Our own Jeffrey Johnson will be on hand, with his mom, one of our deacons, to premiere his new movie, Letters to God. The showing will be March 6th at Pilgrim before it opens nationwide, tickets will be limited, and will benefit the youth mission work of our community.
Following on the heals of Adam Sandler filming the beginning of "Grown Ups" last spring, another sprinkle of stardust is a happy grace!
More details coming soon, but watch the trailer here.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Haiti
The tragedy in Haiti, like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, will take decades to rebuild. I cannot overstate the need for prayers. The first move in pain is to ground ourselves in God. God loves us. God did not bring this disaster. God is the power that allows us to rebuild.
There is no good news in the earthquake. The suffering is deep and the agony affects the Haitian diaspora not only in America, but around the world. When another human being is in pain, unless we close our eyes, we hurt too.
And if our eyes are open, this is where the good news begins. So many are already doing so much in an impossible situation. The good news begins in the saving of lives, the honoring of the dead, and the slow rebuilding--one life, one home, one neighborhood at a time.
You can help too. Again, first, pray.
Second, understand. Go to http://www.kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/ and you can read the words from our UCC partners in Haiti. I was on a national UCC board in grad school with Patrick's brother. Great folks who were there before the quake and in the right place to help.
Third, invest. Whether in Fonkoze, the microloan bank that will help the people restart the economy, or in trusted organizations like the Red Cross, every drop in the bucket helps it fill up.
The kingdom of heaven is like a bucket in which you put one drop, and suddenly it it full.
There is no good news in the earthquake. The suffering is deep and the agony affects the Haitian diaspora not only in America, but around the world. When another human being is in pain, unless we close our eyes, we hurt too.
And if our eyes are open, this is where the good news begins. So many are already doing so much in an impossible situation. The good news begins in the saving of lives, the honoring of the dead, and the slow rebuilding--one life, one home, one neighborhood at a time.
You can help too. Again, first, pray.
Second, understand. Go to http://www.kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/ and you can read the words from our UCC partners in Haiti. I was on a national UCC board in grad school with Patrick's brother. Great folks who were there before the quake and in the right place to help.
Third, invest. Whether in Fonkoze, the microloan bank that will help the people restart the economy, or in trusted organizations like the Red Cross, every drop in the bucket helps it fill up.
The kingdom of heaven is like a bucket in which you put one drop, and suddenly it it full.
Haiti
The tragedy in Haiti, like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, will take decades to rebuild. I cannot overstate the need for prayers. The first move in pain is to ground ourselves in God. God loves us. God did not bring this disaster. God is the power that allows us to rebuild.
There is no good news in the earthquake. The suffering is deep and the agony affects the Haitian diaspora not only in America, but around the world. When another human being is in pain, unless we close our eyes, we hurt too.
And if our eyes are open, this is where the good news begins. So many are already doing so much in an impossible situation. The good news begins in the saving of lives, the honoring of the dead, and the slow rebuilding--one life, one home, one neighborhood at a time.
You can help too. Again, first, pray. Second, understand. Go to http://www.kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/
and you can read the words from our UCC partners in Haiti. I was on a national UCC board in grad school with Patrick's brother. Great folks who were there before the quake and in the right place to help. Third, invest. Whether in Fonkoze, the microloan bank that will help the people restart the economy or in trusted organizations like the Red Cross, every drop in the bucket helps it fill up.
There is no good news in the earthquake. The suffering is deep and the agony affects the Haitian diaspora not only in America, but around the world. When another human being is in pain, unless we close our eyes, we hurt too.
And if our eyes are open, this is where the good news begins. So many are already doing so much in an impossible situation. The good news begins in the saving of lives, the honoring of the dead, and the slow rebuilding--one life, one home, one neighborhood at a time.
