Can You Help Us Out This Year?

Our ministry and mission depends on the faithful giving of those who call our church ‘home’. And we are grateful for all of your generosity. You are having an impact in our church, community and throughout the world. 

Our church needs your help so that we can continue and deepen the ways we make a difference in people’s lives. We’re trying to bring our giving level up to the national average. 

The giving to churches and faith communities in our country ranges from 1% of annual income to 10% and beyond. The average is 2.6% of annual income. 

Please prayerfully consider increasing your pledge by 1% of your annual income. Thank you for all you do for our church and for God’s ministry in the world. 

Here is how much you could ADD to your current giving if you increased by 1%

Don't Miss This!

The future of our church is in our hands. And it is full of good stories.

One of our interim tasks is to engage in conversations that help us understand the beauty and depth of the identity and purpose given to us by God. And it is our stories that give us the clarity and inspiration ... and joy. They guide us into God's future. 



Essential to that is a gathering we will be offering on November 13th right after worship in the Parish Hall. (11:30 - 1) We'll use a version of "Appreciative Inquiry" to evoke the stories of our church and its impact on us and our community. Please be sure to join us. We'll have some delectable treats to sustain us and the Spirit of God to inspire us.

A Time of Remembrance

November 6th is All Saints Sunday. Our worship will include a special time of remembering those beloved saints whose funerals and memorials services were conducted at our church this past year. We'll also honor and remember the many people we have lost whose lives still leave their imprint on us. Join us at both 8 and 10 am. 



Condolences:

The love and prayers of our congregation go out to the families who are grieving the recent loss of these loved ones:

• Gordon Hall
• Sue Magrane
• Evelyn Gardner
• Wayne Butler
• Charles Navle 

Facebook Reflections

We are going to start offering some video reflections on our Facebook pages [Old North Church Marblehead and Friends of Old North Church Marblehead]  These will be short reflections on insights from our faith and spiritual practice. Keep an eye on our Facebook pages as we will be adding new ones throughout each month.  

Children's Faith Formation

Children’s Church - Kindergarten to 5th Grade

This Sunday the Children will go upstairs after Moments with Children.

Childcare for Infants to 4 years old are welcome beginning 9:50 upstairs in the First Church Meeting House room.

Registration Forms can be found here or will be available on Sunday.

Marblehead Food Pantry

November is the month when traditionally Old North help stock the shelves at the Marblehead Food Pantry. Although COVID is not affecting our lives as much as it was, we will once again have a team do the weekly shop using your kind $ donation. Back in April our appeal for monetary donations was very successful. Thank you!

That gift kept the Food Pantry well stocked for quite a while and made a huge difference to so many people. Currently there are about 55 households using the Pantry and that number tends to go up over the Holidays.

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.

Thank you for your consideration,

Lynda Hare on behalf of the Outreach Ministry Board.

Festival Chorus

Greetings from the Festival Chorus Committee! This season, our two (2) popular Holiday Concerts – directed by Maria van Kalken – take place on Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, 2022; a magnificent selection of choral works with full orchestra are sure to delight you and the entire family. Please help support this extraordinary holiday tradition at Old North, now in its 42^nd season – by purchasing an advertisement in our Program Book, or by becoming a Friend of the Festival Chorus with a contribution. After our gradual return to singing and presenting concerts, we need your support more than ever this year! 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 deadlines, or to learn more about becoming a Friend, please download our Advertising Rate Sheet & Contribution Form HERE.

For more information about the December 2022 Festival Chorus Concerts, please visit the Old North Festival Chorus website at: www.oldnorthfestivalchorus.org

Old North Church Response to Devastation from Hurricanes Fiona and Ian

Over 100,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Puerto Rico over 2 weeks after Hurricane Fiona, with at least 25 deaths associated with the storm. Over 300,000 remain without power in Florida one week after Hurricane Ian, with 108 associated deaths in Florida and the Carolinas.

