Sunday School and Nursery Care

Teaching and nurturing children is part of who we are at Old North. There will be Sunday school and nursery care every Sunday during the 10am service.

Our nursery is open for children three months to 4ish year, starting at 9:50, but you may bring your little ones there at any point in the service. Sunday school (for kids aged four through 12) begins partway through the church service, following the "Moments with Children" during worship. Children will join their families for communion.

You can register your children for Nursery Care and Sunday School online at bit.ly/ONCkids

Introducing Old North's New Associate Pastor

 Rev. Christine Hribar

It was a unanimous and joyful vote last Sunday to affirm Christine as our new Associate Pastor! She will be leading worship, preaching once a month, and taking leadership over our children and family programming. Rev. Christine is a Designated Term Associate Pastor, which means she has a contract with us that ends in 2 years. You can reach Christine at revchristinehribar@gmail.com or by phone at 781-631-1244 x105. Please join us in welcoming her to the church!

Here is a photo of Rev. Lindsay with Rev. Christine following the successful candidating vote!

Donations for Hurricane Relief in North Carolina

We all have been shocked and saddened by the destruction and loss of lives, homes, and infrastructure wreaked by Hurricane Helene this past week. Reverend Lindsay Popperson and Lisa Nahatis have been in touch with people in the hardest hit region of western North Carolina, including our former Associate Pastor Karla Miller in Hendersonville. Thankfully, Karla and her spouse are safe, but over 160 others are already known to have died.



The Outreach Ministry Board has voted to donate $500 of your tithes to World Central Kitchen (WCK), which has been distributing emergency food and water including by helicopter to those in need in North Carolina as well as Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. If you would like to personally donate money to the relief efforts there, the OMB can recommend World Central Kitchen at wck.org or a local Asheville nonprofit, BeLoved Asheville, at https://belovedasheville.com/get-involved.



We will also stay in touch with Karla so that Old North can potentially also help address specific needs as they are identified by her church and its members as they attempt to recover and rebuild.

Next NSYM Friday Night Hangout will be Tomorrow Night, Friday, October 4

The NSYM will be having Friday Night hangouts for both Middle and High Schoolers. The next one will be a Movie Night - Hocus Pocus at the beach! Meet at Fisherman’s Beach at 6:15 (movie starts at 6:30!). We will have movie snacks and candy. Please bring a blanket, towel, or chair to sit on as well as something to keep warm. Pick up at Fisherman’s Beach at 9.

There will be two more NSYM Friday Night Hangouts for both Middle and High Schoolers in the month of October:

· 10/11: Bonfire at St Andrews! We’ll meet at St. Andrews from 7-9 pm for a bonfire with some s’mores. It’s likely to be chilly so make sure to bring a coat!

· 10/25: Halloween Celebration! More details to come in the next few weeks.

NSYM Meeting this Sunday, October 6 at ONC

The NSYM will meet Sundays and will rotate Church host locations. Middle school age youth (6th-8th grades) will be meeting from 3:30-5:30pm and High School (9th-12th grades) from 6-8 pm.

The schedule location is as follows:

•  10/6: Old North Church
•  NO YOUTH GROUP 10/13
• 10/20: Clifton Lutheran Church 
• 10/27: Special Group! Rev. Lindsay’s installation as senior minister at Old North Church is at 3 pm on the 27th, which everyone is welcome to! The youth will be assisting in the service (more info to come!). After the installation, we’ll have food and games, and we’ll talk about what we saw, heard, and did. Pick up will be at 5:30.

We will also be having Friday Night hangouts for both Middle and High Schoolers. The next one will be a Movie Night at First Church Swampscott on Friday, October 4. from 6:30-9 pm! We’ll have pizza and snacks.

North Shore Youth Ministry (NSYM)

Jess Easter (She/Her) has started as the new youth pastor serving the Marblehead Youth Collaborative Ministry. Based on initial meetings, the youth have chosen to rename the group the “North Shore Youth Ministry” or NSYM for short. If finding a ride to any youth events is ever an issue, please reach out to Jess as she can make connections between families to make sure our youth have the opportunity to join!

Service of Installation for Pastor Lindsay

Sunday October 27, 3pm

Our church will hold a Service of Installation for our new senior minister on October 27 at 3pm. This is a time for us to join with clergy from other area churches to celebrate with our congregation as we embark on our shared ministry. Please plan to attend! 

