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Belfry
The Belfry is published once a month: the third Wednesday. Deadline for copy is 9:00 a.m. the day before.
Office Telephone: 978-456-8752 P.O. Box 217, #9 Ayer Rd. Harvard, MA 01451.
[email protected], [email protected] [email protected] , [email protected] ; Minister: 978-456-9021. Director of Faith Formation: 978-201-1545 . Web site: http://uuharvard.org/
Sharon Briggs, Caring Network: 508-451-7076 [email protected]
Love is the spirit of our church, where … ...we gather to worship... ...we create a welcoming, nurturing religious community for all...
The November 17th, 2016
Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church
Contents “Mark My Word” / Board Report ......................... 2-3 Faith Formation ........................................................ 4 Service to the Community ........................................ 5 End of Nov.– Dec. Calendar ................................. 6-7 Connections/Loaves & Fishes .................................. 8 Report From General Assembly ............................. 99 Support & Care for One Another ........................... 10 Church Events/Music Notes ................................... 11 Office Hours ........................................................... 12
Sunday, Nov. 20th 2016 Homily: “The Welcome Table” Rev. J. Mark Worth In our stories about the Pilgrims, we remember that the Wampanoag people welcomed the Pilgrims, taught them how to fish and hunt and fertilize their crops, and then participated in the first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims, of course, were immigrants and refugees who did not share the local religion or speak the local language. How does this story resonate today? Sunday, Nov. 27th 2016 "as-salāmu ʿalaykum" Daniel Payne, Director of Faith Formation We'll be doing worship a little bit differently. First of all, we'll be worshipping in Sutherland Hall in the Fellowship Building. The service will start at 10:00 a.m., and will be comprised of two components: a 45 minute worship service for All Ages, which will flow into a 45 minute RE time for All Ages (a total worship experience of 90 minutes). We will be exploring Islam and will be hearing a little from the Building Bridges youth (7th-8th graders) about their experiences when they visited the Islamic Center in Boston a couple weeks ago. I hope to see all of you there for this exciting worship experience! Sunday Dec. 4th 2016 “Coming of Age—Credo Service”
Sunday Dec. 11th 2016 Music Sunday During the service, our choir will be performing Morten Lauridsen's “Lux Aeterna” -- eternal light. The movements of “Lux Aeterna” are based on references to light from sacred Latin texts: perpetual light, light risen in the darkness, redeemer-born light from light, light of the Sprit, and most blessed light-- all supporting an earthbound spirit seeking mercy, understanding, and renewal. The choir will be supported by a chamber orchestra and singers from the Stow Festival Chorus. Children are invited to be present during the first two movements before going to their classes. Please come and enjoy a richly inspired composition as part of our worship, and our rich cascade of December music celebrations. Sunday Dec. 18th 2016 Intergenerational Solstice Celebration Come join our dancers, mummers and singers as we celebrate the arrival of winter.
A Month of Sundays, Worship at 10:00 a.m., Announcements at 9:55 a.m.,
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Mark, My Word What a year 2016 has been! We have gone from an obnoxious and too-long presidential campaign into
the uncertain future of a Trump presidency. Whoever you supported during the recent presidential election, it has been an emotional year. We have so many hopes, dreams and fears – some scary, and some painful. While we don't know what the future holds, this may be a time to find a spot to relax and be kind to one another.
As you reflect upon the recent presidential election, whether you are conservative, moderate, liberal,
progressive, libertarian, or something else, here are some thoughts that might be helpful. Many of you know that I participate in a Tibetan Buddhist Sangha (religious community) when I'm
home in Maine. One of our teachers, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who lives in Seattle, sent a post-election message to the Sangha, and I'm editing and passing along some of his wisdom.
It is important to remember that difficult experiences pervade our imperfect world. The Buddha taught
the experience of individual and group karma [karma means action, and every action has a consequence. Every deed or action has an effect on the future]. Buddha taught that individual karma is easier to transform through one's own practice, while group karma can only be changed by individuals working together with the skillful means of compassionate action. Therefore, we must not be discouraged or bogged down by a divisive state of mind. Instead, we must be more vigilant, compassionate, and skillful in order to help lead others with awareness towards a unified group-mind of love, wisdom, and peace – without letting our negative emotional habits get in the way. This is the only way to make this world a better, kinder, and more peaceful place for all beings. We can't give up our loving kindness and compassion!
