OCTOBER 2021 CRIER - First Church in Marlborough
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OCTOBER 2021
CRIER
2021 - Issue No. 8
The First Church in Marlborough,
(Congregational), UCC
37 High Street, Marlborough, Massachusetts
www.firstchurchmarlborough.org
Dear Saints of God at First Church,
I am writing this letter to you as I take a break from packing for my Morocco trip. My shoes
are selected and the clothes are ready and folded (I always take too many shirts), but the most
important thing to pack is still a bit of a dilemma for me: how many and what books should I
take for the journey? I only have a two-hour layover in Amsterdam so I decided to only take
carry on luggage. But…..that makes my choices even more weighty: which ones? I have
Marilynne Robinson’s “Jack” but somehow a book on the prodigal sons and race relations in
1950s Missouri seems out of place. I have Mann’s “Magic Mountain” and short stories by
Edith Wharton. And one book on church history, of course – but which one should I take?
The question is not abstract – what we read shapes how we feel, how we live. The Bible says
about itself “a light to our feet and a lamp to our path”. Reading the right stuff, reading things
that stretch our imagination, our lives, our empathy is very important. In the same way
reading the Bible is very important too – not just on your own, but in a group, together with
loved ones. Before the pandemic our two Bible Studies had a combined number of 30 people
which I considered my biggest pride of First Church. We have not come back to that number.
The knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are intertwined so closely, that you cannot
have one without the other. There is an in-person & Zoom hybrid meeting (Tuesday morning)
and an online Zoom one that same evening. So, if you are reading this – consider joining or
rejoining our Bible Study. October will end with… no, not Halloween… but Reformation
Sunday. The day we celebrate when the Church once again fell in love with the Bible. Let’s
make it our reality too, here at First Church in Marlborough.
And no, writing this did not help me decide on which book to take….. But the Bible is coming
with me btw…
Yours in Christ,
Kaz
1
INSIDE THIS ISSUE WORSHIP SERVICES
Mask Mandate, BBQ, Worship, Bible Please join us in person or via Facebook live
Study/Coffee Hours, Pastoral Care 2 stream. Face masks are required for all
(vaccinated or not for any reason).
Rummage Sale, Music, UCC Roots 3
Theology-My Hospice Nurse’s Horse 4
October 3 Sunday Worship 10:00am
Theology-A Political Gesture & Prayer 6 No Communion
Women’s Fellowship, Meeting House Fair 9 Nathan Leach, Guest Pastor
Confirmation/Sunday School, Trustees,
Church Council and Diaconate 10 October 10 Sunday Worship 10:00am
October Calendar 11 With Communion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MASKS IN FIRST CHURCH October 17 Sunday Worship 10:00am
This is a reminder that masks are manda-
October 24 Sunday Worship 10:00am
tory for all participants (whether vaccinated
Celebrating Members of 40+ Yrs
or not), at all meetings and events of any
kind held in the church building. Masks are October 31 Sunday Worship 10:00am
to be worn so that they cover the nose and Reformation Sunday
chin.
If someone believes there is a reason for
an exemption to this policy, please contact PASTOR KAZ VACATION
Church Council chair, Marnie Hooker. Coun- Pastor Kaz will be away on vacation from
cil will listen to your concern, and if appro- through October 5. Please contact
priate grant an exemption for that particular Rev. Sarah Hubbell if you are in need
instance or situation. of pastoral care (978-460-3275).
The mask mandate is for the health and
well being of all. Please be respectful and BIBLE STUDY WITH PASTOR KAZ
considerate of everyone attending and using Tuesday Bible studies in October will be held
the building and wear masks. on the 12th through the 26th at 10am and 7pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ with Pastor Kaz. Morning sessions will be both
in person and via Zoom. Evening sessions are
currently only Zoom. See the weekly invite
emailed to you if you’d like to join us!
