Dear Beloved Community,
I have killed every plant I have owned. Some I drowned. Others dried up for lack of water. Others tried to escape, but exhausted themselves trying to get out of the pot. It’s all really sad. On the other hand, my wife Pamela is a “plant whisperer.” She can nurture life out of dead twiggery, or bean sprouts in a jar by the kitchen window sill. How about you? Have you a green thumb, toe, or elbow? Do you savor the feel of soil under your finger nails, the social companionship of nematodes? If so, boy do we have some joy for you! As the planting season draws near (yippee) we are thinking about our urban garden on Francesca Ave. and the love tasks ahead of planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting. Are you in? If you want to be involved in our urban garden and our mission of bringing fresh vegetables to Project Soup please contact me or Rita Rocha on the Buildings and Grounds team.
Following the footsteps of the recent St. Patrick’s Day run in Davis square, I was notified of another run to take place in the weeks ahead at Tufts University. In this case it is a fundraiser for a mission in Rwanda. You may be interested in the details at www.rwanda5k.com for all you healthy road racing oriented folks. I will be safely and comfortably seated somewhere out of the way.
For two weeks now, our Wednesday house church has been fueled by good soup and great conversation as we go deeper into our understanding of how Jesus acted up against cultural and religious norms. Sunday’s Egghead book group got off to a good start last week as we engaged with authors Marcus Borg and NT Wright in their debate about the Meaning of Jesus. There’s more to come in the weeks ahead if you want to join us.
Movie Night hosted by the Ericsons happens tomorrow night Friday March 25th at 7:30pm, call Keith for more details at 617-861-7673. The movie will be “Waiting for Superman” and the pizza will be delicious.
Sunday will be a Jubilee Sunday with the children joining us for worship and as you know … anything can happen … we have some great music planned and an interesting sermon time ahead. Josh, our puppet friend, is in Paris at the moment so we will await his return to church on another day. Ian Tosh will be our liturgist, and the children will be singing.
Until then… may God bless us all.
— Ian
Dear Beloved,
After my long and emotional email about my future plans and the church’s pastors, here’s a note ‘tweet style.’
Sixty degrees, Yeah! Go out and play.
Sunday is coming, yippee. Oh! It’s still lent. Ok. Modest joy is allowed, reflection encouraged.
Jason Donnelly, liturgist. Can’t wait.
Music, Psalms, Prayer, Word, it’s all good.
Big brunch Sunday Meeting for many committees. Buildings and Grounds, Communications, Finance, Growth, and Personnel.
LOVED those pancakes last week!!! Yum, Yum, Yum.
Lenten Eggheads book group at 2:00pm, theology boiling over, fun with ideas – over easy.
Wednesday House Church. Great start last week. Good soup, good group, get in the loop!
God is Good, Love the sun and the Son.
— Ian
Dear Beloved Church,
Lent is a time of preparation and reflection as we ready ourselves for a renewed and life-giving experience of the resurrection. Easter and resurrection will take on both a deeper and more concrete meaning for so many of the First Church community when we welcome Molly back to the pulpit and wait with eager anticipation for her return as your Senior Pastor in June. We look forward to a time of new beginnings and the start of a new sense of “normal” in the life of the church. But we are still in Lent for now!
Another important aspect of the preparation and associated anticipation for the new ‘normal’ for the church is the search for new associate pastor. With faith and trust in the Holy Spirit you amazing people voted to call a second minister to serve the congregation at the annual meeting and voted to allocate the funds needed to support the new position. The hope is that the church will be fully staffed for the Fall. The search committee for this position has been formed. They are hard at work, meeting every week, and doing their homework. This Sunday we will commission them for the work ahead. The mission they take on is a tough one, it is a deeply spiritual one, it is one that relies on deep trust and love from the congregation, and for the congregation. They will need your prayers and support. As you know, the task of calling a minister to a church is so very different than filling a position in a secular environment. It is a mysterious process, a love process, a spiritual process, as well as being a ton of work – with lots of paperwork. But we can trust God in this process. God has served you well in the past. God is Good, All The Time.
I can only imagine the energy, excitement, music, preaching, love, worship, and mission vibe that will emanate from College Ave, finding its way into every nook and cranny of Somerville when you are fully staffed and in the sweet spot of that new normal.
