So, I’ve just noticed that the week I preached about God as Fire, wildfires took over Arizona. The tornadoes of course came weeks before my sermon on God as Wind and so I can’t be held responsible for them, but North Dakotans are being evacuated due to historic flooding, and it has rained for three days straight here, as I ponder this sermon on God as Water. Maybe it is time for a sermon on God as Fluffy Kittens Cavorting? Or God as Twin Toddlers Communicating in Babyspeak?

There is a lot going on in the world this week. Syria. Afghanistan. Santa Monica, and the return home of Somerville’s own mafia don, Whitey Bulger. Maybe you feel far removed from it because there is so much going on in your personal world. Or maybe you feel deeply part of it, swept up in the inexorable tides of change, the tsunamis of good and evil, and don’t know which way is up, toward the air.

After church: you are invited one of to two brief trainings to build your skills, and build our church. One is a small group leaders’ training by the amazing and wonderful Suzanne Woolston Bossert. It is primarily for those leading Summer Small Groups but will teach you skills applicable to lots of settings. Another is a First Church Greeters’ training. As Jen Purves so aptly said, wouldn’t you like to be the next Face of God for someone just walking through the door, who needs a place and a people and a God like ours?

If it had stayed gloomy and rainy for one more day, I might have been tempted to join the folks predicting the end of the world on Sat.  21^st of May.  But the sun came up over Somerville this afternoon, Tara and Elizabeth are working in the First Church veggie garden, and George P. just delivered all the stuff needed for the “All Church Work Day” on Sunday (please pay special notice to the “All” !).  So, perhaps we will skip the end-of-the-world after all, and show up for worship and work on Sunday.    Sharing in some City Slicker’s pizza after some productive hammering, screwing, and cleaning – with a fun crew of silly First Church people – will be a rapturous moment of a different kind.

Tara will be leading some people in weeding and planting outside.  Gary will be giving the directions to the folks inside (think “Holmes on Homes” from HGTV).  I will be making myself useful for a change, and we will spruce up the place just in time for Pentecost.   Liam and Kathleen Seward will be providing child care until 2pm (pizza time) in the nursery.   Come one, come all, to This Old House (of worship) for a less extreme, but important, makeover.  (I wonder how many more TV show references I can use in this email?)

Oh! And we will have worship too, with new members joining the church.   Join the church, get to work! That’s Gospel living.  But seriously, it is a profound moment in the life of a church when men and women are willing and prepared to make public and professed commitments to a community like ours, and to God, and then we in turn make promises and commitments to them.  It is counter-cultural, radical, and courageous.  Just like Jesus.

Speaking of Jesus courage, we will be celebrating the return of Melissa Hines and Pete Shungu from their 10 month mission to the orphanage Casa San Jose. Melissa will be our liturgist for the service.  They both will be happy to share their stories and experiences with all at coffee hour.  John Olson will be our Psalm cantor, and many others will serve the community upstairs and downstairs.

That’s it.  That’s church.  That’s a full day’s work for God in the name of Christ!  Yeah, let’s skip the whole end-of-the-world thing on Saturday.  We have something much better going on, on Sunday and on all the days and weeks ahead.

All thanks be to God, who blesses us every single day.

— Ian

Ian Holland

Support Pastor

The veggie garden is taking shape and crops are spouting. The tulips, and daffodils are bursting with color, and Elton the roofer has surveyed the shape of our shingles and declared them “mostly good.” However, some (like Elvis) have left the building. A little TLC is needed here and there. But that is what First Church is especially good at – tender, loving, care with an extra portion of grace on the side. As Elton prepares to add some new shingles to our spiritual home, our saints of the soil will soon be adding two new heirloom apple trees to our green space. So, we are taking care business on top, outside in the soil, and inside our sanctuary and in our hearts. It’s all good!

