Our Latest News and Activities

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Seventh Sunday of Easter


Please join us for worship at 8 or 10 am in our Sanctuary.


The 10am service will be livestreamed on our website, www.onchurch.org


Scripture Lessons: Acts 1: 6-14 and Psalm 121

Rev. Don Remick's 8am sermon: "Look Up" and 10am Jazz Sunday Meditation: "I Lift My Eyes to Higher Ground"


Please click here  to view the bulletin.

To make an online offering, please click here.


Wherever You Are On Life's Journey, You Are Welcome Here.

This week is Jazz Sunday


JAZZ SUNDAY will take place on Sunday, May 12  (Mother's Day)! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the 10am Service this Sunday, May 12, for our annual celebration of worship through music, also known as Music Sunday!


The Senior Choir and Soloists will perform alongside the acclaimed jazz trio featuring Mark Shilansky, piano; Dave Clark, bass; and Jeff Stout, trumpet.  We are thrilled and honored to welcome back our guest artists – by popular demand! Dave Clark, Mark Shilansky and Jeff Stout – all preeminent in their field with accolades too numerous to list – will join us for our eighth annual Jazz Sunday


Please take a moment to look at their impressive biographical sketches online (links below): they are the real deal! We encourage you to arrive early to enjoy spectacular jazz prelude music! The entire service is devoted to worship through music with beloved gospel hymns and heartfelt melodies led by our amazing soloists and sung by our enthusiastic and gifted Senior Choir, with electrifying accompaniment provided by three incomparable jazz artists!

Mark: https://markshilansky.com/

Dave: https://college.berklee.edu/people/david-clark 

Jeff: https://college.berklee.edu/people/jeff-stout

(Jeff Stout will be replacing Doug Olson on Trumpet)


The annual collection for the Music Patrons Fund will take place on Sunday, May 12. Many of you will have received the Music Patrons Fund letter in the mail, but if you would like to access our appeal, please click HERE


If you did not receive a Music Patrons Fund letter in the mail but would like to be added to the mailing list, please let us know by sending an email to the church office at office@onchurch.org. Contributions to the Music Patrons Fund are gratefully accepted throughout the year and can be mailed to the church office at 8 Stacey Street. Checks should be made payable to Old North Church, with the words “Music Patrons Fund” clearly written in the MEMO line. Thank you!

Sunday School and Nursery Care


Our nursery is open for children three months to 4ish years, starting at 9:50am. Sunday school for kids aged four through 12 begins partway through the church service, following the "Moments with Children" during worship.


This week children there will be no Sunday school so children can remain with their families for the entire service to enjoy Jazz Sunday. It is a wonderful opportunity for People of God of all ages to experience the joy of how music and the Spirit moves us.

Monthly Bell Ringing this Saturday


Listen for the bells on Saturday, May 11, at 11 am, for 11 minutes. It’s our monthly event with other congregations in Marblehead and across the North Shore to remind us that we are indeed in the 11th hour of creation care – a reminder that this gift of creation given to us in our lifetime is fragile and mightily impacted by human behavior. It is 11 minutes of a prayer of thanks to God for this precious gift, of confession that we have not attended well, and resolve that we will do our small part to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem of climate change. Join us in that prayer at home or at the church to take your turn at the bell rope.

Learn All About Recycling with Republic


On Tuesday, May 14th from 7 to 8:30pm, Our Lady Star of the Sea church will host an open meeting with the Sustainability Department for Republic Services, which is the company that handles Marblehead's recycling. Learn about the process and all of the latest information on what can -- and can't -- be recycled. Wondering about wrapping paper, milk cartons, and strawberry containers? We will cover it all! Do these items actually get recycled? We will cover that too! Don't miss this great talk.

Death and Dying/Life and Living Course Continues

 

Our next meeting is scheduled for May 19, at 11:30 AM in the Great Room of Stacey Street Office, or you have the option to join on-line by clicking the link below.

 

We are continuing our discussion of Euthanasia. During our April session, it became clear that we were grappling with possible ‘end of life’ options, but also with the inevitability of aging and death –our common lot. In a recent article in The New Yorker, ‘No Time To Die’, with the subtitle: When does the quest for a healthy life become unhealthy? A question was raised: why are Americans increasingly obsessed with longevity. Also, it stated that we find ourselves faced with a dilemma, in that medicine keeps us alive longer and perhaps living longer includes lengthening our more difficult final years.

 

If you would like to join the discussion and not on the mailing list, email: elsewiersma@comcast.net or contact the church office (781-531-1124), or mail office@onchurch.org

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89664581912?pwd=S2pxa2RUZDRVM1FKeng1NnVvUWdzZz09

Prayer Shawl 2024


To all knitters! – Prayer shawl's last meeting of the year before we break for summer will be June 12 at Stacey Street 10:30-12. Please come join the table to work on your prayer shawl or bring a project of your own and join our community.


If you are working on a shawl but cannot be there, please email or text Alexandra so she can get a count of works-in-progress! Thank you.

Alexandra Garfield: 781.929.0540 or Alexandradane@me.com.

Scrabble Group


The Scrabble group continues to meet weekly in the Great Room in the Stacey Street office on Wednesdays from 2-4pm. It’s great fun and can be quite competitive. Join us!

