STAYING CONNECTED TO YOUR CHURCH COMMUNITY
Thursday, March 25, 2021
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A FREE EVENT FOR OUR CHURCH COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES!
Covid cancelled our hunt last year but we are EGG-CITED to announce the Easter Bunny will be back this year! With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, we are offering an Easter Egg Hunt that families can safely attend, timed, outside, with only 5 families at a time with a large egg hunting area. The fun continues with an Easter story walk and socially distanced photos with the Easter Bunny. Advanced registration is required, as supplies are limited.
Also at the same time there will be a Palm Drive-Thru Pick-Up for those who would like palms for our Palm Sunday Worship service. It is our hope to take "palm waving" photos to be included in the worship service.
Join us for the full event or drive-thru to pick up your Palm Sunday palms and fun palm folding instruction. Registration required, SIGN UP HERE
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“Christ is Risen!” in many languages
It is an Easter tradition at the Hills Church to proclaim the good news of the Easter greeting, “Christ is Risen!” in many languages. You are invited to send in your video recordings of the Easter greeting in other languages, to be included in the virtual worship service for Easter Sunday. Please send your videos to Rev. Matt Wooster by Saturday morning, April 3. In the video, please name the language that you are using to share the Easter news.
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Sermon Series
This year, the season of Lent follows a full year of dislocation, disorientation, and disruption. It is time for a re-centering focus on love, at the center of our scriptures, our faith, and our lives. Outlined below is the remainder of our Lenten sermon series on the theme of love.
March 28: Palm Sunday: A Love Supreme -- Mark 11:1-11
April 4: Easter Sunday: Love Endures -- 1 John 4:7-12
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Morning Meditation Lent 2021
This Lent, our meditations will focus on Love at the Center, using scriptures selected for the Lenten sermon series. We welcome all to to join us and listen for God’s word in prayer and then twenty minutes of silent meditation on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 to 10:30 am. To receive the Zoom link email Mary Hill Canavan or Rev. Judy Swahnberg.
Prayer Walk
A Prayer Walk is an innovative and delightful way to read and pray about our community, God, and ourselves. This Prayer Walk provides a way to be both outdoors and connected to our church! The front walkway leading up to our church steps, has laminated prayer prompts guiding you towards LOVE at the center of it all.
Cup of Morning Prayer
Noon Prayers
Visit our Facebook page at noon for 5-15 minutes of reflection and prayer with clergy.
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Family Promise is a national cooperative, interfaith partnership offering hope to homeless families with children through safe transitional shelter, meals, and support as they seek permanent housing. Our church has supported Family Promise since 2008. They help homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence and provide comprehensive employment support. Because of the pandemic the Congregational Hosting Program was put on hold. Guest families are now being housed in a hotel. As a precaution they are not accepting groceries or meals but accept money and gift cards. Guest families spend non working hours, receive counseling and job training, do laundry, and shower in the Family Promise Day Center in Natick. They educate on root causes of homelessness to influence policy.
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The Christian Service Support Board has chosen City Mission and Family Promise to be the recipients of this year’s Easter Special Offering.
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ConCity Mission was founded 204 years ago by Old South Church and Park Street Church. They pioneered key social programs that later became separate nonprofit agencies. Today, their focus is on homelessness prevention by engaging, educating and empowering vulnerable individuals and families in Boston to work together to root out poverty and advance economic and racial equality. The goal is to help these individuals and families to change their lives by establishing respectful relationships, making informed decisions, and dealing with complex social issues. Specific programs include: A Lift Up, an intensive, voluntary two-year homelessness prevention program designed for low-income single mothers and children at risk of losing their housing; collecting winter coats for children; educating students about social justice; and helping prepare seminarians and new pastors for excellence in ministry in urban communities.
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Dear members, friends, and family of the Hills Church,
The Hills Church has many rich (and delicious!) brunch traditions associated with Palm Sunday and Easter. Since we will continue to "worship remotely," some of us thought it would be fun to share a "brunch remotely" as well. We hope that many of you will be celebrating brunch after worship on Easter Sunday with those in your immediate family or your closest “bubble.” With any luck, we will be sharing it outdoors in the driveway, on the patio, the porch, or the deck.
In the spirit of sharing the meal, we offer here two recipes for Strata that have been served for decades at either the Newton Neighborhood Palm Sunday Brunch (thank you, Susan Walton!) or between the two services on Easter Sunday in the Assembly Room for musicians and church school volunteers and their families (thank you, Myralee Wilson and others).
Both recipes are easy, can be prepared the night before if you wish, can be modified to be vegetarian, lactose-free, gluten-free, low-salt, low fat, or almost any other variation you can imagine. And it can bake while you worship on-line.
Happy Spring, Happy Easter, Happy baking, and Happy brunch!
Yours in faith, Past and present members of the diaconate, Parish Life Ministry Team, Music Ministry Team, clergy, and many others
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A Blessing of a Shared Meal for Holy Week
Come Jesus, Come! Be our guest!
Let our gatherings around our tables be blessed!
Come Jesus, Come! Enter our hearts!
May this meal bring us close to those we love,
although we are apart!
Come Jesus, Come! Amen!