PASTOR KAZ COFFEE HOURS
To all at First Church , I'm so very Thursday Coffee Hours in October will be held
pleased to inform you that on Labor Day, our on the 7th, 14th and 28th from 11:30am-
church BBQ , Lemonade Stand, and Coffee 12:30pm at the Starbucks at the Apex Center.
Stand pulled in over $1600! It was a beautiful
day for a parade and for fellowship!
PASTORAL CARE
There are so many of you to thank for the
success of the day - too many to try and name, Contact Pastor Kaz (203-781-6372) or the church
but know that I am overwhelmed and humbled office (508-485-6297) with any personal con-
by the outpouring of support from everyone to cerns, illnesses, deaths, prayer requests or to ar-
keep this long-standing tradition alive. The new- range homebound Communion.
ly named 'Gary Hollis Memorial Labor Day
BBQ' was a huge success and it's wonderful to CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
know that this tradition will continue in Gary's Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am—3pm
name. I know he's smiling down at us from Wednesdays 8am-2pm
heaven!
Kim Beauchemin OFFICE CLOSED WEEK OF OCTOBER 11th
2MUSIC MINISTRIES
The Music Ministries at First Church have resumed! Hallelujah! The Chancel Choir is once again
participating live in worship with anthems, introits and other music. The Joyful Ringers have resumed
their rehearsals in preparation to play during worship in mid-October.
If you have ever considered joining the choir or the Joyfuls, now is a great time to get started! The
Joyful Ringers meet on Monday evenings and the Chancel Choir meets on Thursday evenings. Both
groups rehearse in the sanctuary and follow COVID-safe protocols.
If you are interested in either ensemble, please reach out to our Music Director, Ellie Armsby
at earmsby@firstchurchmarlborough.org to learn more.
FALL RUMMAGE SALE
The Fall Rummage Sale, sponsored by the Women's Fellowship, will be open to everyone for
sales on Friday evening, October 1st from 5:00-8:00pm, and on Saturday, October 2nd from 9:00am-
noon. On Saturday brown paper bags (provided by us for shoppers) will be $5.00 each for everything you
can put into the bag.
The tables will be laden with clothes for all the family – children, men and women. There will
also be white elephant goods galore, household items, books, toys, blankets, curtains and much more.
Items to donate, such as those mentioned above can be dropped off at the church on Thursday,
September 30th from 9:00am-7:00pm, and on Friday, October 1st from 9:00am-2:00pm.
Masks will be required to gain entrance to the Rummage Sale.
UCC ROOTS ~ REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY
“Dosia Carlson: A Long Life that Made a Difference”
Contributor: Barbara Brown Zikmind
September 2021
She was a young woman born in 1930 who wanted to become a missionary in China. However, after
an encounter with Polio, her life unfolded in new ways. She studied at Oberlin College, attended a sem-
inary, was ordained, earned a doctorate at the University of Pittsburg and for fourteen years taught in a
religion department at Defiance College in Ohio.
Reverend Dr. Dosia Carlson (1930-2021) understood the importance of caring for people who were
often the most vulnerable. In 1974, she moved to the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix, Arizona. There she
committed her life and ministry to the Church of the Beatitudes Campus Lifestyle Community. She
founded “DUET: Partners in Health and Aging” (formally the DORA CENTER). In 1979, when she
was ordained by the United Church of Christ, her call to service in the church and her growing interest
in gerontology expanded her growing understand of aging people.
Music was at the heart of Carlson’s faith. She found important ways to serve on the church staff and
explained how her hymnal writings incorporated her faith. She published many hymns. One of her most
popular hymn, was “Oh Jesus, I Have Promised to Serve Thee to the End. . . My Master and My
Friend.” Her hymns recognized how humans cannot fully comprehend the nature of God. In 1986 she
published an autobiographical collection of her hymns entitled “God’s Glory”. Carlson won several
awards and became well-known as an “Arizona Woman of the Year.” She was also honored when the
United Church of Christ gave her the “Antoinette Brown Award for an Outstanding Women Clergy.”
