.

$25. (14 seats still available as of 1/20/2025)
Date and time: Sunday, April 27, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
Location: Meet at Mount Auburn Cemetery main entrance (The #71 or #73 MBTA bus from
Harvard Square takes you right to the cemetery’s main entrance).

First Parish in Cambridge History Walk – May 3rd
Join a walking tour of Harvard Square to visit historical sites connected to the history of First Parish in Cambridge, including its five meeting houses. The tour will include undertold stories about our history with indigenous people, slavery and abolition, and the social movements of the 1960’s.
Accessibility: No stairs, but there are bricked sidewalks and curbs.
$15 (9 seats remaining as of 1/20/2025)
Date and Time: Saturday, May 3, 2025, 11 a.m. (rain date May 10)
Location: Meet at First Parish

Evening of Song with Music Director Jen Hayman – May 18
What’s better than an evening sharing sweets, stories and songs together? Join new music director Jen Hayman for an evening of music and the stories that accompany some of our collective favorite songs in an impromptu, low-key sing-along, complete with dessert! You provide the stories and the company; Jen will provide the musical accompaniment!
$25 (3 seats remaining as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: First Parish in Cambridge

Summertime Sangria Happy Hour – June 28th
Come celebrate summer with sangria and tapas in Jennifer Griffith’s yard in East Arlington. Red, rose and white sangria will be available along with mocktails. Hosted by Jennifer Griffith, Michele Sprengnether, and Eileen Sullivan. Event will be held outside. Bathroom is on 2nd floor and not accessible. Parking available and location is a short walk from public transportation.
$30 (4 seats remaining as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Saturday, June 28, 2025, 4:00 p.m.
Location: East Arlington

Bon Appetit! Julia Child Dinner – August 15
Join us to share in a celebratory dinner on the birthday of Julia Child (1912–1994), iconic chef and local culinary heroine. The entire meal will be a Julia affair! Pescatarian and vegetarian options available; please inform hosts of any allergies.
$50 (5 seats remaining as of 1/20/2025)
Date/Time: Friday, August 15, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Strawberry Hill in Cambridge

Art print by Pierre Doutreleau
This print of the landscape painting “Reflections of Silence” by contemporary French painter Pierre Doutreleau “investigates the dispersion of light and movement ….and is mostly populated by gradients of subtle color contrasted by [the] central representational image.” Dimensions 35.5″ x 26.5″.
$20