Message from Don

This is an extraordinary time to be church! It is also a critical time. And I am grateful to be with you as we navigate it together. I am so very much looking forward to our time in worship this Sunday as we explore the challenges, possibilities, and excitement that shape our discernment of where God is taking us. This Sunday, I'll be looking to you to help me 'ride the wave'. Join us to learn more.  

Confirmation

Confirmation, 2023 - first class, October 2 Great Room, 11:15AM

Thank you to the parents and kids who made our open meeting this week such a success. As part of Old North’s re-commitment to engaging with families, our “confirmation” class for young people from 7th to 9th grade and even beyond will resume for a full academic year October 2. However old you are, and if this is something you’d like to try, come along.

This month Dee and Rev. Don begin our study of humankind’s relationship with God as expressed in the awesome, if not occasionally downright scary, book of Genesis. We’ll work through a timeline, exploring the story of scripture as God's dreams for humanity and all of creation unfold from Genesis through to another awesomely scary book at the far end of the Bible, The Revelation of John. (Rhod Sharp is out this month but plans to join in November.)  

Choir News

Please consider joining the choir this year!  The Senior Choir will rehearse on Wednesday, September 21, from 7:30pm to 9pm, in the sanctuary of Old North, in order to prepare several anthems for the upcoming fall season. All interested singers are welcome—high-school-aged and older – and no audition is necessary! Simply, a love of singing and the fellowship and friendships resulting from participating in a choir, are the only requirements! The Senior Choir will gather on most Sunday mornings at 9am to rehearse for the 10am worship service.

Bell Choir

The Old North Bell Choir has resumed weekly rehearsals on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 in the Sanctuary. New members are always welcome! Please contact Liz Smith at smith.liz@gmail.com for more information.

Annual Festival Chorus Concert

Registration and rehearsals for the 42^nd annual Festival Chorus Concerts  will begin on Wednesday, September 28^, in the Sanctuary of Old North at 7:30pm; please arrive any time after 7pm for registration. Singers are asked to pay a nominal registration fee as well as the purchase price of their music. All singers are welcome! High school students, in grades 9-12 are encouraged to join in addition to adult singers of all ages. Sections within the Festival Chorus are led by the wonderful soloists/section leaders who serve the same purpose in the Senior Choir and Old North Church music program.

Subsequent rehearsals will take place from 7:30pm to 9pm every Wednesday. The program for our 2022 Festival Chorus Holiday Concerts will feature Missa in Angustiis (Nelson Mass) by Franz Joseph Haydn, and a Festival Chorus favorite: A Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas, by Craig Courtney. The program will be slightly reduced this year – in length and scope, with no intermission – but will include several colorful arrangements of seasonal music for chorus and orchestra with audience participation. For more details, please email Maria vanKalken at vankalken@gmail.com.

Please note: All participants in our choral programs will be required to show proof of vaccination. A mask-optional policy will be announced as soon as it is safe to do so, but, to begin the fall 2022 season, masks will be required for rehearsals. Please contact Maria vanKalken, vankalken@gmail.com for more information.

Old North Church Youth Choir Program

2022-2023  

Do you know a young person who loves music? Did you know that singing in a group is scientifically proven to increase mental and emotional health and happiness? Singing is the first and most natural way to make music for young children. If you can talk, you can learn to sing!

We are looking for young singers and musicians to participate in Christmas, Easter and Spring performances this year. Additional performance opportunities will be offered throughout the year. New students will be introduced to basic singing skills while more experienced singers will be able to hone their musicianship skills through performing in an ensemble. Singers will be able to experience choral music and express themselves creatively in a safe and encouraging environment, through musical exercises and learning varying types of repertoire appropriate to the season. 

Rehearsals are flexible and registration is accepted on a rolling basis throughout the month of September. All singers from grades 1-12 are welcome, and will be divided and assigned to groups when they register. All levels of musicianship and experience are welcome. Vaccinations are required for all who participate and will be singing in masks until further notice.  Old North is renowned for the high quality of music and music education that it brings to the community. Come celebrate the joy of music making with us this year! Please contact Sarah Del Dotto deldottosarah@gmail.com with your interest and any further questions.

