The Church of the Pilgrimage

4.2.26

"a beacon for good in the world"

Friends,

We are deep into Holy Week. Tonight, we will gather for the solemn celebration of Maundy-Thursday. The service commemorates The Last Supper. Before the meal, Jesus washed the feet of his Disciples modeling true Servanthood for the Twelve and for all of us. After the foot washing, the Twelve gathered at the Table with Jesus to celebrate a meal.

It is during this meal that Jesus acknowledges his betrayer as one of the Twelve and sitting at the table. And then he takes bread, blesses it, names it as his body, and offers it to his Disciples. After that, he takes the wine, blesses it, names it as his blood, and offers it to his Disciples. Each time we gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are participating in this Holy moment Jesus shared with the Twelve.

Tomorrow, Good Friday, is a three-hour deep dive into the agony of Jesus’ final hours nailed to a cross with criminals to his right and left. How does a journey into one the darkest moments in human history take on the name Good Friday? The Good of Good Friday is rooted in the older English usage of the word, which often meant “holy.” The day is “good” or “holy” as it connects God’s steadfast love and the redemption of humanity.

Sunday, Christians in the West will gather to celebrate the Resurrection. Our Orthodox siblings will gather the following Sunday, April 12^th, to celebrate the Resurrection. The reason for the different dates is a story for another day. The Resurrection of Jesus is one of the few stories that appears in all four Gospels of the New Testament and is described in other books of the New Testament.

Peace,

Rev. Tim

Bible Study

Bible study continues with Rev. Tim next week on

Tuesday, April 7^th at 10:30am & 5:30pm.

The passage for this coming Tuesday is:

Luke 24:13-35

Music Notes

This week the Church of the Pilgrimage will commemorate the events of Holy Week. On Thursday we gather at the church for the reading of the Passion story and reflect on the sacrifice made for us all. The prelude will be the Via Dolorosa by Aivars Kalējs (b.1951). Kalējs is the organist at the Cathedral in Riga, the capitol city of Latvia in eastern Europe. During the Soviet occupation of Latvia, the Cathedral in Riga, known as the Riga Dom, was allowed to remain open as an historical artifact. Most religious items including the altar were removed and the building served as a concert hall. Today the Riga Dom once again serves as the Cathedral church for Latvia. 

The composition Via Dolorosa was written by Aivars Kalējs in 1992 soon after the fall of the Soviet regime. This composition has elicited greater response from listeners more than any thing else I have ever played. I am pleased to be able to offer this remarkable work once again at the evening service on Maunday Thursday.

The score is headed by the following inscription:

Offered in remembrance of the sacrifices made during the Soviet Occupation in Latvia 1940-1941, 1945-1991; especially for the lost Latvian families deported to Siberia.

The prelude on Easter Sunday is from the hand of John Rutter (b.1945). Rutter is best known for his wonderful choral compositions, particularly carols for the Christmas season. His Candlelight Carol has been a favorite at the Church of the Pilgrimage for many years. Other popular compositions include All Things Bright and Beautiful, For the beauty of the Earth and The Lord Bless You and Keep You. Rutter’s organ compositions are relatively rare. This composition Festive Bells expresses the unmitigated joy of Easter morning!

The postlude is the wonderful Festival Toccata by Percy Fletcher (1879-1932). Fletcher was mainly a composer of secular music. He was director of music at Her Majesty’s Theater for many years. The Festival Toccata is a fun celebratory piece that uses the full resources of the organ.

Enjoy!



--Michael Eaton

 Maunday Thursday Service

The Deacons would like to invite you to our annual Maunday Thursday Service (with Communion) which will be held at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 2 this year.

This service can be a deeply moving experience as it focuses on the last hours Christ spent with his disciples and it prepares us to truly celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Please consider making this part of your Holy Week experience.

Palm Sunday

Soup Supper

The Deacons and Mission Outreach Team are sponsoring a soup supper on Thursday, April 9 at 6pm. 

A presentation will be made by Lewis Randa who is the founder of The Peace Abbey Foundation.  You may know that his local office is in the JRC, and he has been very involved in the Together We C.A.N. program that supports our local immigrants.  Founded in 1988, the foundation conducts and supports programs that bring together and promote the cooperation of people of different faith traditions and non-theists as well. They do this in the spirit of the 1986 International Day of Prayer for World Peace, as celebrated that year by religious leaders from around the globe in Assisi, Italy.  

