Old North has a new logo! Thanks to Jennifer Tips for her creative work, and to all the ONC church members who voted and provided feedback on the draft logo designs.

We collected 21 pairs of eyeglasses and 2 cell phones last Sunday's Earth Day Celebration. We also had 6 volunteers sign up for tending the Village School Organic Garden and 6 more sign up to plant native trees and shrubs with the Marblehead Conservancy on May 23rd.

If you were unable to attend but would like to help at the Village School Organic Garden to grow, harvest and deliver vegetables for the Marblehead Food Pantry, contact Ruth Duell at reduell@gmail.com. And more volunteer positions are available for planting natives with the Marblehead Conservancy on May 23. Contact Don Morgan at dl.morgan@verizon.net to sign up.

Sustainable Marblehead will be hosting its 3rd Green Homes Tour this coming Saturday, May 2nd from 10am to 2pm.

The GHT offers a chance to step inside Marblehead homes and see how your neighbors are making practical, meaningful upgrades. This year's tour features nine homes, including five new properties. The homes of Old North members Jean-Jaques and Louise Yarmoff plus Mark and Marge Adams will be included on the Tour this year.

Each home tells a slightly different story. Some have added insulation or new windows to improve comfort. Others have installed heat pumps, solar panels, or other technologies to reduce energy use and lower utility bills. Together, they show that there’s no single path, but a range of options that homeowners can explore over time. Visitors can see upgrades in action, ask homeowners questions, and come away with a clearer sense of what might work in their own space.

More information about the Tour and registration can be found here: https://www.sustainablemarblehead.org/greenhomestour.

Alexandra Garfield, who leads our Prayer Shawl Ministries, and Rev. Christine met with a diverse group two weeks ago to explore our prayer shawl ministries and brainstorm ways that people of all ages can participate in our knitting ministries. 

This Sunday, Rev. Christine will be available at Stacey Street from 9-9:45am to follow-up with those who attended, provide an introduction to those who are interested, and offer knitting instruction to anyone interested to learn.  

Please RSVP to Rev. Christine (revchristinehribar@gmail.com)

Marblehead is facing a critical budget decision: a Proposition 2½ general override on the upcoming Town Meeting ballot that would address a $7.7 million structural deficit driven by rising costs for schools, public safety, and town services that have outpaced the state's 2.5% tax revenue cap for years. Select Board member Erin Noonan will join church members Adam Smith and Dave Weber to walk through what the override means, how the tiered options work, and what happens to our schools and services if it doesn't pass. Join us for this informational session to get the facts you need before Town Meeting on May 4 and the ballot vote on June 9. 

JAZZ SUNDAY will take place on Sunday, May 10 (Mother's Day)! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the 10am Service on Sunday, May 10, for our annual celebration of sacred jazz. The entire service is devoted to worship through music with beloved gospel hymns and heartfelt melodies led by our amazing soloists and sung by our enthusiastic and gifted Senior Choir, with electrifying accompaniment provided by three incomparable jazz artists!

We are thrilled and honored to welcome back our guest artists – by popular demand! Mark Shilansky, piano; Dave Clark, bass, and Jeff Stout, trumpet– all preeminent in their field with accolades too numerous to list – will join us for our tenth annual Jazz Sunday. We encourage you to arrive early to enjoy spectacular jazz prelude music!  

The annual collection for the Music Patrons Fund will take place on Sunday, May 10.  Many of you will have received the Music Patrons Fund letter in the mail, but if you would like to access our appeal, please click HERE. 

If you did not receive a Music Patrons Fund letter in the mail but would like to be added to the mailing list, please let us know by sending an email to the church office at office@onchurch.org.  

Contributions to the Music Patrons Fund are gratefully accepted throughout the year and can be mailed to the church office at 8 Stacey Street. Checks should be made payable to Old North Church, with the words “Music Patrons Fund” clearly written in the MEMO line.  Online payments are possible by visiting the Old North Church Website. Thank you!

Wednesday, June 10, 7pm: A community Beatles Sing Along led by Mark Shilansky (piano), Eric Byers (guitar), and former Paul McCartney drummer Dave Mattacks (who lives in Marblehead!). 

A free -will offering will be taken to benefit the Old North Festival Chorus.

Friday, June 19, 7:30pm:  OnWeGo is a collaboration between David Thorne Scott (voice/bass), Mark Shilansky (piano/voice), Sara Caswell (violin), and Eric Byers (guitar/voice) embracing jazz, popular, and world music, with an emphasis on vocal harmony and collective improvisation. Original songs are heard side by side with carefully chosen covers, in arrangements that feature the group members’ virtuoso playing and telepathic interplay.

A free -will offering will be gratefully accepted.

There is an opening for flower donations for May 31. If you would like to donate, please mail a check for $60 to 8 Stacey Street, and include “May 31 Flowers” in the MEMO.



You can also email bonnietim@comcast.net with your flower dedication to a loved one.

As you can see, the construction scaffolding is now up in the center section of the granite facade of the church, reaching up to the top of the bell tower where we mounted the traditional “topping up” flag. The next step, which will start next week, is to extend the scaffold to the sides of the front wall, and then begin re-pointing it over about a month. The renovation of the Bell Tower will follow, beginning in June.

Much of this remaining construction work is on the exterior, so speed and completion will be dictated in part by how many rainy days there are this spring and summer. We are confident that these final two Capital Campaign projects will be completed by the end of August when services return from the Lighthouse.

The Leadership board meeting minutes were approved and are now available for your review through this link.

Please use this link to register your child(ren) who must be registered on the first day they come to the nursery or church school or register your Middle or High Schooler to be connected to age-appropriate activities. Please fill out the form even if you've filled it out in the past. Thank you!

The Narthex Display for Spring/Summer

The Narthex display for Spring/Summer – America’s 250th! "First Church Members in the Revolution” In honor of America’s birthday, the narthex display through the summer features historical members of the congregation who were heroes in the cause for Independence as well as modern ones who portray them.

A monastic practice of scripture, reflection and prayer dating back to the 4^th century, at Old North lectio divina has been adapted and practiced for more than ten years every Tuesday morning from 9 to about 10:30 am. We all take turns being the leader to select the readings.

We have welcomed newcomers, some not from Old North, who seem to find soul food in the practice and the shared reflections that are part of it. 

We meet at 9 am both in person in the “Great Room” on Stacey St. and on Zoom.

We begin each meeting with a context-setting call to worship. Then we pair a scripture reading with a poem, chosen by the leader for the day and read aloud. We then move into 21 minutes of silent meditation, marked by chimes, and finally we share in “safe space” our responses – personal and intellectual. We end each session with prayers for healing and the Lord’s Prayer.



It is a rich time of being together in community and quite like no other. We invite you to give it a try.