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Pastor’s letter
By caitlin | November 2, 2009
Dear Friends, August 2010
These are the days of rest and renewal, of vacations and a slower pace of life. They become for us opportunities to reconnect with creation, with ponds and lakes and sea, with flowers and mountain paths, with the warmth of sun and the coolness of an evening breeze. How easy it is under ‘normal’ circumstances as we struggle to stay focused on the task at hand – as necessary as it might be to produce, create and earn a living – to overlook creation’s gifts all around us. Sometimes it takes an intentional act of separation from the daily grind to reclaim a sense of the
holy in creation.
In the Celtic tradition the gift of creation is primarily a self-giving of God. Our reverence and respect of creation and her creatures is a way of acknowledging part of God’s mystery. Particularly sacred to the Celts, both in Christian and pre-Christian legend, are birds. Doves, eagles and geese hold an important place in Celtic spirituality. There is however, no mention of the sacredness of the loon that I can find, but I guess that’s because the early Celtic writers hadn’t gone to the northern woods of Maine. But thankfully, I recently was so blessed.
If you have ever heard the haunting wail of a loon you know what I mean. There is nothing like it. In the stillness of the night one hears its cry across the surface of the waters as he or she makes contact with another. And then in the distance comes a response. And then another call. And another response. As the evening deepens these duets continue, interspersed with occasional hoots and the so-called tremolo some describe as the sound of ‘insane laughter.” Then silence – again – followed by a kind of loon yodel, a sound coming from a male that starts
on a lower pitch and quickly rises to a high pitched staccato. What a concert! What a holy display of ceaseless evening praise. A blessed time, indeed.
You may not have opportunity to listen to the loon, but during these dog days of August I invite you find time to reconnect with some aspect of the mystery of God found in the gift of creation. Even if it is sitting on the front porch, or at the lakeside, or under a tree in your backyard. Become aware of the insects in the grass, their beauty and uniqueness. Notice the birds, the leaves, the sounds of nature communicating through the trees. Look at everything that surrounds you within a three foot radius. Take note of every little detail…and I bet you will meet God in that place. And the praise that issues forth from creation will echo from your lips as well.
“Praise the Lord!”
Summer peace
(resource: “The Book of Creation, The Practice of Celtic Spirituality,” by J. Philip Newell)
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Dear Friends, July 2010
Three years ago when I interviewed for the pastoral position at Old Parish Church one
of the things I heard was that ‘we have very few children.’ From the very beginning of
my ministry in September of that year, what I saw, however, was really quite different
from the message I had filed away in my head. While there was not a ready-made junior
or senior high population of youth, there were children! A whole group of younger
aged children to love and nurture in the Christian faith. A ready-made group for the
adults to grow with in the years that would follow. Old Parish had a wonderful gaggle of
children.
Over these last three years this gaggle of giggling gifts has blessed my life in enormous
ways. They are not some elusive church of the future, they are very much part of the life
of Old Parish right now. They feel very comfortable in our midst. They are growing
in self-confidence and a sense of shared ministry. Have you ever watched closely the
morning acolyte as he/she lights the candles? This is their ministry among us! They
are becoming accomplished lay readers standing before the congregation with poise and
promise. Listen to them sing! Angels among us belting out their praise and message
of Good News! When I see them in our midst I smile at the ways God is becoming a
growing presence in their lives and the ways the Church’s purpose to serve others is
finding expression in them.
The various activities in which our children have participated help to nurture their sense
of covenant and community and mutual ministry. Hiking, canoeing, filling health kits
for Church World Service, talking about the deeper message of a film, laughing, sharing,
growing stronger as a group—all models what it means to be Church. Faith and fun are
not mutually exclusive, you know!
Together, young and older alike, we discover what it means to be a community of faith,
respecting difference, celebrating commonalities, becoming the people God wants us to
be – a people who model Christ’s extravagant welcome, compassion and peace. Over
these past three years I’ve witnessed this among the people of Old Parish, including our
wonderful gaggle of children.
Thanks be to God!
Peace
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Dear Friends, June 2010
As June approaches, the warm or more accurately hot, weather already speaks of summer. The season of Pentecost is upon us with its rush of wind and burning fire of the Spirit. Together we felt the Spirit’s presence at our Pentecost service. We gave testimony to the Spirit’s movement among us at the Annual Meeting of the Berkshire Association. We give witness to a different world made possible through acts of justice and peace. We are the People of God.
As we move into our summer mode, let us not forget who we are, who we are called to be, and to whom we belong. Prayerfully, I offer to you the words of Ted Loder, Touch Me with Truth that Burns Like Fire
Lord,
send the gift of your Spirit
to fill this place
and myself
and the world.