It's also important for us to notice our deep-rooted tendencies to want to control whatever is happening
in our world. Our inner control freak is always watching to see if things are going our way. When they don’t, or when things are feeling unpredictable, strong emotions can come up – fear, anxiety, anger. There’s a fear of the unknown, and not knowing can be a dark and scary place. It can be uncomfortable to realize that our belief in having control is just that — a thought or desire — which is not the same as knowing exactly how things will turn out.
There are two elements to consider here: our internal thoughts and emotions and the external actions
and realities of the world outside. It is important for us to realize that the world inside our mind plays as important a role as the world outside, in terms of shaping what we experience.
From time to time, it’s helpful for all of us, especially spiritual practitioners, to do a reality check. It
feels like the experiences so many of us are going through now are exceptionally intense, polarized, and emotional. Nevertheless, every time a big change lies ahead of us, there will always be strong reactions. People have gone through similar experiences in the past and felt and expressed similar reactions.
The divided state of our nation here in the U.S. is a wide and clear mirror for us—a powerful reflection
of our own dualistic state of mind. It’s time for practitioners to bring this situation home to the path, along with all of the dharma [the teachings of the Buddha], mindfulness and awareness we have learned and practiced. This is how to transform our own thoughts of duality and shine the light of compassion where it is needed.
-Mark
Here we are safe to share our deeply held thoughts and values ...
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Board Report November 2016
Right on track is a good description of where we are with our Board priorities for the year. At our recent Board Meeting on November 9th, we had updates and good discussion around our important initiatives. Stewardship Committee – As has been widely communicated, the goal for this year’s Stewardship campaign is $200,000. At press time of this report, the total pledged or gifted total so far is around $160,000. The pledges are up from previous years however there are many of our members that have not let us know what their pledges will be. We are confident that we can make our goal but the Stewardship Committee needs to hear from you! On Tuesday, November 22nd, the Board will be meeting to determine what we will be able to offer our new minister and where we are with our Stewardship at that time will allow us to put a competitive offer together. We greatly appreciate your generosity and thank you in advance for getting your pledge envelopes in by November 20th. Ministerial Search Committee - Your Ministerial Search Committee is working towards a December 1st deadline to get our Congregational Record posted on line in the Ministerial Settlement System. They have been putting in many, many hours summarizing the input that they received from our members and friends from the survey and also in the cottage meetings that many of you attended. The Congregational Record is a comprehensive review of our history, church culture and our needs and desires in our next called minister. The Board heard from Fernando Catalina and Stacie Green about the progress that the committee has made and helped to answer a few of the questions required on the Congregational Record. Thanks to the MSC for a job well done so far! During the month of December, the candidate ministers will be searching for a best fit and those interested in HUUC will enter our pool of candidates. The MSC will begin to screen these candidates in January. Website – Working silently behind the scenes, your website development team of Paige O’Brien and Lori Daniells have been creating a masterpiece. The new HUUC website is now live at www.uuharvard.org. Take a look! The ministerial search is driving the revamp of the site as we will have many potential ministers coming to the site to learn more about us. This is Phase One of the new site and they will be continuing to add more content and updates over the next few months. For those of you who are lay leaders and see some areas that you can supply content for, please contact Lori or Paige. Thanks! Social Justice Ministries Council – The SJMC gave its report to the Board which outlined the first major initiative that they plan to explore – Black Lives Matter. They informed the Board that a very detailed roll-out plan has been developed to provide opportunities for our church community to learn about the movement and to provide input. The timing lines up for workshops and special events in January and February. The plans are very well thought through and will include communication to the larger community. In light of the recent election, the SJMC wants to provide an opportunity for our members to get involved in social justice initiatives that can help to protect vulnerable people as a result of the stated goals and objectives of the Trump administration. We can make a difference and we plan to. Do you have a marketing interest? – As one of our stated objectives this year, we are creating a new team to conduct community outreach efforts to let the town of Harvard and the surrounding areas know about what we are doing. Additionally, we will be looking to optimize internal communications to make sure all of our members and friends are fully aware of the great work that we are doing at HUUC. We need your skills and connections so please let any Board member know if you are interested in being a part of this new team. Our first meeting will be in early December. Again, thanks everyone for your pledges this year. Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church is a very special place and your donations and gifts will allow us to enable our future. For the Board, Tom Daniells Ginger Kendall, William Kellogg, Kirsti Gamage, Paige O’Brien, Steve Farough
Here we are safe to share our deeply held thoughts and values ...