Lent is a time of preparation for me too. Last June, God took me by the hand and placed me at your door and pulpit, and said “go ahead, it will be alright, this is where you need to be right now.” And the unlikely match of this greenhorn, this congregation, and the tough circumstances of Molly’s illness, somehow has worked in a very special way. Together we have been church. Filled with the Spirit. Filled with love. Filled with faith. But God is taking me by the hand again and leading me elsewhere now. I don’t know where, but I have learned not to argue. She did not ask for my opinion. But just as it was clear to me that I was called by God to serve First Church as Support Pastor, I know that I am not called to serve as associate pastor. There is some other path ahead for me and for you. With trust and faith in God’s mysterious (and inconvenient) ways, I am preparing my profile to search for a call. Please pray for me, and for the congregation that is searching for me. This is part of my anticipation for a post-Easter new normal. But we are still in Lent for now, and there is work ahead for us in March, April and May as I complete my time in this very special place – with you – a special people, gifts from God.
And may God Bless us all.
—- Ian
Dear Beloved Community,
We have an action-packed Sunday, and an action-packed week ahead, so here’s an action-packed email.
Be sure to read to the end, and don’t blink whatever you do!
Don’t forget that the clocks are changing on Saturday night! Unfortunately the powers-that-be don’t understand how precious that hour of sleep is for me and have decided to move the clocks forward one hour anyway. We will have to drink our orange juice and coffee to help the spirit and our tired bodies along. But we will also have some great support in creating a very special worship service from our very own ‘First Church String Band.’ The people who were at the retreat have experienced the sounds of this talented crew already. On Sunday we all get to enjoy and pray with our picking, strumming, and bowing saints.
We entered Lent on Wednesday with a time of tender prayer, music, confession, pyrotechnics and ashes. It was fun to set stuff on fire. On Sunday we will break open our Lenten theme of “Acting Up” and next Wednesday will be the start of our house church examination of that theme. Wednesday nights will be a spiritual feast of worship, simple meal, and small group discussion. We will set fires of the Spirit within (though I still have some flash paper left if we need a little more excitement. )
Also, please tell me if you are interested in the book group discussion on the “Meaning of Jesus.” It starts on Sunday the 20th. I should have the books on Sunday for those who asked me to order one for them.
When I was growing up, we gave up candy for Lent, but we were allowed a break from our ‘fast’ on Sundays – especially if we visited my grandparents. Granny always could be relied on to have a few chocolates and cookies for us. With that same allowance, we are going to have a ‘Fat Tuesday pancake feast’ as part of coffee hour on Sunday. The Fellowship, Growth and Deacons groups are treating us to a ministry of batter and syrup on Sunday. So bring your friends and neighbors to church, there will be great music, prayer, something that resembles a sermon, and we will feed them too. What’s not to love?
Sunday will also be important for one more reason. We will take time in the service to commission our dear wonderful Rev. Jeff VonWald and Julie Rossate for their mission to Israel. They will leave us with our prayers and love as they take on this exciting and rewarding mission on behalf of the wider Body of Christ to the Holy Land where He walked and lived. Come and pray with them one more time before they go.
And may God bless us all,
Peace
—- Ian
Ian Holland
Support Pastor
Addendum
Beloved Church,
The Irish are not known for great athletic feats – unlike African runners, Austrian skiers, or Jamaican bobsledders. And I don’t we would ever mix Saint Patrick’s day with anything vaguely resembling a health activity. Carbo-loading and cabbage consumption are not the same thing. When I think of the phrase “Irish Road Race” I think of a casual, yet very deliberate, stroll to the pub by a bunch of thirsty Cork lads on a Friday night (Cork being my home town.) But this is America and all things are possible in the New World, and Somerville folk are a very inventive bunch – even if it disturbs my Sunday morning plans.
In the interest of the folly of running the “annual Race of Ireland road race” (wow! it happens yearly – madness, sheer madness) the town will be closing ALL the streets around the church on Sunday morning – see the details below. They think it is appropriate activity for the week of St. Paddy’s day. Don’t they know everyone should in church, not sweating up the streets? Ah well…
We have a very special service planned on Sunday – so please plan your parking accordingly.
As ever, your (head scratching) Support Pastor
—- Ian
Hello, this is Michael Meehan from the City of Somerville with information about street closures this weekend. On Sunday, March 13th beginning at 9 a.m., police, traffic and parking personnel will be detouring vehicles in and around the Davis, Teele, and Ball Square areas to accommodate the running of the annual Race of Ireland road race.
Secondary roads in these areas may also be closed to through traffic for a brief time in order to allow runners to pass. Major roadways including Holland Street to Alewife Brook Parkway, Powerhouse Boulevard, Broadway (in the Ball Square corridor), Cedar Street and the Community Path will be closed from 11 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. The Davis Square area will be closed to all traffic until approximately 1 p.m.
Buses to and from the Davis Square area will be rerouted down Elm Street, and buses along the race route may be delayed for a short period of time. Police and MBTA officials will be stationed throughout these areas to direct traffic and provide detour information. For additional information, please call 311.
