Dear friends, What an inspiring Lent and Easter! I am so grateful for the profound sharing in our Lenten Devotional and for the opportunity to travel together through this season. I loved sharing in a post-parade Palm Sunday communion service with our siblings from El Toque del Maestro; it reminds me of what communion is […]
Spiritual Reflections from our Community
Traveling Together Toward Easter
Dear friends, “You raise me up.” Throughout the Lenten season, we have sung the chorus of one of our favorite anthems as our response following the Assurance of God’s Forgiveness. We chose this chorus for its connection with our Lenten theme, “Traveling Together Toward Easter.” The chorus acknowledges the ways we are raised up by […]
Celebrating our impact
In recent weeks, the Justice and Love in Action Team (formerly the Board of Wider Mission) has received correspondence from several organizations we support, letting us know that our efforts make a huge difference. Here are some updates. For several years, the African Community Education Project in Worcester has received Seeds of Grace grants […]
Love is more powerful
Dear friends, I woke up this morning feeling shaky, exhausted, and discouraged. It is so painful to be in this time of waiting, this time when we sense the danger to our democracy. It is sobering to see so clearly how deeply divided our nation is. Whatever happens next, the work of healing that lies ahead feels overwhelming. Hoping for […]
A Horrible, Horrifying Week: A Pastoral Reflection
Dear friends, What a horrible, horrifying week this has been. Fires are raging in California; an “unsurvivable” hurricane has battered Louisiana—horrible. Jacob Blake is paralyzed after being shot in the back seven times by a police officer; demonstrators Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber were killed by a 17-year-old with an assault rifle—horrifying. A reminder of […]
Summer Worship Plans
May 21, 2020 Dear friends, On Tuesday night, 22 members of our congregation gathered for a Church Council meeting. At that meeting, we voted unanimously to hold our Sunday morning worship services remotely throughout the summer. We will not worship in person in the sanctuary this summer. Over the several weeks, we will assess what […]
Miraculous Giving
Dear friends, A few weeks ago, in worship, Karen Nell told our young people the story of Jesus changing water into wine. One girl asked, “Was it magic?” “No,” Karen Nell replied. “It’s not magic. It’s a miracle—God working through Jesus with the power of love.” And then she turned their attention from the biblical […]
A Fourth of July Reflection
Dear friends, One of my most vivid memories of the Fourth of July is an evening spent on the National Mall in Washington DC. It was 1987, and I was doing a summer internship at First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. The church was deeply committed to living out our faith in the wider world. […]
A Thanksgiving Blessing
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Response to Threats at Hemenway School
Dear friends, Over the last few weeks, the news on TV has been overwhelming. Along with many of you, I have struggled to know what to do with my outrage, distress and fear at acts of hatred and terror in places that are supposed to be safe. This week the news has hit home. Two […]