This Week at Old North Church

Our Latest News and Activities

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Palm Sunday

Please join us for worship at 8 or 10 am in our Sanctuary.

The 10am service will be livestreamed on our website, www.onchurch.org

Gospel Lessons: Mark 1:1-11 and

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, from Mark 14 and 15

Rev. Lindsay Popperson's sermon: "The Donkey"

Please click here to view the bulletin.

Wherever You Are On Life's Journey, You Are Welcome Here.

Holy Week Worship Schedule

Sunday, March 24 - Palm Sunday

Services at 8 and 10am

Thursday, March 28 - Maundy Thursday

Service of Tenebrae at 8pm

Sunday, March 31 - Easter Sunday

Sunrise Worship at 6:15am at Old Burial Hill

Services at 9 and 11am in the Sanctuary

Sunday School and Nursery Care

Our nursery is open for children three months to 4ish years, starting at 9:50am. Sunday school for kids aged four through 12 begins partway through the church service, following the "Moments with Children" during worship.

This week in Sunday school we'll explore the story of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter. (If you're confused about how to talk about Easter to kids, you're not alone. Here's one main talking point: Easter shows us that God's love is the strongest thing in the whole world--stronger even than death. God was willing to do anything to show us how much we are loved, and to show us how to love each other.) Rev. Don and Carrie Bishop will be leading.

There will be no nursery or Sunday school on Easter, March 31. We invite families to worship together at both worship services!

A Walk Through Holy Week

The events of Holy Week are powerful. Jesus goes through the full range of human experience and emotion. He experiences fame and praise. He experiences blame and disgrace. He has intimate moments with friends. He is betrayed, abandoned and denied by friends. He endures false accusations, misunderstanding, exasperation. He proclaims hope and the essence of being fully alive. He experiences death and resurrection in real and figurative ways.

There is such tremendous value in walking the week with Jesus; pausing each day to listen to the story of his experience.

There are a variety of scholarly explorations of what Jesus did, according to scripture, each day of the week; attempting to mesh together all four gospel accounts. The link below will bring you to a devotional that offers scripture and reflections. The heart of meditation is focused attention, open awareness, and kind intention.

I invite you to bring it into this Walk Through Holy Week. And Enjoy it. You can find the Walk here.

-- Rev. Don

Annual Lenten Choral Concert

Please join us for our Annual Lenten Choral Concert – featuring Michael Haydn’s glorious Requiem in C Minor – on Palm Sunday, March 24, at 7:30pm. In addition to the Requiem, our concert will include the local début of Fermata, a new composition by Dan Forrest, set to the text of part of a poem written by esteemed poet and Festival Chorus member, Clem Schoenebeck.

Clem wrote a poem entitled “Requiem for the Living” (based on another choral composition by Forrest) in response to the pandemic, soon after rehearsals and plans to perform the Requiem came to an abrupt halt. Maria vanKalken, Director of the Festival Chorus, sent the poem to Mr. Forrest, inspiring him to compose Fermata – two hauntingly beautiful canons about longing to sing together again. Old North’s Festival Chorus – happily singing together again – is honored to perform Fermata with our poet, Clem, amongst the singers.

This very special concert is dedicated in loving memory to John I. Benson. John, as well as his sister-in law Youngae, and nephew Nathan, passed away tragically in January, resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning at their family home in Nahant. John was a long-time Festival Chorus member and participant in the music program at Old North Church. John will be remembered on this musical occasion – as well as many others who have passed away – as our memories live on through the profound experience of sharing beautiful music together.

The Annual Lenten Choral Concert is part of the observance of Holy Week at Old North Church – serving as a “musical reflection” for all to enjoy. Our one-hour concert – with no intermission – is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering (cash or check only) will be gratefully accepted.

Save the Date!

Please mark your calendars now to attend or participate in our upcoming Jazz Sunday Service on Sunday, May 12th at 10am!

Holy Saturday

The gap we may sometimes feel between the solemn observance of Tenebrae, the supreme sacrifice of Good Friday, and the joy of Easter morning can be a place to reconsider our relation to scripture. This year, on Holy Saturday March 30, the Sanctuary doors will be open for all to come and go as they please.

Starting around 1:30PM, Rhod Sharp will read the gospel of John from beginning to end. This ancient practice which originated with St Augustine and is known as lectio continua, was a mainstay of the early Reformed church in Geneva.