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The εὐαγγέλιον of Unitarian Universalism
I often find myself in a very strange position when it comes to loving Unitarian Universalist principles and community with all my heart and the desire to tell others about this wonderfully good news called Unitarian Universalism. Many of those who grew up in more conservative Christian denominations (myself included) may be allergic to proselytization because of our growth away from such environments and practices, and many of those who grew up outside the church or as UUs may be equally allergic to evangelism because, well, the loudest religious folk are usually the most obnoxious. Whatever the case, “evangelism” is not a very popular word among UUs.
Biblical Greek was one of my favorite classes in seminary. I loved (and still love) breaking out the BDAG Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature and discovering the original meanings of biblical words. One such word is εὐαγγέλιον (pronounced yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on), which can mean “gospel,” but can also simply mean, “good news.” Now, the word “evangelism” can be quite threatening, and it’s a word that’s been hijacked, like most biblical/Christian words, by the Religious Right. But the phrase “good news” isn’t threatening at all. We all want to hear, and share, good news, right?
I guess the question becomes: how do we share the good news of UUism without being annoying? A secondary question might be: how do we share the good news if we are introverted ourselves? I come to the question with both issues. I don’t want to be the annoying kind of evangelist that turns people off from being receptive to what is truly good news, and I’m about a 99% on the introversion scale. The answer to these dilemmas is, I think, built into UUism itself.
Our Unitarian Universalist ethos is good works over belief. We UUs come to the common table with various beliefs, from Christian to Buddhist to Muslim to Jewish to Pagan to Atheist. But we all come to the table with one thing in common: the understanding that we must not think alike to love alike, and that love is best shown through action. We’re a “good works church.” So we really don’t need to say anything about what we believe or who we are as much as we need to do something to show people what we believe and who we are.
And that’s exactly what our children and youth are doing in Harvard UU Faith Formation. We’ve visited an Islamic Center in Boston to show our Muslim friends our respect; we’ve cooked meals for some of the elderly people in our own congregation and hope to help rake some of the leaves that have recently fallen; we’ve raised nearly $900 to date for orphans in Haiti; we’ve started collecting clothing and other necessary items for our upcoming visit to City Reach in Boston. We’ll continue showing our faith so we don’t necessarily need to talk about it.
So maybe “evangelism” doesn’t need to be a dirty word in UU circles. Maybe it’s a word we can reclaim from the Religious Right. Maybe it’s a word we can make our own. Maybe. But one thing’s for sure: it’s something we need to practice, whatever we call it. Our own future as UUs, and a bright future for humanity, depends on it. We’re doing our part here at Harvard UU.
Peace,
Daniel Payne, Director of Faith Formation
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Faith Formation Upcoming Events
November 18-19: SHYG participating in City Reach November 20: Mandatory OWL social, 5-8 pm, First Parish Stow/Acton December 4: Coming of Age worship service December 23: Faith Formation Christmas Movie Night, 7 pm
Peace, Daniel Payne, Director of Faith Formation [email protected] 978-201-1545
Here we hold ourselves responsible for the religious education of our children and ourselves, to carry out our mission, and to support our church. …
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...an outdoor church for people experiencing homelessness,
and their friends.
The Senior High Youth Group will be
participating in CityReach on November 18-19.
They will be with other youth and adult chaperones
from housed congregations, and will learn about
homelessness in Boston – directly from those who
have experienced it. Leadership for each CityReach
include their clergy -- as well as up to 20 stipended
members of the common art/common cathedral
communities. Additionally, clothing donated by the
housed congregations is made available to any
homeless resident in Boston. This “shopping”
opportunity provides material support to anywhere
from 100 to 300 un-housed Bostonians per
CityReach event. Please help us collect warm
clothing — think, anything that helps in inclement
weather, along with sleeping bags, backpacks and
wheelie suitcases. Look for donation boxes in the
Sanctuary and Fellowship Building beginning in
October.