Dosia Carlson lived to be 91. She died from complications of the Covid-19 virus in January
2021. Her final words were gifts that she repeated for many friends—”God’s love and encouragement
exists for people to show love and light.”
3THEOLOGY
MY HOSPICE NURSE’S HORSE
Reprinted from The Christian Century ~ August 17, 2021 by Karl Travis
This week I learned that my hospice nurse has a horse, or her horse has her, as is of-
ten the case.
Some years ago, shaken by the pain, stress, and grief of getting close to patients only
to watch them die one after another, she bought a horse: Holly. But Holly did not want to
be ridden. Each time my nurse tried, Holly, sensing her passenger’s anxieties, became rest-
less and rowdy. Finally, my nurse recognized the relationship between Holly’s belligerence
and her own inner turmoil. She consciously chose to relax and release. She held the reins
more lightly. She let Holly take control, and a beautiful, trusting friendship developed.
Holly was no mere horse. She became a partner, an emotional mirror, an equine therapist.
Then Holly pulled the meniscus in her knee. The vet confined her to her stall for a
couple of months, which is truly horrible for a horse and can even be deadly. My nurse
was stuck between two options: continue to confine Holly or put her down. Now think
about that. A career hospice nurse, philosophically committed to a comfortable and natural
process of dying, faced with ending her horse’s life unnaturally, the very horse who taught
her to deal with her own grief.
For me, entering hospice care meant disconnecting from my fancy drugs and prepar-
ing to die. My doctor gave me a range of 30 minutes to 30 days. Then, stunningly, I
dropped 30 pounds in three weeks, stopped taking morphine altogether, and got out of
bed. I haven’t felt this good in two years. I should have gone on hospice months ago!
I was remembering the café scene in Groundhog Day when the Bill Murray character,
who keeps reliving the same day of his life, says, “I wasn’t just blown up yesterday. I have
been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned. And every morning
I wake up without a scratch on me. Not a dent in the fender.” He concludes: “I am an im-
mortal.”
I understand how he feels. I have survived three pulmonary embolisms, nine deep
vein thromboses, eight thrombectomies, 17 days in the catheter lab, and five general sur-
geries. A third of my left foot has been amputated. Throw in two open heart surgeries and
three internal bleeds and you can see why hospice seemed a natural choice. I wasn’t just
blown up yesterday.
I’m almost embarrassed to talk to friends anymore. People have said such kind and
gracious things to me, humbling things, remarkable and heartfelt things. Now, after this
hospice U-turn, I can almost overhear their inner dialogue: Well now, this is uncomfortable.
Shouldn’t he be dead by now?
I wonder how Lazarus handled the social awkwardness.
My favorite movie might be Big Fish. In this feast of southern storytelling, children
gather at the house of a woman rumored to be a witch, who is said to have a glass eye be-
neath her black eye patch. Look into that eye, the story has it, and you will see your own
death. Two of the boys can’t help but look—and they see their own deaths, one falling
from a ladder and the other expiring on a toilet. (Some die with dignity, some don’t.)
Would you look? Would you want to know?
Continued on next page
4I’m a pastor, and years ago I had a church member who was suicidal. She seemed to
relish misery, mining it from her own life and offering it to others. Life had indeed been
hard, and she was full of rage, lashing out at her ex-husband years after their nasty divorce,
estranged from her adult children who had grown weary of her aggressive despair. You’ve
known glass-is-half-empty kind of people. Well, she had thrown the glass at the mantel.
My advice to her was not conventional. In fact she is the only person I have ever
known to whom I would say what I said. “I understand that you want to die,” I said. “And
truth told, no one can stop you if you decide to take your life. We will be sad, but we cannot
stop you.”
Then I asked, “But what’s the hurry? You have the rest of your life to end your life.
Why not wait around to see how really awful it can get?”
