Boston University Marsh Chapel
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Dear Marsh Chapel Community,
Grace and peace to you, one and all, as we enter another semester. Jan and I send our best wishes to you, and our hopes that for all the different, challenging features of this COVID year, we shall continue to live by faith, and shall ‘fear not the fallow’, as Howard Thurman put it. As a greeting this February, let me encourage your engagement this winter in worship, in group and study life, and in service.
Worship. Our primary offering for ordered worship at Marsh Chapel will continue to be through the 11:00am broadcast NPR service, through WBUR (90.9FM). We are most thankful to have and to have had this connection with our global, national, regional and local congregation. Please join us, come Sunday, at 11am. There will be a live Zoom Ash Wednesday Service led by the Chaplains and student staff of Marsh Chapel, with contributions from Music at Marsh Chapel on 2/17/21 at 6:00pm (more information can be found below). In addition, we will continue our monthly outdoor service at 8:00am on Marsh Plaza, February 7, March 7, and on Easter, April 4, at 7:30am, on the BU ‘Beach’. If you would like to attend in person, please contact Heidi Freimanis-Cordts at hrf@bu.edu. In compliance with the ‘BU Visitor’ policy, Heidi will collect your contact information. Further, we will gather for a Palm Sunday virtual brunch, 9am—9:50am, March 28, on zoom for prayer, conversation, and fellowship. Finally, we strongly encourage your daily practice of prayer, exercise, reading, reflection: one option here is the archive of televised services and sermons at Asbury First UMC (afumc) (led by our son-in-law the Rev. Dr. Stephen Cady).
Group and Study Life. There are many options for regular conversation, in virtual zoom gatherings, which I encourage you to explore. If every member of our congregation and community were involved in such a group, that would be healthy for us all. Various set groups are already meeting regularly, weekly or monthly, by zoom (Advisory Board, Development Group, Choir Gathering, Senior Staff, University Chaplains, Religious Life Council), and others are actively inviting and encouraging new virtual participants, Abolitionist Chapel Today with Rev. Dr. Gaskell, Women’s Forum with Mrs. Hill, Sunday Morning Book Group with Rev. Dr. Coleman, Marsh Writers with Dr. Reeves, —and there may be a group you would like to suggest for the future (if so, please let us know). Our regular Sunday lunch group stays in touch via emails lead by Cecelia Robinson. During this spring term, I want especially to encourage you to find, and stay connected through, one or another of these fellowship opportunities.
Service. Thanks to our creative and energetic staff, our weekly options for service to the BU community and to BU students continue to be very strong, with offerings every day and evening; ISGC on Sunday with Herb Jones; Marsh Fellows on Monday with Dr. Chicka, and Rev. Dr. Coleman; Bible Study on Tuesdays with Dr. Chicka, and Rev. Dr. Coleman; Thursday Choir fellowship lead by Ms. Weckworth, and other offerings as noted below. Likewise, the options for wellness (Tai Chi, Yoga, and Meditation) continue with strength this winter. Thankfully, the congregation has continued its tithing and percentage giving support, by mail and on line, in this new season. We encourage and appreciate your generous support.
One final, pastoral word. By telephone and somewhat by internet, we have tried to stay abreast of our congregation, at a distance. We are grateful for the community of this congregation, with some 50,000 listeners, 3,000 receiving this Common Ground Letter, and 788 on our participant\donor list. I and others are available for pastoral care. Yet, we may not know of needs unless or until we receive a helpful contact from one of you. So, please be in touch as needed.
As this newsletter was about to be sent, we learned of the death of Dr. Gaylen Kelly, longtime friend, BU professor, and faithful member of Marsh Chapel. Please hold Glenice and their family in your prayers. As and when other information becomes available, we will convey that in a later mailing. We are grateful for Gaylen, for his faith, for his glad heart, for his humor, and for his many kindnesses to so many over the years. In faith, we commend him to God, trusting in God’s love that outlasts even death.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Dean, Marsh Chapel
Professor, New Testament and Pastoral Theology
Chaplain to the University, Office of Religious Life
Boston University
617-358-3394
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Outdoor Morning Prayer Service on Marsh Plaza
February 7th at 8:00am
Dean Hill will lead a brief morning prayer service on Marsh Plaza, from 8:00 am to 8:40 am on February 7th.
