PEACE BE WITH YOU IN THESE DAYS:

We are so grateful to be connected as a family of faith! As we all do our part to love our neighbor as ourselves to help “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus/COVID-19, our building remains closed; all meetings and events that are offered, including worship, have shifted to an online or conference call format.

If you are at all new or new-ish to our community (perhaps newly worshiping with us since we began on Zoom) - we'd love the chance to gather informally with you over shared coffee - kindly brew and bring your own! Here's the Zoom link that we will use after a few minutes post passing of the peace at the end of our service.

UPCOMING WORSHIP ON SUNDAYS: Please join us each Sunday at 10:30 am as we come together in community through Zoom to pray, sing, share celebrations and concerns, and hear God’s still-speaking Word proclaimed.

https://zoom.us/j/91025989890?pwd=VTd0L3VMc3ErRDBRTllpTTEvRGNZUT09 

+16465588656,,91025989890#,,#,892502#

+1 646 558 8656, Meeting ID: 910 2598 9890, Password: 892502

Some suggestions to aid in your worship for you to consider:

This beautiful, challenging and inspiring daily devotional guide from A Sanctified Art is our gift to you: download here.

This has been a hard year. Christmas sometimes holds a lot of pain for many. Join us for this important annual ecumenical service we share with our closest neighbors in faith, Emmanuel Church, as we pay attention to the blues many of us feel this year, and pray for God's illumination. The livestream is available at this link.

This year, we contemplated sending you all blue and pink candles for your own wreaths. Then, as we pondered with climate jubilee in mind, we opted against this fairly high carbon-footprint task, and instead would like to invite you to get original and in the spirit of Do It Yourself (DIY) - build your own home advent wreath. There are no parameters (hints: we often use blue as our advent color, you can use purple, white or black - any color. Third advent is often pink) and lots of ways to do this like this. The contest part is an invitation for you to make one, take a photo, and send it along to Rob (rob.mark@cotcbos.org) or Kate (kate.carlisle@cotcbos.org). "Awards" will be presented in worship on Dec. 20, Advent 4.

During worship on December 6, we will collect the Christmas Joy (PCUSA) and Christmas Fund (UCC) offerings for our two denominations. Both of these special offerings provide emergency assistance and other financial support for lower-income current and retired church workers - and, as you can imagine, this is needed especially during a time of pandemic and economic upheaval. The Christmas Joy offering also supports PCUSA-related schools and colleges which service communities of color and nurture racial and ethnic heritage. Your Mission and Advocacy Committee encourages you to give generously.

If you missed any of the Generosity Generators Season of Generosity 2020 videos "Ch_ _ch Happens" (how does it happen if UR missing?), watch here.

Our community exists because of God's grace, and your generosity. It's as simple and beautiful as that. Please take a moment and email in your 2021 pledge amount to Nancy Stockford at finsecy@cotcbos.org - THANK YOU GENEROUS CHURCH!

WEDNESDAY EVENING PRAYERS 6-6:30pm: Our next Weds. Evening prayer will be Weds. Dec 2, 6-6:30pm. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88999202076?pwd=bU9XQ0JuR0F1bXhrTUV2eVBDcHIxdz09

Celebrate the season by joining storytellers Diane Rooks, Elisa Pearmain, Karen Glass and Lani Peterson for an all-ages friendly and free "Stories of Kindess" this Sunday afternoon at 4:00. Lani has told stories for Women's Lunch Place and is a friend of Rob's aunt Daryl (former children's librarian for Cambridge Public Library). These four seasoned tellers will tell a tale and then invite listeners to share moments of kindness. Zoom link; Meeting ID: 958 8542 6556, Passcode: story.

Please join Trudi Veldman for an update on Villages in Partnership's work in Malawi. You'll learn about how COVID has affected the country and how VIP is continuing its work focused on agriculture, maternal health and education.

Beginning on December 4, the virtual Bible Study will meet at 11:00 am on Fridays, and we will begin a study of the Gospel of Mark. If you have questions, please contact Nancy Ammerman at ntammerman@gmail.com. We gather on Zoom for about an hour for a “BYOB” (bring your own Bible) gathering. Drop in any week!

join by phone: (646) 558 8656, Meeting ID: 104 478 666, Password: 581626

If you'd like to be part of the joint Presbytery choir recording of Joy to the World, click here.