We sat together in silence. Then she smiled. Thank God. And I’ll be damned if she
didn’t hang on and then remarry and live quite happily until her death some years later.
The mystery of how things wrap up can unleash energy and unexpected joy for each
day. Think about it. If you stop a chatty friend before he ruins the last episode of Game of
Thrones or Schitt’s Creek, why would you want to know the details of your final moments?
Where’s the fun in that, the meaning in that, the humor in that, the faith in that? Gazing into
the witch’s eye is the ultimate spoiler.
Trusting God is the ultimate spoiler alert.
Still, I remind myself that I must remind myself of this. Some days the affirmation is a
bit shakier than others. And then my wife enters the room, or one of the kids does, or the
phone rings, or a new thought dazzles, or Eric Clapton pops up on my playlist, or I
FaceTime a friend—and then, somehow, life’s expansiveness becomes perceptible again.
I can see how some hospice patients reach the tipping point, and it is time for them to
go, so they release. But also, it seems to me that waiting to see how things turn out doesn’t
require persis-tence so much as patience. They’re vastly different things. Persistence is an
act of will. Patience is a relinquishment of it.
So as for me, I’ll stay, at least for a while.
My nurse decided to put Holly down. Then the vet called with good news. While
Holly could never be ridden again, she could be released from her stall and allowed to wan-
der the pasture.
My nurse still visits Holly. They walk the fields, and sometimes she brings Holly to a
picnic table, where she sits and talks to her while the mare grazes nearby.
Turns out, grazing has its purposes. “Meanwhile,” writes poet Rachel Wetz-steon, “is
far from nothing.”
Karl Travis, a Presbyterian pastor and writer, is in hospice care for a lung condition. r and
writer, is in hospice care for a lung condition.
5THEOLOGY
HOW DOES A POLITICAL GESTURE BECOME A MOMENT OF PRAYER?
Reprinted from The Christian Century ~ August 25, 2021 Elizabeth Palmer interviews Judaism scholar
Susannah Heschel on her father’s legacy (Susannah Heschel chairs the Jewish Studies Program at Dart-
mouth College).
With Martin Doblmeier’s new documentary film about Abraham Joshua Heschel,
called Spiritual Audacity, and Plough’s new collection of his writings, Thunder in the Soul,
some Christians will be encountering your father’s work and thought for the first time. Tell us
about him. What was most important to him?
When my father came back from marching in Selma, he said, “I felt my legs were pray-
ing. I felt something holy in the march, and it reminded me of walking with Hasidic rebbes in
Europe.” He was drawing from classical Hasidic teachings to say that every action of our lives
can be transformed into prayer. My father writes, in God in Search of Man, that the mitzvot are
prayers in the form of a deed. So the question is, How do you take something quotidian and
transform it into a holy moment? That’s the question that Jewish texts ask over and over again.
In my father’s book on the sabbath, he notes that in the Ten Commandments, we’re told
to make the sabbath holy. It -doesn’t come to us holy; we make it holy. So then there’s a chal-
lenge: How do we make a day holy? It’s a day—not a thing, a place, or something concrete.
What does life consist of? Time. What do we do with the limited time that we have, with every
moment or with the day? Is it possible to pause one day a week, and turn that day, that time—
which is life itself—into a holy moment? So too with the march at Selma. How does a political
gesture become a moment of prayer?
If your father were still alive, where and how do you think he might find himself praying with
his legs in today’s world?
The issues that concerned him in his day are very much still with us. He was very con-
cerned about poverty, about hunger—he worked with Jesse Jackson on Operation Breadbasket
in Chicago. Racism is still very much an issue with us in this country. He would’ve been ap-
palled by the US crimes in South America and Central America that occurred after he died. He
would’ve been very concerned about US foreign policy, about peacemaking.
People have recently made comparisons between 20th-century fascism in Europe and recent
right-wing authoritarianism in the United States and elsewhere. How useful do you find these
comparisons?