Here we support individual and collective service to the larger community …
Fair Trade Faire
Sunday, November 20, 2016 11 am – 3 pm
Fellowship Building Local shopping. Global impact.
Now in its 7th year, this pop-up shopping experience features regional nonprofit businesses dedicated to supporting cooperatives from around the world offering quality artisan crafts and home wares.
The Music Committee Presents the Anne-Marie Arnold Memorial Messiah Sing
The 52nd Annual Community Sing-In of
George Frederick Handel’s Messiah Oratorio
Directed by Dr. Theodore Johnson Sunday, December 18 at 4:30 p.m.
Join your voice with a room full of other exuberant singers, including professional soloists, youth singers, a chamber orchestra with harpsichord, organ and tympani. Or just come to listen. This fabulous tradition leads us beautifully into Christmas. -Eleanor Toth
Holiday Food Collection for Loaves and Fishes – Sunday, December 4th On Monday, December 19th, Loaves & Fishes will hold its annual Holiday Dinner Distribution event. Families receive all of the fixings for their holiday celebrations complete with stuffing, gravy, pie, cranberry sauce, juice, fresh vegetables and even a turkey, chicken or ham. Each year, we ask for your donations to help make this possible. For Sunday, December 4th, please br ing in non-perishable holiday-related food, such as stuffing mix, gravy, broth, canned sliced pineapple, canned hams, ham glaze, nuts, fancy crackers, yams, coffee, tea, cocoa, and/or 100% juice and leave your donation in the Loaves and Fishes baskets in the church’s foyer. Thank you so much! If you have questions, please contact Risa Goldman at [email protected]. Loaves and Fishes: Shop for Your Kids Day On Thursday, December 15th, Loaves and Fishes will hold its annual Shop for Your Kids event at the Bob Eisengrein Community Center in Devens. With the assistance of over 100 volunteers, Loaves and Fishes clients are able to choose gifts from an assortment of toys, books, jewelry, gift cards, sports equipment, and arts and crafts items, to give to their children. If you would like to donate *new, unwrapped* gifts for children from infancy to age 18, please bring them to HUUC on Sunday, December 4th and place them in the Loaves and Fishes baskets in the church’s foyer. We will make sure that Loaves and Fishes receives the gifts along with any food donations that are received that day. Feel free to contact Risa Goldman at [email protected] with any questions.
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Nov. 17 through Dec. 3rd cal
Electronic version: please see attached pdf
Weekly calendar.
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All Dec. calendar here.
Electronic version: Weekly calendar
please see attached pdf for January too.
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CONNECTIONS CORNER
“The Soul of the Whole” A recent visitor commented that coming to HUUC felt like coming “home.” Many of us share that same feeling and these days it feels especially important to have that “third place” to bring us together
for conversation, engagement, and action. It has been particularly moving to listen to the testimonials given during the “Pulpit Editorial” on Sunday mornings. The members who have gotten up and beautifully shared how they arrived at HUUC and why they’ve stayed (and generously pledged!) are both inspiring and validating. In the preface of the third edition of the “Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide,” Rev. John Buerhrens (UUA President, 1993-2001) states, “To lead a meaningful life among the many competing forces of the twenty-first century, each of us needs support in making meaningful re-connections to the best in our global heritage, the best in others, and the best in ourselves. Our way in religion honors the right and responsibility of every person to make those connections in her or his own way. Yet it embraces the universal need to be challenged and supported by others.” This way of being is what Ralph Waldo Emerson called, “the Soul of the Whole.” This spring, the Connections Team will be working with Rev. Mark Worth and the Worship Team to organize a “Service of the Living Tradition” – a ceremony to honor those who are no longer with us; to dedicate the youngest of our friends; and to celebrate those who have recently completed the path to membership as well as those who did so decades and decades ago. Whether you’ve been an HUUC friend for years or you’ve just begun your journey with us, it would be an honor to assist you in this next step: Becoming a Member. In peace, Paige O’Brien Connections Team Board Liaison Connections Team: Cary Browse, Holly Grant, Carol MacFarlane, Imre Toth Meeting monthly on the 2nd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Minister’s Office. All are welcome to join. For more information: [email protected].