Touch me
with truth
that burns like fire
with beauty
that moves me like the wind;
and set me free, Lord
free to try new ways of living;
free to forgive myself and others;
free to love and laugh and sing;
free to lay aside may burden of security;
free to join the battle for justice and peace;
free to see and listen and wonder again
at the gracious mystery of things and persons;
free to be, to give, to receive
to rejoice as a child of your Spirit
And Lord, teach me how to dance,
To turn around
and come down where I want to be
in the arms and heart of your people
and in you,
that I may praise and enjoy you forever.
This, my friends, is my Pentecost prayer for each of you!
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Dear Friends, May 2010
The devastating earthquake, tsunamis and aftershocks which ravaged Chile in late February have left many without a home. The United Church of Christ, through the Massachusetts Conference, has had a longstanding and fruitful partnership with the Pentecostal Church of Chile. I have been honored in years past to chair the Partnership Committee here in the Massachusetts Conference as well as travel to Chile on two different occasions to celebrate the relationship between our two denominations. Among the membership of the Pentecostal Church of Chile, there are now an estimated 300 families whose homes were completely demolished by the earthquake and who do not have relatives with whom they can live.
The Massachusetts Conference, with the help of Global Ministries is committed to seeing that these families have a place to live as soon as possible. The Lifting Up Hope Housing and Trauma Recovery Project is providing the means to build emergency housing for these families in need. The cost of a one room house called a Blessing Cabin is $1500.00 These emergency shelters can be lived in as is, upgraded as the family is able, or passed on to another in need. Master builders, architects and electricians from around the country have donated their time to construct these shelters as quickly as possible. The costs are low because they are built with volunteer labor. But money is needed to purchase materials.
Already, over $16,300 has been collected within the Massachusetts Conference to build Blessing Cabins. We are committed to joining with other Mission Partners to raise enough money to build shelters for all 300 families in the Pentecostal Church of Chile who need them. At the Men’s Palm Sunday breakfast I challenged the men of the Berkshire Association to return to their churches in order to garner enough support to purchase at least one and hopefully two Blessing Cabins from within the Berkshire Association. We hope to celebrate our generosity at the Berkshire Association Annual Meeting which will be held here at Old Parish on May 23rd from 4-7.
I have personally written a check for $250.00 made out to the Berkshire Association with Chile in the memo line. The Old Parish Mission Committee has voted to contribute $250.00 from their discretionary account to this cause. Together we have already contributed one third of a Blessing Cabin! 100% of the donations that come through the Berkshire Association will be used to provide homes for people who have lost theirs. If you’d like to contribute a check made out as indicated above, you can mail it to Alicia Brazie, Association Treasurer, 51 Idle Hour Road, New Marlborough, MA 01230
May God abundantly bless our Chilean brothers and sisters in need. Gloria a Dios!
Peace
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April 2010
The season of Easter is upon us. These are days of resurrection. Time for new growth. New life. New possibilities. The winter has been long. The weather cold, but the earth is again feeling the warmth of the sun – and so are we! Hallelujah!
With the arrival of spring Old Parish Church celebrates many things, yet among the most exciting will be the reception of four new members to our community of faith on Sunday, April 11. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce these fine folk to you. Please take a moment to welcome them on Sundays or as you meet them about town.
Aimée Michel is a Louisiana native whose faith was formed within Roman Catholicism. She moved from New Orleans to Gt. Barrington in 2006 with her husband John and son Sebastian. Last June, the family moved to Sheffield. While in New Orleans Aimée ran a professional Shakespeare Theater and taught at Tulane University and now teaches theater at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. As a southerner, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son in their garden or just outside in this southern most town of the county.
Ted Pitman lives in Sheffield with his wife, Susan and mother-in-law Sarah Gil. He and Susan moved to Sheffield in January 2001. He currently works as an insurance agent for Aflac. Ted is a member of the Sheffield Historical Society, the Sheffield Land Trust as well as the Rotary. His faith roots are found with the Unitarian Universalist tradition. He is noted as a historian and a gardener.
Susan Pitman was brought up a Baptist and worked as an Early Childhood Education Director for Headstart as well as Catholic Charities. She currently works for a medical facility doing insurance billing. She is a member of the Sheffield Land Trust on their Outreach committee and the Sheffield Historical Society on their education committee. She is a master gardener and a Social Historian.
Sarah Gil moved to Sheffield four years ago from Mt. Pleasant, SC to live with Susan and Ted. She was formerly a psychiatric nurse at Medical University of South Carolina. She was brought up a Baptist in Chelsea, MA, the daughter of a church musician where she grew up being the church soloist. Sarah currently spends her day gardening and caring for her beloved Bichon Frisé, Winter.
