Month: January 2016

Sermon: “A Place of Grace”
Scripture: First Corinthians 13:1-13
What happens to us when grace becomes the centerpiece of how we interact with one another? Where is God when that happens? What happens to our hearts? What happens to our community?

Join us for Worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Offering Envelopes for 2016
If you are newer to our congregation, and interested in having a set of offering envelopes for 2016, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com) The envelopes allow us to credit you for the donations that you give to the church, and allow you to deduct them from your taxes! For those of you who already have envelopes, you will find your box on the table in the back of the sanctuary, by the door. They are in numerical order.

Annual Meeting
This Sunday, January 31st is the annual congregational meeting. We will have a potluck lunch after the service, and then conduct the meeting. Please bring an appetizer, soup, salad, side dish, main dish or dessert to share. (NO NUTS, PLEASE!)
The annual meeting is the time when we look back on 2015 to note what we have accomplished. We will also elect officers, elders, deacons, and approve a budget for 2016. In addition, we will look forward, to begin to decide what we would like to accomplish during the coming year. All are welcome!

Pastor Allen Regular Office Hours
He will be in the church office during the following times unless called away:
Mondays and Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday evenings: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Fairfax is generally available for pastoral concerns or other church business at most other times as well, so don’t hesitate to contact him outside of these office hours.
Please drop by the church or contact him: 508-801-7294 (cell)/617-625-4823 (office), pastor@clarendonhillchurch.org.

 

– – – Upcoming Events – – –

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets at Porter Square Panera Bread every other Wednesday. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Ash Wednesday Service
Wednesday, February 10th at 7:00 p.m. Please join us as we begin our journey in to Lent.

Lenten Study
For our Lenten study this year, we will be reading and discussing the book, “If God is Love”. Copies of the book will be available at the annual meeting (January 31st). We will likely meet once or twice during Lent, with the exact dates to be decided. After we finish our Lenten study, we will choose a fiction book for our next discussion. If you have suggestions for a fiction book, or if you would like a copy of “If God is Love”, but won’t be at the annual meeting, please contact Pastor Allen. Here’s a synopsis of the book:

Synopsis of If God is Love
If God is love, why are so many Christians fearful, and why do so many church leaders sound hateful? Two controversial pastors address issues the church won′t face, calling us to restore grace as the center of the Christian life.
In “If Grace Is True”, Pastors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland revealed their belief that God will save every person. They now explore the implications of this belief, and its power to change every area of our lives. They attempt to answer one question: If we took God′s love seriously, what would our world look like?
Gulley and Mulholland argue that what we believe is crucial and dramatically affects the way we live and interact in the world. Beliefs have power. The belief in a literal hell where people suffer eternally has often been used by the Church to justify hate and violence, which contradicts what Jesus taught about love and grace. The authors present a new vision for our personal, religious, and corporate lives, exploring what our world would be like if we based our existence on the foundational truth that God loves every person.
Gulley and Mulholland boldly address many controversial issues people in the pews have wondered about but churches have been unwilling to tackle. For too long, the Christian tradition has been steeped in negativity, exclusion, and judgment. Gulley and Mulholland usher us into a new age–an age where grace and love are allowed to reign.

 

– – – Deacons News – – –

Prayer Request Email
The Deacons are in the process of setting up an online prayer request list. This will be a closed group (to insure privacy.) If you would like to be a member of the group so that you can ask for prayers, and have others pray for you, please send an email to Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com). Once we have everything set up, we will share information about the group with the congregation, so that others can join.

 

Sermon: “Third Day Ministry”
Scripture: John 2:1-11
Note that the writer of the Gospel has this event at a wedding in Cana happened on the “Third Day”. When early Christians used this term, it was a shorthand way of reminding themselves and others that new life was coming (a new solution, a new energy, a renewal time, etc.) — life lived in light of the resurrection. Think about the role of the servants. Think about the role of Mary (was she an assistant to the Steward?). Notice that the servants did what Jesus asked them to do. Lots of good things to gather from this story of Gospel Truth!

Join us for Worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Offering Envelopes for 2016
If you are newer to our congregation, and interested in having a set of offering envelopes for 2016, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com) The envelopes allow us to credit you for the donations that you give to the church, and allow you to deduct them from your taxes! For those of you who already have envelopes, you will find your box on the table in the back of the sanctuary, by the door. They are in numerical order.

Pastor Allen Regular Office Hours
He will be in the church office during the following times unless called away:
Mondays and Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday evenings: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Fairfax is generally available for pastoral concerns or other church business at most other times as well, so don’t hesitate to contact him outside of these office hours.
Please drop by the church or contact him: 508-801-7294 (cell)/617-625-4823 (office), pastor@clarendonhillchurch.org.

