Sunday School and Nursery Care

Old North Church welcomes children of all ages on Sunday mornings! Children are welcome in the sanctuary for the the entirety of the service. Our nursery for children 3 months to 4ish opens 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.



In Sunday School this week, Rev. Christine and James Horgan will lead the children in an introduction to the Bible (a book of many books, including many genres that holds our sacred stories) and in practices of giving thanks. See Rev. Christine with any questions.

Thank You Old North Church!

This coming Sunday the 24^th the 10 o’clock service will be unique in that our normal service elements of faith with music will be enriched by the sounds of thanks and gratitude. The service’s goal is to formally thank and recognize all the wonderful individuals that day in and day out work tirelessly to keep Old North Church a beacon of help and hope both internally as well as within our extended community. Collectively the combined efforts of the church’s officers, ministries and the cluster of specialized services are what makes Old North Church special and worthy of this celebration. And it will be these groups that will be individually applauded. At the same time we need to voice the gratitude of those individuals and organizations that benefit from our various outreach initiatives with the Marblehead Counseling Center and Lifebridge North Shore being wonderful examples.

The Stewardship Committee

By-Law Change Discussions

Rev. Lindsay Popperson and Betsey Halbert (Moderator) will be facilitating a few congregation sessions to discuss a potential by-law change that was proposed at the annual meeting last June concerning contributions from Old North Church to the UCC conference. The purpose of these sessions is to educate the congregation and listen to feedback in preparation for the Leadership Board to propose a bylaw change and Blair to include the dollar amount in the budget at the Annual Budget Meeting in February.

One session is scheduled for this Sunday, November 24, at 11:30 am in the Parish Hall, another one for December 3rd in the evening on Zoom, where there will be a representative from our conference available for questions and clarification, and another in person session on December 4th at 1 pm in the Great Room at Stacey St.



Please click here to read more information about Old North Church and the UCC.

SEE YOU AT THE FAIR THIS SATURDAY!!!! 

Saturday, November 23 from 9:30am - 1:30pm

Our Old North Holiday Fair is this Saturday, November 23 from 9:30 - 1:30pm preceded by the Preview Party on Friday, November 22 from 7:00 - 9:00pm. 

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. 

Thank you for all of your fair donations - we really appreciate them. Any questions on the Fair, please contact Linda Duvel, linda.bill.duvel@gmail.com or 781-631-1703 or Marcia Hostetter, hostetter.marcia@gmail.com or 781-639-1942. 

Fair Preview Party Friday Nov 22^nd at 7-9 pm

DON'T MISS THIS FESTIVE SOCIAL GATTERING

The Preview Party before the Fair is a chance to gather and enjoy a first look at all the offerings while enjoying food, drinks, and community.



Tickets will be sold at the door or you may reserve online here. Tickets are  $25 per person includes 2 drink tickets. $20 tickets without beer or wine.

ONC Fair Service Offering

The final poster for service offerings is shown below. Thanks to all the volunteer service providers. Let's hope we sell out and can add over $5000 to the other fair income.  

Faith Formation

Intergenerational Longest Night Dinner and Service Dec 20th 5pm – All ages are welcome for a pasta dinner at 5pm on December 20th. We're hoping to build community across the generations. Children will make lanterns and have a short service outside (weather permitting) with music, a (brief) story, and candles. All are welcome at this child-centered event. Please RSVP to Rev. Christine.

Bring your Creches! – We would love to display your nativity scene in the Parish Hall during December 15th and 22nd! You may leave them in Rev. Christine's office on Stacey Street anytime or drop them on the tables in the Parish Hall starting December 9th.

Upcoming NSYM Events

This Sunday, November 24, we will be gathering at Clifton Lutheran Church for a combined youth group from 4-7 pm to celebrate Friendsgiving. If there is something you can and would like to bring, from food and drinks to games and decorations, please use this link and add yourself to the spreadsheet. Your contributions will be what brings the festivities together, so thank you in advance!

Saturday the 23rd is Fair Saturday! Both First Church and Old North Church will be holding Winter Fairs. These are family events and everyone is welcome! Jess will be around at Old North between 9:30-11:30 and at First Church between 12-2 pm to socialize with youth and families (and enjoy the festivities with you all!).

Jess Easter (She/Her) is the new youth pastor serving 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 (marbleheadyouthcoopministry@gmail.com) as she can make connections between families to make sure our youth have the opportunity

to join!

Looking for Volunteer Adults for Youth Group

The North Shore Youth Ministry (the joint youth ministry we have with Clifton Lutheran, St Andrews Episcopal, and First Church Swampscott) is going strong! We have an excellent youth minister (Jess Easter) who plans and leads the weekly events, but each event needs a second adult (to comply with Safe Church policies). Could you be that adult?

Every Sunday, middle school age youth (6th-8th grades) meets from 3:30-5:30pm and High School (9th-12th grades) from 6-8 pm; there are occasional Friday evening events as well. If you'd be open to helping for one youth group once a month, that would be great! Email Betsey at halbertbam@gmail.com to get connected (we will need to run a CORI check on you!) 

Interfaith Thanksgiving 

Join members of religious communities across Marblehead for an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service on Tuesday, November 26 at the UU Church (28 Mugford Street) at 7pm. A pick-up choir will provide music; any interested singers are invited to gather before the service at 5:45 sharp to rehearse.  

News from the Festival Chorus Committee! 

