Reflections From Our Pastor
by the Rev. Shelly Davis
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Greetings!:
ON THE WINGS
OF GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT
Summer, in our northern hemisphere—graced by warmer temperatures, longer days, and for some, more leisure days—coincides with the first months of the liturgical or church season most commonly called either Ordinary Time or Season After Pentecost. Regardless of what we call this season it is a season to bask in and drink in the gift and presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
Timothy Rees, a Welsh (have I mentioned I’m part Welsh too?—must be why I love to sing all these Welsh hymns so much!) curate, lecturer, chaplain, and a winner of the Military Cross in World War I, penned these lyrics in 1922 that were altered a bit for our New Century Hymnal, No. 59.
Holy Spirit, ever breathing on the church the breath of life;
Holy Spirit, ever striving through your people’s ceaseless strife;
Holy Spirit, ever forming in the church the mind of Christ:
In our worship we will praise you for your fruit and gifts unpriced.
As we move through this extraordinary summer of Scenario Working Groups and CULTIVATE: Summer Worship Together with First Congregational Church of Milton—may we continue to live and even deepen our life together—on the wings of God’s Holy Spirit—as we worship, learn, care and serve, giving new life to our East Church mission of Building and Serving Community in Christ’s Name.
May it be so, Spirit of Life, may it be so.
Peace,
Pastor Shelly
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East Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
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OUR VISION
Drawn together
in the mystery of God
and led by Christ,
we will grow in the Spirit
by engaging faith,
embracing change,
and seeking justice for all.
OUR MISSION
Building and serving community
in Christ's name.
610 Adams Street
Milton, MA 02186
Office Phone:(617)698-0270
Pastor Shelly's
Direct Line:
617-698-0229
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Pastor
Organist & Choir Director
Christian Education Director
Beth Olson
Sexton/Caretaker
Pastor's Office Hours
Connection Info for Virtual Office Hours Emailed Weekly
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CULTIVATE
A SUMMER OF COLLABORATIVE WORSHIP BEGINS . . .
“A farmer went out to sow. ” One of Jesus’ most well-known parables (Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, Luke 8:4-8) begins with these words that foreshadow the work of planting, cultivating, and receiving a harvest. The imagery of gardens, seeds, planting, and harvesting run throughout our Scripture (Isaiah 55 will also “cultivate” us this Summer) both as the Biblical writers encouraged their communities to lean into our call to care for the Earth but also because they knew we humans have a lot to learn about faith and life from all of creation.
This Summer, throughout the months of July and August, East Congregational Church and First Congregational and will worship together each Sunday morning at 10:00am as we ponder anew what these images and creatures from nature have to teach us today. Through reflections, art, sermons, and elements from the world around us, we’ll explore our call to care for the Earth and everything in it. We’ll reflect on what we can learn about faith and life from things like soil, water, bugs, and the rest of nature.
Join us on Sunday mornings at 10:00am in July at First Congregational and August at East Church (and invite your friends and neighbors too!) as we strive to cultivate our faith as it calls us to care for one another and all of creation.
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SUMMER BOOK GROUP TOO!
And because—well, why not—we will offer a collaborative Summer Book Group for July and August as we read along and reflect together on two shockingly prescient novels by Octavia Butler with timely messages of hope and resistance.
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Parable of the Sower (for July)
by Octavia E. Butler
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others’ emotions.
From a New Introduction by GLORIA STEINEM
(for the SEVEN STORIES PRESS, HARDCOVER, FEBRUARY 2017)
Parable of the Sower is the Butlerian odyssey of one woman who is twice as feeling in a world that has become doubly dehumanized. The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape, and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman with the hereditary train of “hyperempathy”—which causes her to feel others’ pain as her own—sets off on foot along the dangerous coastal highways, moving north into the unknown.
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Parable of the Talents (for August)
by Octavia E. Butler
Originally published in 1998, this shockingly prescient novel’s timely message of hope and resistance in the face of fanaticism is more relevant than ever.
Parable of the Talents celebrates the themes of alienation and transcendence, violence and spirituality, slavery and freedom, separation and community, to astonishing effect, in the shockingly familiar, broken world of 2032.
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Synod is for everyone! Not just the delegates or attendees. Here are some ways you can participate:
Follow one or more blogs, including Pastor Shelly’s, from our SNEUCC Synod delegation. Find the blogs HERE.
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EAST CHURCH HAS A FABULOUSLY REFRESHED WEBSITE
If you haven’t visited our church website in awhile you really need to see Steve’s latest handiwork! Be sure to take a look and then share it with your friends and family too! www.eastchurch.org.
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You can now watch our worship services again—or for the first time—any time! Then there are those fun “shorts”—short videos that our Tech Coordinator Heather catches and shares to help people get to know us: quirks and all!
Be sure to watch the short video of Benny's rockin' debut of "Everybody's Welcome in Here!"
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ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
WRAP UP
No less than 50 East Church members joined us online or in person for our Annual Congregational Meeting this past Sunday, June 4. Together we:
- Celebrated and Gave Thanks for our 2022-23 Year of
Building and Serving Community in Christ’s Name with:
- A prayer of thanks and blessing for those who joined our cloud of witnesses this year, including long-time East Church member Thomas Prince.
