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.  

Choir News

Please consider joining the choir this year! As we work our way back singing on a regular basis, we will follow all current protocols to keep singers safe. The senior choir will gather on most Sunday mornings at 9am to rehearse for the 10am worship service. Weeknight rehearsals take place on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 - 9:00. Registration for the Old North Festival Chorus will take place on Wednesday, September 28, at 7:30pm.

Exciting plans are underway for a return to performing with chorus and orchestra to celebrate our 42nd year as an ensemble. The Old North Festival Chorus and Orchestra will perform during the weekend of the Marblehead Christmas Walk festivities.

All participants in our choral programs will be required to show proof of vaccination and masks will be required during rehearsals. We hope to proceed with a mask optional policy as soon as it is clear that it is safe to do so. Please contact Maria vanKalken, vankalken@gmail.com for more information.

Confirmation Meeting - Weds. Sept 14 - 7:00 pm

Calling all 7th, 8th, and 9th graders interested in Confirmation at ONC!

Please join Rhod Sharp and Dee Burgett for a brief meeting on Wednesday, September 14th at 7:00pm and bring your parents. The Meeting will be in the Great Room at 8 Stacey Street. 

We’ll outline the plan for confirmation class this academic year: the format of the class, expectations for attendance and meeting times. Be sure to bring any questions that you might have, or friends that you think might be interested in participating (even if they are new to the program.)

Please RSVP deeburgett@comcast.net or sharp.rhod@gmail.com to let us know if you can make it. We look forward to seeing you then!

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. 

Monthly Bell Ringing

Our monthly bell ringing campaign continues this month and will take place at 11am following this Sunday’s service and everyone is invited to join us. ONC and several other churches that are part of the Marblehead Ministerial Association with bell towers are ringing their bells on the 11^th of each month for 11 minutes to call attention to the need to take 11^th hour action about the climate crisis. In doing so, we are joining this important initiative which was started earlier this year by churches in Cambridge and Cape Ann to ring their bells on the 11^th of each month.

Anyone wishing to volunteer as a monthly bell ringer for climate action should contact Mimi Hollister (mimi.hollister@aol.com or 781-910-2376).

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