You may have noted a common theme of gardening in these brief bios! As we move into spring and a new season of planting and growth, may these wonderful seeds of faith and community reap an abundant harvest of love and service! Please join me in welcoming these fine folk to the Old Parish community.
Resurrection peace to you all!
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March 2010
Dear Friends,
With the arrival of March I am hopeful that signs of Spring will not be too far behind – even if their appearances are few and far between. As I write these reflections though, it is (finally) snowing heavily outside my window. Monterey is being blanketed in a soft layer of fluffy white stuff. After the past couple of non-storms, it is a welcomed gift. It is winter after all! And so I’m torn between enjoying an “excuse” to stay inside and have a ‘snow day,’ and longing for those teasing signs of re-creation.
This struggle happens every year – I dare say it’s part of the message of Lent. Here too, our journey takes us from ashes to azaleas, from winter to spring. Chances are good that before I write my next Messenger article, we’ll all have begun complaining about the mud left from melting snow and ground frost. (Or at least we can only hope!) Parker Palmer speaks of this more eloquently than I in his work called “Seasons.”
There is a hard truth to be told: before spring becomes beautiful, it is plug ugly, nothing but mud and muck. I have walked in the early spring through fields that will suck your boots off, a world so wet and woeful it makes you yearn for the return of ice. But in the muddy mess, the conditions for rebirth are being created…..In my own life, as winters segue into spring, I not only find it hard to cope with mud but hard to credit the small harbingers of larger life to come, hard to hope until the outcome is secure. Spring teaches me to look more carefully for the green stems of possibility: for the intuitive hunch that may turn into a larger insight, for the glance or touch that may thaw a frozen relationship, for the stranger’s act of kindness that makes the world seem hospitable again.
But for now we wait. Yet even as we wait we can consider what those ‘green stems of possibility’ might be when spring does decide to show up. We can practice being more aware. Practice listening. Allowing the mud to come as it will, trusting that God ‘will make of it the fertile soil in which something new can grow’
So, as the season of Lent progresses, we’ll don our mud boots and continue the journey together.
Peace for the journey!
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February 2010
Dear Friends,
As we move into the heart of winter we often long for signs of spring, brief periods of warmer temperatures, the noticeable lengthening of days, a feeling that there is light at the end of winter’s tunnel. Such a longing not coincidentally seems to parallel the coming of Lent – which for us comes fairly early this year.
February 17 marks our entry into this holy season. We will gather in our winter worship space for our brief service of Penitence and Ashes beginning at 7:00 p.m. Do join us for this grace-filled step into Lent.
Another of the deeply moving elements of our Lenten journey over the years has been our weekly study groups. For the wide range of folks who’ve attended, a variety of insightful and challenging topics and informative books have proven valuable to our spiritual growth.
This year I am proposing a slightly different approach to our six week sojourn.
A popular DVD series called NOOMA (a phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma meaning spirit, wind, breath) has been used in many settings with positive results. A variety of topics are addressed in a series of short films that explore our world from a perspective of Jesus. Their promotional material introduces it this way: “Jesus lived with the awareness that God is doing something, right here, right now, and anybody can be a part of it. He encouraged his listeners to search, to question, to wrestle with the implications of what he was saying and doing. He inspired, challenged, provoked, comforted, and invited people to be open to God’s work in this world. Wherever he went, whatever he did, Jesus started discussions about what matters most, because for Jesus, God is always inviting us to open our eyes and join in….NOOMA is an invitation to search, question, and join the discussion.”
So, how about it? Come join the discussion! Let’s spend these weeks together searching and opening ourselves to the presence of God at work among us. One of the benefits of this year’s approach is that it encourages an extra wide participation of folks since there is no book to read, and no ongoing topic to try to stay on top of. So come!
I invite you to look at your calendars and mark one, or as many Sunday evenings as you are able, and let us come together at 5:30 for a light supper, our brief 15 minute film and time of discussion.
Blessings and peace, Jill
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January, 2010
Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s 2010 already! How time flies. As we stand at the threshold of a new year I recently sat and reflected on the year past and the many blessings and opportunities that have come our way at Old Parish Church. In a quiet moment the other day I jotted down some highlights – an amazing list, actually – that I’d like to share with you. These are what jumped to mind (in no special order):
-Four blessed baptisms
-Three newly confirmed members
-A bylaw revision clarifying the “right and responsibility of the pastor to perform… the rites and sacraments [of the church] without regard to race, disability, ethnicity or sexual orientation.”