 

– – – Upcoming Events – – –

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets at Porter Square Panera Bread every other Wednesday. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Concert
Corinne Auger will be participating in The Music For Food concert, on Monday, January 25th. It’s a concert to fight hunger ($25.00 suggested donation, $10.00 for students, with all proceeds to benefit the Brookline Food Pantry), to be held at 7:00 p.m. in Brown Hall at the New England Conservatory, 290 Huntington Ave, Boston. The musicians are From the Top alumni, along with members of the Omer Quartet. The repertoire includes Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, “Winter” from Vivaldi’s Four Season, and more. A 16 year old pianist is organizing the concert, in conjunction with From the Top, Music for Food, and the Omer Quartet.
Music to the Ears and Food to the Table! For more information, please visit www.tinyurl.com/musicforfood.

Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group
Since January 2014, the Office of Somerville Commissions has facilitated a working neighborhood group of interested folks to learn and promote knowledge, skills, and awareness about restorative justice (RJ), circles, jail diversion, etc.
Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group met on March 6, 2014 gathering Somerville residents to practice any form of restorative justice circles: dialogues or conflict transformation; supported by the director of the Office of Somerville Commissions. The goal has been to build a network of practicing lay and professional residents for educating, learning, sharing restorative justice.
The first public event by the working group was held on June 30, 2015 at Clarendon Hill Towers with Adina Davidson facilitating, video equipment by SCATV, and a video by Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ). The group was made up of four youth leaders, a Somerville police officer, commissioners, a professor teaching and advocating on restorative justice and jail diversion as well as volunteers from C4RJ. The members of Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group participated as facilitators and discussion participants for the Health & Human Services Department’s month-long (nine event) series on race and racism in October.
The next public event will be to hold a public circle for participants to experience how circles work on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The members of Transform Somerville are supporting with their attendance of events the Arlington Mass Incarceration Working Group for monthly events from November through Spring 2016.
Everyone is invited to attend – bring your family, friends and neighbors!

Annual Meeting
Mark your calendars now for the annual congregational meeting on Sunday, January 31st. We will have a potluck lunch after the service, and then conduct the meeting. This is the time when we look back on 2015 to note what we have accomplished. We will also elect officers, elders, and deacons, and approve a budget for 2016. We will also look forward, to begin to decide what we would like to accomplish during the coming year.

Lenten Study
For our Lenten study this year, we will be reading and discussing the book, “If God is Love”. Copies of the book will be available at the annual meeting (January 31st). We will likely meet once or twice during Lent, with the exact dates to be decided. After we finish our Lenten study, we will choose a fiction book for our next discussion. If you have suggestions for a fiction book, or if you would like a copy of “If God is Love”, but won’t be at the annual meeting, please contact Pastor Allen. Here’s a synopsis of the book:

Synopsis of If God is Love
If God is love, why are so many Christians fearful, and why do so many church leaders sound hateful? Two controversial pastors address issues the church won′t face, calling us to restore grace as the center of the Christian life.
In “If Grace Is True”, Pastors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland revealed their belief that God will save every person. They now explore the implications of this belief, and its power to change every area of our lives. They attempt to answer one question: If we took God′s love seriously, what would our world look like?
Gulley and Mulholland argue that what we believe is crucial and dramatically affects the way we live and interact in the world. Beliefs have power. The belief in a literal hell where people suffer eternally has often been used by the Church to justify hate and violence, which contradicts what Jesus taught about love and grace. The authors present a new vision for our personal, religious, and corporate lives, exploring what our world would be like if we based our existence on the foundational truth that God loves every person.
Gulley and Mulholland boldly address many controversial issues people in the pews have wondered about but churches have been unwilling to tackle. For too long, the Christian tradition has been steeped in negativity, exclusion, and judgment. Gulley and Mulholland usher us into a new age–an age where grace and love are allowed to reign.

 

– – – Deacons News – – –

Prayer Request Email
The Deacons are in the process of setting up an online prayer request list. This will be a closed group (to insure privacy.) If you would like to be a member of the group so that you can ask for prayers, and have others pray for you, please send an email to Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com). Once we have everything set up, we will share information about the group with the congregation, so that others can join.

 

– “The Baptism of Christ Sunday” –

Sermon: “Dirty Water”
Scripture: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
As we prepare for worship this Sunday, we are asked to think about baptism. I have been struck by some commentaries on this passage that highlight the fact that the river Jordan was a very muddy river (think of children playing in a local stream; a southern stream without rocks, and swirling with mud; and coming back home covered with mud!). This is the kind of water that the people, and Jesus, were immersed. There is something very elemental about this image of baptism, something about identifying with our human condition, and all the muck and mess that can come along with even the best-lived of lives. As we remember our own baptism, we will affirm the blessing of what it means to be baptized; what it means to start over with the blessing of God.

Join us for Worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Session Meeting
Session will meet on Wednesday, January 13th in the Green Room at 7:30 p.m.

Offering Envelopes for 2016
If you are newer to our congregation, and interested in having a set of offering envelopes for 2016, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com) The envelopes allow us to credit you for the donations that you give to the church, and allow you to deduct them from your taxes! For those of you who already have envelopes, you will find your box on the table in the back of the sanctuary, by the door. They are in numerical order.