Greetings from the Festival Chorus Committee! Our fast-approaching and popular Festival Chorus Holiday Concerts will feature a truly magnificent selection of choral works with full orchestra – guaranteed to delight you and the entire family! Please help support this extraordinary holiday tradition at Old North, now in its 44^th season – by purchasing tickets, by becoming a Friend of the Festival Chorus with a contribution, or by advertising in our Festival Chorus program book! You may submit your ticket order or contribution any number of ways:

• online by using the QR code on the appended Festival Chorus FLYER
• by filling out the attached CONTRIBUTION & TICKET ORDER FORM
• by visiting the Old North Church website at https://www.onchurch.org/festivalchorus
• by visiting the Old North Festival Chorus website at https://www.oldnorthfestivalchorus.org/

Tickets will also be on sale after church on Sunday mornings – in the Parish Hall – or you may purchase them in advance at Crosby’s Marketplace, Arnould Gallery, or Maria’s Gourmet.

Our program books are read by 1,000 enthusiastic fans, and advertisers are consistently amazed by the business generated from an ad in the Festival Chorus Program Book. For advertising rates and details, please download our Advertising Rate Sheet at https://www.oldnorthfestivalchorus.org/

The deadline for submitting ads has been extended to Friday, November 22, so don’t delay! Thank you for your support! 

New Member Sunday on December 8

Our church will be receiving new members during worship services on December 8. If you're interested in joining the church (on that day or sometime in the future), let Pastor Lindsay know.  

Securities Based Donation

Making a securities based donation to Old North Church this year or in 2025 might be a very reasonable and prudent idea. The process is very straight forward and can be facilitated with minimal effort. Your broker or investment advisor can help select a security, frequently a highly appreciated equity and can also provide you with supportive knowledge and the necessary form. Please contact Blair Lord, our treasurer, who has the details necessary to get started. blord@edu.edu

The Stewardship Committee

Marblehead Food Pantry 

November is the month when traditionally Old North help stock the shelves at the Marblehead Food Pantry. The number of food insecure households visiting the Pantry continue to rise at a pace, making Old North’s donations all the more urgent. If you are able to help, please, once again, consider writing a check to Old North Church, 8 Stacey Street, Marblehead MA 01945 and putting Marblehead Food Pantry in the memo line. Alternatively you may make an on line donation, with the same specification.   Our Old North shopping team will use your kind donation to purchase the very specific needs of the Food Pantry each week. These include non-perishable goods, toiletries and personal items. Your generosity will make such a difference to the dozens of people using the food pantry.

Thank you for your consideration,

Lynda Hare on behalf of the Outreach Ministry Board.

Lifebridge Meals Teams Need Volunteers!

Old North has eight teams that prepare and serve a meal at Lifebridge Shelter in Salem on a Tuesday night, once every two months. We start about 4pm and end by 6pm. Teams either bring prepared food or cook a simple meal on site. We don’t even have to wash dishes! We are looking for a few people to replace team members who feel it is time to have someone else take their place. Thank you to those faithful volunteers. 



So, in short, the commitment is six Tuesday evenings (4-6 pm) a year.  

We are also looking for people who would be willing to volunteer from time to time. Please contact Judy Conner, jbc2274@yahoo.com, if you are interested or have questions. 

A thank you from Lifebridge

The Lifebridge staff took the time to identify volunteers who go above and beyond in their service, and Old North Church stood out for its remarkable 35 years of unwavering commitment. From providing community meals to supporting our broader programs, Old North Church has been a cornerstone of service and compassion, making a profound impact on those in need. Old North was honored for our legacy of service on Thursday.

ONC Reading Group

on Preserving Our Democracy and Environment

The next meeting of the ONC Reading Group on Preserving Our Democracy and Environment will be held both in person and on Zoom on December 11^th from 9:00 to 10:30 AM. The meeting will open early, by 8:45 AM, for solving seating and technical problems. To join the meeting on Zoom, just click on https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82896213028?pwd=n0feMmXa3axBgJknqu1IUD3qTwialx.1 .

To use your telephone for audio, dial +1 929 205 6099 (New York) and follow the operator’s instructions with Meeting ID: 828-9621-3028 and Passcode: 537613. The meeting is planned to be held in the Great Room of the Stacey Street Annex of the Old North Church. This will be the latest of a series of monthly meetings on this subject that have been hosted for all by the ONC Men’s Group. You are invited to participate in person or on Zoom, regardless of the amount of your preparation or whether you have attended a previous meeting. 

At our last meeting, on November 13^th, we discussed various approaches toward preserving our democracy, with consideration of the election results of November 5^th and our previous book readings. We had previously read, e.g., How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (2018), Tyranny of the Minority also by Levitsky and Ziblatt (2023), and Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson (2023). We had also had (about a year and a half ago) the benefit of a very helpful lecture by Paul Hare on states of affairs in Latin America and lessons for us in the USA. (Paul had previously served as charge d’affaires in Cuba.) 

At our upcoming meeting on December 11^th, Paul plans to present some of his latest thoughts on the dangers of authoritarianism, drawing on recent lessons from Venezuela and actions of Presidents Chavez and Maduro. 

Wishing you (and our country) the best, Duncan Cox

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!

Green Tip of the Week

This week’s “Green Tip of the Week”: If you are remodeling, consider bamboo for wood surfaces – very durable, very sustainable because it replaces itself quickly, and is quite beautiful.

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.  

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 Hurricanes Helene and Milton this past month.



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.



Rev. Karla Miller's church is accepting donations and will get it to local relief efforts in Henderson County: First Congregational UCC Hendersonville, 1735 5th Ave West, Hendersonville NC 28739. Click here to make an online donation.

Her church will get any donations to Interfaith Assistance Ministries (IAM) which is one of their "boots on the ground" identified by her church and its members as they attempt to recover and rebuild.

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.