Here we are inspired to explore, reflect, and grow spiritually ...
Loaves and Fishes Shop for Your Parents Day
On Saturday, December 10th, Loaves and Fishes of-fers its youngest clients the opportunity to “shop” for holiday gifts for their parents. This program, now in its 16th year, offers a full breakfast for each family, a visit with Santa and then a shopping trip for each child, guided by volunteer “elves.” If you would like to make a donation to Shop for Your Parent’s Day, please donate only new items. Some ideas for gifts are: For Women:
gloves, scarves & hats slippers (med and large) perfume/lotions jewelry bath sets warm outerwear cookware holiday themed gifts
For Men: sports teams related clothing & accessories flannel, denim and chamois shirts gloves & knit caps automotive care kits fleece jackets/vests sweatshirts heavy socks work gloves flashlights Wallets
Loaves and Fishes also appreciates donations of gift bags, ribbons, bows and boxes!
You may bring your donation to church on Sunday, December 4th or you may deliver your gifts directly to Loaves and Fishes at any open pantry session. Please go to loavesfishespantry.org or contact Risa Goldman at [email protected] with questions.
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Report re-GA. 22 to 27 June 2016 THE HEARTLAND: WHERE FAITHS CONNECT Place : a massive three level convention center in Columbus Ohio ( large assembly hall, a large exhibition hall,(the 800+ exhibitors included - schools , stoles , pagans, presidential hopefuls, Jewish groups, women's groups, and innumerable meeting rooms. Scooters abounded and "ask me" people stationed strategically and gratifying along the interminable corridors Persons, 3780 UU's, rainbow, all sizes, ages 2 on up. The program was divided into three parts : 1) A M. Delegates meeting, dry: consisting of introductions: GA planning committee, youth Caucus; reports: Pres., finance committee, women's Federation, right relations team report. These were interspersed, thankfully, by lots of music from the choir gleaned from the delegates. 2) early P M . 150 program choices also broken into three parts 1) -social justice (birth control, prisons, torture), 2) racial justice-(white privilege, Black lives, Muslims) 3) Strengthening UUA-(lay leaders, financial , RE. 3) later P.M. inspirational programming 22 June Wednesday 7 PM : opening ceremony . Mark Worth valiantly assembled, and carried, the Harvard banner in the banner parade. Then Jim Key, moderator, convened the assembly. Pastors representing the Muslims, Jews and Christians shared the podium with Peter Morales president of the UU A (Rabbi Jacobs took us by surprise by warning us against divesting from five corporations because it might hurt US relationships with Israel). 7:30 PM Thursday service of living tradition, (ministers recognized and elevated or retired as merited ) . Bill Sinkford , A black past president of the UU urged us to face racism head on and not look away. Collection $68,265 to aid retired ministers 25 June Saturday delegates meeting .: 3 actions of immediate witness-1) solidarity with Muslims, 2) improved gun-control, and in 3) support of transgender people all passed easily as you might expect. Thanksgiving day revisited, suggested by the Ballou Channing district, that the UU's educate ourselves and we enter into dialogue with local native people about Thanksgiving day from 2017 to 2021 was deferred till next year . Then a Presidential candidates forum : featuring 1) Allison Miller, (Morristown New Jersey), and 2) Susan Frederick-Gray. Phoenix Arizona, both lifelong UU's with traditional families 3) Jean Pubke, ex nun, lesbian (LGBTQ) ( wife of 23 years is retired Army officer, University administrator, Buddhist) One will be elected in 2017 . One question from the audience was about clergy abuse (yes, the Catholics are not the only ones involved in this type of scandal) Pupke-"commission", Miller "task force" Frederick-Gray "diffuse power within the UUA means no one is fully accountable". (In other words we ask for it.( The Candidates will be making the rounds of the country during the year.) Saturday 7 PM Ware lecture (named for Henry Ware 1805 and three generations of UUs) Martin Luther King Jr. was a former
Ware lecturer. Krista Tippett, 55, history major, Brown, master of divinity,Yale. Author (Peabody award 2008) and broadcaster, ("On Being" ), White House national humanities medal 2013 ( "thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence" ) She urged the delegates to use "listening as a civic tool."