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Strata Breakfast Casserole
6 slices of white bread trimmed
1 lb. sausage, browned and drained
1/2 cup butter or margarine melted
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups Half & Half
6 eggs
1 tsp. seasoning salt
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
chopped green onions
Grease 9 X 13" baking dish. Place bread in bottom of dish, and pour melted butter on top. Sprinkle sausage on top of butter, then cheddar cheese. Combine eggs, cream, and salt in blender, mix well and pour over cheese. Top with onions and Monterey Jack cheese. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.
A Little Tidbit . . .
Why does strata have to sit overnight?
Many stratas call for assembling the strata and allowing it to sit overnight, refrigerated, so the bread soaks up the egg mixture. (The overnight soak is what makes this an ideal make-ahead dish.) When the strata is baked, the soaked bread makes it puff up nicely, almost souffle-like.
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Newton Neighborhood Brunch Casserole
1 pkg. (10 links) Brown ’N Serve breakfast sausage OR 1/2 lb. sweet chicken sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 (5 to 5-1/2 oz.) pkg. seasoned croutons
8 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole (9 x 13 inch Pyrex). Cook sausage. If using Brown ’N Serve links, follow package directions and cut into small pieces. If using crumbled chicken sausage, cook over medium heat in a frying pan until cooked through. Mix the sausage, cheese and croutons in the bottom of the casserole dish. Combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl. Using mixer at low to medium speed, mix until blended. Pour over crouton mixture. Bake for 60 minutes. Casserole can be made ahead and reheated in the oven at 300-325 degrees until hot; bring to room temperature first if possible. (Also reheats in the microwave.)
NOTE: Vegetarian option: Instead of the sausage, use 2 cups sliced sautéed mushrooms; or 2 cups chopped and sautéed green and red peppers; or a mixture of the mushrooms and peppers.
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Today’s Words to Ponder . . .
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“The beautiful thing about the piano is that you got white keys and you got black keys. And the only way to make the most beautiful, magnificent, and poetic noise is with both sets of keys working in tandem. You can’t just play all white keys, because you won’t maximize what the instrument has to offer. You can’t just play all black keys, because you won’t maximize what the instrument has to offer. But integrate the white and black keys together, and that is when the piano makes a joyful noise.”
― Emmanuel Acho
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@ The national leadership of the United Church of Christ joins the National Council of Churches in grieving the deaths of eight people shot by a lone gunman at three Atlanta spas on March 16. The UCC shares the NCC statement below, offers a prayer for the victims and their families and issues a call to action against hate crimes.
@ Looking for an Easter craft? These Easter Finger Puzzles are perfect to make at home. or in a classroom. These printables can be printed in full color or black and white (allowing kids to color their own.)
@ What do Amanda Gorman, creative writing, and empowering teenage girls all have in common? WriteGirl, an awesome creative writing and mentoring organization (Gorman is an alum). If you have a teen that likes to write this is a great group to join.
@ Happiness. Jane Kenyon is one of those rare poets whose work reflects how spiritual life interweaves with the everyday, from the sublime to the mundane. Here she is on “happiness” - a perfect poem for this age of pandemic. Read the poem here.
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Children's Book Collection
Hills Church is collecting gently used children’s books throughout the month of March for the benefit of The Grow Clinic at Boston Medical Center. Books are given to children while receiving treatments or when waiting for a sibling, to occupy the child’s mind during a bad situation, offering them a glimmer of hope. Collection bins will be on the porch of Donna & Gary McCabe’s home at 124 Washington Street, Wellesley. Their house is just east of the church with a circular driveway and a large covered porch. Questions? Contact Donna McCabe or May Persson.
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Hills Church Weekly Calendar
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March 25
10:30 am
12:00 pm
12:00 pm
6:45 pm
March 26
2:00 pm
7:30 pm
March 27
9:30 am
2:00 pm
March 28
9:30 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
2:00 pm
7:30 pm
March 29
7:00 am
11:00 am
1:00 pm
2:30 pm
March 30
9:30 am
12:00 pm
2:00 pm
March 31
12:00 pm
12:00 pm
7:00 pm
7:30 pm
April 1
10:30 am
12:00 pm
6:45 pm
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THURSDAY
Staff Meeting (Zoom)
Noonday Prayers with Rev. Judy (Facebook)
Record/Practice (Sanctuary) - John
New Beginnings (Virtual)
FRIDAY
Recording (Sanctuary) - Judy and Matt
AA Meeting (Assembly Room)
SATURDAY
Easter FUNday (outdoors front lawn of church)
Brass Musicians (outdoors front lawn of church)
Coffee Hour (Zoom)
Worship Service (Online)
Middle School Faith Formation (Zoom)
Record/Practice (Sanctuary) - John
AA Meeting (Reception Room)
MONDAY
Cup of Morning Prayer
Tune three pianos (church)
Clergy Pastoral Care Meeting (Zoom)
Food Pantry (Assembly Room)
TUESDAY
Lenten Meditation (Zoom)
Noonday Prayers with Rev. Holloway (Facebook)
Food Pantry Operation (Assembly Room)
WEDNESDAY - TENEBRAE
Food Pantry (Assembly Room)
Noonday Prayers with Rev. Matt (Facebook)
Confirmation Class (Zoom)
Choir Rehearsal (Zoom)
MAUNDY THURSDAY
Staff Meeting (Zoom)
Noonday Prayers with Rev. Judy (Facebook)
New Beginnings (Virtual)
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"Events at the Hills" Newsletter Publications
Need to spread the word about an activity or event?
ARTICLES DUE MONDAY BY 5 PM
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