Dear Beloved Community,
I have a confession to make. It’s happened again. I promised myself I would resist. But to no avail. American Idol has sucked me in one more time. I thought I could be faithful to “So you think you can dance” as my one and only reality competition show. But no! couldn’t do it. I blame it on the end of football season for leaving such a huge hole in my TV viewing life. Perhaps I can regain some self-control during the weeks of Lent. There are so many things happening in the life of the community over Lent that I will be happily engaged with the real people of the community instead of my new reality-tv ‘best friends.’
Ash Wednesday on March 9th will be followed by Lenten Rest and Re/New services, simple meals, and small group discussion time on the Wednesday nights that follow the 9th. I am getting ready for some Egghead eggstravanazas of theology with our book discussion on “The Meaning of Jesus” on Sunday afternoons (please tell me if you are joining us for this). All this, and Sunday worship too!
We had a wonderful time with our surprise guest “Josh” last Sunday. I never thought that a cloth-covered stuffed puppet (“Josh”) could be so wise and deep. It made me wonder about all that time I spent in seminary. I better not think too hard about it. I might get a complex. We may see Josh again in the months ahead. I hope he returns. Did anyone see him at coffee hour? Did he fill out a guest card?
This coming Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, we will engage the cinematic imagery of Matthew’s Gospel scene as we come to the end of the Epiphany season of light. We will sing songs of joy, share the blessing of the communion meal, and celebrate the ministry and service of our deacons. It will be an action packed, special-effects-filled, hour of worship. There are many things happening after worship too, Growth and Fellowship teams will meet, hand-bell and children’s choir will rehearse, Rooftop people will gather, and the first Annual meeting of the Casa Connection will meet at noon. The Associate Pastor Search committee will meet too. Phew. The place will be belling and buzzing.
Together with the help of God, our community is ready for Lent as we anticipate the glory of Easter.
And may God bless us all,
—- Ian
Dear Beloved Community,
We caught a glimpse of the possibility of spring this week. The sidewalks were momentarily clear and free. Unfortunately, it did not last as long as a cold virus, as winter showed up again today. However we Christians are a hardy bunch, living in perpetual hope for a new day and new life! But first we have Lent.
Preparations are well in hand for our Ash Wednesday service on March 9th (7pm), and a series of 4 Lenten Wednesday night “house church” small group meetings. This is an opportunity to meet people, to form deeper connections, as we figure out together what it means to be Christian in a complex pluralistic world. On house-church Wednesdays, we will share simple meals of soup and bread, have a teaching moment, and then break up into small groups to go deeper into the topic of each night. Our theme for Lent will be “Acting Up.” What might this theme evoke for us in our lives today? How might it lead us to a fresh understanding of Jesus’ mission and journey towards Easter?
Our house church meetings will take place in Duhamel Hal at 7:15pm immediately after the Rest and Re/New worship services (which start at 6:15pm.) So Wednesdays during Lent will be a rich evenings of worship, food, and discussion. You are welcome to join at any time as the evening progresses, and leave when you need to.
In times past First Church has had an Egghead theological discussion group on Sunday afternoons, so I want to invite all our hardboiled thinkers as well as any of our fresh yokes to join me Sunday afternoons for a discussion of the book “The Meaning of Jesus” by Marcus Borg and NT Wright. This book is a fascinating argument between two faithful people – one with a more liberal/rational understanding of Jesus and the other with a more orthodox/spiritual understanding. Maybe you will find yourself drawn to one or the other – or somewhere else entirely. Will you be poached or sunny-side up? We will take the book 2 chapters at a time, over four Sundays in Lent – March 20, 27, April 3 and 10 – at 2pm until 3:30pm. If you would like us to order the book for you – let me know.
On Sunday, we are going to welcome a surprise guest at worship. That’s it! That’s all I am saying for now. OMG, I am so excited – and a little nervous too. We will also be joined by Rev. Jeff Von Wald as our liturgist, the children will sing the anthem, Ian Tosh will be our town-crier, and I will show up as well. Many others will serve us as greeters, deacons, and coffee hour hosts (thank God for coffee hour saints!). It is a Jubilee Sunday, so we invite all the children of the community to be with us in worship, and to share their wisdom, their joy, and their toys with us on Sunday morning. We will also participate in a tender and special God-parent covenant for Ruby Anne Donnelly.
See you soon, come early for worship – we can chat, hang out for a while – listen to Hugh play the preludes….. t’will be grand ..