Lent Devotions on Social Media

Sometimes it is nice to have a short reflection during the Lenten Season to guide our journey. We are offering a variety of these during this holy season. One of those opportunities will be on our Social Media Pages:

Facebook: Friends of Old North Church Marblehead

Instagram: oncinmhd

While on hikes in a town forest near my home I have done a series of short video reflections. We'll be posting these to our Facebook page a couple times each week. Look for them on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

-- Rev. Don Remick

Food Pantry

As a church we are now focusing on Holy Week but for about 70 households here in Marblehead, the main focus will be on how to put their next meal on the table. For decades now it has been Old North’s responsibility to fill the shelves at the Marblehead Food Pantry in both April and November. Since the outbreak of the Pandemic we have successfully achieved this in a more efficient way, with your help. If you are able to donate, please consider writing a check to Old North Church (with Food Pantry in the memo) and send it to 8 Stacey Street, Marblehead MA 01945. Our dedicated shopping team will then use your kind donations to meet the very specific needs of the Food Pantry to include non perishable goods, toiletries and personal items. Any questions should be directed to Lynda Hare (hares8carrots@hotmail.com) on behalf of the Outreach Ministry Board.

Prayer Shawl 2024

Please join Prayer Shawl the second Wednesday of every month for community knitting. The dates until June would be: April 10, May 8, June 12.

All are welcome to knit prayer shawls (we supply the needles and yarn) for the ONC community or bring your own knitting to join us around the big table in the Great Room at Stacey Street.

For any further information contact Alexandra Garfield: 781.929.0540

Alexandradane@me.com

Joining the Church

Are you interested in joining Old North as a member? We're a congregational church, which means that any big decisions are made democratically, with each member having a vote. Being a member of the church also means that you're committing to us, and we're committing to you; we're claiming each other, and also making a statement that--in a world that is increasingly individualistic and fractured--we need each other.

This spring, we'll be officially receiving new members into the church during our worship service on Sunday, April 14. Please contact Rev. Don or Rev. Lindsay if you're interested in joining but that date doesn’t work for you.

Scrabble Group

The Scrabble group continues to meet weekly in the Great Room in the Stacey Street office on Wednesdays from 2-4pm. It’s great fun and can be quite competitive. Join us!

Book Reading

Katherine Howe, author and ONC member, spoke last Sunday afternoon in the Parish Hall to over 30 church and community members. She shared with attendees her personal stories regarding discovery of our town when she and her husband were graduate students in Boston, her love of this town and of sailing, her writing journey and her writing process. A New York Times bestselling author, Katherine's most recent books include, A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself, and Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, co-written with Anderson Cooper. Her upcoming book, The Penguin Book of Pyrates, is due out later this year.

Search Team Update

Our Search Team has met with Rev Alex Shea Will, our Associate Conference Minister, for training, support and orientation. Rev. Don has also been meeting with them as they launch into the process. The Team also had a chance to be in conversation with our congregation after church on March 16th. As they continue their discernment of God's guidance they so appreciate all of your prayers and support.

Sanctuary Painting

The painting of the sanctuary ceiling has been postponed until summer due to the availability of the painting crew and the busy April church calendar.

Don't Go Phishing

Phishing is a scam where people imitate another person in hopes that they can deceive people into sending them money or information. It has increasingly plagued churches over the last several years where clergy are mimicked. It shows up in our church every few months where what seems like a legitimate email comes to you from one of the pastors or staff asking you to secretly send gift cards for a made up emergency. You can usually tell it is a scam because the email and signature line are not familiar ones. But these scammers are becoming more and more adept at fooling folks.

Our staff will not email individuals asking for money. And will not do so secretly.

If you get any such emails, be suspicious. And call the church or use our ONCHURCH email to verify whether it is legitimate. Don't respond directly to such emails.

Gifts of Cheer

If you know of anyone, either here at Old North or in the wider Marblehead community who is going through a difficult time, the Community Life Board would like to reach out with a little plant and a friendly note. Please contact Lynda Hare at hares8carrots@hotmail.com or 781-639-0107 if you know someone who would appreciate a little extra cheer.

Lectio Divina

A monastic practice of scripture, reflection and prayer dating back to the 4^th century, at Old North lectio divina has been adapted and practiced for more than ten years on every Tuesday morning from 9 to about 10:30 am. When Dennis was here, he led the practice. Since his leaving, we all take turns being the leader to select the readings. We have welcomed newcomers, some not from Old North, who seem to find soul food in the practice and the shared reflections that are part of it. We meet at 9 am both in person in the “Great Room” on Stacey St. and on Zoom.

We begin each meeting with a context-setting call to worship. Then we pair a scripture reading with a poem, chosen by the leader for the day and read aloud. We then move into 21 minutes of silent meditation, marked by chimes, and finally we share in “safe space” our responses – personal and intellectual. We end each session with prayers for healing and the Lord’s Prayer.

It is a rich time of being together in community and quite like no other. We invite you to give it a try.

Office Hours

The church office is open Tuesday-Thursday mornings from 9:30am-1:30pm. If you have an emergency outside of office hours, please send an email to office@onchurch.org.

Email: office@onchurch.org

Church Address: 35 Washington St., Marblehead, MA 01945

Mailing Address: 8 Stacey St. Marblehead, MA 01945