Pastor Allen Regular Office Hours
He will be in the church office during the following times unless called away:
Mondays and Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday evenings: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Fairfax is generally available for pastoral concerns or other church business at most other times as well, so don’t hesitate to contact him outside of these office hours.
Please drop by the church or contact him: 508-801-7294 (cell)/617-625-4823 (office), pastor@clarendonhillchurch.org.

 

– – – Upcoming Events – – –

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets at Porter Square Panera Bread every other Wednesday. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group
Since January 2014, the Office of Somerville Commissions has facilitated a working neighborhood group of interested folks to learn and promote knowledge, skills, and awareness about restorative justice (RJ), circles, jail diversion, etc.
Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group met on March 6, 2014 gathering Somerville residents to practice any form of restorative justice circles: dialogues or conflict transformation; supported by the director of the Office of Somerville Commissions. The goal has been to build a network of practicing lay and professional residents for educating, learning, sharing restorative justice.
The first public event by the working group was held on June 30, 2015 at Clarendon Hill Towers with Adina Davidson facilitating, video equipment by SCATV, and a video by Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ). The group was made up of four youth leaders, a Somerville police officer, commissioners, a professor teaching and advocating on restorative justice and jail diversion as well as volunteers from C4RJ. The members of Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group participated as facilitators and discussion participants for the Health & Human Services Department’s month-long (nine event) series on race and racism in October.
The next public event will be to hold a public circle for participants to experience how circles work on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The members of Transform Somerville are supporting with their attendance of events the Arlington Mass Incarceration Working Group for monthly events from November through Spring 2016.
Everyone is invited to attend – bring your family, friends and neighbors!

 

– – – Deacons News – – –

Prayer Request Email
The Deacons are in the process of setting up an online prayer request list. This will be a closed group (to insure privacy.) If you would like to be a member of the group so that you can ask for prayers, and have others pray for you, please send an email to Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com). Once we have everything set up, we will share information about the group with the congregation, so that others can join.

 

This is Epiphany Sunday. Epiphany proper is Wednesday, January 6th.

Sermon: “What a Difference a Gift Can Make!”
Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Join us for Worship at 10:30 a.m., and for coffee and fellowship after the service. All are welcome!

Guest Organist
We welcome James Stewart as our guest organist this Sunday. James is the former organist at South Congregational Church in Lawrence. Thank you for sharing your musical gifts with us!

Offering Envelopes for 2016
If you are newer to our congregation, and interested in having a set of offering envelopes for 2016, please contact Ellen. (ellends1313@gmail.com) The envelopes allow us to credit you for the donations that you give to the church, and allow you to deduct them from your taxes! For those of you who already have envelopes, you will find your box on the table in the back of the sanctuary, by the door. They are in numerical order.

Pastor Allen Regular Office Hours
He will be in the church office during the following times unless called away:
Mondays and Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday evenings: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday afternoons: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Fairfax is generally available for pastoral concerns or other church business at most other times as well, so don’t hesitate to contact him outside of these office hours.
Please drop by the church or contact him: 508-801-7294 (cell)/617-625-4823 (office), pastor@clarendonhillchurch.org.

 

– – – Upcoming Events – – –

CHPC Bible Study
Bible study meets at Porter Square Panera Bread every other Wednesday. For details on dates, time, place, and more information, please contact Kevin. (kevin.sungwon@gmail.com)

Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group
Since January 2014, the Office of Somerville Commissions has facilitated a working neighborhood group of interested folks to learn and promote knowledge, skills, and awareness about restorative justice (RJ), circles, jail diversion, etc.
Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group met on March 6, 2014 gathering Somerville residents to practice any form of restorative justice circles: dialogues or conflict transformation; supported by the director of the Office of Somerville Commissions. The goal has been to build a network of practicing lay and professional residents for educating, learning, sharing restorative justice.
The first public event by the working group was held on June 30, 2015 at Clarendon Hill Towers with Adina Davidson facilitating, video equipment by SCATV, and a video by Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ). The group was made up of four youth leaders, a Somerville police officer, commissioners, a professor teaching and advocating on restorative justice and jail diversion as well as volunteers from C4RJ. The members of Transform Somerville Neighborhood Working Group participated as facilitators and discussion participants for the Health & Human Services Department’s month-long (nine event) series on race and racism in October.
The next public event will be to hold a public circle for participants to experience how circles work on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The members of Transform Somerville are supporting with their attendance of events the Arlington Mass Incarceration Working Group for monthly events from November through Spring 2016.
Everyone is invited to attend – bring your family, friends and neighbors!

 

– – – Deacons News – – –

Prayer Request Email
The Deacons are in the process of setting up an online prayer request list. This will be a closed group (to insure privacy.) If you would like to be a member of the group so that you can ask for prayers, and have others pray for you, please send an email to Ellen (ellends1313@gmail.com). Once we have everything set up, we will share information about the group with the congregation, so that others can join.