Join us as we celebrate this extraordinary young woman (who was baptized into the church on August 18^th, 1771). Join us following each service as we promenade to the Boston Women's Memorial to fete Phillis Wheatley on the occasion of her birthday. You are also welcome to view the recently updated Phillis Wheatley Room (4^th Floor) including her portrait and a historical display.

MELVIN B. MILLER

TO RECEIVE OPEN DOOR AWARD

Click here for more info

This Sunday Old South is pleased to recognize Melvin B. Miller with its Open Door Award, presented annually on Phillis Wheatley Sunday to a hero of social justice, inclusivity and equity. Mr. Miller is a renowned journalist and publisher with more than 50 years of active involvement in Boston's political and public affairs. He founded the Bay State Banner in 1965, a weekly newspaper advocating for the interests of Boston's African American community, and served as publisher and editor until his recent retirement. Miller has championed civil rights and social justice throughout his career, shaping the conversation around these issues in Boston and beyond.

THIS SUNDAY, May 14^th

9AM

FIRST Worship Informal & Vibrant in the Gordon Chapel

June Cooper preaching

Coffee Hour following

Phillis Wheatley Promenade

10AM Community Hour

Festival Choir Rehearsal

Church School

11AM

FESTIVAL Worship

Grand & Expressive in the Sanctuary

June Cooper preaching

Coffee Hour following

Phillis Wheatley Promenade

For links to bulletins

and the worship livestream

go to oldsouth.org/Sundays.

WORSHIP ON YOUTUBE LIVE

Not a fan of Vimeo? We have a way for you to tune in to worship! Simply go to youtube.com/OldSouthChurch to visit our YouTube page once we go live and the service will be the first video on your screen. You can also subscribe to us to receive notifications of when we're live.

VESPERS HEALING WORSHIP - This Sunday, May 14^th at 5pm

On Zoom, Click here to join

Please join us to take a moment for rest and renewal in the presence of God and other spiritual companions gathering by Zoom. All are welcome to share this quiet space and lift up our concerns, our losses, our hurts, and our celebrations in the Healing Presence of God and one another.

JAZZ WORSHIP

Thursdays, 6pm, in the Gordon Chapel or at oldsouth.org/jazz

Join us on in Gordon Chapel on Thursday evening for Jazz Worship! You don’t have to be a jazz aficionado to feel at home - just someone who wants to immerse yourself in soulful music, inspiring words, and creative liturgy. It’s intimate and it’s welcoming. We start preludes shortly before 6:00 pm.

CELEBRATING HELEN MCCRADY

HELEN CELEBRATION DAY

Sunday, May 21^st

We hope that you'll join us at church (in person if you can) for the tributes and accolades, the prayers and blessings, the laughter and tears and gratitude with which we'll send Helen off into retirement, and mark an important milestone in the story of Old South. There will be commissionings at both First and Festival Worship, and a festive celebration at the Fellowship Hour following the Festival service (beginning at about Noon). A group led by Candace Kosturko has been hatching plans that will include music, photographs, tributes, and blessings. Don't miss it!

HELEN'S RETIREMENT PURSE

In keeping with Old South tradition, as our gift to honor Helen's service we're gathering a purse to enable her and John to celebrate retirement in style - and at their discretion! (In this case, keeping this tradition is a tad more complicated than usual because for two decades it's been Helen herself who has marshaled such collections!) If you prefer electronic donation, go to https://oldsouth.org/donate and add your contribution to the collection for Helen. Or you can simply write a good old-fashioned check with "Helen's retirement" on the memo line (made out to Old South) and mail it to the church (attention: Alex Pickering) or drop it in the offering plate on Sunday. Alex, our Administrative Assistant, will be screening the mail so that checks for the purse are carefully put aside before Helen digs into the mail. Gifts can be made any time between now and May 21^st - and will be accounted so as to ensure tax deductibility for contributors.