Despite the fact that there were many UU's with orange divestment T-shirts, the business resolution (Pat Westwater-Jong's issue ) regarding divestment failed , (54%) (2/3 ) ) (Eg. Caterpillar supplies Israel's military specialized bulldozers, , Hewlett-Packard enterprise provides IT services to the Israeli military . Motorola solutions provides invisible radar fences, surveillance and communication equipment to Israel's army, G4 S provides security equipment and services to Israel's prisons and interrogation centers.) However , all is not lost: UUA has already adopted a human rights investment screen which removes shares from the five companies the resolution targeted. Finally, Sunday P.M. the closing ceremony we were surprised when a coalition of the youth Caucus and members of BLUU introduced a responsive resolution : "we as a religion have acknowledged that we support the Black lives matter movement in the passage of an action of immediate witness in 2015 but this has done very little in our attitude towards people of color. Our leaders should produce a multi-year report on antiracism work. " The moderator asked the delegates to take the call for action back to our communities. And the next morning the board promised to stay focused on the issue of racial justice. So next year, 2017, we are going to elect a new president, reconsider race relations, study clergy abuse and re-visit the Thanksgiving holiday.! A Note of interest. Technology enables us to mainstream activities to individual churches. And there is such a thing as off-site delegates which we should consider. Respectfully submitted. Mary Donald thank you for the privilege of attending this event
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Regular Events/Classes in our Buildings: Sanctuary Harvard Pro Musica, community chorus rehearsals Tuesday evenings, contact Kathy Hewett 456-8692 or Eleanor Toth 779-2876, concert Sat. Dec. 3. Student Recitals: Bolton Community Music School, Dec. & June, Valerie Ritter 978-779-2896. Nikolaus Hunt’s piano students, Mar. & June, 978-368-7759. Eleanor Toth’s piano students, June, 978-779-2876 Fellowship Building Yoga in Suther land Hall with Joyce Vassallo: Tue. 7-8:30pm and Sat. 9-10:45am, 617-201-3532. Tai Chi Tue. & Thur . 9-10am & Zumba Fri. 9-9:45am, 978-456-4120 (Council on Aging) Art Classes & Workshops with Joelle Feldman Mon. p.m. 978-618-2041, [email protected]; http://www.joellefeldman.com
December Birthday Wishes Go To … Thomas Aciukewicz Lily Alfano John Atkinson Rory Browse Owen Coonahan Charlie Eiland Ralph Goodell Olivia Hemond Donnalisa Johnson Benjamin L'Ecuyer Joe Levering Jem Mix David Newsham Paige O'Brien Connor Oldham Tyler Stamm If you missed the opportunity to give us your birthday month please contact the church office: 978-456-8752
Here we support and care for one another …
From the Admin Office If you have updates to your address, phone, email or the way you want to receive church communication, please let me know. Belfry deadlines, Tuesdays: 12/20, 1/17, 2/21, 3/21, 4/18, 5/16, 6/20. If you want an updated Church Directory, please send me an email and I will send you the pdf file, or I can print a paper copy for you. And if you want to be listed in the Directory, please let me know. Thanks. -Elinor Stapleton [email protected] 978-456-8752
Heifer Farm Holiday Open House Heifer International, 216 Wachusett Street, Rutland, MA December 3, 4, 10 & 11, 2016 | 10:00 am to 4:00 pm each day Creating memories, giving thoughtful gifts and enjoying good food are all part of our holiday seasons. Heifer Farm invites you to a special event with a Living Gift Market so you can honor family and friends with a purchase of an animal gift that will share joy. Take home a special gift card and your photo with a goat! Warm yourself with hot chestnuts at the bonfire; take a hayride; enjoy delicious homemade soup, baked goods and hot cocoa. Before you go, decorate a gingerbread cookie or stop into the Shop@Heifer for fairly-traded gift items, books, jewelry, and Heifer items. Enjoy free admission with a canned good donation which will be given to the Worcester County Food Bank. We greatly appreciate your support! For more information, call 508-886-5000 or email [email protected].