I certainly would not say that today we’re living in Nazi Germany. I think that’s ridicu-
lous and stupid and dangerous. But we might recognize that Germany changed very rapidly
between 1933 and 1945. February of 1933 was very different even from April of 1933, after Da-
chau was opened and the Enabling Act was passed and the parliament dissolved itself. Then
came the boycott of Jewish stores.
I’m horrified by the fascination with Hitler that continues and the desire people seem to
have for an authoritarian figure, for tyranny. Antisemitism is something different. I don’t
think antisemitism in America today can be compared to Nazi Germany, by any means. For
one thing, antisemitism in Nazi Germany was a directive from the top of the government. It
involved all government agencies. We don’t see that in the United States.
On the other hand, I think that there is a legacy of trauma. For Jews to overcome the
trauma of the Holocaust is going to take quite a few generations. The trauma of racism has
Continued on next page
6affected all of us who live here. If you’re Black, your life is at stake every minute of every day,
and that’s a horrific trauma. If you’re White, you’re living with that awareness of the racism
that you’re participating in, and that’s also a trauma.
Historically, Christians have had a pretty bad track record when it comes to loving and sup-
porting and protecting their Jewish neighbors. How do you think Christians are doing today
with respect to antisemitism?
There are many Christians who have shown tremendous interest in Judaism and warmth
toward Jews. That’s extraordinary. It’s very new. In the early 1990s, when I taught a seminar
on Christians and Jews at the University of Frankfurt in Germany, I looked for something posi-
tive said by Christians about Judaism. It was about impossible to find anything. Now there’s a
lot. In what we call interreligious or interfaith dialogue, it is important to remember I don’t
just present my Judaism to Christians and try to show them how to change the way they think.
I also change the way that I think about Judaism. Interreligious discussion is also about, “How
can I change?”
If an American Christian approached you to ask for advice on how to talk about Israel and
Palestine, what would you offer?
So if you want to do something, let’s begin by reading books, taking some classes, bring-
ing in speakers from both sides, getting some background. Pay attention to the larger context:
To what extent is the conflict about Israel and Palestine, and to what extent are they pawns in
the hands of the United States, Europe, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and so on?
Beyond educating ourselves, there are a huge number of peace groups to get involved with —
some in the United States, some in Europe, some in Israel, some in Palestine. There are peace -
themed summer camps for Israeli and Palestinian children—there’s one in Maine. There’s a
women’s group that observes at the checkpoints which tends to calm down Israeli soldiers, for
instance. There are lots of Jewish-Muslim dialogue groups. There are also organizations that
provide concrete help: medical supplies to Gaza or therapy to kids and adults who have been
traumatized. You can adopt a refugee family or an Israeli or Palestinian student at a local uni-
versity. You don’t have to have a million dollars to donate; you can just donate your heart and
your time and your energy.
In your introduction to Thunder in the Soul, you write, “The Torah comes to each of us, a reve-
lation of God that we receive, each in a unique way, renewed every day. . . . One cannot be
Jewish the way one’s grandparents were Jewish; that would be spiritual plagiarism.” Tell us
about how this reality has played out in your life.
It is an old Jewish tradition that the Torah is given to us all but each person receives it in
a unique way. So each person’s Torah is different. How is the Torah reflected in my life? The
answer for me is different from everybody else, the way no two faces are identical.
The idea of spiritual plagiarism comes from Man Is Not Alone. My father is talking about
the Kotzker rebbe, about whom he wrote a two-volume Yiddish book at the end of his life. The
rebbe says being Jewish like somebody else is like wearing somebody else’s shoes. This was in
the early 19th century, when you couldn’t put on somebody else’s shoes because the leather
was in the shape of their feet.
For religion to be authentic to who you are, you have to know who you are. That was the
starting point for my father: Who am I, what is the mandate of my life? Such questions guided
his life. Why was I created? Why was I brought out of Nazi Germany? To do what?