See You at the Fair

The Old North Church Holiday Fair will be held on November 23rd from 9:30 - 1:30 in the Parish Hall. This is an ALL CHURCH event and we're hoping that everyone will participate in some way to make this Fair a success!!!!

Food is always an enticement, so to start things off - breakfast will be served starting at 9:30 followed a bit later by our ever popular lobster roll or chicken salad roll lunch. If you desire something to satisfy your sweet tooth, meander over to the Bake Table and select the solution and/or take something home for your Thanksgiving spread. 

Bring your children and grandchildren and their friends as we'll have lots for them to do. In addition to the Children's Book Exchange, there will be opportunities to create Thanksgiving cards for the fire, police and EMTs, and big crafting area with many unique projects to keep them busy.

Ginny von Rueden will be offering crafts and jewelry at the Africa Table the proceeds of which will be going to the Outreach Ministry Board.

The Fair Flyer lists areas where your donations would be appreciated and the person/people to contact with questions and offerings. Since the church has limited storage capability, we would appreciate if you deliver your donations to the Parish Hall on the 21st of November. If that isn't possible, please contact the appropriate person to make arrangements for an earlier drop off.  

Thanks so much to everyone for their help, contributions and support. The ONC Holiday Fair will not succeed without your help!!!!!!

Church Fair, Personal/Home Services

A popular service offering from past fairs were rides to Logan Airport, and rides to and from North Shore area appointments. We would like to offer these again, but we need driver volunteers. All rides will be limited to daytime hours (no early morning or late evenings). To signal your possible willingness to volunteer to provide one of these worthwhile services in connection with our Church Fair, please contact Dave Hostetter via text to 781-631-3216 or email to daveh.racer@gmail.

Rehearsals for the 44^th Annual Festival Chorus Holiday Concerts are underway! 

There is still time to join the Festival Chorus – all singers are welcome! Auditions are not required, but previous choral experience is expected. Singers need to purchase their musical scores (provided at rehearsal) and there is a nominal registration fee.

Rehearsals will take place from 7:30pm-9pm every Wednesday and will extend to 9:30pm as the concert dates approach. This year’s program is highlighted by Magnificat in D, by Jan Dismas Zelenka; other choral works include Felix Mendelssohn’s Christmas Cantata, Vom Himmel Hoch (From Heaven on High), and for the colorful, fun, and “pops” portion of the concert, International Carol Suites: Carols of the Americas arranged by Mark Hayes, The Bellringer’s Holiday arranged by Randol Bass, and other seasonal favorites. 

High school students in grades 9-12 are encouraged to join our adult singers of all ages. Each section is led, and encouraged by, our wonderful professional soloist/section leaders from the regular Old North Church music program.



For more information or to download a Registration Form, please visit the Festival Chorus Website at: www.oldnorthfestivalchorus.org or contact Maria vanKalken, Director of the Old North Festival Chorus, at: vankalken@gmail.com.

Other Singing Opportunities!

The UCC Northeast Association Music Festival will take place on Sunday November 3rd at 3pm at First Church Congregational of Swampscott. All interested singers are welcome to join the Festival Choir or simply attend and join in the singing of hymns from the pews. Rehearsals for the choir pieces will take place on Thursday, October 24th at Maple Street Church in Danvers at 7pm, or at First Church Swampscott at 7:30pm. For more information, please reach out to Rev. Holly Brauner at hsbrauner@gmail.com

Please join the Salem State Writers Series on Monday, October 21 at 7:30 pm for a unique event in this year's offerings - a hymn sing! Salem State English professor Jan Lindholm will present hymns from her newly published collection, "Love Astounding: Hymns of Jeannette M. Lindholm". She will share how choices that she makes as a hymn writer relate to her religious traditions, spiritual experience, and commitments as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Audience members will be invited to sing along and to offer questions and comments. All are welcome. No reservations (or singing experience) required.

This event takes place in the university's recital hall located on the ground floor of the Classroom Building/Bertolon School of Business located at 71 Loring Avenue. Free parking is available directly across the street.

 Monthly Bell Ringing to Call Awareness About Climate Change

Listen for the bells on Friday, October 11, at 11

am for 11 minutes. It’s our monthly event to remind us that we are indeed in the 11th hour of creation care – a reminder that this gift of creation given

to us in our lifetime is fragile and mightily impacted by human behavior. It is 11 minutes of a prayer of thanks to God for this precious gift, of confession that we have not attended well, and resolve that we will do our small part to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem of climate change.