To be part of the recording of What Child Is This, click here.

Both links will take you to Soundtrap, where you will be asked to sign in using Facebook, Google, or by creating a new login in. Then you will be able to access the accompaniment and record your part directly into the website. We are singing all of the verses in each song, using the Glory to God hymnal. You can find a pdf of the hymns here. If you have questions, reach out to Jennifer Bastien.

CHILDREN'S AND YOUTH PROGRAMMING: Each Sunday beginning at 9:45AM we gather using Zoom for Godly Play and Youth Class. Our Godly Play class gathers to sing, share news with each other, pray together, and hear ancient and contemporary stories of our faith. Our Youth Class shares their weekly gathering rituals and explores topics of interest and curiosity in faith and identity. If you need a Zoom link, email children@cotcbos.org.

The 20s30s40s will be having a Winter Gathering Sunday, December 13th at 2pm at the Boston Gardens. We will meet at the Washington Statue. For more information, please email Joshua at joshua.lazard@cotcbos.org

NO PLACE AT THE INN? A CHALLENGING WINTER: For many reasons, this will be a challenging winter. One way we can help those experiencing homelessness in downtown Boston is to support our partners Women's Lunch Place who have an ongoing wish list for items, found here: https://womenslunchplace.org/in-kind-donations.

YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW FACING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES? Info on fuel and electricity discounts in MA: https://www.greennewton.org/experiencing-financial-difficulty-you-may-be-eligible-for-electricity-and-fuel-discounts/

CONTINUED GIVING: Even in face of important, life-giving changes, our COTC ministry remains moving full steam ahead. Our staff and pastors continue to be hard at work. Our building continues to be faithfully stewarded. Our deacons and pastors continue to carry out vital pastoral care in these days. Therefore, your continued generosity and giving to help support the work of our church community is even more valued in these challenging days. And we are deeply grateful for your tangible signs of generosity. Here are a few ways you can continue to financially support the church and its ministries:

THIS WEEK'S COVER IMAGE: The Beginning of the Good News, by Lisle Gwynn Garrity, A Sanctified Art, who writes in a note: "Recently, my husband and I volunteered to serve on the safety team for a Black Lives Matter march and vigil in our local city. While we've frequently participated in peaceful protests, this role was new to us. We joined hundreds of white allies and community organizers, showing up hours before the march began to prepare supplies and receive training. Our role was straightforward: we were to use our bodies to create critical mass along the edges of the crowd in order to protect the leaders of the march from harm. We were to stay alert and look for agitators - white supremacists or others instigating violence - and either place our bodies as a barrier or, when possible, try to nonviolently de-escalate the situation. Our trainers directed us: "Today's march is not about you. You won't be able to participate in the chants and you might not be able to hear the speakers. Instead, you are here to use your privilege to protect our Black leaders so they can make their voices heard, so they can express their grief and cry out for change without fearing that harm will be done to them in return." And so, all day we walked alongside the shouts crying out in the wilderness of downtown city streets. As a call for repentance for the sins of racism, police brutality, and systemic injustice were proclaimed, we did our best to keep the peace and prepare the way. As I've returned to this scripture, I've been struck by the fact that the story of the good news according to Mark begins with protest - with crowds swelling and shouting, with a movement of people hungry for change and willing to risk their lives for it. And so, I'm committing to preparing the way - for God's message of liberation and love to truly be heard and made known."

ZOOM Tutorials: If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, click this link Zoom How To for a video on how to join Zoom Meetings. Here are a few step by step procedures on how to join a Zoom meeting from your specific device.

BUILDING ACCESS: Our church building remains closed except for services connected with Women’s Lunch Place, our Food Pantry, and a subset of our church staff (Rev. Rob, Tom Handel, Bill Brown, Alan Lane, Faith Perry, Nancy Stockford, and Chuck Ferrell), who only enter for specific and limited purposes. All other staff, church leaders, and key holders are required to keep away from the church building until further notice. While we are not opening for our normal Open Sanctuary program this year, we have protocols in place to allow for safe group tours by appointment through Bill Brown.

THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE COVENANT NEWS can be read online here.