And may God bless us all …
– Ian
Dear Beloved First Church Folk,
Something amazing happened this week. The snow is Melting! We will soon be able to park on Francesca Ave. and all around church again. Hurray, hurray, hurray.
Something amazing happened this week. Over the past number of years First Church has worked towards a goal of giving 10% (a tithe) of pledges to our local mission partners, people like the Somerville Coalition for the Homeless, and Respond (a domestic violence shelter). In the budget passed at annual meeting a few weeks ago you approved a sum equivalent to 9% of pledges. This week we received an anonymous gift of $1600 from a member that will bring the total up to the 10% goal. This is an amazing gift, and an amazing achievement for the whole church. We will also give a further 8% to our church’s wider mission. God is good indeed.
Something amazing happened this week. Nearly thirty lay leaders of First Church came to Leadership Night on Wednesday to share some fun, great cake, fellowship time, and their stories. And they covenanted (making a holy promise) to work faithfully (and fun-fully) in their committees, with each other, and with the whole church, to lead us with the help of God. We sang, we ate, and we told each other what we loved about the church, and what we hoped for in the times ahead. The work of the church is in great loving hands. In that spirit, we are going to reestablish the Big Sunday Brunch meeting times for committees. On Sunday, the following groups will meet: Children’s Ministry, Fellowship, Music, and Mission and Justice.
Something amazing happened this week. Churches close and churches grow. One of the greatest gifts that a church that closes can give is to support the churches that are vital and growing. This week we received a grant of $6500 from the Central Congregational Church of Newton Legacy Trust to support our mission. We now have the responsibility to live fully into the hope and prayers of the saints of Central Church.
Something amazing will happen on Sunday. We will be together again to worship God. Mike Rodehorst will be our liturgist, Ian Tosh our announcer, and Thom, Hugh and choir will lead us to the Spirit through music. And in a very special moment in the life of the church we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism for Elizabeth Murphy. Amazing grace, God is good.
Imagine what might happen in the weeks to come.
May God bless us all.
—– Ian
Support Pastor
Dear Beloved,
Knock Knock,
Who’s there?
Interrupting cow.
Interrupting cow wh ….
MOOOOOO!
…..o?
I guess you have to hear it to appreciate it. But I laugh every time. Every time! I’m chuckling right now. I laugh even though my children are looking at me oddly. And then for the next half hour or so, I interrupt their conversations with random MOOOOO!’s. I am sure it is annoying, but they laugh, at least the first few times. It’s really stupid… not at all sophisticated. But there you are. That’s my level of humor I guess. We are to bring a G rated funny story to tell at the retreat on Friday night, and I’ve just shared the only joke I know. I need to do some research. I am eager to hear the jokes people will share. If you are not going, and you are reading this Friday morning, perhaps you could send me your favorite joke. Don’t do a reply all. Send it just to me. I’ll tell you how it went down when we see each other on Sunday.
While I am looking forward to the retreat on Friday and Saturday, I am also looking forward to Sunday. We are going to have more great and interesting music, we are going to share communion together, and our local UCC area minister, Rev. Wendy Vander Hart will be our preacher. Wendy was an important source of support and guidance to the church leadership this past year, and will be again in the months ahead. Julie Rossate is our liturgist, Ian Tosh is our news-of-the-parish announcer, and many others will serve the community in many different ways.
Again, another shout-out church-style – ALLELUIA! – to the folks who have maintained our sidewalks and doorways as snow-free zones. Thank you saints of the shovels. By all accounts, they had some fun with it. That’s what makes all our work possible. It’s the fun, and fellowship, laughter amidst the work, grace and service combined.
By the way, if you are looking for parking on Sunday, the town has cleared the snow by the parking meters (free on Sunday) around town. Figures! In any case, those spots may be an option for you.
So see you Sunday – We are going to laugh, sing, pray, and praise God .. and then laugh some more … just ‘cause. MOOOO!
And may God bless us all.
— Ian
Ian Holland
Support Pastor
Beloved,
Would it make a difference if I were a Buddhist? … in my attitude towards snow, I mean. As I used the snow blower at home this morning, the wind came up and blew the stream of wet whiteness right back into my face. I did not appreciate being ‘one with creation’ in that moment. Nor do I find it especially transcendent to find icicles forming in my beard. Maybe Yoga would help … just breathe…. Maybe not. Thank God we are able to experience moments of transcendent blessing in worship on Sunday with Thom’s musical leadership taking us to new heights, each and every week. “The storm is passing over” was last Sunday’s anthem and I was humming it during my morning’s snow-labor, if only to encourage any and all future storms to just pass us by.