We had a wonderful tour of the church last week with folk who were new and newish. John Olson was just great as our tour guide. I am looking forward to the next phases of our new member program, and the joy of May 22 when have our membership liturgy as part of the service. Do you have any questions about this stuff? Do you wonder what it means to be a member of First Church? Call me. We can talk. There will be pizza!

But we don’t have to wait until May 22 for cool and exciting stuff to happen in church … phew! We get to have wonderful church this week too. Given that I have been attending a conference on ministry this week (btw people here are still all abuzz about the Easter Sunday Globe article about Molly and the church) I invited Rev. Heather Hinton to be our preacher on Sunday. Heather is an ordained minister in the UCC and a chaplain at Leahy Clinic. She is married to Hugh, our organist, mom to Isaac, and a frequent occupier of the front pews (on my right) on Sunday. Hurray! Margaret Leslie will be our liturgist, Andrea Ranger our announcer, and I will be offering the prayers (no special or sound effects will be in use).

While I am in the spirit of being thankful for colleagues, I am also very grateful for Rev. Laura Tuach’s worship leadership last Sunday, and for Rev. Carol Taylor’s help during the Easter Sunrise service, and the Donkey Walk too.

You will also want to come on Sunday to hear an organ recital by our own accomplished Tara J. Tresner-Kirsch at 1pm. This is an important milestone for Tara, as she has spent long hours practicing for this occasion. It will be great. Other things happening on Sunday include Children’s Choir rehearsal, and Resounding Joy (bells) rehearsal.

Sunday is Mother’s day. Now, I don’t associate Mother’s day with running at all, but there is another special 5K run called the “M.O.M’s 5K run for cancer”. People in Somerville seem to love to run and raise money for good causes on Sundays. It will be starting at 9:45am in and around Davis Square, Highland and Summer streets. Traffic patterns will be disrupted. So please plan your drive to church accordingly.

We are truly blessed by all that we have received and by the gifts of the people in our lives. All thanks be to God. May she grant us grace and wisdom, peace and courage.

Peace
—- Ian
Support Pastor.

The sun is shining, the birds are all a twittering (no! not with smartphones), music is playing, and I am just about coming out of my Holy Week fog/cloud/stupor/haze/happy place. Ah! Easter and Spring, all is right with the world. But there is work to be done. In some kind of interesting “reverse-Samson-effect” – as Molly’s hair grows longer, my time at First Church grows shorter. But between now and my last Sunday (on June 5), there are so many more wonderful things happening.

On Sunday, we will celebrate both the season of Easter-tide, Earth-day, and communion. When you come to church you will see the soil and budding plants of our urban garden. Tara and friends have been preparing the beds and planting seeds for the harvests to come. Some tulips we planted way back in Sept. 19 have bloomed and blossomed. Do you remember what you felt in Sept . about the church, about Molly, about your own circumstances? What do you feel today?

In this weeks service, Jeff Banks will be our liturgist, Andrea Ranger will share the news of the parish, and Rev. Laura Tuach will join me at the communion table, and lead our prayers. Many other saints of the church will serve as greeters, sound people, coffee hour hosts and teach our children. Would you like share your gifts with the community some Sunday?

After the service, we will have our storytelling tour of the church building, especially for folks thinking about joining the church, but all are welcome. John Olson is the Maitre d’ of the tour, and others will share their wisdom along the way. We will have new member events on the evening of May 13 and May 20 prior to our New Member Rite on Sunday May 22. Please contact me if you would like to learn more about this process and what it might mean for you.

Also, please put May 22 on your calendars as an All Church Work day. We will work inside and outside to fix up, tidy up, paint, up, and sort out our church building and grounds. It is important that we have as many hands as possible to help with taking care of our building. Many hands will make light and fun work.

Back to May 1, in the afternoon, Rooftop People are meetings, the bell choir is rehearsing, and we will have our last meeting of the Eggheads book group discussion on the “Meaning of Jesus”. In this conclusive meeting, we will figure him all out. Then we go home.

