Welcome to Christ Lutheran e-news, a weekly electronic newsletter which highlights programs and activities of our congregation. Feel free to .
We Are Grateful

The word of the week is gratitude! Thank-yous go to everyone who contributed to our Holy Week and Easter online worship: the Worship, Music and Visual Arts Committee members who sprang into action to create plans that would honor the spirit of each day and work in an online forma t; read ers , singers and instrumentalists; technicians, image purveyors and trouble-shooters. Thanks to everyone who extended invitations and all who joined in. 

Thanks as well to the many members of our community who have continued to financially support the work of the congregation. We are grateful. 
Music Notes
Tom Berryman, Music Director
Making Music in Absentia!

The past several weeks, and Holy Week and Easter, especially,  put in focus the determination of singers and players to keep on  inspite of the restrictions of social distancing. We can be  enormously grateful for the contributions of guest music makers:

Neal Ferreia (tenor for Palm Sunday), Joan Ellersick (viola for  Easter) and Christine Jay (soprano for Easter) and the continuing  offerings of CLC's own players and singers:
Andrew Avalos, clarinet
Anders Carlson, cantor
Anna Carlson, bass guitar
Scott Carlson, guitar
Hilding Hedberg, cantor
Hannah Kinney, cantor
Jeff Kinney, cantor
Celeste Larson, cantor
Frank Miller, accordion
Jim Nail, guitar
Kim Petot, cantor
Ross Petot, piano
Robert Weaver, cantor and composer
Anne Weaver, flute
Gail Weston-Roberts, cantor and mandolin
John Whitlock, cantor

Thank you, musicians, for serving so magnificently and freely,  providing uplift in our congregation during troubling times.
Adult Formation

The CLC Book Group is zeroing in on "meeting" on Marathon Monday-that probably belongs in quotation marks, too- Monday, April 20. Please write to clc-book- group@googlegroups.com to provide thoughts. 

For this first online gathering, we anticipate conversation about books that are sustaining us during this pandemic. What's inspiring you?
Call to Action
Thank You for Mask Contributions

Thanks to those who have already contributed face masks for Ascentria Care Alliance for  distribution to nursing homes. The need continues! Need fabric? There are cotton fabrics at  CLC left over from the El Paso quit project. Contact Pr. Bourret if you'd like to access them.  Contact Jeff Kinney if you are able to provide some masks: jkinney@ascentria.org, or  508-655-6426.

The following link provides instructions from the CDC on making masks"  
A bonus for non-sewers: If you need a mask for yourself, you can easily make one from
ordinary household products, even if you don't sew: 

What You'll Need:
  • Tightly knit cotton material, like a T-shirt. (A scarf can work. The fabric should be big enough to fold several times and cover your nose and mouth.)
  • Two rubber bands or hair ties (also here)

How to Assemble It:

  1. Cut straight horizontally across 7-8 inches from the bottom of a T-shirt. Lay the material out flat in front of you and turn it so the side that used to be the bottom of the T-shirt (it's usually double stitched) is facing left or right.
  2. Fold it from the bottom to the middle, and from the top to the middle. Repeat this step a second time.
  3. Loop a rubber band or hair tie around each end (left and right), leaving a few inches of fabric, so each side looks like a candy wrapper.
  4. Fold the excess material over the band, with each side meeting in the middle, adding another layer to the mask.
  5. Put a band over each ear, making sure the material is fit snugly to your face. The pressure on your face should keep the material and rubber bands in place.
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Canasta Solidaridad

MISN, the Middlesex Immigrant Solidarity Network with whom we are partnering, has renamed its food contribution program  Canasta Solidaridad  (Solidarity Basket). It is no longer accepting individual food donations but still needs donations and volunteers. If you are interested in helping, read the following:

Canasta Solidaridad  (Solidarity Basket)

That's the tentative name for our food program, which we are continuing, with plans to feed about 100 families in Framingham and another 100 in Milford every other week. Distribution dates are: 
4/18, 5/2, 5/16 & 5/30 (with expectation that we will continue into the summer as needed).

We are proud to be a recipient of an emergency grant from the Metrowest Health Foundation for $10,000 for this effort! That will help us expand and sustain this project.

Moving forward, we are purchasing all food in bulk and no longer taking individual donations. This is a more manageable process, stretches our money, and limits the number of points of contact, important for public health. But volunteers are still a vital part of this project. To support us you can:
    1. Make a donation (and invite others to do the same) Checks can be made to MWC-Casa with "Covid 19" in memo line and mailed to PO Box 409, Framingham, MA 01704. Or you can donate online at:  http://fnd.us/e1dlN3?ref=sh_3800Wc
    2.  Pre-portion beans or rice in your own home. We'll supply the food, bags and gloves; you supply the people power and transportation. Supplies can be picked up in North Framingham. Please  email Liz to volunteer.
    3. Volunteer in person. We need:
      1. 2-3 volunteers to drive neighbors and help us pre-package grocery bags on Friday morning.
      2. 3-5 volunteers with minivans or trucks to help us transport grocery bags to the distribution site on Saturday morning. (Email Liz to help with either)
    4. Donate. We need:
      1. Large (>30 gallon) plastic storage bins (trash cans work too). Please make sure to wipe them out with bleach. If you want them back, put your name and cell number on the bottom.
      2. Quart & gallon sized ziplock bags (any brand, as long as they are sturdy and seal well). We need hundreds.
      3. Donations can be brought to Liz's house (10 Upland Rd, Framingham). Place ziplock bags in the black bin marked MISN (see picture) and bins behind it.
Looking Ahead
We will continue to offer Sunday morning worship via Zoom at 10:00 a.m. each week. Watch your inbox for an invitation to join the meeting. We'll aim to post the information on our website as well. Don't hesitate to share the invitation with others who might appreciate the opportunity. It was great to see a number of friends and family members of the congregation over Holy Week and Easter. 

Watch, too, for a brief survey concerning the daily reflections that have been offered on our website, www.christnatick.org. Have you used them? Should we keep offering them? How might they be improved?
READINGS FOR THIS WEEK - Second Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2020

This coming Sunday is often called "low Sunday" because in many churches attendance is so low. Yet also this Sunday we gather to celebrate the resurrection. Come and rejoice with the disciple Thomas, for now in one another we encounter the Risen Christ.

                  First Reading                      Psalm                     Second Reading                     Gospel
                Acts 2:14a, 22-32                   Psalm 16                       1 Peter 1:3-9                     John 20:19-31                     
Sing For Joy
Enhance your understanding of the weekly scripture readings by listening to Sing For Joy  from St. Olaf College.  The Sing For Joy radio program, produced by St. Olaf College , has a simple mission: to explore the weekly themes of Christian worship by providing the best in sacred choral music and thoughtful commentary. The musical performances eloquently "do the talking," while the concise remarks from host Pastor Bruce Benson illuminate the meaning of the texts.
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