The Alliance of First Parish
The Alliance is the women’s organization in our church, with a mission to support the women in our congregation, and through that support to advance the interests and efforts of our entire church.
Formal membership in the Alliance is open to those in our church who identify as female, although Alliance activities are inclusive across gender identities and age.
Alliance Program Dates 2025-2026
The Alliance hosts several programs each year from October to May. Most programs are held on Friday evenings in the Vestry. All are welcome for Alliance Programs.
Upcoming Programs/Gatherings:
Please Save the Date and Join Us
for these Inspiring and Stimulating Programs!
SUNDAY, APRIL 12 – ALLIANCE SUNDAY SERVICE
10:00-11:30am
Speaker: Dr. Alexandria Russell
Dr. Alexandria Russell is a historian, public history practitioner, and digital humanities scholar who is passionate about making African American history accessible to people of all backgrounds. Her recent book, Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen & Unseen, examines the evolution of African American women’s memorialization in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the present. She has received several grants and fellowships to support her research, including the W.E.B. Du Bois Center Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an American Democracy fellowship from the Charles Warren Center at Harvard University. She has served as the Harvard & The Legacy of Slavery Research Fellow for digital humanities at Harvard Radcliffe Institute and has contributed to other university slavery initiatives. Her experience as a public school teacher has also informed her work as a public history consultant in developing curriculum guides for children. As the Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Black Women Legacies, she is committed to raising awareness about past and present memorials that have been created to celebrate the legacies of Black women.
FRIDAY, JUNE 15 – Please Join Us!
6:30-9:00pm
Alliance Annual Members Meeting
We will gather to discuss the year in review, discuss financial plans, vote on next year’s Board members, and socialize over a Board-sponsored dinner.
Potluck desserts – please bring your favorites to share!
Date TBD
Alliance Program Planning Meeting for 2026-2027
Tentatively at 7:30-9:00pm
Email your ideas to Alliance@FirstParish.info.
Then join the discussion on Zoom from wherever you are!
Past Programs/Gatherings:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
Alliance Program: Left on Pearl (a documentary film)
Left on Pearl is a 55-minute documentary about a highly significant event in the history of the women’s liberation movement. In 1971 hundreds of Boston-area women staged a takeover and occupation of a Harvard University-owned building. The ten-day occupation by women demanding a Women’s Center and low income housing for the community in which the building stood, embodied within it many of the hopes, triumphs, conflicts and tensions of Second Wave feminism. One of the few such takeovers by women for women, this action was transformative for the participants, and led directly to the establishment of the longest continuously operating Women’s Center in the U.S.
We will have the opportunity to watch the film together as a community, followed by a panel discussion featuring Rochelle Ruthchild, a founding member of the Women’s Center who was involved in the making of the documentary, and FP members Mary Fusoni, Joyce Thompson, and Jo Ann Preston, who took part in the 1971 action. For this “Movie Night” there will be snacks & drinks to be served, including popcorn, candy.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19
Alliance Program: Nourish with Rev. Aisha Ansano
Rev. Aisha Ansano and Rev. Emily Conger created Nourish to help Unitarian Universalists feel fed in body and spirit through embodied worship experiences. Join us for good food and spiritual discussion!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2026
The Alliance Annual Chowder Supper! Join us for warm food and social time!
6:30-9:00pm: The evening will also include a discussion and update of our 3-year Giving Plan.
Join us via Zoom at 7:45 for the discussion portion of our program.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 
6:30-8:30 pm in the Vestry
Surrender: My Journey From Guerilla to Grandmother: An evening with Katherine Power, peace activist and author
Katherine Power, author of SURRENDER: My Journey from Guerilla to Grandmother, will join us to share her story and talk with us about taking action to bring about change. In her book, she recounts the events of her dramatic journey from anti-war activist to revolutionary guerrilla, through 23 years of life on the run where she built a family that she had to leave in a dramatic surrender, serving a prison sentence where she found grace and meaning.
Now, as an elder, Power reflects on her inner journey and its lessons—how cultivating inner peace and practicing compassion are the foundation of powerful action for change in the world.
Katherine Power studied at Brandeis, completed her Bachelor’s degree through the Boston University Prison Education Program, and holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy, Ethics, and Writing from Oregon State University. Her previous book, Doing Time: Papers from Framingham Prison, is available from Nighthawk Press.