One more thing … We may have many people coming to check us out in the weeks to come .. please offer them the gifts of hospitality. Remember what it was like when you first came to First Church? What was your experience?

Peace to all and May God Bless us
—- Ian

Wow! I am still all abuzz following our amazing Easter Sunday service and Molly’s words and witness of truth and resurrection. GOD is GOOD!

As Marlin said during the service, we have an opportunity to hear another story of new life following a cancer diagnosis this week.

This Wednesday (April 27th, 7:30pm) we will host a special evening with Charlie Lustman. Charlie is in town to give the keynote presentation at the Oncology Nurses Association 2011 Congress at the Boston Convention Center on Thursday morning. But before he goes before the 4000 attendees of the Congress, he will come to First Church Somerville.

Here is a review of one of his shows from the LA times.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-nuclear20-2008sep20,0,4890060.story

There are others to be found via Google.

“Composer and cancer survivor Charlie Lustman lost his upper jaw to an extremely rare osteosarcoma, but that didn’t stop him from writing, producing, and now performing original songs about his cancer experiences. Made Me Nuclear, the title track of his CD and one-man operetta, has inspired thousands of people at hospitals, cancer centers, schools, churches, theaters, and other locations where he has shared his inspirational message”

He is on a tour he calls:
“A Musical Campaign of Hope and Healing –
featuring Charlie Lustman, singer, songwriter, producer and cancer survivor, in his personal and uplifting quest to make cancer survival popular. Join us as we experience this powerful and irresistible musical message of hope, joy and transformation from a musician who lost his jaw . . . and found his voice.”

The evening is free, but we will collect a free will donation to support Dana Faber Cancer Research. We will add the amount to Christy Zuzello’s fundraising following her fantastic Boston Marathon run.

So, please come and bring your friends and neighbors to hear Charlie’s story and music, and to raise money to fight cancer. Also, please spread the word as best you can.

Peace
—- Ian

Today is both Good Friday and Earth Day. It seemed odd to me at first to put those two things together in my head (allowing for the fact that my brain is barely big enough to hold both there at the same time). But perhaps there is the stark message for all Christians in putting them together – Jesus died on the cross for us all, the whole world, the whole of creation. That is what is at stake on Good Friday. So often we think about religion and spirituality as a personal thing, a private thing, an individual thing. The Cross is so much bigger than that. The Cross announces a global, cosmic message – God created the Earth and us in it, and it was very good. God cared so much about this good creation that she sent Jesus to get us on the right track. What does “Loving our neighbor as ourselves” mean for us when we consider the pollution (air, water, soil and soul) and resource consumption of American society? This is a challenge to me personally given the poor gas mileage of the car I drive, and the stuff my family consumes on a weekly basis.

Last Sunday, on our Palm Sunday Donkey Walk, we had a chant “Go Green, Ride a Donkey”. It was fun to think about … briefly … but I don’t think Cliff the Donkey, or I, would be happy together on Rt 2 or I495. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful trip down College Ave in the sunshine. We handed out more than 90 bulletins and ran out of palm fronds, so there was a big crowd involved. The Somerville Journal has a short story and some pictures at: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/photos/x1200372014/Palm-Sunday-Donkey-Walk.

We had a powerful service last night for Maundy Thursday. It was night of fellowship, food, scripture, prayer and poetry. The music was slow and somber. The light of candles gave way to silence and darkness. I want to extend a big THANK YOU to the many people who helped in putting it all together. Bless you all. And thanks to the deacons and others who are currently bearing witness to the cross, and praying for us all, during our Good Friday Vigil. The church doors are open for anyone who needs a time of prayer.