Continued on next page
7When I was growing up, it was clear to me that I was excluded from much of Judaism as a
woman. That bothered me. My father always agreed with me. He actually suggested that I be-
come a rabbi. I said, “I don’t think they’re going to take women.” He said, “I think they will.”
Opportunities for Jewish women in terms of study and prayer, ordination, all of these
things just didn’t exist when I was growing up. There are women now who are ordained Or-
thodox rabbis, as well as Conservative and Reform. There are women who study Talmud and
are experts at Talmud. When I was child it was forbidden for a woman to study Talmud. It
was inconceivable.
How have you experienced a sense of calling in your own life?
In 1986, when I was a graduate student, I was invited to join a group of professors and
students to go for two weeks to East Germany for religious dialogue. There were seven of us.
We traveled, giving lectures and meeting people—Christians and a few Jews as well.
At the end of the two weeks, we were back in East Berlin for a two-day event organized
by the Lutheran Church. Each of us gave a talk, and there was a lot of discussion. There were
hundreds of people present. These were people who were not at all used to Jewish-Christian
dialogue, and they were not very receptive. There was a lot they didn’t understand and didn’t
like about Judaism and Jews. They had a lot of biases and clichés and negative stuff. It was
tough.
In the afternoon—this was Shabbat afternoon during the coffee break—I was talking to
the two organizers, who were both ministers, Elisabeth Adler and Rainer Graupner. I asked
them, “How are we going to conclude today?” Having experienced interreligious dialogue in
the United States, I suggested we have some kind of a prayer together.
Elisabeth said, “We can say the Lord’s Prayer.” I said, “No, no, no; that’s a Christian
prayer. This is interfaith.”
Rainer said, “I’ll read a psalm. I’ll read it in German, and then you can read it in He-
brew.” I thought that was a good idea. So we chose a psalm, and at the conclusion of the lec-
tures and discussion, when everyone was exhausted, he read the psalm in German and I read
it in Hebrew.
So he turned to this room, and he told them what happened—the whole story, what
Elisabeth had said and what I had said. Everybody stood up. They knew the Lord’s Prayer
from memory, and everybody started reciting it in German, in a very slow, quiet way. When
they came to the line, “forgive us our sins,” people were crying. I was crying. Everybody was
crying. Because they knew what we were talking about. We were talking about the Holocaust,
about Nazi Germany.
We’d had these abstract lectures and discussions. And now all of a sudden their hearts,
which really had been shut off that weekend, opened up. They felt it, and their hearts started
crying. All of a sudden, the whole weekend meant something. The whole room was trans-
formed.
I realized then what it is to be ordained. I felt that I had been used by the Shekhinah. I
had been a channel to transform a room religiously, to transform people.
8WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP
The First Church Women’s Fellowship kicked off the new year with our September program. After a
short business meeting, the ladies enjoyed making beautiful fall floral arrangements with Alana and her
helper, Marlow, of the Floral Gallery. Alana prepares the lovely altar floral arrangements for our Sunday
Worship services. The ladies also brought donations for the Marlborough Food Pantry.
The October meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 12th. We will enjoy beverages and fellowship at
6:30 pm. Followed by a business meeting at 7:00pm led by Laura Lane, President, Debbie Marino will be
leading a craft night to prepare some crafts for the Meeting House Fair. The Food Pantry suggested dona-
tion is canned soups. All women of First Church are welcome to join us. In keeping with First Church
Covid policies, face masks must be worn by all.
MEETING HOUSE FAIR IS RETURNING!
The First Church Meeting House Fair was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, and this
November it will be returning after two years! Plans are well underway for our traditional fair to be held on
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20th from 9:00am to 2:00pm. A few changes will be made to make the fair
as safe as possible, and will be run based on the Covid-related protocol from Church Council.