You can help too. Again, first, pray. Second, understand. Go to http://www.kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/
and you can read the words from our UCC partners in Haiti. I was on a national UCC board in grad school with Patrick's brother. Great folks who were there before the quake and in the right place to help. Third, invest. Whether in Fonkoze, the microloan bank that will help the people restart the economy or in trusted organizations like the Red Cross, every drop in the bucket helps it fill up.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
55 Carolers
The night was rainy, but the voices were warm and nine homes around Southborough were visited by 55 members of our junior high youth group, senior high youth group, volunteer drivers and the choir on Sunday the 13th.
"That the best ever," reveled one young singer as she left the house of a church member (who plied her with brownies and nog before leaving).
The Pilgrim Church Youth program began its renewal in 2000 and from a group of 16 then, it has grown to over 60 participants with active mission programs and fun that fills young and older with love we are all grateful for.
The annual caroling event (with Chinese food feast and Yankee swap) is always looking for adults who want to drive and bring their voice to the party. Put it on your calendar, the second Sunday of December, for next year!
"That the best ever," reveled one young singer as she left the house of a church member (who plied her with brownies and nog before leaving).
The Pilgrim Church Youth program began its renewal in 2000 and from a group of 16 then, it has grown to over 60 participants with active mission programs and fun that fills young and older with love we are all grateful for.
The annual caroling event (with Chinese food feast and Yankee swap) is always looking for adults who want to drive and bring their voice to the party. Put it on your calendar, the second Sunday of December, for next year!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
This Year's Youth Mission Trip to DC
Pilgrim Church Youth Group—Washington, D.C. Mission Trip 2009
Our Theme—Give Love
On August 2, eight adults and 35 teenagers boarded a bus for Washington D.C. Our purpose: To be honest, it’s hard to pin down.
You go on a mission trip because you think it’s going to be fun. The teenagers either have enjoyed previous adventures to places like West Virginia and Chicago, heard their brothers and sisters and friends tell stories about why they loved past trips, or they just want to get away from their parents for a week (and parents are happy to send them). It’s the same for the adults: They’ve heard the tales and want to taste what the kids talk about every year on Mission Trip Sunday, or like Sue Baust, for whom D.C. was her sixth trip in a row, or Dawn Gutro, who’s now done four, loving our teenagers and the people we help becomes a cherished week each year.
But why do we go? In the midst of modern life, where pace and profit often drive us more than love and peace, the reasons we initially go on the trip are never the reasons we’re glad we went.
God’s become a tricky thing in our age of too much information and open access to everything. God, which is love and experiences of grace, we think, is supposed to be consumable too. Hire the right staff, package the right mission experience, and presto: faithful teenagers.
God is so much bigger than we think; God, which is love and experiences of grace, is a mystery: Until you figure a little piece of it out.
****
Mission trips are fundamentally about service. We live lives with so much, and it is a chance to introduce teenagers to giving of themselves. It is not natural to give: Our brains are hardwired to plan, to hoard, to make everything safe, and giving your energy and time is rarely a logical thing to do—at first.
We worked at the YMCA—hugging children who always need more love (it’s hard to learn and develop when you don’t feel like you matter). Their children and our children cry after only spending three days together.
We worked at Food and Friends and Bread for the City—feeding the hungry (it’s hard to pull yourself out of poverty when all your brain can think about is your next meal). One of our teenagers is already planning a trip back with his school.
We worked at the Salvation Army—Caring for neglected grounds (when you’re recovering from addiction, a well-tended garden can be the place you start over). A woman in a wheel chair came out after the work was done. She was only supposed to be outside for a few minutes. When they came to wheel her back in she said, “It’s never looked so beautiful. I need to stay out longer because I need to heal.”
We worked with Barney Neighborhood House—Repairing, cleaning, and transforming two homes of elderly residents (It’s hard to appreciate your life when it’s falling in on you). A quote from Mrs. Harris to her friend on the phone, “I can’t talk to you right now. I have too much help to deal with.”
****
When 43 people live together for six days a lot of things go wrong, and you notice a lot of things going right. We saw love, which is God, happening.
