Pilgrimage Herald

MISSIONS AND OUTREACH
Overnights of Hospitality: The interfaith program to provide emergency housing to the homeless men in Plymouth is now in its fourth successful week. People from The Church of the Pilgrimage provide a laundry service and many will be volunteering for overnights as needed. Lunches are no longer needed, but volunteers for overnights are, as well as teams for cooking and serving the hot meals provided every evening. The next training session for volunteers will be held at First Parish Church on Sunday, January 23rd at 7:30pm. Please call Meg Bross at 508-830-9745 or Janet Holmes at 508-746-7148 or speak to us in Allerton Hall after worship if you would like to be involved.

NEXT MISSIONS COMMITTEE MEETING: January 19th at 6:30pm in the Church House.

TSUNAMI RELIEF: You may wish to make a donation to victims of the horrific Tsunami in Southeast Asia through the Wider Church Ministries of The United Church of Christ. The United Church has already made use of One Great Hour of Sharing gifts to aid victims of the monumental disaster. You may wish to channel your donations through the U.C.C. which has always been a leader in times of human suffering and need.

Donations may be made to the national U.C.C. office at: Wider Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, 700 East Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, or online at www.ucc.org/disaster.

The 11th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast will be held 7:30-9:30am on Monday, January 17, 2005 at the Plymouth South High School in Plymouth. The Prayer Breakfast is sponsored by the Plymouth Area Interfaith Clergy Association. Tickets are $8 for students, $12 for adults.

We hope to have a large delegation from The Church of the Pilgrimage at the breakfast. Liz Walker of regional television fame will be the featured speaker. Student essays and scholarships will be awarded. Please contact Ken Heckman, Dan Spacek, Rev. Marks or call the church office for tickets.

If any middle school or high school student attends the meeting, The Church of the Pilgrimage will pay for the ticket.

Congratulations to Gregory and Courtney Coutts who are the proud parents of their first child, Ryan Bunker Coutts, 1/5/05. Also, congratulations are extended to Eric and Elaine Weston on the birth of their daughter, Holly Ruth Weston, born 12/15/04. Holly is Betsey Randall's great granddaughter.

The Church of the Pilgrimage extends its prayers and best wishes to the Rev. Mally Ewing Lloyd who will be installed as pastor of Christ Church Episcopal on January 18, 2005. The ministers of our church will be present for the installation service.

Pastor's Pasta Reminder: Our third annual Pasta sale will be held on Sunday, January 30, 2005. As we did last year, it will include a quart of pasta sauce, a pound of spaghetti, a loaf of Jenny's bread and cookies for dessert for a bargain price of $15. Mark you calendar and we will be taking orders during the month of January.

Thank You, Thank You! I would like to thank everyone who helped me with donations to the adopt a family at Christmas. It was a wonderful success and the family truly was grateful for all they received from our church family. Thank you all again for your generosity. I look forward to doing it again next year. Sincerely, Laura Curtin

BAKERS NEEDED, NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: I'm looking for a few people to make bread dough Friday, January 28th from 6:30-8:30. We'll be making the dough for the bread for the Pastor's Pasta sale on Sunday, January 30. If you're interested please call Jenny 508-747-7168.

Attention All Youth in the 6th Grade and Older!
Come to the Hip-Hop dance class in Allerton Hall on January 16 from 3-5 pm. This is a special youth fellowship event that will be led by our very own Amanda Singer and Emily Harrington. Dancing ability not required. Just bring your willingness to have fun and Amanda and Emily will teach you the rest!