-Beautifully re-plastered sanctuary walls
-Cozy winter worship in the Fellowship Hall
-A very well attended Lenten study group
-A very early and cold yet fun Easter Sunrise Service (was this the 1st annual I wonder?) with breakfast at Jim Kelly’s house afterwards
-Our new Director of Children’s and Youth Ministries, Margaret Joseph
-An increase in Sunday School membership and attendance
-And then there was yet another hugely successful Antique Show; an OPC record breaking participation in the Construct Walk to Prevent Homelessness; a marvelously successful 2009 annual pledge drive; an enormously active and effective Called to Care team; plus all our faithful committees and active members who gave 110% of themselves to the ministries of this community of faith. We laughed together and cried together, celebrated with and comforted one another in a way that affirms the covenant we share. What a blessed year, indeed!
In the coming months I can already see some blessings on the horizon:
-A beautifully repainted Narthex which will include the hanging of the Bradford portraits
-A fabulously fun and inspirational 275th anniversary year
-John Wightman’s soon-to-be-published collection of essays on the history of OPC becoming a best seller!
And in the coming year I dream about others:
-Each Old Parish member will invite at least one friend to church who will find a spiritual home among us
-The extravagant and inclusive welcome of OPC will become widely known and experienced throughout south county
-Our mission and justice outreach both locally and globally will grow exponentially
These dreams are not beyond the realm of possibility for I believe that with God and a clear vision they are well within our reach. “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21,21).
Happy New Year! May it be filled with courage, conviction and peace.
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December 2009
Dear Friends,
Mine is a simple yet heartfelt Advent gift to each of you via the words of Ann Weems from her book Kneeling in Bethlehem:
An Angel-Filled Advent
Wouldn’t it be wonderful
if Advent came filled with angels and alleluias?
Wouldn’t it be perfect
if we were greeted on these December mornings
with a hovering of heavenly hosts
tuning their harps and brushing up on their fa-la-las?
Wouldn’t it be incredible
if their music filled our waking hours
with the promise of peace on earth
And if each Advent night we dreamed of nothing but goodwill?
Wouldn’t we be ecstatic
if we could take those angels shopping,
or trim the tree or have them hold our hands
and dance through our houses decorating?
And, oh, how glorious it would be
to sit in church next to an angel
and sing our hark-the-heralds!
What an Advent that would be!
What Christmas spirit we could have!
An angel-filled Advent has so many possibilities!
But in lieu of that,
perhaps we can give thanks
for the good earthly joys we have been given
and for the earthly ‘angels’ that we know
who do such a good job of filling
our Advent with alleluias!
I give thanks for the angels that you have been to our congregation, community and world. In big and small ways, often humble and practical you bless others with the gift of God’s incarnate love. May you be blessed this Advent by the presence of angels among us.
The peace of Christ be with you!
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The Rev. Jill D. Graham
Minister November 2009
Dear Friends,
With the arrival of November our lives take an annual shift. The falling of autumn leaves has prepared the way for the teasing presence of snow and the accompanying anticipation of Thanksgiving. With this shift also comes our own congregational practice of a more directed focus on Stewardship. We recognize that Stewardship cannot be compartmentalized into just a ‘fall focus’ any more than living our faith can be assigned to just one day a week. And yet these next few weeks provide us with an annual opportunity to reflect, to pray, and to respond with new energy and gratitude to God.
Our denominational Stewardship materials (to which you will be introduced later this week) highlight John 1:16, “From Jesus’ fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Through times of joy and security as well as times of challenge and pain, the ever present grace of Christ is to be found. On our stewardship materials surrounding these words from scripture are scattered loaves of bread. Bread that nourishes, bread that is the body of Christ, bread that is broken and shared in community, bread that feeds the poor, bread that becomes our many missions and ministries multiplied as on a hillside long ago.
Within the next week you will be introduced via a letter to this year’s Stewardship Team, Jim Kelly, Mandy Morgan, John Groener, Laura O’Shaughnessy and me. With the arrival of this first letter we will enter a period of discernment leading up to Stewardship Sunday on November 22 around how God might be calling us to share the resources with which we have been blessed. Our accompanying theme is this:
Multiplying Loaves of Love, as we knead our ministries of…
The ‘…’ will become your opportunity to fill in the blank. What ministries are we kneading together that have been important to you? Maybe it has been our ministry of compassion …or peace… education… or justice… hope…welcome…support….or…. You get the idea! Our list will be long and rich with blessing.
Blessings to you as we knead our loaves of love at Old Parish!
Peace, Rev. Jill
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