Our Latest News and Activities

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Third Sunday in Lent


Please join us for worship at 8 or 10 am in our Sanctuary.


The 10am service will be livestreamed on our website, www.onchurch.org



Scripture Lesson: Exodus 17:1-7

Rev. Lindsay Popperson's Sermon: "Admitting Our Thirst"


Please click here to view the 10am bulletin.


Wherever You Are On Life's Journey, You Are Welcome Here.

Children's Faith Formation

 

The children will go to the classroom during the second Hymn.



Childcare for Infants to 3 1/2 years old are welcome to join Rey and Donna Weiner, upstairs in the First Church Meeting House room, beginning at 9:50 and anytime during the service.

Little Plants of Cheer

 

The bleak mid winter is now in our rear view mirror and the joy of spring, new birth and warmer days is knocking at our door inviting us to explore and enjoy life. But not everyone is able to appreciate such joy … at this time. If you know of anyone, either here at Old North or in the Marblehead community, who might appreciate a little cheer, the Community Life Ministry Board would like to reach out with a little plant and a friendly note.  Please contact Lynda Hare at hares8carrots@hotmail.com if you know of someone.

Monthly Bell Ringing to Draw Awareness to Climate Change

 

ONC and several other churches that are part of the Marblehead Ministerial Association continue with the ringing of their bells at 11am on the 11th of the month for 11 minutes to call attention to the need to take 11th hour action about the climate crisis. In doing so, we are joining this important initiative which was started last year by churches in Cambridge and Cape Ann to ring their bells on the 11th of each month.


The United Nations Climate Report issued last year found that climate change is happening even faster than anticipated and drastic action is needed now. Coastal communities such as ours are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change.


How you can make a difference:

·      Contact your elected officials and urge them to support environmental initiatives.

·      Research environmental positions of candidates this Fall. Vote accordingly!

·      Walk, Bike, Carpool & use Public Transportation whenever possible.

·      Turn off your computer and appliances when not in use.

·      Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

·      Visit http://www.sustainablemarblehead.org/in-your-home for more ideas for reducing your carbon footprint.


Anyone wishing to volunteer as a monthly bell ringer for climate action should contact Mimi Hollister (mimi.hollister@aol.com or 781-910-2376).


Grief Class With Else Wiersma

Continues this Sunday in the Great Room

 

For 40 years, Else Wiersma and her husband, Charles Navle, offered a course on death and dying at Salem State University called Life and Living. She brings the insights of this course to our church for a 4-part series for Lent: She writes: “This course will discuss how we can find both the courage and awareness to encounter death in the face of loss, grief, and fear, core deliberations, as we exchange points of view. Scientific fact falters before death. Yet to live means to die. There are important questions to ask: Why does our faith not strengthen and enlighten us? Why do we fear death so? Does the human inclination devoutly to hope for an afterlife say more about human nature than it may say about God? What does it mean when we speak of life after death? These are a few questions to which our discussions will attempt to respond.


This four-week course will meet on Sunday mornings, after the 10:00 A.M. service, on March 5, 12, 19, and 26, in the ‘Great Room’ at the Stacey Street Office. Essays will be e-mailed prior to meeting, and hard-copies will be made available in the church office. A ZOOM-option is planned.”


If you plan to attend let Else know: elsewiersma@comcast.net or contact the church office (781-631-1244) or: office@onchurch.org


See No Stranger

Sessions Have Begun

 

“You are a part of me that I do not yet know”.  Valarie Kaur in her book, See No Stranger, dives into a concept of revolutionary love. She writes from a perspective of compassion and justice delving into how we can love others, the opponent and ourselves. Her insights are extraordinary and her storytelling is compelling.  

We’ll gather via ZOOM on three evenings in Lent to explore each of these dimensions of revolutionary love. Join us for remaining sessions on:


·Thursday, March 16 @ 7pm book Part 2: ‘tend the wound: loving opponents’



·Thursday, March 23 @ 7pm book Part 3: ‘breathe and push: loving ourselves’


Topic: See No Stranger


Join Zoom Meeting

https://us-east-2.protection.sophos.com?d=zoom.us&u=aHR0cHM6Ly91czAyd2ViLnpvb20udXMvai84MjM0MDYyNTYwMD9wd2Q9Y2pSdk9VVkhkVXh3YVVWNFNrY3ZiVFpqVGtwSlVUMDk=&i=NWUxNjMzMGI0YmU5ODAxMTNhNDE2ZjEz&t=b09QV0xtMEZPSVVIVndFNzNKL3VmUU00S1FUTmNab0VVR0pvY21LaEFVbz0=&h=c4de99e5a9af4a3998db2d4ddcff9ee8&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVZ-GOLHmEfhY9w5av_nJsL_qNL_nUZ_ae9gOBtMSuEjCg



From Lament to Gratitude:

A Day Retreat at ONC

Saturday March 18th from 10:00am-1:00pm

Led by Karen Kilty

Spiritual Director and Director of Children’s Ministries

 

We are a weary people, we have traveled and have carried so much over the last three years. In this retreat, you will be invited to settle in for time of quiet, rest, and for seeking peace. We will reflect on what it is we need to put down, to let go of, then open ourselves to listen to where it is that God is leading as we look ahead. To register or for more information, please contact Karen Kilty at kwkilty@ gmail.com 


Prayer Dice

 

There is an interesting way to engage in daily prayer. We talked about this in worship and in our Lenten brochure. You can do it from home even if you haven't been able to get dice and a card at church yet. Here's how:


Once a day, once an hour, or once a week roll the dice. Look at the number on top of the die when it comes to rest. Find that number in the list below and let the question guide your prayer and reflection:


  1. Name 3 good things for which you are thankful. Give thanks to God.
  2. Offer a prayer for God to guide our church faithfully into it’s next chapter.
  3. Is there something for which you feel regret, shame or guilt? Release it into God’s mercy and tenderness.
  4. Name a person or situation that you want to bring to God for healing and wholeness.
  5. What Blessing would you like to ask God to bring into your life or the world.
  6. Share in prayer something about God that amazes or delights you.