If you would like to attend in person, please contact Heidi Freimanis-Cordts at hrf@bu.edu. In compliance with the ‘BU Visitor’ policy, Heidi will collect your contact information. Parking is available on Commonwealth and Bay State Road (the CAS lot is not available for Sunday). Self-monitoring of Covid-19 symptoms, masks, and social distancing of six-feet or more are required for all.
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Marsh Chapel Ash Wednesday Service, Live via Zoom on February 17th at 6:00pm
Join us for a live, virtual Ash Wednesday service on Zoom. Led by the Dean, Chaplains, and Ministry Associates of Marsh Chapel with music from Marsh Chapel Choral Scholars. Ministry Associate Chloe McLaughlin will be preaching. All are welcome!
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Spiritual Provisions: Sustenance for the Soul
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Throughout Christian history, Lent has been a time dedicated to the teaching and encouraging of new believers. During the season of Catechism, spiritual students learned the basic tenants of the Christian faith through the study of prayer, scripture, creeds, and the sacraments leading to their baptism. The catechism season of Lent represented an embracing of the spiritual necessities in order to prepare for the new life of Easter. This year for our Lenten Devotional, we continue this tradition of embracing our faith with the theme of Spiritual Provisions. In a year that has felt like a Spiritual Wilderness for many of us, it is good and holy to open our hearts to the Spiritual Provisions that God has provided for us through the traditional prayers, creeds, and sacraments of our faith. Weekly we will explore a different aspect of Christianity and provide ecumenical reflections from our staff and community. We will also be joined once again by the Marsh Chapel Choir, who will provide Lenten anthems and musical offerings for further reflection and spiritual nourishment.
Newcomers to our devotional series can sign up to receive daily emails by clicking on the image above.
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Abolitionist Chapel Today(ACT) meets this month on Sunday, February 28th from 12:30pm to 2pm through Zoom. Please contact the Rev. Dr. Victoria Hart Gaskell at vgaskell@bu.edu to be included on the call. Feel free to have lunch during the meeting. We will be sharing the latest news and scholarship in the resistance to human trafficking and modern-day slavery from four areas of resistance: rescue, recovery, restitution, and re-habituation.
Mark your calendar for future ACT meeting dates: 3/24, 4/25, 5/23, and 6/24.
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Spring Semester Book Group |
Meetings this Spring Semester will be held on Sundays 9:00-9:45a.m. via Zoom.
Book Group Meetings this month:
February 7, 21, and 28
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This Spring Semester 2021 the Marsh Chapel Sunday Study Group will continue to read "A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life" edited by BU STH's, Dr. Walter E. Fluker. We will be meeting via Zoom. All are welcome! This semester we are unable to purchase the books for pickup at Marsh Chapel. The book is available on Amazon (follow this link) or at your local library.
Our Marsh Chapel Interns: Alec Vaughn MDiv.I and Mahalia Damm MDiv.III will be assisting.
Please email The Rev. Dr. Karen Coleman at revkaren@bu.edu if you wish to be included on our weekly gathering.
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Social Justice Bible Study
Tuesdays from 5:15 to 6:15pm
Zoom link:
Join us for a virtual weekly bible study in the spring semester.
We will continue to explore the Social Justice Bible Challenge by Forward Movement to guide our discussion of scripture and how it can apply to our lives. Gatherings via Zoom. All are welcome!
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Reflections on the Charles
Meetings start on
February 23 – 5:30-6:30PM
Zoom link:
Reflections on the Charles is an open space for Boston University students who wish to share their thoughts and experiences with others in a small group setting. Our goal is to foster an environment at Marsh Chapel where students who feel called to or wish to explore a deeper meaning concerning their unique experiences during this pandemic can do so comfortably. Each week, participants will be emailed a set of questions (2-3) to write and reflect on and discuss later in community at meetings.
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Check out all of the exciting weekly VIRTUAL programming happening at Marsh. Also, check out our Instagram for additional engagement opportunities.
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The Marsh Writers Collaborative meets the first Saturday of every month from 10:00am to noon eastern time. Details for joining this virtual session are at MarshWriters.org. All authors in every genre, from first-time writers to published authors, are welcome.
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Draw with TJ
Friday, February 19th at 7pm via Zoom
(link provided after registration)
Join Create Space for a FREE Virtual Drawing Night on February 19th! TJ will help guide you through a step by step grayscale drawing of BU's mascot, a Boston Terrier. All you need is paper and a pencil!
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Boston University Marsh Chapel
735 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
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Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved. |
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