Unfortunately, Somerville streets are shrinking by the day, and spots are becoming a little harder to find. On Sunday, one of our sister churches on College Ave. had a visit from someone from the Mayor’s office and shared the following information. “We need to encourage our congregants to park carefully on Sundays, i.e., park as close into the snow banks as possible, don’t block the neighbors’ driveways and leave the corners open so fire trucks can get around. He said the city doesn’t want to ticket or tow but they may be forced to do that with the amount of snow we have this year.” So please, give yourself a little extra time to get to church on Sunday. It is such a rich blessing indeed when we are together. I would like to invite you to approach your journey to worship, to meetings, to whatever God is calling you, as a form of Spiritual exercise. When we sing that opening hymn you can really let loose with all the joy you can muster after your extra effort in overcoming obstacles!
With the roads and sidewalks so messy, take your time and be careful on your way.If it is 10am, 10:10, 11:10 or somewhere in between, no matter – we will keep the pew warm and the coffee hot at coffee hour (or the pew hot and the coffee warm) ready for your arrival. It’s the First Church way after all.
Deep thanks again to the members of the community that moved the snow from our sidewalks this morning. This is a special gift to everyone, and makes it possible for us all, young and old, to get in our doors. It is also important for the many groups that use our building each day of the week. It is a demonstration of our commitment to the Christian virtue of hospitality when we make a way for our neighbors to enter and settle in. If you can help in this work, please raise your hand – send me an email. Can we share the workload a bit?
Our Sunday worship is going to feature “The Beatitudes” – you remember those – one goes: “Blessed are those who shovel snow, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven – in the form of a spa treatment” and so on. We will be singing some special music to match the theme, the children will be with us for a Jubilee Sunday, and there will be a celebration of blessings shared with everyone. Chet Britt is our liturgist, Ian Tosh is our “town crier,” and many will serve the community in different ways as greeters, coffee hour hosts, and sound-guy.
As you have seen from Liz Davenny, it is very important to tell her if you can come with us on the retreat as soon as possible. Thom is going to lead a singing workshop, Betsy is going to lead a crafts workshop, I am going to find the joy in scripture, a labyrinth will be walked, others may hike, others may sled, many will laugh and chat and be really silly – OK we all will be a bit silly – or a lot silly, and it will feel good to our very bones.
And May the God of Love, of Light, of Laughter, of Silliness, and yes even of Snow,
Bless us all….
— Ian
Ian Holland
Support Pastor
First Church Somerville
Dear Beloved Community,
Given the weather we have experienced and the weather to come, following an emergency meeting of the Building and Grounds Committee, our administrator may soon be ordering a 92 hp diesel powered turbocharged Bobcat T320 compact track loader with the high flow snowblower attachment (with joystick controls and heated seat). This little guy will take care of our sidewalks in a jiffy – and of course be an important time-saving aid for the support pastor, as it would make quick work of his own driveway. What do you think? I may need your help in persuading our Moderator to put this on the agenda for our annual meeting on Sunday following our worship service.
The annual meeting is one of the most amazing aspects of congregational church life. It is the event that makes our way of being church so different from other organizations. The local church decides its own budgets, plans, directions, and theology. No bishops, synods, or presbyteries anywhere. Even though it has the elements of a business meeting, it is in fact another way that we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to shape our mission and faith life. On Sunday, the members of the church will decide important questions about our staffing, mission spending and the full budget for 2011. We will also celebrate the amazing faith and trust present in our church demonstrated by the 2011 pledged commitments and the very strong financial state of church at the end of 2010 (though perhaps a Bobcat T320 compact track loader with joystick control is not the best use of our money. Ah well.) The annual report that compliments the annual meeting has been posted to the yahoo group and should be in your email inbox from Jas well.
The annual meeting will follow our worship service and a brief coffee hour (perhaps a “coffee half-hour”) all are welcome for the discussions and celebration. But first, we will pray, sing, and break open the Word of God. Ellen O’Donnell will be our liturgist for the worship service, Ian Tosh (our Moderator) will share the important news of the parish, Liz Davenny will be the cantor for our Psalm, and a host of other saints of the community will serve us as greeters, deacons, and coffee half-hour hosts. Thom has been taking us to wonderful new places with the music in our services, and this week he will be joined by the First Church band. Prepare to be moved!
Please tell Liz Davenny asap if you are coming on the church “Rekindling Joy” retreat in February. We need to gather the final numbers. I am looking forward to being with you all in this new context.
In the absence of the Bobcat T320, our church has been served by the muscles and commitment of a faithful crew of snow shovel movers and shakers. If you live close to the church, we could really use your help too. Please contact Jason Donnelly if you are able.
Stay warm, be safe, and may the grace and blessings of God be with us all.
— Ian