Heifer Announces Tsunami Rebuilding Effort: As relief and aid organizations work to meet the immediate basic human needs of tsunami victims in South and Southeast Asia, Heifer International is preparing programs that will help victims rebuild their lives over the long term. Heifer has committed $1 million for programs to provide training, livestock and related help to victims on the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra and elsewhere in the region to rebuild lives and farms over the next few years. Heifer International's Asia field staff is completing an initial assessment of conditions in areas devastated by the tsunami and has recommended that Heifer expand existing sustainable development programs in Northern Sumatra, one of the areas hardest hit in the disaster. The epicenter of the earthquake that spurred the tsunami was just off the Sumatra's northwest coast. Heifer has helped small farmers on the Indonesian island for more than a decade. The existing Heifer projects are inland and not directly affected by the quake and its aftermath. Coastal communities, however, are in dire need of resources. Heifer will reach out to those communities and support families in their efforts to rebuild. Heifer Indonesia staffers and partner organizations already on the ground will work together over the next few years to rebuild agricultural production, increase family incomes and support housing, education and public health efforts. Thank you for your support, Jo Luck, President and CEO


garymarks@8townsquare.org danspacek@8townsquare.org	January 16 , 2005	office@8townsquare.org
Volume LXXVII		No. 3
Dear Friends, On January 17th we will celebrate the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As time goes by I am ever more impressed with Rev. King's vision, faith and courage. I recall vividly those years of struggle which are now given the name The Civil Rights Movement. Many of us remember sit-ins, the marches, the church burnings, the jailing, the slaying of civil rights activists, etc. It was an unsettling time, a time for which the word turmoil is woefully inadequate. I was in college and seminary during the most tempestuous years of the Civil Rights Movement. In retrospect it was a time of awakening for me personally and, again in retrospect, a time when the liberating vision of the gospel was more than a classroom subject upon which I was examined. The vision of Jesus for a just society, for equality, for acts of righteousness was the most prominent feature of our society being played out over an extended period of time. I personally learned a great deal about myself during those turbulent and dramatic years. Among other things, I had to face the power of unexamined prejudice which had long held sway in my own life. At the time it was painful for me to confront my own weaknesses with regard to race and many other issues. It wasn't that I had previously been a "bad" person, but that I had simply been the product of a culture which in subtle and seductive ways had instilled in me discriminatory notions of inequality and a na•ve and unexamined bigotry. In the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, and during a corresponding time of intense biblical and theological study in seminary, I reluctantly had to face my own need for repentance. Oh, I had known that penitential need in personal ways prior to that time, but for the first time I realized that the Christian faith is not just about personal salvation, and that it must also be about trying to change society to reflect Jesus' vision of a world in which discrimination and attitudes of bigotry cannot be construed to be virtue. Even now as I reflect upon the tumultuous days of the Civil Rights era I have enormous feelings of anxiety. As I look back I wonder how it took me so long to realize that my unexamined assumptions about life made me complicit in structures and attitudes which denied to others what I so valued for myself. It was in 1965 or 1966, I think, that Martin Luther King came to Oberlin while I was a student at The Graduate School of Theology there. On Tappan Square a great sea of people had gathered to hear him preach. His sermon was entitled, "Sleeping Through a Revolution." It was a sermon so eloquent and piercing of heart that I could receive this man as a contemporary prophet like Isaiah or Micah. My own joy in repentance had softened my heart so that I could hear the Word of God and see in him one who placed his feet in the prints left by Jesus as Jesus walked the human way in the power of God's liberating grace. I realize that this letter is personal and beneath its words lie confessions still being made. I want to avoid in any such personal confessions any penitential trap so sensitively put by St. Augustine when he said, "I repeat and then become proud of my repentance." The joy of repentance must lie in the realization that while I do make efforts to repent of my sin I also acknowledge that I am a sinner still. Repentance is a process and the joy of repentance comes only in an effort to allow the grace of God to direct the process. These are confessional observations stimulated by a recollection of a prophet of equality, tolerance, justice, righteousness and peace. Love, © The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.