As you listen to the church bells on October 11th, perhaps you can, in your heart, send the tolling out to the world in this time of turmoil and pain to be a blessing and a call to peace and righteousness and good will in all that we do for each other and for our planet home.

Join us in that prayer at home or at the church to take your turn at the bell rope.

Scrabble Group



The Scrabble Group meets weekly on Wednesdays from 2-4pm in the Great Room at the Stacey St. office building. Newcomers are always welcome to join in the fun!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Knitters! Please join us to make shawls for the ONC community. Basic knit-purl is all you need. The prayer shawl knitters meet on the following dates at Stacey Street, 10:30-12. 

Oct 9 , Nov 13 , Dec 11

Yarn and needles are provided for the adult and baptism shawls. For more information contact Alexandra Garfield: Alexandradane@me.com or 781.929.0540.

Green Tip of the Week

This week’s “Green Tip of the Week” comes from Marge Adams:



Use shampoo bars and conditioners to wash hair. One shampoo bar saves 2 -3 plastic bottles from being made and disposed of - approximately 552 million of which end up in landfills each year.

The Old North Church Green Team has started a new initiative – “Green Tip of the Week”. It is especially apt as we enter the “Season of Creation Care” that some places of worship are signing on to. It’s all about sharing our piece of “creation care” in the time we are each given to walk this walk of life on earth.  

Miles for Mary Continues Mission to Increase Brain Cancer Awareness

Two upcoming events will support innovative brain cancer treatment research and Honor a Longtime Member and Trustee of Old North.

Miles for Mary is dedicated to increasing awareness around brain cancer, advancing research for treatment options, and providing hope for patients and families facing devastating diagnoses.

Two events, a 5K Run/Walk and Research Seminar, seek to honor the memory of Mary Park of Marblehead, who died from glioblastoma in 2012 only a few weeks after her initial diagnosis. Mary was a long-time member and Trustee of Old North Church. Donations benefit brain cancer treatment research at Mass General Cancer Center.

Supporting Innovative Brain Cancer Research

Miles for Mary directly supports the study of innovative treatments for brain tumors, with a particular focus on glioblastoma. 100% of the funds raised are directed to the work of neuro-oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Gerstner at the Mass General Cancer Center. Dr. Gerstner and her team recently completed Phase I of a clinical trial, named INCIPIENT, for treating glioblastoma through an advanced use of CAR T-cell technology. In March, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report outlining how this trial produced a rapid shrinkage of brain tumors in all three patients. Patients are now being enrolled for an ongoing trial. 

Since 2013, Miles for Mary has raised $700,000 for brain cancer treatment research at Mass General Cancer Center. The funds raised this year will continue to support innovative research in brain cancer treatment such as INCIPIENT.

• The 5K Road Race will be held Saturday, October 19, 2024
• The Related Research Seminar will be held Monday, November 4, 2024
• Registration for both via www.milesformary.com

The Pumpkins are Here!

You are invited to visit the Clifton Pumpkin Patch located at Clifton Lutheran Church, 150 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, MA.

September 21 through October 31:

Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday noon-5pm and M-F 1pm-5pm.

Self-serve option for safety and convenience during daytime hours. This year will be the 8th year that the Clifton Pumpkin Patch has been in operation and is the Church's major fundraiser.

Garden Volunteers

We appreciate the help of garden volunteers who have worked in the hot summer months. Garden maintenance will continue through the fall in the Memorial Garden , front of the church and around the parking lot. Our new Pollinator Garden is flourishing with lovely blooms. If you can help for an hour or two to keep our gardens looking healthy and beautiful Please contact Ginny von Rueden: rvonrueden@comcast.net or 781-631-7898.

Capital Campaign Projects Update

Scaffolding has been erected on the North side of the Sanctuary and portions of the front of the church to provide access to the gutter on the south side of the roof and portions of the roof trim to be repaired. This work will continue for the next two months or so. The scaffolding will not interfere with access to the building. 

Gifts of Cheer



If you know of anyone, either here at Old North or in the wider Marblehead community who is going through a difficult time, the Community Life Board would like to reach out with a little plant and a friendly note. Please contact Lynda Hare at hares8carrots@hotmail.com or 781-639-0107 if you know someone who would appreciate a little extra cheer.

Lectio Divina

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 on every Tuesday morning from 9 to about 10:30 am. When Dennis was here, he led the practice. Since his leaving, 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.