Dear Members and Friends of the Hills Church,
Recently, we have been blessed with clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and warming days that augur the arrival of spring before too long. Daily, increasing numbers of our congregation receive the COVID vaccination. And, throughout the busyness of our day-to-day lives, we journey together through Lent and await the promise of Easter. With love at the center, grounded in faith, let us plan with hope for the future. It was in this spirit of grateful anticipation that we held our Church Council meeting on March 9th. Highlights of the Consent Agenda items are noted below.
Rev. Matt Wooster
- The re-opening task force affirmed a decision to continue current limits on in-person gatherings through the end of May, consistent with the recommendation of the UCC Southern New England Conference.
- Along with his clergy colleagues, Matt began a Lenten sermon series on the theme "Love at the Center," and is preparing to lead book discussion groups focused on Love Is The Way, by Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
- The clergy have also planned an online prayer service for March 11, to be held on zoom to mark a full year since the church building closed for the pandemic.
- Matt met with two families to plan graveside memorial services. Otherwise, his pastoral care continues to be focused on phone calls and written correspondence, but he looks forward to more in-person visits as vaccines become more widely distributed.
Rev. Judy Swahnberg
- Judy preached twice this month (2/14 and 2/28) in addition to writing liturgy and recording worship for each Sunday and Ash Wednesday.
- Judy's ongoing programs include: Tuesday Morning Meditation co-led with Mary Canavan; Thursday noontime Facebook prayers; Caring for the Caregiver (2/19, 3/19); Senior Ministry Zoom Tea party (2/16, 3/16); Friday evening Connections (2/19, 3/19); and Lenten Book Group Discussion on Love is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry (3/2, 3/9, 3/16).
- Pastoral care included: outreach to Jodi Hartley on the death of her husband, Dick Hartley, Elissa Lyman on the death of her husband, Al Lyman, Jr., and the Dishman family on 1st anniversary of daughter Christina's death; weekly Care Team assignments; Senior Ministry planning; special celebrations and flowers for important birthdays (Greta Sarginson 99th birthday, Dwin Schuler 94th, Alice Erickson's 96th); delivery of Lenten boxes to church folk before Ash Wednesday; planning for future wedding and baptism; and one-on-one sessions with individuals.
Rev. Anne Marie Holloway
- Anne Marie preached on 3/7 and continued her weekly planning/recording of the liturgy. To introduce the congregation to our 2021 confirmands before Confirmation Sunday (tentatively planned for May 16th), she is inviting them to serve as liturgists throughout March and April.
- Anne Marie's programs this month include: Monday morning Facebook prayers for parents; Tuesday noontime Facebook prayers; Wednesday evening Confirmation classes with co-leader Mimi D'Angelo; Tuesday night Nooma Lenten discussion group with Suzanne Bossert; Sunday night Lenten book group; bi-monthly middle school Youth Formation Group; and on-going support of the Racial Justice Working Group activities. Plans are also underway with two mothers to begin a small Bible Study Group for mothers of teens.
- Along with Sally Tomasetti and others, Anne Marie helped to pre-record at-home faith formation offerings, deliver "Love at the Center" Lenten Care Packages, and create a prayer walk and Heart display for the front of the church. Watch during Holy Week when symbols of our faith will be added to the heart: palms for (Palm Sunday), a table and a chalice and twelve candles (Maundy Thursday), a black shroud (Good Friday), a whole lot of flowers (Easter).
- Anne Marie continues to support and help organize "Backyard Ministries" focused upon baking cookies and delivering care packs to the Outdoor Church of Cambridge (led by Evie Wells and Kady Bedard), making sandwiches (led by Lovisa Davidsson) and sending encouraging messages (led by Zoe Dodge) for those in need at Common Cathedral, and starting a new ministry "Presence Beyond Words" (inspired by John Wilson) for the homeless.