Sunday, January 16, 2005 Morning Worship, 10:00 am , Rev. Gary L. Marks, preaching. Deacon of the Month: Dave Moreland. Greeters: Dave and Linda Kegel. Altar Flowers: In loving memory of Robert Walters given by Kathleen. In loving memory of Richard and Hope Cole given by their daughters Joan Bell and family and Judith Page and family. Membership Classes: The New Member Class will meet for its first session on January 30, 2005. The class will meet from 11:30am - 12:30pm. If you are interested in church membership, please let Rev. Marks know, or call the church office. Childcare will be provided during class sessions. From the Membership & Evangelism Committee: On January 23rd after church, the M & E Committee will have a Chicken Soup for the Soul luncheon in honor of the new members. We will be making the soup and beverages, but we are asking A-M people to bring a plate of sandwiches to serve 8 and N-Z to bring desserts. All are invited. Thank you for helping. Rev. Marks conducted a worship service at the Newfield House on January 11th. Congratulation to Lois Post who retired on January 1, 2005 as a first grade teacher in the Plymouth Public School System. We wish to thank Megan Verdugo for her sensitive and creative designs for our recent Sunday bulletins. Pledges for Fiscal Year 2005 Needed to date: $96,436.21 ($3,571.71/week) F/Y 2005 Total Pledge Receipts received to date: $77,387.24 As of 1/2/05 -$19,048.97 Please keep your pledges up to date, so that we can meet our overall operating needs! Thank you, Jonathan Porter, Assistant Treasurer
CHURCH RECORD In Memoriam: On January 8, 2005 Rev. Marks conducted a graveside service for Marjorie Seaver in Kingston. Marjorie was the sister of long time church members, Barbara Burgess.
THIS WEEK Sunday,Jan. 16.: Morning Worship 10:00 a.m., Rev. Marks, preaching: Nominating Committee Meeting, 11am, Pastor's Study. Monday, Jan 17.: The Church Office Will Be Closed; MLK Jr. Prayer Breakfast, 7:30am, Plymouth South High School; Aerobics, 9:15 a.m., Allerton Hall; Pilgrim Festival Choir Rehearsal, 7-10pm, Sanctuary. Tuesday, Jan. 18: Rev. Marks will in the church office, 9:30-11:30am; Aerobics, 6:30 pm; Allerton Hall; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7pm, Church House; The Rev. Mally Lloyd will be installed as pastor of Christ Episcopal Church at a service at the church at 7pm. Wednesday, Jan. 19: Aerobics, 9:15 a.m., Allerton Hall; Staff Meeting, 10:00 am; Brownie Troop #122, 4-5:30pm, Allerton Hall; PFN Scrapbooking (Free), 6-9pm, Allerton Hall; Troop 47/Den 4, 6-7:30, Church House (up);Missions & Outreach Meeting, 6:30pm, Church House;Troop #47, 7pm, Church House; Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm, sanctuary Thursday, Jan.20: Aerobics, 6:30pm, Allerton Hall. Friday, Jan. 21: Aerobics, 9:15 am, Allerton Hall; Rev. Marks will be in the church office, 9:30-11:30am. Saturday, Jan 22:
NOTES: MISSIONS AND OUTREACH Overnights of Hospitality: The interfaith program to provide emergency housing to the homeless men in Plymouth is now in its fourth successful week. People from The Church of the Pilgrimage provide a laundry service and many will be volunteering for overnights as needed. Lunches are no longer needed, but volunteers for overnights are, as well as teams for cooking and serving the hot meals provided every evening. The next training session for volunteers will be held at First Parish Church on Sunday, January 23rd at 7:30pm. Please call Meg Bross at 508-830-9745 or Janet Holmes at 508-746-7148 or speak to us in Allerton Hall after worship if you would like to be involved. NEXT MISSIONS COMMITTEE MEETING: January 19th at 6:30pm in the Church House. TSUNAMI RELIEF: You may wish to make a donation to victims of the horrific Tsunami in Southeast Asia through the Wider Church Ministries of The United Church of Christ. The United Church has already made use of One Great Hour of Sharing gifts to aid victims of the monumental disaster. You may wish to channel your donations through the U.C.C. which has always been a leader in times of human suffering and need. Donations may be made to the national