LEAVE HELEN KUDOS

Click here to leave a memory or tribute before May 21st

Candace Kosturko and the celebration planners - Christine del Favero, Karen Hand, Kathy Wade, Ralph Watson and Stephanie LaShoto-Westfield - have created a special vessel for tributes, remembrances, well-wishes on a very user-friendly website called KUDOBOARD. You can add photos (and video!), tributes and memories at will, any time between now and Helen Celebration Day. Though Helen is aware of this in-gathering of well-wishes and kudos, she won't be monitoring this site - so whatever you post won't be unveiled for her until May 21^st. The plan is to make all the kudos into a book and a slide show, so the more the better!

STAFFING NEWS

SEEKING STAFF ACCOUNTANT

Click here to read the full announcement

Old South Church in Boston is seeking a full-time Staff Accountant to execute the day-to-day duties of the business office including paying invoices, completing payroll bi-weekly, basic HR duties, making bank deposits, data entry, and maintaining and monitoring financial records.

GROWING AND LIVING IN COMMUNITY

BOSTON HANDBELL FESTIVAL

Tuesday, May 16^th, 7:30pm, Free Admission

On the third Tuesday of May, Old South Church plays host to the Boston Handbell Festival, an annual celebration of handbell musicianship co-sponsored by the Back Bay Ringers and Old South. The Boston Handbell Festival brings together local community handbell ensembles–the Back Bay Ringers, Merrimack Valley Ringers, New England Ringers, and Old South Ringers–and an invited guest choir - the Highland Ringers of Danvers, MA - for an evening of massed and solo ringing in Old South’s beautiful sanctuary. The concert is free and open to the public. A freewill offering will be taken to support Back Bay Ringers' Chime donation program.

OLD SOUTH FORUM

Sundays, 10am 2^nd Floor Mary Norton Hall,

and on Zoom, password: Community

This casual, no-commitment, come-when-you-can forum hosts series on a variety of topics. Clergy, congregation members, and special guests share in leading sessions.

Theology Deep Dive

We'll wrap up the Forum program year with a word from our clergy leaders about those areas of theology that get them most excited. How does theology shape their ministry work, and what growing edges are they exploring in these areas?

May 21^st

Rick Spalding will lead a discussion about Interfaith Engagement.

May 28^th

Ashley Popperson will lead a discussion about Theopoetics

VOLUNTEER WITH OUR PARTNERS:

MATTAPAN FOOD AND FITNESS COALITION

Click here to sign up

Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition is one of our Christian Service and Outreach Grantees. In addition to their amazing work advocating for community health, they operate the Mattapan Square Farmer's Market. Helping with the Farmer's Market is one of the ways that Old Southers can volunteer and make a difference in partnership with this great organization. The market runs on Saturdays from July to October and typically sees 200-400 shoppers per week. It is not only a place to purchase healthy food, but also serves as a place to bring residents together and as a resource for health education and other social issues. The market's 17th season starts July 8, 2023 and ends October 28, 2023. There are lots of ways to help.

SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR

2023 CHRISTIAN SERVICE & OUTREACH COMMITTEE GRANTEES

The Christian Service & Outreach Committee (CSOC) continues Old South’s history of service by supporting the work of local non-profits through grant giving and by connecting our grantees with the vast human capital our congregation has to offer. We will be making one new grant award in 2023 and are soliciting recommendations from the congregation for organizations to consider. Grant awards are typically $20,000 per year for a maximum of three years. We are particularly interested in learning about Boston-based non-profits that serve the local Boston community, with a focus on organizations led by people with lived experience on the issues they are addressing. Please submit any recommendations via this form by Friday, May 26^th.

GREEN TIP: Don't Idle

We idle our cars often and don’t even think about it – like in drive-throughs, in traffic, and waiting to pick up our kids. But letting your car idle is bad for the environment. According to the US Department of Energy, idling reduces your vehicle’s fuel economy, costs you money, and creates pollution. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more emissions that contribute to smog and climate change than stopping and restarting your engine does.