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MUSIC NOTES Musicians: November 20- Thanksgiving Service- Sr. and Jr. Choirs November 27- Bill Cordner, vocals December 4- Chimers December 11- Music Sunday- “Lux Aeterna” with choir and chamber orchestra December 18- Solstice Service with Jr. and Sr. Choirs Jr. Choir: I hope you have been listening to the CD of our Thanksgiving song “Only a Couple Fishes”. We will meet at the church this Sunday, November 20th at 9:30 sharp to rehearse with Ted and get robes for the service. The next time we gather will be December 18th for the solstice service. Take care of your voices and try not to get sick! Chimers: Our final rehearsal of this semester will be this Sunday, November 20th. We will celebrate Thanksgiving by taking off Nov. 26th. Please be in place for chiming on Sunday, December 4th at 8:45 a.m. Our music will support the Coming of Age youth. Sr. Choir: Thursday, November 17th our rehearsal will prepare for the Thanksgiving service on November 20th, and Music Sunday. Thursdays December 1st, and 8th and Saturday, Dec. 10th, 11:00 a.m. we will concentrate on the beautiful “Lux Aeterna “ by Morten Lauridsen. A chamber orchestra will accompany us when we present the work on December 11th. On Thursday, December 15th we will get ready for the Solstice service and Christmas Eve. Time moves so fast- heading for a new year! -Eleanor Toth
Here we celebrate together our traditions and our lives, with all their sorrows and joys...
What’s Coming Up, Church Events Sun. Nov. 20 9:55 a.m. Worship Service “The Welcome Table” Rev. J. Mark Worth 11:30-12:30 Bargains in the Belfry open Fair Trade Faire Thu. & Fri. Nov. 24 & 25 Office Closed Sun. Nov. 27 10:00 a.m. Worship Service in the Fellowship Building "as-salāmu ʿalaykum" Daniel Payne, DFF Tue. Nov. 29 10-4 Bargains open Wed. Nov. 30 7:00 p.m. Meditation Fri. Dec. 2 5:30-6:30 p.m. Coming of Age rehearsal Sat. Dec. 3 7:30 p.m. Harvard Pro Musica concert Sun. Dec. 4 9:55 a.m. Coming of Age Credo Service 11:30-12:30 Bargains in the Belfry open Tue. Dec. 6 10-4 Bargain open 6:30, 7:30 p.m. Alliance, Boxwood trees 7:00 p.m. Faith Formation Team mtg. Wed. Dec. 7 6:30 p.m. Caring Network 7:00 p.m. Meditation Thu. Dec. 8 10:00 a.m. Alliance, Boxwood trees 7:00 p.m. Board mtg. Fri. Dec. 9 9:30 a.m. Alliance Boxwood trees Fri.-Sat. Dec. 9-10 Youth Groups overnight Sun. Dec. 11 9:55 a.m. Worship Service Music Sunday “Lux Aeterna” 3:30 & 4:30 Ecumenical Christmas Pageant Tue. Dec. 13 10-4 Bargains open Wed. Dec. 14 7:00 p.m. Meditation Sun. Dec. 18 9:55 a.m. Intergenerational Solstice Celebration 4:30 p.m. Messiah Sing
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Rev. Mark Worth Interim Minister Ted Johnson Organist and Choir Director Elinor Stapleton Office Administrator Daniel Payne Director of Faith Formation Lori Daniells Bookkeeper
Minister’s Office Hours I expect to be in the office most Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, sometimes into the early evening hours. You may call (office: 978-456-9021) or e-mail [email protected] to schedule an appointment during those times or to find another time that might work. -Mark Worth
Admin Office Hours Mon. 9:00 a.m.-Noon Tue. 10:00-3:00 Wed. Noon-3:00 Thu. 10:00-3:00 Fri. 9:00 a.m.-Noon Please call first: 978-456-8752. -Elinor Stapleton [email protected]
Director of Faith Formation Office Hours Tuesday and Thursday, from 10 am - 3 pm. Please call 978-201-1545 or email [email protected] -Daniel Payne
Sharon Briggs, Caring Network: 508-451-7076 [email protected]