U.C.C. office at: Wider Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, 700 East Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, or online at www.ucc.org/disaster. The 11th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast will be held 7:30-9:30am on Monday, January 17, 2005 at the Plymouth South High School in Plymouth. The Prayer Breakfast is sponsored by the Plymouth Area Interfaith Clergy Association. Tickets are $8 for students, $12 for adults. We hope to have a large delegation from The Church of the Pilgrimage at the breakfast. Liz Walker of regional television fame will be the featured speaker. Student essays and scholarships will be awarded. Please contact Ken Heckman, Dan Spacek, Rev. Marks or call the church office for tickets. If any middle school or high school student attends the meeting, The Church of the Pilgrimage will pay for the ticket. Congratulations to Gregory and Courtney Coutts who are the proud parents of their first child, Ryan Bunker Coutts, 1/5/05. Also, congratulations are extended to Eric and Elaine Weston on the birth of their daughter, Holly Ruth Weston, born 12/15/04. Holly is Betsey Randall's great granddaughter. The Church of the Pilgrimage extends its prayers and best wishes to the Rev. Mally Ewing Lloyd who will be installed as pastor of Christ Church Episcopal on January 18, 2005. The ministers of our church will be present for the installation service. Pastor's Pasta Reminder: Our third annual Pasta sale will be held on Sunday, January 30, 2005. As we did last year, it will include a quart of pasta sauce, a pound of spaghetti, a loaf of Jenny's bread and cookies for dessert for a bargain price of $15. Mark you calendar and we will be taking orders during the month of January. Thank You, Thank You! I would like to thank everyone who helped me with donations to the adopt a family at Christmas. It was a wonderful success and the family truly was grateful for all they received from our church family. Thank you all again for your generosity. I look forward to doing it again next year. Sincerely, Laura Curtin BAKERS NEEDED, NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: I'm looking for a few people to make bread dough Friday, January 28th from 6:30-8:30. We'll be making the dough for the bread for the Pastor's Pasta sale on Sunday, January 30. If you're interested please call Jenny 508-747-7168. Attention All Youth in the 6th Grade and Older! Come to the Hip-Hop dance class in Allerton Hall on January 16 from 3-5 pm. This is a special youth fellowship event that will be led by our very own Amanda Singer and Emily Harrington. Dancing ability not required. Just bring your willingness to have fun and Amanda and Emily will teach you the rest! Heifer Announces Tsunami Rebuilding Effort: As relief and aid organizations work to meet the immediate basic human needs of tsunami victims in South and Southeast Asia, Heifer International is preparing programs that will help victims rebuild their lives over the long term. Heifer has committed $1 million for programs to provide training, livestock and related help to victims on the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra and elsewhere in the region to rebuild lives and farms over the next few years. Heifer International's Asia field staff is completing an initial assessment of conditions in areas devastated by the tsunami and has recommended that Heifer expand existing sustainable development programs in Northern Sumatra, one of the areas hardest hit in the disaster. The epicenter of the earthquake that spurred the tsunami was just off the Sumatra's northwest coast. Heifer has helped small farmers on the Indonesian island for more than a decade. The existing Heifer projects are inland and not directly affected by the quake and its aftermath. Coastal communities, however, are in dire need of resources. Heifer will reach out to those communities and support families in their efforts to rebuild. Heifer Indonesia staffers and partner organizations already on the ground will work together over the next few years to rebuild agricultural production, increase family incomes and support housing, education and public health efforts. Thank you for your support, Jo Luck, President and CEO
Coming Events: Jan. 23 New Members Soup and Sandwich Lunch, following worship in Allerton Hall (see "Notes") Jan. 25 The Advisory Board Meeting, Church House, 7pm
Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - David Kegel; Collector - Thomas Mudgett; Music Director - William B Richter; Organist - Chandler Gregg Secretary - Shellie McCormack; Sexton - Tony Nightingale; World Mission Emphasis - Heifer Project International; Church Building Telephone - (508) 747-1341.