CHURCH AWARDS SECOND "AMAZING NATICK" GRANT

This year's $1000 "Amazing Natick" grant will fund the printing and distribution of a teen dating violence prevention comic book,  Neela and Chris: Broken Love along with an accompanying Teacher's Guide to be used and evaluated in 8th grade health classes in Natick Middle Schools. Future funding will develop comics that focus on opiod/substance abuse prevention and depression/suicide prevention. Sarah Mauser, the coordinator for the project and a licensed social worker, is working on the project with an advisory committee of Natick teens, and has garnered the support of Karen Rufo, RN and Nurse Leader and Anna Nokin, Assistant Superintendent  of the Natick Public Schools. Sarah is working with Natick's Katie Sugarman, Director of Natick Together for Youth Coalition, and the newly appointed Natick Prevention and Outreach Program Manager to identify funding for the next comic book in the series on opiod abuse.

During the past year and a half the congregation's Council has focused on ways Christ Lutheran can respond to the needs of youth in the greater Natick community. Council members have met with the Natick Superintendent of Schools, the Chief of Police, the Director of Family Promise, and  the Drug Prevention and Outreach Program Manager for the town and learned of the variety of needs in the community.  Council members now regularly offer prayer petitions for youth during  Sunday worship.

The Organ Postlude for Sunday, May 14, " Force et Agilit è des Corps Glorieux " (Strength and Agility of the Resurrected Ones) is excerpted from a major work by Olivier Messiaen, " Les Corps Glorieux " (1939) (The Resurrected Ones).  This unusual music offers a glimpse of Messiaen ' s interest in classical Indian music and in bird inspired rhythms.  For an especially compelling performance by Notre Dame Paris organist Olivier Latry, go to  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Y49QJ0R1w

 

Tom