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Weekly news & announcements
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Church School is BACK This Sunday |
Church School begins again this Sunday, May 1. Meet at 9:45am on the Rosemary Street patio. The class will be held outside. Please bring a blanket to sit on and wear weather-appropriate clothes. Patty and Diane will teach a Godly Play about the Holy Family and then the students will explore the church grounds. Patty and Diane are looking forward to seeing everyone! |
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Choir Appreciation Coffee Hour Is This Sunday, May 1 |
This Sunday we offer particular thanks for our choir and their ministry to us in worship. And, at coffee hour, you can sign up to sing with our choir on Pentecost Sunday, 5 June. Two short 45-minute rehearsals with the choir will prepare you: May 19 and June 2 at 7 p.m. in the chancel. You can also sign up you can sponsor a summer Sunday by choosing a hymn from one of our two hymnals. Your sponsorship will provide the stipend for our summer pianist, Steve Sussman. Your $150 gift may be made in memory of, in celebration of, or in thanksgiving for a special person or occasion. For more specifics on Summer Music, scroll down. |
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Drivers Needed for MANNA May 8 and June 12 |
We need people to drive down to the cathedral to deliver the MANNA food for May and/orJune. If you are able to help, please use the SignUpGenius attached to this message, OR contact Joanna Starr or Barbara Hurley/ Thank you all very much!
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Knitting Ministry Meets This Coming Monday, May 2 at 10am |
Join the Knitting Ministry tomorrow, Monday, May 2 at 10am in the Memorial Room to knit prayer shawls and hats for those in need. Knitters of all levels welcome! Please email Bea with questions.
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Sponsor Music on Sundays This Summer |
Once again, worshippers have an opportunity to sponsor music on Sundays throughout the summer. For a suggested gift of $100-150, you can sponsor a Sunday of music and the hymn of choice will be sung on a Sunday that you choose beginning on June 12. Your gift may be in memory of a loved one, in honor of someone living, or in commemoration of an occasion. |
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Sign up online here or email or call Ali in the office (office@ccneedham.org / (781) 444-1469).
Gifts can be mailed to the office (please note “Summer Music” in the memo section) or made online (please select “Summer Music” from the drop down menu). Due to online streaming restrictions, your hymn of choice must come from either Hymnal 1982 or Wonder, Love, and Praise. Both can be found in the pews.
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We Are Mask Friendly - Masks Are not Required, But Kindness Is! |
By Vestry decision, we are mask friendly in worship and in the church building and all pews are now open.
While masks are no longer required, please be kind to those who choose to wear masks, or not!
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St. Stephen's Youth Programs is holding a four-part B-SAFE 2022 workshop series for in-person B-SAFE volunteers on Zoom.
Please register HERE. A Zoom link will be sent out the day before to all registrants.
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Here is more about the series:
WHO IS THIS FOR? This workshop series is for all B-SAFE partner church leaders who will be doing in-person volunteering this summer AND all others interested in learning more.
WHEN IS THIS? This four-part series is on Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:15pm on April 26, May 3, May 10, and May 17. It is designed to have attendees participate in all four sessions and information will build from one session to the next.
WHAT IS THIS SERIES? These sessions will include content and activities to build the knowledge and skills of all participants as we strive to build relationships and authentic connections across differences of race (and ethnicity, generation, geography, class, and more). The workshops will also help participants understand more about how to be upstanders in this moment of racial reckoning in our society, church, and programs.
WHERE ARE THE WORKSHOPS HAPPENING? On Zoom. Link will be sent to all registrants on Monday before the workshop series begins.
WHY IS THIS SERIES NEEDED? B-SAFE is leaning into our mission of "promoting equity in education, employment, and opportunity through long-term relationships with young people and their families and communities." We invite partner church leaders to join us in this effort. More on this will be covered in the first session.
HOW WILL THESE WORKSHOPS HELP US LEARN? Through conversation, small break out groups, role plays, video, readings, and more, we will learn, grow, practice, and prepare to be anti-racist allies who will stand and work alongside our B-SAFE staff, parents, and youth.
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Sing with the Choir on Pentecost, June 5th |
How about making a joyful noise on Pentecost singing an anthem with our choir! Dust off those vocal cords and join us on two Thursday evenings for a brief 45-minute rehearsal beginning at 7 p.m. in the chancel. Two rehearsals will get you ready to sing: Thursday, May 19 and Thursday, June 2. You will have a chance to vocalize with the choir and learn your notes. Email Director of Music, Charles Raines, to receive the music and a recorded rehearsal track. |
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I know that many families have been hoping for the return of Sunday School. Our intrepid leaders, Diane and Patty are available to teach Godly Play for a few weeks, which are listed below. But for more Sunday School to happen, we need more leaders! Not trained? No problem! We've purchased a really fun short curriculum for after Easter called Storymakers; unlike Godly Play it requires no training and is flexible to lead. And I will be here to talk through the lesson with you, think through questions or worries in advance, and debrief how it goes. |
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Please do email me (mtremilygarcia@gmail.com) or text or leave a voicemail (617 637 6489) if you have any questions or hopes to share!
Yours,
Emily
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The Current Plan for Summer Sunday School: (Occasional) Godly Play
Right now we have two Sunday School teachers--the amazing Patty and Diane! schedule, but they are up for teaching once or twice a month.
Ages: 4yo-2nd grade or so
Location: From now until Pentecost (June 5th), the group will meet outside. From June 12th onward, they will meet on the patio.
Timing: From now until Pentecost (June 5th), children will be dropped off with the group outside at the start of the service and will rejoin the congregation at the peace, before the Eucharist. From June 12th onward, this group will meet after the service, during Lemonade Time, with the rest of the church around.
Frequency: Diane and Patty can teach May 1 and June 5.
Rain Plan: Because we do not yet have a HEPA filter for the Chapel, there is currently no rain plan. If the Finance Committee/Vestry approve the purchase of an appropriate filter, the group will meet in the Chapel if it rains.
The Hoped-for Plan for Summer Sunday School: Storymakers
To make this part happen, we need you! You do not need to have children in your household--you just need to enjoy young people! Ali and I have also purchased for the church a new stop-gap curriculum that requires very little prep from volunteers.
Ages: 1st-5th grade
Location: same as above
Timing: same as above
Frequency: Whenever Godly Play is not happening and whenever we have 2 volunteers!
Rain Plan: This depends on who is volunteering and what they would be comfortable with.
What We Hope for Sunday School in the Fall & Future
Rev. Nick, Diane, Patty, and I all hope that the parish will be able to build again a strong Godly Play program. It is an excellent curriculum that teaches our young people so many things--not just Biblical content but Biblical interpretation, not just liturgy details but the rhythm and sense of the liturgy, and so much more. (See below for a chance to learn more about Godly Play.)
Learning about Godly Play!
Want to learn more about Godly Play? This is a 1.5hr virtual introduction to this magnificent curriculum. It will be on May 10th and taught by excellent instructors. Learn more and sign up here.
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HELP UKRAINIAN FAMILIES
Your immediate support will help Episcopal Relief & Development and other Anglican partners provide humanitarian assistance to people fleeing the violence in Ukraine. Donate here today.
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Please click on the images to learn more. |
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If you or someone in your family is in the hospital or in need of pastoral care, please call the church office so that our clergy or the Pastoral Response Ministry team may be notified and tend to the need.
The office number is (781) 444-1469, and you can reach Nick at ext. 113.
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