The Church of the Pilgrimage

2.26.26

"a beacon for good in the world"

Friends,

The Blizzard of 2026 has me thinking about snow. This led me to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Snow-flakes.” We had more than a few snow-flakes during the Blizzard of 2026. The impact of this snowstorm is far reaching and record-breaking. As I write, there are many in our community, myself included, who remain without electricity and heat. We are checking in on one another and providing shelter for those who don’t have power or heat.

On the surface, Longfellow’s poem “Snow-flakes” feels almost serene. It evokes scenes of snow-covered landscapes that only the day before were barren and lifeless. Leaving one with a sense of beauty. However, Longfellow isn’t really writing about the beauty of falling snow. He’s using the snow as a metaphor for emotional confession—the way grief, long suppressed, eventually finds expression. The snow is the sky’s hidden sorrow finally made visible. 

We are in the midst of Lent, a time for emotional confession. In the second stanza Longfellow begins his confession. He draws a parallel between two kinds of revelation: the way a vague inner feeling (“cloudy fancies”) suddenly crystallizes into clear expression, and the way a “troubled heart” confesses itself through outward appearance—“the white countenance.” Both are images of something interior becoming visible. The snow is the sky doing exactly that. What is the something interior in your life that is becoming visible during your Lenten pilgrimage?

In Longfellow’s confession there is something almost sacramental. He is unburdening himself of what has been carried secretly possibly for years. The sky “hoards” its grief in clouds and then whispers it to the world through snow. The Blizzard of 2026 seems to have been the unburdening of a significant amount of grief given the snowfall totals across the region.

The closing image—the secret “now whispered and revealed/To wood and field”—suggests that nature itself is the only appropriate audience for this kind of sorrow. Not people, not society. Just the bare, wintering world. If you don’t know, Longfellow was a Unitarian and therefore lifting up nature as the only audience fits with his theological perspective. As Christians, Jesus is the “audience” for our unburdening. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus invites us to lay our burdens upon him:

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”



“Snow-flakes”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Out of the bosom of the Air, 

      Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, 

Over the woodlands brown and bare, 

      Over the harvest-fields forsaken, 

            Silent, and soft, and slow 

            Descends the snow. 

Even as our cloudy fancies take 

      Suddenly shape in some divine expression, 

Even as the troubled heart doth make 

      In the white countenance confession, 

            The troubled sky reveals 

            The grief it feels. 

This is the poem of the air, 

      Slowly in silent syllables recorded; 

This is the secret of despair, 

      Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded, 

            Now whispered and revealed 

            To wood and field.

Peace,

Rev. Tim

Bible Study

Bible study continues with Rev. Tim next week on

Tuesday, March 3^rd at 10:30am & 5:30pm.

The passage for this coming Tuesday is:

John 9:1-41

Music Notes

The prelude this week, Prelude on the Tune ‘Caswell’, is a beautiful piece by Malcolm Archer (b. 1952) of Great Britain. The tune is from an older hymn Glory Be to Jesus Who in Bitter Pains. Archer created a lovely composition well suited this season of Lent.

The postlude an arrangement of the hymn Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow. This composition is by Charles Callahan (1951-2023). A resident of Vermont, Callahan was a noted composer, organist and teacher. He was also a sought-after historian and consultant of organ history and design. This is a beautiful composition, well-suited to our instrument.  

Enjoy!



--Michael Eaton

Family Message

From Missions

As a reminder, the Missions Team is having another food drive this Sunday, March 1, from 9-11:30. Please consider the following items:

Oranges (Mandarins or other), coffee, sugar, flour, cake and brownie mixes, quart-sized juice, dish soap, small bottles of laundry detergent, tooth paste, canned kidney beans, smaller jars of mayonnaise, diapers, paper goods, canned tuna, canned chicken, canned vegetables, shelf-stable milk (Parmalot, available at the Dollar Store and others), hearty soups, condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.) pasta, cereal, boxed juices, kids snacks, peanut butter, jelly, cookies.

Of course, any non-perishable items are always welcome. Many thanks for your generosity in helping our neighbors.

Nancy

Lenten Study Group

All the Light

Mark Twain said that “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

Given current circumstances, in our nation and around the world, well we might wonder if Twain was right.  There’s an all-too-familiar darkness that hovers over us and too easily infiltrates our lives.  Is there light, either at the end of the tunnel, or possibly to be discovered along the way?

Author Anthony Doerr’s novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” speaks to this.  I invite you to read (or re-read) the book and join me at the JRC for a discussion of it on the following dates during Lent:

Due to the parking ban - this study group will start on Friday, March 13^th.

Friday, March 13 - 10:30-12.00

    “     March 20 - 10:30-12.00

    “     March 27 - 10:30-12.00

Hope to see you there!

Rev. Bill McCoy

Meeting of the Social Action Committee

The next meeting of the Social Action Committee will be in two weeks – – Sunday, March 8, right after church. It will be held upstairs in the Great Room of the JRC. We will have a special guest speaker: community leader, politician, and writer Art Desloges. Art is involved in many of the political and civic issues facing Plymouth. Please come, hear, Art speak, and bring your questions with you!