I expect to see you all on the peak of Powder House Park at 6am for the sunrise service. I have so many expectations! Come for the breaking of the day, and the dawn of a risen Christ in all our hearts. Then come to our festival worship at 10:00am to be together with your church family, and also with your family, to pray and sing, listen to our Easter Orchestra, and to hear God’s Holy Word broken open by our senior pastor Molly Baskette. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! (Come early… 6am even)

May God bless us all, may Her face shine upon us, and be gracious unto us …

—- Ian
Support Pastor

“A horse, a horse!  My Kingdom for a horse!” so cried the doomed King Richard III in the Shakespearean play named after the king.  I was beginning to feel like that sad and soon to be ‘terminated’ king.  “A donkey, a donkey! The Kingdom of God for a donkey!”  Would a beast of burden show up to relive my burdens?  And then, an angel appeared. “Let me see what I can do.” She said calmly.  “I know a few horse people.”  The angel was our own Toni Snow, a saint of our community.  Toni found “Cliff” the donkey who will be leading our Donkey Walk Palm Sunday parade down College Ave. on Sunday morning.  Cliff is small.  He is a miniature donkey 35 inches tall, with a big heart.   The children will love him.   We will gather at Powder House (Nathan Tufts) Park by the side of College Road near the circle, just off the road, at 8:45am.   We should be on our way by 9am and finished in grand time for our special Cantata Service at 10:00.  So, come one and all, with Palms raised, shouting Hosannas and other cheers.  Michael Molla will bring some drums for an impromptu formation of the First Church drum band.   “Hey, hey, ho, ho .. it’s off to church we go!”  We will be joined by clergy and people from the neighborhood churches as well as the curious bystanders.

Thom, the choir, and musicians have been working very hard to prepare for the Palm Sunday Cantata Service.  It will be a time of music, celebration and joy, but also a time of contemplation as we consider the passion of Christ, the pain of Good Friday to come, and the hope of Easter Sunday just days away.    Our senior pastor, Molly Baskette will bring us a word of confession and assurance of pardon as our liturgist on Sunday.  The deacons will host our Hot Cross Bun extravaganza after the service.   The First Church Hot Cross baking elves will be playing with fire and flour on Saturday the 16th.  George Phinney is Chief Elf and Flour Master.  (I hope they use real butter.)

On Saturday morning, perhaps a few people can come to the church at 10:00am to help cast a critical ‘tidy up’ eye on our building and help pick up the various bits of random papers, debris, etc as we get ready for Holy Week.  What looks out of place?  What could be smartened up?  Contact me if you are able to help.

Then there is Holy Week!  We will be serving a special meal of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food (remembering the Last Supper) for all who come at 6:30pm Maundy Thursday upstairs in the sanctuary followed at 7pm by a service of light and darkness, music and prayer, as we read the passion story.

The sanctuary will be open from 7am to 6pm on Good Friday, with prayers and readings on the hour, every hour, and a prayer vigil throughout the day staffed by deacons and ministers.  There will be a longer service of readings and prayer at 3pm.

On Easter Sunday morning we will join the neighborhood churches at 6am at the top of Nathan Tufts (by the Powder House) Park for a sunrise service.  This will be followed by a time of (needed) coffee and fellowship in our own Duhamel Hall.  And then, we will be ready for Festival Worship of Easter at 10:00am.   Molly will preach on the resurrection!  The place will be packed.  So come early.   It is not too late to order Easter lilies and tulips in memory or celebration of loved ones.  Please contact Mariah Hout if you would like to order flowers to adorn our sanctuary (houtms@gmail.com ).  There will be a special potluck Easter Sunday coffee hour for all who would like to share lunch with church family.

Then…. we will rest … with God’s blessings and the love of the risen Christ.

— Ian

Support Pastor

Our building was full of joyful noise last night. The theater group “The Longwood Players” was rehearsing their spring show, a musical, in Duhamel Hall. Thirty or more members of an Alcoholics Anonymous group was squeezed into the Parlor. A cat adoption group was using the chapel. The deacons were cozily arranged in the “Bat Cave” — my office, and the choir was preparing for Sunday and the Psalm Sunday Cantata in the sanctuary. Another 12-step group was scheduled to be using another room as well, but decided a different night would be better given all the noise. Holy work, God-filled work, was going on in every corner of the place. This is church!!

