Sunday School and Nursery Care

Old North Church welcomes children of all ages on Sunday mornings! Children are welcome in the sanctuary for 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.

Faith Formation

This week in Church School Rev. Christine and Barbara Day will lead the children in an exploration of a parable of seeds from Mark 4, then the group will make their own seed paper for spreading good news.

Sunday, January 26 Travelogue Presentation "Journey to Greece and Turkey: Where Paul and John Walked with a Little Help from Their Friends”

During a trip last summer with good friends, Barbara and John Tatum, Ginny and Rick von Rueden took a trip to Greece and Turkey exploring amazing archeological sites and wonders of the ancient world. As they cruised among the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea and travelled through western Turkey to Istanbul, they were struck by the presence of Jesus’s Apostles who visited these sites during their missionary travels along the way.

Ginny will offer a program with slides and commentary highlighting historic locations including those with great importance for our Christian faith.



Please join us for this fascinating program sponsored by the Community Life Board on Sunday, January 26, at 2:00 pm in the Parish Hall. Refreshments will be available at 1:30 p.m.

Bylaw Change Proposal

After listening to input at last year's annual meeting, talking extensively at Leadership Board meetings, educating the congregation about our financial relationship to the wider denomination, and holding three listening sessions, the Leadership Board has a draft proposal of a bylaw change. We welcome your input!

Please email Betsey Halbert (moderator) at betsey.halbert@gmail.com and Lindsay (senior pastor) at lindsaypopper@gmail.com to offer feedback, or plan to attend or plan to attend our final of three Listening Sessions this Sunday, January 26, after Worship in the Parish Hall so we can get your opinion before this comes to our annual budget meeting.  

Save the Date!

Our Annual Church Budget Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 2 in the sanctuary at the close of the 10 o’clock service. All members of Old North should plan to attend as this meeting has a quorum requirement.

A pre-meeting detailed budget discussion will be held in the parish hall following the 10 o’clock service this Sunday, January 26^th.

Immediately following the meeting please join us in the Parish Hall for the 2^nd Annual Chili Bake Off and no charge Friend Raiser Chili lunch.

2nd Annual Chili Bake Off

Put on your aprons and get cooking! We are having a “Friend Raiser Chili Bake Off” after the Annual Budget Meeting on February 2nd in the parish hall.

Bring your pot of chili to the parish hall kitchen the morning of February 2nd. It will be a contest of sorts (with a prize of sorts) followed by a communal chili lunch.



Please let me know before the end of January if you are entering your chili. We also need cornbread bakers! - Janet Doyle, cell or text: 781-530-0065, email: janet@doylesailsonedesign.com.

Stewardship

Paraphrasing from the children’s book “The Little Engine That Could” and its “I Think I Can, I Think I Can”, we are collectively in the process of making good things happen with our pledge total currently standing at $434,000. So yes every pledge counts AND yes we will continue to strive to reach our goal of $500,000. If you would like to be part of this effort by increasing your current pledge for next year, please email the ONC office at office@onchurch.org. We are very appreciative to one and all for the positive support that has been achieved to date.  

If you have not yet made your pledge for 2025, pledge cards are available in the pew racks or you may pledge online at www.onchurch.org/pledge.  

SINGERS!

Rehearsals for the annual Palm Sunday Lenten Choral Concert – featuring the Old North Senior Choir & Soloists and members of the Old North Festival Chorus and Orchestra – will begin on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Our Lenten Concert will feature Dan Forrest’s stunningly beautiful Requiem For the Living, which was originally programmed in 2020, but abruptly halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All interested singers – from high-school-aged students to adults – are welcome to join this special choral performance. There are no auditions, and it is not necessary to be a member of Old North Church or the Festival Chorus to join, but previous choral experience is required. Please help spread the word! Singers are asked to purchase their scores at the first rehearsal unless they already own one. Please contact Maria at vankalken@gmail.com with questions and/or to reserve a score to be picked up at Registration on February 26.

Registration & First Rehearsal:      

Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30pm in the Parish Hall

(subsequent rehearsals: Wednesdays from 7:30 – 9pm)

Dress Rehearsal (mandatory):            

Saturday, April 12, 10am – 1pm

Concert: Sunday, April 13 at 7:30pm

Upcoming North Shore Youth Ministry (NSYM) Meetings

The NSYM typically meets Sundays and rotates 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 Winter schedule location is as follows:

• Friday, January 24 - We will meet at First Church from 6:30-9pm to bake desserts to drop off at Life Bridge.
• Sunday, January 26 - Clifton Lutheran Church
• Sunday, February 2 - Old North Church
•  Saturday, February 8 – Sunday, February 9 - Church Lock-In
• Winter Walk! We will meet at First Church Saturday 2/8 at 4 pm to play games, watch movies, do devotions & eat. Sunday morning, we will take the train down into Boston for the Winter Walk, exploring the city.
• Sunday, February 16 - No Group!
• Sunday, February 23 - Clifton Lutheran Church (combined group 4-6:30)
• Friday, February 28 - St. Andrews

For the month of March, we will be learning about each others’ churches, so we will be following Jess to a different church’s service each week. Formal Youth Group (combined) will be 12-2 pm after church each of these days at the church we are visiting. Look for more details on this as we approach March. 

Please click here to view the NSYM's Winter Newsletter

Family Winter Camp Weekend 

Clifton Lutheran Church welcomes all NSYM partners for a weekend of fun, faith, and fellowship at Camp Calument in NH. The Winter Weekend flyer contains the basic information on the weekend. The registration form provides cost breakdown and cabin information.

Registration is first come, first served. If you would like to register for your family please do so as soon as possible. For more information on costs, lodging, and activities, or to submit a completed registration form, email Jess at Jess@thensym.org and Karin at Karin17e@gmail.com.

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 Knitters

Prayer Shawl continues to meet the second Wednesday of each month in 2025, 10:30-12 in the Great Room at Stacey Street. Dates are:

February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14

Please join us — we have yarn, pattern + needles.

Green Tip of the Week

This week’s “Green Tip of the Week” – Can you do it? Turn off your gasoline car engine any time you are waiting in the car for more than ONE minute. Engine idling is the most polluting time that a car is running. So heating the car for 5 minutes before you drive to do errands on these chilly days is, sadly, not a good thing. Just don your UGG boots and winter clothes and enjoy the warm-up once you are on the road. Put a blanket in the car for your passengers when you pick up from school and for yourself when you watch the sunrise or sunset from your car. It’s likely one of the most important things you can do to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem of climate change.

Responding to the CA Wildfires

You can support the United Church of Christ's disaster relief efforts in the Los Angeles area by making a donation online at https://support.ucc.org/california-wildfires-2025 

Our Outreach Ministry Board will continue to be in touch about local organizations on the ground in LA that we can support! 

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.