Faith Formation Support Board (FSSB)
Tina Andersson reported that FFSB has been very busy during this season of Lent. They have helped with the At Home Lenten Kits for children and youth, created a book study group for adults, provided racial justice devotionals, and created a small group study centering around Rob Bell's NOOMA short videos.
The board is also working with the recommendations from the Governance Task Force. They are creating a support system with board members assigned to a specific ministry team of the church. The board has decided to meet monthly rather than quarterly moving forward.
Spiritual Care Support Board/Deacons(SCSB)
Laurie Otten reported that they formed a special committee to regroup, remember, and rejoice in the decision that was made ten years ago to become an Open and Affirming congregation. Led by Mimi D'Angelo and Pete Pedersen, they are charged with discerning a path forward to proclaim our ONA faith to others outside of our community. This committee held its first meeting on Thursday, March 4. At next month's meeting, the SCSB will form a new ad hoc committee to start the planning process for the celebration of WHCC's 175th anniversary in 2022. The SCSB believes that this committee should be drawn from multiple boards and would appreciate suggestions.
Christian Service Support Board (CSSB)
Doug Eisenhart reported on selected CSSB Ministry Team Activities. The Christmas gift collection was successful. Gifts were given to 81 of 84 families, and $4000 was raised for this ministry. Family Promise continues to support families with food and lodging, which is currently in hotels. A book collection is ongoing for the Boston Medical Center's Grow Clinic. New Life Furniture is looking for volunteers and will accept teenagers under certain conditions. The Food Pantry has been getting donations from the Town of Wellesley.
Thank you notes have been received from the organizations CSSB supported in 2020. It was suggested that the congregation be made aware of the gratitude these organizations have shown in their letters of thanks.
The special Easter Special Offering this year will be split between The City Mission Society and Family Promise MetroWest.
Stewards Support Board
Tia Pinney noted that the Stewards report would be covered elsewhere on the agenda.
Office of The Moderator
Sarah Pedersen reported that the church's $ 2.6 million term loan with Cambridge Trust Bank closed on February 16th. Nancy Simons then shared with Church Council that the loan was paid down $955,000 on March 10th bringing the outstanding balance down to ~$1.6 million.
Some of the key agenda items included the following:
Financial Performance: John Dooley indicated that he has submitted the church's PPP loan application for forgiveness and that he is in the process of applying for an Employee Retention Tax credit that should reduce the church's payroll tax liability.
Financial Governance Task Force: Andy Wilson, as Chair, reported on the work of this task force which was comprised of: Tina Andersson (Faith Formation SB), Becky Epstein (At-large), Angie Hemmerle (Christian Service SB), Sarah Howe (Spiritual Care SB), Alex Kolb (At-large), Phil Laughlin (Stewards), Al Persson (Stewards), and Nancy Simons (Treasurer). Its mission was to develop a set of recommendations to better manage the finances of the church and reduce its reliance on its endowment. Its three-pronged approach was to:
- Review the church's membership and giving trends and propose plans to increase both
- Evaluate the cost structure of the church and identify short and long-term cost reduction strategies
- Explore ways to leverage the church facility and potentially expand the nursery school.
There was thoughtful discussion of the opportunities and challenges of the task force's many proposals. The team was thanked for its tremendous work. As noted below, a working group is already being formed to evaluate one recommendation. Over the coming months the Church Council will continue deliberations and prioritize additional areas for evaluation and implementation. It will also work on a way to communicate the work of the task force to the congregation.
Nursery School Third Floor Working Group: Jack Morgan will chair a group that will explore the feasibility of using space on the third floor of the Parish House for a possible expansion of the nursery school. Represented in these discussions will be Melanie Dawson (Director of Nursery School), Anne Marie Holloway, Sally Tomasetti, Al Person (Stewards), and someone from Property Management. In a related development, Jack reported that Family Promise is intending to make permanent the policy it adopted during COVID of housing their clients at a central location and not requiring them to relocate between houses of worship weekly.