It should be quite an interesting evening.  If you plan to attend, please sign up at coffee hour or email Nancy Morse at kiltedlady@verizon.net.

Annual Report

It is that time of year again! The 2026 Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, May 3^rd.

Ministry Teams are asked to submit their annual reports to the church office by Monday, April 6th.

Portrait

Generous contributions from congregation members have brought us about 1/3 of the way toward our goal of $1950 for the professional portrait of Rev. Tim. If you would like to assist in this project, please write “Pastor Portrait” in the memo line of your check, and send it to the Office at 8 Town Square or put It in the Sunday offering plate.

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

Rick Dower, Moderator

Church Council

Your Church Council, consisting of the Church Officers and Ministry Team and UCC Delegation representatives, meets most months at 7:00 pm on the 4th Tuesday to coordinate and review programs of the church. Our Minutes of last month’s meeting are available here. 

Congregation members are welcome at any Council meeting. Since we often meet on Zoom, if you would like to attend a meeting and see some of the work of the church that goes on behind the scenes, please contact Moderator Rick Dower (rickdower@gmail.com) in advance to obtain the Zoom invitation.

Plymouth Community Trust Bylaw

The Plymouth Community Trust Bylaw is coming up for a vote by Town Meeting Members at the April 11 Annual Town Meeting. Codification of this by-law will prohibit Plymouth Law Enforcement from performing the duties of ICE agents, and instead permit them to focus their time on protecting the residents of Plymouth. 

There will be several paper copies of the proposed bylaw available for you to look at in Allerton Hall during coffee hour. 

PLEASE HELP. Each of us can write an email to our Town Meeting Members (TMMs), urging them to vote in favor of passing this by law. Use these instructions.

You may use the sample letter below or create your own.

1. If you do not know your precinct # you can find it here.

2. When you know your precinct number, go to this link on the Town website. Then click on your precinct #.

3.   Click Contact Board Members.

4.   Complete the form using the sample script below. 

 Re: Plymouth Community Trust By-Law

I urge you to support the Community Trust By-Law. By codifying our existing procedures, this law guarantees permanent legislative oversight .Since it can only be repealed by a Town Meeting, the law remains protected from outside political pressure and changing personnel.

I urge you to voice your support.

Your Name and Address

Thank you for helping to pass this important document. 

Judy Donn

774-454-4291

Social Action



IMPORTANT MEETING OF THE SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE

Come and participate in this meeting to decide the Committee’s future leadership, direction and focus.

Current members and newcomers all welcome. 

Sunday, April 12  11:40 - 12:40 

The Marks Room in the John Robinson Center

Judy Donn

774-454-4291

Palm Sunday Communion

First, I would like to thank everyone who helped in any way with our annual Palm Sunday breakfast.  It was great!

I have received several questions about Communion and why two of our children were asked to help serve it.  It is true that the honor of serving Communion is restricted to current or former Deacons.  But, that “rule” used to be relaxed every Palm Sunday so that the current Confirmation class could participate in the serving of the Elements.  We have not had an active Confirmation class for many years and we continue to search for ways to involve our children in the life of the church.  Please know that our two young servers met with me and Val before the service started for a lesson on “The Last Supper”, what Communion represents and why we continue to honor a tradition that was started so long ago.  Also, they were not alone while serving Communion.  Val and I stayed with them throughout the entire service to ensure that they followed the procedure we had talked about earlier.

Hope this helps explain the change of participation during our Palm Sunday Breakfast Communion service.

Blessings,

Linn

Looking for Assitance

The Communications Committee is looking for a volunteer to coordinate social media for the church. We currently have a FaceBook page, and we want to explore other platforms to expand our social media presence.



If you are interested, please contact Moderator Rick Dower (rickdower@gmail.com).

Easter

This Easter, trade the plastic easter-eggs and chemical dyes for an eco-friendly Easter celebration. Try dying local/free range chicken eggs with dyes from beets, onions, and cabbages for a fun and natural holiday craft!

Parking for Newcomers

Reminder that paid parking recommences on April 1

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

• April 2: Maunday Thursday Service, 7:00pm
• April 3: Good Friday - Quiet Meditation 12:00-2:00pm
• April 5: Easter Sunrise Service - Cole's Hill, 6:00am
• April 5: Easter Festival Service, 10:00am
• April 6: Monday Meals
• April 7: Bible Study 10:30am & 5:30pm
• April 8: Men's Bible Study, 7:00pm
• April 8: Choir, 7:00pm
• April 9: Soup Supper