ONC Reading / Discussion Group

Wednesday, September 21^st  

The next meeting of the Old North Reading and Discussion Group on Preserving Our Democracy and Environment will be on Wednesday, September 21^st from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. This is the latest of a series of meetings on this subject that have been hosted for all by the ONC Men’s Group. The discussions are supported by background reading. You are invited to participate regardless of the amount of your preparation or whether you have attended a previous meeting. For the September meeting we will discuss “Caitlan Dickerson on the Moral Catastrophe of Family Separations Policy”, by Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, 7 Aug 2022, and “The Secret History of the U.S. Government’s Family Separation Policy”, by Caitlan Dickerson, The Atlantic Magazine, September 2022.

The meeting will be held on Zoom. To join the meeting, click on 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87397551154?pwd=QUc3eURqd3UxSkVmNXUwQmRlRWpZdz09 .

To use your telephone for audio, dial 929-205-6099 and follow the prompts, with Meeting ID 873 9755 1154 and Passcode 223550. 

Live Concerts Return to the Old North Sanctuary!

Mark your calendars and please attend our first concert of the season on Saturday, October 1 at 7:30pm. This concert was postponed last year due to Covid (one of the singers), so it is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that we welcome Megan Roth and her ensemble back to our beautiful sanctuary. 

Calliope's Call opens their season with a celebration of togetherness through song - a program of chamber music for vocal quartet. Four of Boston's finest singers join forces to embark on a memorable musical journey, with one voice. Featuring works by American composers Tom Cipullo and Kile Smith, alongside a time-honored favorite, Brahms' Zigeunerlieder. Megan Roth and Dana Varga are both former soloists at Old North Church. A free - will offering will be gratefully accepted to benefit both the musical ensemble and Old North Church. For more information, please visit the ensemble's website at: http://calliopescall.org/with_one_voice.php

South Africa 2023

Next summer will be the 20^th anniversary of our first Old North trip to South Africa and the start of our partnership with the Pholela Congregation in KwaZulu Natal province. Although a trip was planned with a large group in 2020, we were unable to go due to Covid. To honor our enduring and thriving relationship with our South African friends, we are proposing a two week trip for next August 2023.

In 2020, we were planning to go Aug. 6-20 so that’s approximately the timeframe for 2023 so children will be home in time to get ready for school. The actual dates will be similar.  We will spend a week with visits and projects among the Pholela Congregation spread out over 25 villages and we’ll probably go to several of them. We are always received with joy and hospitality by the villagers and church members. There’s lots of interaction with school kids which is always fun, from little ones through high school. Other past projects have included planting gardens for the elderly and helping with light construction if houses have been wrecked by storms. The mountainous area is wonderful for hiking so we’ll do some of that to see ancient cave paintings in the cliffs. The main church service is very memorable and festive because everyone sings and dances the whole time. ONC Deacons (and former, like me) serve communion with their elders.

During the second week we will enjoy the scenic beauty of the country.  We’ll spend a night at a nice hotel on the beach in Durban where we love to shop the amazing African markets along the shorefront. Then we’ll have an excursion driving through the Drakensburg Mountains’ Sani Pass (UNESCO World Heritage Scenic Site) to the Kingdom of Lesotho. We’ll visit a village nestled in the mountains and have lunch in the highest pub in Africa. After that we’ll go on safari in the oldest game reserve in Africa (home to the Big Five animals ) and stay in luxury bush villa accommodations. In addition to game drives, we’ll have an excursion to lake St. Lucia in a Wetland Park to see hippos, crocodiles and birds. Then we’ll be transferred to the airport in Durban to fly home.

The costs for the last trip were under $4000 per person and that includes airfare. The cost for next summer should be similar, even allowing for price increases. I will start making reservations in the fall so I can confirm accommodations and excursions and pricing. Anyone interested in going with us should let me know in the next few weeks, if possible. rvonrueden@comcast.net Many Old North members, family and friends have benefitted from this experience of a lifetime. Rick and I would love to have you share this adventure with us.    Ginny von Rueden