Many groups use our building during the week. We derive some income from many of them, but we provide space at a minimal fee for many. It is part of our church’s outreach and mission support for the wider community. The First Church community has felt called to provide money to many organizations (we give nearly 20% of our total pledge dollars to others) .. but the gifts of hospitality, of space, of heat (most of the time!) that we provide to many are priceless.

And the work of the Church continues on Sunday.. hurray! But perhaps not a very loud “hurray” – we are still in Lent.. and we will be talking about death and Lazarus. I hope the preacher will find some new light to share on that subject. But it brings me back to hospitality. We will be having many guests in our pews in the coming weeks. Please share the pew, a smile, your name, and your hymnal. I am relying on you to distract them with your gifts of hospitality in case the preacher loses his way. Coffee hour promises to be great too – with Marlin Collingwood and his husband Gary being the hosts. So send our guests downstairs after the service. Marlin is wearing many hats on Sunday. He is in the choir and he will do our announcements. A very versatile – and hospitable fellow! John Olson is our liturgist.

Big Meeting brunch is happening on Sunday too with a number of our committees meeting (Children’s ministry, Music, Mission and Justice.)

And speaking of joyful noises and hospitality — Parents Night Out – from 5pm to 8pm is happening on Saturday – tomorrow night – please connect with Sue Donnelly (suebdonnelly@yahoo.com) if you have any questions. Drop your kids off at the church, have some fun, and remember to come back.

Are you getting ready for the Donkey Walk on Palm Sunday? (Do you know anyone with a donkey we can use? No, seriously … do you have a friend with a donkey? We might need one. Otherwise I might need a costume, and nobody wants that!)

And May God Bless us all …
—- Ian
Support Pastor

What a week it has been! We started with Spring and ended in Winter. There were many activities throughout the week with meetings of one kind or another, house church on Wednesday night, an ecclesiastical council at First Church Cambridge Thursday night (Deacon Lindsay Baber came too), and an education program for recent seminarians that I participated in all day today. Phew! I could have done with more orange juice, more coffee, and less time in my car. But then, I usually drink decaf, orange juice is too acidic, and I do my best thinking in my car. I need a different approach. Also, there have been some very unexpected words in my conversations of late — “peach fuzz”, “donkeys and donkey walks,” and “grape leaves” to mention a few. These did not come up at all during my 5 years at seminary… just saying. First Church Somerville has expanded my horizons in so many ways that I may need a new passport to get back to my comfort zone. No doubt, this coming week will be no different.

We will be sharing the cup and bread of communion this Sunday, and we will be blessed by the company and words of our beloved Molly Baskette both at the communion table, and leading our prayer time during the service. We are also looking forward to her preaching on Easter Sunday. These special moments in Lent and Easter point us forward to that time in June (Pentecost time!) when Molly will once again be leading worship on a regular basis. Thanks be to God!

Ben Davenny is our liturgist this Sunday, Marlin Colingwood will share all the announcements, Thom, Hugh and the choir will lift us high with the power and beauty of music, and I will have a few words to say too (God help us all).

There are many things happening after the service too, for example: Children’s Choir, Rooftop People, Associate Pastor Search Committee (offsite), and Lenten Eggheads. We also have a few renters using a number of rooms in our building in the afternoon. It will be a busy active place. That reminds me, if you know of anyone who needs some meeting space during the 9-5 weekday periods, Friday nights, or anytime Saturday, Jamie would love to speak with them. Perhaps you might be interested in helping us find some more tenants for the quieter parts of the week? If so, Jamie would love to speak with you!

Lastly, I will be planning the May “New Members” program in the week to come. Are you interested in joining First Church? Are you interested in learning what that might mean for you and for us? If so, please let me know.

Looking forward to the Son, and the sun, rising ….
Peace to one and all
— Ian