We have all missed the Meeting House Fair, and more details will be available in the November
Crier. However, planning has begun, and what we need for now to start moving forward in order for it to be
successful is HELP with VOLUNTEERS to cover certain areas of the fair for 2 hours + that day. Any
help we can get that day – filling in while people have breaks, helping collect the money in each area, clean
up, etc. will be greatly appreciated. If you have any friends or relatives who may want to join in we would
welcome them with a big THANK YOU from us! It is actually a fun day in which to participate. You don’t
need any experience, just come with a smile and a mask.
NEEDED FOR COOKIE ROOM: Two people at each shift to handle the cookies and the money;
and we need cookie bakers. Bakers please make the cookies and bag them in 6’s prior to delivery. Strict
Covid-protocol will be followed (all cookies will be pre-packaged and sold in a 6-count)
NEEDED FOR BAKE ROOM: Glass pie plates for the pies that will be sold in the Bake Room.
We need these prior to the fair to get the pies baked. Please contact Marion Hopkins at 508-485-8295.
Strict Covid-protocol will be followed (all food in this room will be baked and wrapped for sale)
NEEDED FOR BOOK ROOM: People to set up prior to the fair and to work in the room during
the fair. We also need book donations of all types, especially children’s books.
NEEDED FOR TRASH & TREASURES ROOM: People to set up prior to the fair and also work
in the room during the fair. We need donations!!! Clean out your attic, house, etc. (think yard sale items in
good condition just no clothing or sharp items).
If you are able to help out or have any of the above donations please contact Joan Beauchemin at
508-485-4123 or Laurel Hill at 508-480-9234.
SILENT AUCTION BASKETS, BASKETS, BASKETS!!
It is that time of year again to start thinking about what kind of awesome basket you can
create for our Meeting House Fair. This has always been a very fun-loving competitive event and
a huge hit at the fair. We are again looking for volunteers to make up baskets for the Silent Auc-
tion table. Just choose a theme of your liking such as games, sports, seasons, pampering, kids,
wine (very popular) etc. You then just need to wrap the basket in cellophane and include a list of
the contents with a total dollar value to create a beautiful donation!
All baskets WITH ONLY NEW ITEMS AND ONE THEME PER BASKET should be
brought to the church no later than Friday, Nov. 22nd please! If you need us to pick them up or
if you have any questions contact Laurel Hill (508-480-9234) or Kathy Leonard (978-875-0606).
9CONFIRMATION & SUNDAY SCHOOL
The confirmation class held the first ever Holy Grounds Coffee tent during the Labor Day parade! It
was a lot of fun and helped to raise money for educational trips that the class will be taking at the end of the
year. More information on that is to come! In the coming weeks the students will continue to explore the
role of the church and God in their lives.
Our first open-air Sunday School meeting was a success! We were so excited to welcome back the
kids and look forward to seeing even more of them in the coming weeks! This past week we focused on the
meaning of Christian service and the elementary students made placemats that you will see at coffee hour in
the coming weeks.
If you have any questions or are looking to register your children in Sunday School, please email me
(Melissa Purnell at 2mpurnell@gmail.com).
TRUSTEES
As we get ready for fall and the colder weather, the trustees want to again thank Knight's Fuel Co.
and Ron Gustafson for their work on our behalf to replace the heating system boilers (at no cost to us or
Knight's Fuel Co.) from Bosch. Over the past couple of years we have experienced less than ideal system
issues with the previous equipment. These new boilers and the conversion from oil to gas has saved First
Church a considerable amount of money since the replacement was completed.
Here are some moments from 'The Way Back Machine'….. We uncovered the key to the safe deposit
box that had not been accessed for several years, and Jeremey Crocker and Sandy Stetson retrieved the con-
tents. There were 63 documents that ranged from expired bank accounts, wills, plot plans, lease agreements
for the Common, various ledgers (including one that listed the names and price paid for a pew in the new
meeting house), the 1884 Legal incorporation of the Union Society of Marlborough, a Warrant from 1857 for
an annual meeting for the Union Society of Marlborough that had 19 articles to vote on, and a copy of the
250th anniversary speech by Elmer D. Howe. All of these items will be electronically scanned and saved as
part of our history. Submitted by: George Pellerin
Trustee Ministry Team: CaseyLee Bastien, Jeremey Crocker, Paul Hasbrouck, Laurel Hill, George
Pellerin, Steve Powers, Richard Rowell, Sandy Stetson, and Linda Warren.