God’s hand:
• The Hostel said they had a place for us to reflect each evening. We needed a quiet place with room for 43. They didn’t have it, but there just happened to be a church across the street, the first black congregation that opened in the mid 1800s because they were tired of sitting at the back of the white churches. Asbury United Methodist gave us their fellowship hall every evening.
• The woman Sarah planned with at the Salvation Army, a woman she’d talked to all year, left her job the week before we arrived so there was only one day of work for our team. Barney immediately plugged our team in, and could have used us for the next twenty years.
• Lots of people didn’t feel well. Every single one healed by the end of the trip.
• Our bus got in an accident. The stop sign was covered with a tree. No one was hurt, and we were only two blocks from our site: We walked, smiling at D.C. and making friends as we went.
• Two flat tires, but not until we arrived at our Youth Hostel, so it didn’t slow us down (Thanks to our brilliant bus driver staying up until 2 to get them fixed).
• Sun all week, and when it rained, it was while we were driving.
• It’s normal to be intimidated when you’re new to a group this size. Teenagers that were afraid, every single one, became leaders at some point during the trip in ways they didn’t ever realize.
• We had a great talent show planned. We needed a boom box. One of the kids ran out and got speakers to plug into their ipod, but no batteries. Mr. Davis, the caretaker at the church, found batteries for us with a smile on his face and the show went on.
All week, the show went on. Why do we worry so much when God’s always by our side, even when things aren’t going right?
****
You figure out that God is with you when you make space to notice. The theme is as old as faith itself, and as our teenagers gave love to parts of the city tourists overlook, parts of the city we overlook when we’re tourists, we saw the God in the poor (and sometimes the person in poverty is us), the beauty (have you ever seen the reflecting pool shimmer the Washington monument on a cool summer evening?), and the relationships (Ask the kids about Mrs. Newport, Mrs. Harris, the dying woman who now has bright white rooms in which to spend her last days, the stranger they taught to play pool, the river guide who made them laugh, the chef who made them cookies, the person in their own youth group they wouldn’t have talked to before, but now call a friend).
****
We went away to give love, and we come back ready to love more. We come back changed: More aware, more hopeful, and more connected.
What are you doing today to give love, which is God, to everyone you meet?
Our Theme—Give Love
On August 2, eight adults and 35 teenagers boarded a bus for Washington D.C. Our purpose: To be honest, it’s hard to pin down.
You go on a mission trip because you think it’s going to be fun. The teenagers either have enjoyed previous adventures to places like West Virginia and Chicago, heard their brothers and sisters and friends tell stories about why they loved past trips, or they just want to get away from their parents for a week (and parents are happy to send them). It’s the same for the adults: They’ve heard the tales and want to taste what the kids talk about every year on Mission Trip Sunday, or like Sue Baust, for whom D.C. was her sixth trip in a row, or Dawn Gutro, who’s now done four, loving our teenagers and the people we help becomes a cherished week each year.
But why do we go? In the midst of modern life, where pace and profit often drive us more than love and peace, the reasons we initially go on the trip are never the reasons we’re glad we went.
God’s become a tricky thing in our age of too much information and open access to everything. God, which is love and experiences of grace, we think, is supposed to be consumable too. Hire the right staff, package the right mission experience, and presto: faithful teenagers.
God is so much bigger than we think; God, which is love and experiences of grace, is a mystery: Until you figure a little piece of it out.
****
Mission trips are fundamentally about service. We live lives with so much, and it is a chance to introduce teenagers to giving of themselves. It is not natural to give: Our brains are hardwired to plan, to hoard, to make everything safe, and giving your energy and time is rarely a logical thing to do—at first.
We worked at the YMCA—hugging children who always need more love (it’s hard to learn and develop when you don’t feel like you matter). Their children and our children cry after only spending three days together.
We worked at Food and Friends and Bread for the City—feeding the hungry (it’s hard to pull yourself out of poverty when all your brain can think about is your next meal). One of our teenagers is already planning a trip back with his school.