- Gratitude to three extraordinary angels among us:
- Helen D.
- Bob G.
- Linda P.
- Amazing visual presentations featuring highlights from our:
- CE/Faith Formation program (thanks Beth!)
- Year in Review (thanks Steve!)
- Reviewed our Resourcing for the coming 2023-24 Year of
Building and Serving Community in Christ’s Name as we received and approved our:
- Slate of Nominees for Elected Positions
- Mission Spending Plan (aka: the budget) and Discretionary Funds
- Bylaw changes:
- Adding a new category of Associate Member
- Clarifying Members (not including Associate Members) as those eligible to vote on any matter put before the congregation at any duly called Annual or Special Congregational Meeting
- Changing our quorum for Annual and Special Congregational meetings from 35 persons to 50% + 1 of our Membership (not including Associate Members)
- FFP (Faithful Future Planning) Annual Meeting PPT Presentation
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SIGN UP HERE TO BECOME PART OF ONE OF THE THREE WORKING GROUPS
a) Consolidate
b) Sell & (Lease Back OR Relocate)
c) Legacy
It was a full, faithful, special, inspiring Annual Congregational Meeting.
Thank you, one and all.
—Moderator Mark Whipple and Pastor
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WATCH our latest East Church Year in Review here.
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Check out a bunch of recent photos here.
Thanks so much Steve!
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SCENARIO WORKING GROUPS BEGIN THEIR WORK
Yes, our Scenario Working Groups are beginning the vital work of building out each of the three scenarios our FFP (Faithful Future Planning Committee) recommended for the future of our congregation:
A. Consolidation (with one or more partner congregations)
B. Sell And . . . (either relocate or lease back space)
C. Legacy
Every voice is wanted and needed, including yours. It’s not too late to join one of these Working Groups. Simply email Lynda-Lee, Kris, or Diane if you’d like to join in.
And to echo Linda P’s prayer in the most recent communication with our amazing Healing Prayer group:
“We pray that the Holy Spirit will counsel, uplift, and dearly hold every member of each group. We pray each group will be blessed with honest dialogue and deep listening. In the midst of this challenging and momentous work, let us take courage and strength from these words of Presbyterian minister and theologian, Frederick Buechner:
“Wherever people love each other and are true to each other and take risks for each other, God is with them and they are doing God’s will.”
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Please remember to participate in our new way of scheduling Liturgists, Greeters, and Coffee Hour Set-up and Clean-up. The goal is to have an organized schedule to allow anyone at East Church to sign-up for any of these very important roles. Please click the link below to select the dates and roles you are able to fill. If your plans change at any point after getting on the schedule, you can swap dates. Of note, liturgists can also perform their role via zoom.
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Captured in both in the sanctuary of our Virtual Chat Room and in the sanctuary of our building during Sunday worship and as the week continues to unfold.
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Click on the word Lectionary to see the upcoming scripture lessons for each week. |
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What's Happening at East Church |
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Click the image to access the church calendar.
to have the church calendar updated with your usage.
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East Church Healing Prayer Ministry |
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HEALING PRAYER MINISTRY STAYS VIRTUAL
Our Healing Prayer Ministry continues to grow and support us all in these days and continues its ministry through a beautiful, powerful, ongoing email group sharing and praying.
If you are not already part of this group and would like to join in this Healing Prayer Ministry, or if you have a prayer request to share with this group, please contact Linda P by email or phone.
Linda recently closed one of our recent Healing Prayer emails with this prayer: "Let us be mindful of the prayer requests we have received as we go about our days. Great places to pray are doctor’s waiting rooms, long wait lines at the grocery store, and red lights. Bring to mind a person’s name or a difficult circumstance you know someone is dealing with and give it to God’s ever attentive presence with you. As we all know, prayer does not require words, only the full attention of our hearts. May God continue to bless this ministry and all for whom we pray. Amen."
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Happy Birthday and Anniversary to all members and friends
born in the months of July though December.
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What's Happening in the Wider Community |
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FAREWELL AND THANK YOU LANELLE
After twelve years of faithful service as our Church Secretary and then Office Manager, Lanelle is drawing her ministry with us to a close at the end of June. She recently shared these words with Pastor Shelly:
With a heavy heart, I must inform you that effective June 30, 2023, I will resign my position as Church Office Manager of East Congregational Church. Please know that my decision was not made lightly as my time with East Church for the past 12 years has been very special to me. As I mentioned to you before, it was not just a job, it’s my ministry. The love and support of everyone at East Church during some of the hardest times of my life have uplifted my family and me, and I will be forever grateful beyond adequate words.
After much prayer and consideration over the past few months, I have realized that it is now time for me to step into a new chapter of my life with the courage, faith, and confidence that East Church’s spirit has enabled me to develop through the years. . . .
I am happy to provide support during the transition in any way that I can. My heart and prayers are with you and East Church always.
—Lanelle
Please Note: Our Personnel Committee and Leadership Team are working closely with Pastor Shelly to assess our staffing resources at this time and develop a plan for the administrative support needs of our congregation.
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East Congregational Church, UCC
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