The Outreach Ministry Board has researched the best options for relief funding from Old North Church for those most affected by both hurricanes. We plan to donate funds for Puerto Rico on behalf of church members to a highly regarded human services organization on the island called Comprometidos, which invests in local community development organizations throughout Puerto Rico and has been channeling needed emergency support funds through those organizations post-Fiona. For relief efforts in Florida and the Carolinas, we will donate funds collected to the UCC Disaster Ministry, which has the ability to work directly with churches in the impacted areas without using any relief funds to pay for overhead expenses.

If you would like to contribute to hurricane relief work in Puerto Rico and Florida through the Outreach Ministry Board and these organizations, please send checks made out to “Old North Church” and write “Hurricane relief” in the memo line. You can drop the checks off at the church office, place them in the offering plates at Sunday services, or mail them to Donna Weiner c/o Old North Church Office, 8 Stacey Street, Marblehead, MA 01945. Thank you for your generosity to those in such great need. 

Diaper and Formula Appeal

The Lynn Family Forward Resource Center is urgently seeking donations of diapers, baby formula and candy for Halloween.  If you are able to provide any of these in kind, or are able to make a $ donation (check made out to Centerboard/LynnFRC) please inform Lynda Hare at [email protected] who will pick up and deliver the items to the center.

Rev. Lindsay Away Oct 17-Nov 13

Lindsay will be off duty at Old North for four weeks. The church leadership offered her this as compensatory time, in recognition of and gratitude for her work--above and beyond her contracted hours and job description--as Acting Senior Minister in the months between Dennis' retirement and Don's arrival. From Lindsay: "Church, thank you so much for this! It was a delight to helm the ship over the late spring and summer, and I'm grateful for a chance to rest. Thanks, also, for your prayers and concern for me and Ashley as we said goodbye to our foster child. I look forward to seeing you again in mid-November!" 

South Africa 2023

Next summer will be the 20^th anniversary of our first Old North trip to South Africa and the start of our partnership with the Pholela Congregation in KwaZulu Natal province. Although a trip was planned with a large group in 2020, we were unable to go due to Covid. To honor our enduring and thriving relationship with our South African friends, we are proposing a two week trip for next August 2023.

In 2020, we were planning to go Aug. 6-20 so that’s approximately the timeframe for 2023 so children will be home in time to get ready for school. The actual dates will be similar.  We will spend a week with visits and projects among the Pholela Congregation spread out over 25 villages and we’ll probably go to several of them. We are always received with joy and hospitality by the villagers and church members. There’s lots of interaction with school kids which is always fun, from little ones through high school. Other past projects have included planting gardens for the elderly and helping with light construction if houses have been wrecked by storms. The mountainous area is wonderful for hiking so we’ll do some of that to see ancient cave paintings in the cliffs. The main church service is very memorable and festive because everyone sings and dances the whole time. ONC Deacons (and former, like me) serve communion with their elders.

During the second week we will enjoy the scenic beauty of the country.  We’ll spend a night at a nice hotel on the beach in Durban where we love to shop the amazing African markets along the shore front. Then we’ll have an excursion driving through the Drakensburg Mountains’ Sani Pass (UNESCO World Heritage Scenic Site) to the Kingdom of Lesotho. We’ll visit a village nestled in the mountains and have lunch in the highest pub in Africa. After that we’ll go on safari in the oldest game reserve in Africa (home to the Big Five animals ) and stay in luxury bush villa accommodations. In addition to game drives, we’ll have an excursion to lake St. Lucia in a Wetland Park to see hippos, crocodiles and birds. Then we’ll be transferred to the airport in Durban to fly home.

The costs for the last trip were under $4000 per person and that includes airfare. The cost for next summer should be similar, even allowing for price increases. I will start making reservations in the fall so I can confirm accommodations and excursions and pricing. Anyone interested in going with us should let me know in the next few weeks, if possible. [email protected] Many Old North members, family and friends have benefitted from this experience of a lifetime. Rick and I would love to have you share this adventure with us.    Ginny von Rueden