HAWK Walk & 5K Run June 9th


Register today for this cherished community event by May 15th which guarantees you a T-shirt and enters you into a raffle for 4 Red Sox tickets! NEW this year...Women's t-shirt sizes so register soon to be guaranteed a shirt! Gather your friends and form a team or walk individually with HAWC friends, business partners and community leaders. We need you to raise awareness and funds for HAWC's lifesaving work.


Event details:

Sunday, June 9th at 10:00 am at the Salem Common, Salem, MA

Lunch included & provided by Kelly's Roast Beef and coffee by Atomic Coffee

There are many ways to step up for survivors:  

5K Road Race - Officially time-chipped with medals to top finishers

5K Walk - Stroll the historic streets of Salem

Virtual Option - Can’t join us in person? No problem! You will be able to run or walk virtually from anywhere in the world!

Afterwards enjoy our Family Fun Festival featuring:

An adorable Pet Parade led by the Hound & Country Pet Care

5K Road race award ceremony

Kids races and games 

Register for the event here.

Can't make the walk but want still want to donate, click here.

Call for Garden Volunteers


To honor Earth Day, our amazing Green Team was celebrated and awarded a special SNEUCC certificate designating Old North as a Green church. To complete their projects they will be planting and maintaining a Pollinator Garden in the parking lot to attract bees and butterflies. A couple other garden volunteers worked to transplant plants and improve the rest of the parking lot beds.

Our Garden Angel, Wren Sooy, has been digging out the pesky onion grass which is a difficult task to be sure. Thanks to her very generous donation, a landscape contractor will finish spring cleanup on all the church properties and apply mulch. Soon, when the Memorial Garden fountain is turned on and the shrubs flower, it will once again become a beautiful and serene place to visit. We do need volunteers for regular maintenance to weed and tidy the gardens all summer and into the fall. An hour or two of work produces results for us all to enjoy.



Please let me know if you can help. Thank you.

Ginny von Rueden

Gardens and Landscape Coordinator 

rvonrueden@comcast.net

781-631-7898

Flower Dedication Opportunity


We have an opening on Sunday, May 26, for a flower dedication. Please contact Bonnie MacDonald at bonnietim@comcast.net if you would like to use the opportunity to provide a bouquet and dedication for a loved one. (The cost is $60.)

Mary's Meals


Mary’s Meals is one of the organizations that Old North’s Outreach Ministry Board is currently funding. The organization does admirable work, feeding millions of children in some of the world’s poorest communities around the world.


Click here to view a recent recording of founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, talking about his recent visit to Ethiopia.


To learn more about Mary’s Meals and the organization's vision to ensure that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education, or to donate, click here.

Prudential Ministry Board Seeks New Members


The Prudential Ministry Board (aka ONC Trustees) would like to add 3 or 4 additional members to our Board to replace those who are stepping down after years of service. What are the Pru Board responsibilities, you ask? The Board is responsible for oversight of all church property, finances, the church office, and the annual Stewardship Campaign to fund the operating budget. You need not be a financial wizard nor skilled in the use of power tools! Old North Church has experts for that. The Prudential Board works collaboratively with the Leadership Board, our very competent church Treasurer, the volunteer Investment Committee, the amazing office staff, as well as a number of dedicated contractors and volunteers to keep our church finances, buildings and grounds in good shape. 


The Pru Board meets the second Tuesday evening of each month. Hybrid and Zoom options are meeting options for those who wish to serve on the Board but may not be able to meet in person. Decisions on unexpected expenses or other Pru Board business that may occur between meeting dates, are often made via emails, conference calls or texts. 



If you are interested in serving on the Board or would like more information, please call or text Board Chair Sally Sands 508-843-7401. Other current Board members are also good sources of information: Mark Adams, Scott Fillenworth, John Tatum and David Bennet. Joining the Prudential Board is a great way to experience another important facet of your church. And yes, we DO have power tools, if you would like to add some 'sweat equity' to your Pru Board experience!

Gifts of Cheer



If you know of anyone, either here at Old North or in the wider Marblehead community who is going through a difficult time, the Community Life Board would like to reach out with a little plant and a friendly note. Please contact Lynda Hare at hares8carrots@hotmail.com or 781-639-0107 if you know someone who would appreciate a little extra cheer.

Lectio Divina

 

A monastic practice of scripture, reflection and prayer dating back to the 4th century, at Old North lectio divina has been adapted and practiced for more than ten years on every Tuesday morning from 9 to about 10:30 am. When Dennis was here, he led the practice. Since his leaving, we all take turns being the leader to select the readings. We have welcomed newcomers, some not from Old North, who seem to find soul food in the practice and the shared reflections that are part of it. We meet at 9 am both in person in the “Great Room” on Stacey St. and on Zoom.


We begin each meeting with a context-setting call to worship. Then we pair a scripture reading with a poem, chosen by the leader for the day and read aloud. We then move into 21 minutes of silent meditation, marked by chimes, and finally we share in “safe space” our responses – personal and intellectual. We end each session with prayers for healing and the Lord’s Prayer.



It is a rich time of being together in community and quite like no other. We invite you to give it a try.

Office Hours

The church office is open Tuesday-Thursday mornings from 9:30am-1:30pm. If you have an emergency outside of office hours, please send an email to office@onchurch.org.

Contact Us: 781-631-1244
Email: office@onchurch.org

Church Address: 35 Washington St., Marblehead, MA 01945
Mailing Address: 8 Stacey St. Marblehead, MA 01945