CHURCH COUNCIL
Our August Council meeting included an annual review of the Emergency Action Plan and Child
Safety Plans which were approved and remain in place. We confirmed protocols for expanded in-person ser-
vices and Sunday School starting. Please note that organ concerts will be restarting on October 17th.
Our September meeting was held early to address COVID protocols as Women's Fellowship prepares
for the Meeting House Fair, and Men's Fellowship develops plans to present to Council to restart Spaghetti
Suppers in some fashion later this calendar year.
News on our annual Parish Life Ministry for Christmas—the Stars and Angels program will run again
this year, more news on that later from Sue Pellerin.
If you have any questions regarding our COVID protocols please contact Council Chair, Marnie
Hooker at meshooker@verizon.net. Submitted by: Marnie Hooker
DIACONATE
The Diaconate is very excited to see so many members in the Sanctuary filling up the pews with
friends and families again. We have enjoyed Communion together, the 10th anniversary of Pastor Kaz’s ordi-
nation at First Church, our re-covenant, and the return of Sunday School and the Chancel Choir! In October
we look forward to a Hymn Sing and the sweet sounds of the Joyfuls Bell Choir. We will continue to accept
members’ weekly collection in the plates as you leave the service, but will pass the plate on Communion Sun-
day each month for our Deacon’s Collection which helps us to support our members and church community.
We are thrilled to have Frank Marino and Rose Eastman join the Diaconate team once again this fall
and welcome some fabulous new lay leaders for our Sunday services. Live-streaming of the service will con-
tinue; we are hopeful that soon we will all be together in person again. We continue to keep the health and
well-being of all in our prayers and hearts and wish all a safe and healthy fall season.
Submitted by: Jenn Burgos
10Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
Rummage Rummage
Sale drop Sale 9am-
off 9am- Noon
2pm/Sale
5pm-8pm
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10am Worship Scouts 6pm LifeLine Early Risers
Screening 9am- AA Group
Bells 7:30pm 5pm 6:30am
Kaz Coffee
Hours 11:30am
-12:30pm
Starbucks Apex
Choir 7pm
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
10am Worship Bells 7:30pm Bible Study Kaz Coffee Early Risers
with 10am (In Hours 11:30am AA Group
Communion person & -12:30pm 6:30am
Zoom) Starbucks Apex
CHURCH 7pm (Zoom)
OFFICE IS Choir 7pm
CLOSED THIS Women’s
WEEK Fellowship
6:30pm
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
10am Worship Scouts 6pm Bible Study Trustees Our Father’s Early Risers
10am (In 7pm Table off-site AA Group
Deacons Bells 7:30pm person & 6:30am
11:45am Zoom) Choir 7pm
Organ Concert 7pm (Zoom)
3pm
24 25 26 27 29 29 30
10am Worship Scouts 6pm Bible Study Kaz Coffee Early Risers
10am (In Hours 11:30am AA Group
Church person & -12:30pm 6:30am
_____________ Council 7pm Zoom) Starbucks Apex
31 7pm (Zoom)
10am Worship Bells 7:30pm Choir 7pm
11SUNDAY WORSHIP AT 10:00AM First Church in Marlborough
IN-PERSON & LIVE STREAMED
(MASKS REQUIRED FOR ALL (Congregational)
WHEN YOU ARE IN THE United Church of Christ
CHURCH BUILDING) 37 High Street
CHURCH OFFICE PHONE: Marlborough, MA 01752-2344
508-485-6297
CHURCH EMAIL:
office@firstchurchmarlborough.org
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