Judy Donn

774-454-4291

From Your Missions & Outreach Committee

Can You Help?

The Mission & Outreach Committee will be continuing the Church of the Pilgrimage’s long tradition of supporting the Plymouth Taskforce to End Homelessness’s Overnights of Hospitality program. The Plymouth Taskforce to End Homelessness provides overnight shelter during the winter months. This year we will be providing and (serving) dinner as well as supplying breakfast-to-go on March 12^th.

Volunteers are also needed ( on 3/12) to provide the entrée ( we are currently signed up for Shepherd’s Pie) for approximately 18 people. We also need volunteers to provide vegetables and/or salad, bread & butter, dessert, a gallon of water, a gallon of whole milk and a quart of half n half. In addition, we are looking for a case of water bottles, bananas, packaged cereal or granola bars, and packaged peanut butter/cheese crackers.

If you would like to help please contact Charlene Moore at plymoore@comcast.net or at 617-688-0188 for more details. For more information on the program please go to Plymouth-taskforce-homeless.org

Thank you.

Plymouth Fragment Society

For some time now, the congregation has supported the work of the Plymouth Fragent Society, a small, local charity which provides aid to Plymouth residents in need.

The society was founded in 1818, and is one of the oldest charities in the country. Our mission is to provide a hand up, not a handout to local people who find themselves in difficult circumstances. Our aid is one time only, and covers such things a s rent, utility and tax bills, car repairs, insurance, and schooling costs. People must fill out an application and provide copies of bills, so that we can decide if, and how to help them. We ant to be sure that our aid provides not just a band aid solution, but will actually enable the recipient to move forward.

We rely on member dues ($50 for lifetime memberships), our investments, bequests, help from organizations like the church, individual donations and occasional fundraisers.

For more info go to: https://www.plymouthfragmentsociety.org

and/or read the article from the Plymouth Independant

https://www.plymouthindependent.org/the-plymouth-fragment-society

We truly appreciate your support as we try to help our neighbors get through challenging times.  



Thank you so much!

Joyce Ashley, Board Member

Welcome Table

The Membership and Evangelism Team is beginning an initiative. It is an informal Welcome Table in Allerton Hall during Coffee Hour. The idea is simple! Beginning on Sunday, March 1st, we will place a “Welcome” sign on the round table nearest the front of the church on the ocean side. 

Our goal is to have all newcomers to our church feel welcomed and comfortable when they come to Coffee Hour.  For many people, coming to a Coffee Hour is very intimidating. Recently, I said hello to a woman at Coffee Hour and she replied, ”I was just that praying someone would come talk to me”. 

How Can You Help?  We are asking everyone in our church family to help with this welcoming effort. If you meet someone new at Church, please invite them to Coffee Hour and invite them to sit with you at the Welcome Table. If you see someone new sitting at the table, please go and chat. Here are a few hints for the easiest topics of conversation: are you new to Plymouth; what brought you to our church; did you enjoy the service? Also, you can share what you like best about our church and, if possible introduce the person to others.   

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me at gburycronin@gmaill.com or any member of the Membership Team.  Thank you

Submitted by Pat Cronin, Co-chair Membership and Evangelism Team. 

Portrait

The Church Council, working with the Deacons, would like to get a professional portrait of Rev. Tim to put on the wall of the entrance lobby below the Narthex.

We have a quote and are looking for volunteers to help cover the cost of the portrait and frame. If you would like to contribute, please send a check to the Office (8 Town Square) or put it in the Sunday offering plate, and write “Pastor Portrait“ on the Memo line. All contributions will be gratefully accepted.

Rev. Tim has brought renewed vitality to our church. We want to show his engaging countenance to friends and visitors.

Rick Dower, Moderator

Lenten Devotionals

Lift Up Your Hearts, a Lenten Daily Devotional for Families is now available on the table in the upper vestibule at the church.

Also available on the table are limited copies of; Taste and See. This is a book of Reflection, Remembrance (and Recipes) for Holiday gatherings.

Copies of both booklets are also available in the church office.

Rest and Reflect

​

Winter is a time of rest and renewal for the earth and for God’s creatures, including us. How does winter reflect the Sabbath? How can you invite the practice of Sabbath into your life this season?

Parking for Newcomers

Beginning December 1st, public parking is free until April.

A reminder that on Sundays most of us park on School St., Main St. Extension (3 handicap), Summer St. (4 hours), and in the Market St. and Middle St. lots. Park Plymouth has informally agreed to not start ticketing vehicles near the church until noon on Sundays. One can get parking permits from Park Plymouth at 4 North Street; ph. 508.747.5929; www.parkplymouth.com. If you have questions, please speak with Mike Eaton.

Church Office Hours



Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:30am - 4:00pm

Wednesday 10:00am - 5:30pm

508-746-3026

office@8townsquare.org

On The Calendar

• March 1: Worship, 10:00am; Food Drive, 9:00-11:00am
• March 2: Monday Meals
• March 3: Bible Study, 10:30am & 5:30pm
• March 4: Coffee & Conversation, 2:00pm; Music, 6:15pm; Choir Rehearsal, 7:00pm
• March 5: Membership, 4:00pm