We worked at the Salvation Army—Caring for neglected grounds (when you’re recovering from addiction, a well-tended garden can be the place you start over). A woman in a wheel chair came out after the work was done. She was only supposed to be outside for a few minutes. When they came to wheel her back in she said, “It’s never looked so beautiful. I need to stay out longer because I need to heal.”
We worked with Barney Neighborhood House—Repairing, cleaning, and transforming two homes of elderly residents (It’s hard to appreciate your life when it’s falling in on you). A quote from Mrs. Harris to her friend on the phone, “I can’t talk to you right now. I have too much help to deal with.”
****
When 43 people live together for six days a lot of things go wrong, and you notice a lot of things going right. We saw love, which is God, happening.
God’s hand:
• The Hostel said they had a place for us to reflect each evening. We needed a quiet place with room for 43. They didn’t have it, but there just happened to be a church across the street, the first black congregation that opened in the mid 1800s because they were tired of sitting at the back of the white churches. Asbury United Methodist gave us their fellowship hall every evening.
• The woman Sarah planned with at the Salvation Army, a woman she’d talked to all year, left her job the week before we arrived so there was only one day of work for our team. Barney immediately plugged our team in, and could have used us for the next twenty years.
• Lots of people didn’t feel well. Every single one healed by the end of the trip.
• Our bus got in an accident. The stop sign was covered with a tree. No one was hurt, and we were only two blocks from our site: We walked, smiling at D.C. and making friends as we went.
• Two flat tires, but not until we arrived at our Youth Hostel, so it didn’t slow us down (Thanks to our brilliant bus driver staying up until 2 to get them fixed).
• Sun all week, and when it rained, it was while we were driving.
• It’s normal to be intimidated when you’re new to a group this size. Teenagers that were afraid, every single one, became leaders at some point during the trip in ways they didn’t ever realize.
• We had a great talent show planned. We needed a boom box. One of the kids ran out and got speakers to plug into their ipod, but no batteries. Mr. Davis, the caretaker at the church, found batteries for us with a smile on his face and the show went on.
All week, the show went on. Why do we worry so much when God’s always by our side, even when things aren’t going right?
****
You figure out that God is with you when you make space to notice. The theme is as old as faith itself, and as our teenagers gave love to parts of the city tourists overlook, parts of the city we overlook when we’re tourists, we saw the God in the poor (and sometimes the person in poverty is us), the beauty (have you ever seen the reflecting pool shimmer the Washington monument on a cool summer evening?), and the relationships (Ask the kids about Mrs. Newport, Mrs. Harris, the dying woman who now has bright white rooms in which to spend her last days, the stranger they taught to play pool, the river guide who made them laugh, the chef who made them cookies, the person in their own youth group they wouldn’t have talked to before, but now call a friend).
****
We went away to give love, and we come back ready to love more. We come back changed: More aware, more hopeful, and more connected.
What are you doing today to give love, which is God, to everyone you meet?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Church is Changing!
We are grateful to the folks at Columbia Pictures for leaving our church in great shape. The grounds are being freshened, the rugs have been cleaned, and the painting will be done soon.
Our summer projects including painting parts of the outside of the building, rewaxing the floors, and getting our lights shining on the Steeple again. The changes will make for an amazing, like-new-203 year old building.
Don't miss the chance to experience our sacred space every Sunday at 9:30 starting June 28 (ten o'clock until then)!
Our summer projects including painting parts of the outside of the building, rewaxing the floors, and getting our lights shining on the Steeple again. The changes will make for an amazing, like-new-203 year old building.
Don't miss the chance to experience our sacred space every Sunday at 9:30 starting June 28 (ten o'clock until then)!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sign Up for the Goddard School!
The Goddard School needs you this summer. Over 14 days we will love 60 kids with attention they won't get from anyone else but you. You can volunteer for one day (only three hours), a week, or more.
For more info: http://goddardsummerprogram.blogspot.com/
We'll have another update next week!
For more info: http://goddardsummerprogram.blogspot.com/
We'll have another update next week!
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