Stewardship

 

Old North Church relies on donations to fund its annual operating budget. If you wish to help support Old North’s mission, programs and community service, please fill out one of the pledge cards in the pew racks and put it in the offertory plate. You may also pledge online at:

www.onchurch.org/pledge


Let's Go Bowling!



The Community Life Board invites you to come bowling on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at Sunnyside Bowling, 176 Water Street, Danvers. (Go straight on Rt. 114 past Bishop Fenwick High School. Sunnyside is just a little further on the right.) We have reserved lanes from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. The cost per person is $3.00 for shoe rental and $5.50 per game. CASH ONLY - ATM available. Bowling is candlepin (small balls). Come on your own or bring your family and join us for a fun time. Please respond to Chris Arren at 617-823-2471 or email ctarren1@gmail.com so we can have a count of participants. Please respond by Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

ONC Reading and Discussion Group

on Preserving our Democracy and Environment

Monday, March 13 at 8:30am


The next meeting of the Old North Reading and Discussion Group on Preserving our Democracy and Environment will be on Monday, March 13th, 2023, from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. This is the latest of a series of meetings on this subject that have been hosted for all by the ONC Men’s Group. You are invited to participate regardless of the amount of your preparation or whether you have attended a previous meeting. For the March meeting we will discuss Chapters 7 and 8 of Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen. The meeting will be hosted on Zoom, and will be open 15 minutes early for logon and general discussion. To log in, just click on 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84601610025?pwd=d0JwSUZtOFo5emdUTEQ3ZGl0c21wQT09 .

If you would like to use your telephone for audio, dial 1 929 205 6099 and follow the operator’s instructions with Meeting ID: 846 0161 0025 and Passcode: 856736. 


Dear Friends,

We are thrilled to announce that over 80 singers – plus our professional soloists – are participating in the upcoming Lenten Choral Concert, and we enthusiastically invite your attendance and support!

 

Members of the Old North Senior Choir and Old North Festival Chorus are currently rehearsing the glorious choral masterpiece – Requiem in D minor, K 626, by W.A. Mozart – preparatory to our performance on Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 7:30pm! The singers and instrumentalists assembled for this performance – many returning and many new – look forward to sharing this monumental work with you, universally recognized as among the most poignant and breathtakingly beautiful pieces of the sacred choral repertoire.

 

Our performance marks the beginning of Holy Week and a long-held tradition at Old North to offer members of the Marblehead community a program of musical reflection by candlelight. Over the years, the performing ensemble has more than doubled from its original forty singers; we are inspired to present challenging      and extraordinary musical programs on this special occasion. The concert on Sunday, April 2, at 7:30pm,    is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be gratefully accepted.

 

This very special performance – dedicated in loving memory to Gordon Hall III, a long-time Festival Chorus member and fan of the music program at Old North – is supported, in part, by a combination of the Music Patrons and Festival Chorus Funds at Old North Church. This funding, combined with the free-will offering collected at the door, will cover only part of the expenses to produce this program. If you would like to help defray the costs of our Mozart Requiem performance, we would be thankful for your contribution – in any amount.

 

If you wish to have your name listed as a Sponsor of the program AND if you wish to remember a loved one in the In Loving Memory section, please fill out both lines of the “Lenten Concert Dedications & Donations” form. If you are interested in listing only the name of a loved one, please fill out only that line. In the unlikely event we have questions, your contact information has been requested; thank you for sharing that as well. Please note that you do not have to be a member of the Festival Chorus or Old North Church to become a sponsor or list a loved one. Feel free to invite others to support our concert in this manner, if appropriate.

 

Donations are due no later than Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Please mail your check (payable to Old North Church – with “Lenten Concert” in the memo) – to arrive no later than Wednesday, March 29, 2023– so that you can be included in the Program. Thank you for your support!

 

The Music and Festival Chorus Committees

 

Simply fill out the Lenten Concert Dedications & Donations form, and return to:

 

Attention: Maria van Kalken

OLD NORTH CHURCH, 8 Stacey Street, Marblehead, MA 01945

Please Click Here to Access the Donation Form

Clothing Drive for South Africa



Our church group going to South Africa next August will be taking gifts of clothing for the Pholela Congregation to share among their 25 villages. We are looking for donations of good used items that include:


  • Shirts (T’s and button down for boys and men, pants for boys and men ONLY)
  • Sweaters, sweatshirts, blouses and dresses for girls and women (NO pants for women)
  • Warm baby clothing, especially knitted caps and sweaters, shoes for small children only.
  • Anything fleece like vests, jackets, warm hats, gloves, lightweight jackets and coats
  •  NO heavy items please
  • I will be purchasing fleece blankets for the elderly so donations of those will be appreciated. 


Bags of donated clothing may be left at the church upstairs in the small unused classroom at the end of the corridor. Contact Ginny von Rueden, rvonrueden@comcast.net or 781-631-7898 for more information. Siyabonga!! (Thank you in Zulu)


Lectio Divina

 

A monastic practice of scripture, reflection and prayer dating back to the 4th 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.


Office Hours

The church office is open Tues-Thurs mornings from 9:30-1:30. If you have an emergency outside of office hours, please send an email to office@onchurch.org.

Contact Us: 781-631-1244
Email: office@onchurch.org

Church Address: 35 Washington St., Marblehead, MA 01945
Mailing Address: 8 Stacey St. Marblehead, MA 01945