Pilgrimage Herald

MISSIONS AND OUTREACH
Collections for the Plymouth Area Food Warehouse continues. Non-perishables needed at present are: peanut butter, jelly, cereal, canned tuna and meat, and macaroni and cheese.

New Member Classes: We do hope the classes will begin in the near future. Summer is upon us and schedules are freer than at other times of the year, so finding times to accommodate the most people is more difficult than it might seem. Rev. Marks will share teaching of the classes with members of the Advisory Board and the Membership and Evangelism Committee. Please call the church office to indicate an interest in church membership.

DATE & TIME CHANGE!
Trip to Six Flags on June 28th: In order to include as many people as possible this year we will not be camping out the night before. Instead, meet in front of the First Parish Office Building at 7am on Tuesday, June 28th . Bring a towel, bathing suit, sunscreen and money for the park, lunch and dinner. We will leave by 7 am so we can get there by 10am! Also, we will need several drivers. Call Rev. Dan with questions 781-413-6794.

Plant Sale Thank You!A heartfelt thank you to all who helped with the plant sale. To Steve Triffletti for the use of his parking lot and to all those who donated pots and truly excellent plants, workers that cleaned, priced, marked, and sold plants. To the cashier, the cleaner-uppers and setting up for Sunday's sale in Allerton Hall. Thanks to all of you we made a total of $1056. It couldn't have been done without all of you. Thank you so much. Pat Mudgett

The Evening Prayer Services have not been held on recent Wednesday's and will be in recess for the time being. If there is interest to continue the services during the summer months, perhaps arrangements can be made for lay leadership. Rev. Marks plans to continue, or resume, the services in September.

Please notify the church office if you know of a young person who is celebrating a milestone in their life's journey. We at the church very much want to recognize and keep in touch with those young people who have been within the church's pastoral care.

Summer Concert Series: The annual series of free summer concerts at The Church of the Pilgrimage will begin Tuesday evening, June 21 at 8pm. The kickoff program will be a choir concert by the First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio, who are on tour through New England. Timothy Edward Smith is the Director, and G. Dene Barnard the organist. They will be joined by The Church of the Pilgrimage choir, directed by William Richter. Each choir will sing alone, plus do some music as a combined choir. Music by Vaughan Williams, Mendelssohn, Herbert Howells will be featured. Overall, the music repertoire will span five centuries and many traditions. The concert is free, although donations will be welcome.


garymarks@8townsquare.org danspacek@8townsquare.org	June 12 , 2005	office@8townsquare.org
Volume LXXVII		No. 23
Dear Friends, Anyone who preaches and writes on Christian themes, as I've said on other occasions, is drawn to quotations from G.K. Chesterton. I was so drawn to him again when I thought of the theme for this letter. When the London Times asked a number of Christian writers to compose essays on the topic, "What's Wrong With the World?," Chesterton sent in a succinct and to the point: Dear Sir: I am. Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton " (I don't have the original source for this quotation). Chesterton has a way of putting the complexity of Christian doctrine and morality in pithy, short, ever true, sentences. I have found so many short illustrations form his pen that I have wondered whether or not his use of his own illustrations ever had sermons! In Chesterton's response, however, there is a kind of sermon in miniature. In seeking to answer what is wrong with the world a good place to begin is with ourselves. We usually look everywhere else but to ourselves when we easily find blame in all other people and places first. Chesterton's response is a kind of elaboration of Shakespeare's observation in Julius Caesar: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings." A part of a mature, realistic and growth-oriented faith is to understand oneself in the light of Christian faith before applying it negatively to everyone but ourselves. These thoughts occurred to me in the afterglow of our Confirmation of wonderful young people last Sunday and in anticipation of Children's Sunday just ahead. Our theology of Christian education and growth is based upon principles of nurture. We seek to help our young people, and adults as well, to develop a personal faith which is ever in progress. It is a theology which involves the development of a personal self-understanding which naturally tends toward love for the neighbor and genuine concern for the world in which we live. We work from the assumption that a true self-understanding is to be "other directed," not stopping with selfishness. That's where I find Chesterton's essay to be so helpful and powerful. Before we blame everyone and everything else, we face ourselves in the light of God's grace and allow faith to become the determinative factor in life's pilgrimage. Our understanding of the Christian pilgrimage is that the life of faith is to be lived over the long haul. We do not offer easy answers to difficult questions. We don't offer a promise of instantaneous Christianity. We believe that we are always on the way and in the process of applying Christ's Way to the ever-changing realities and complexities of the world. In humility we assume that we are what's wrong with the world whenever we fail to act in Christ-like ways. Our approach focuses upon the journey, not smugly assuming that we are already at the destination. Love, © The Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, MA Inc., all rights reserved.
Sunday, June 12, 2005 Morning Worship,10:00am- Children's Sunday All Church Picnic at the Pinewood Lodge (see notes). Deacon in-charge: Jen Healy. Greeters: Linda and Al Saunders. Flowers: In loving memory of John and Frances Scheid and brother Jack. Given by Paul and Nancy Scheid & family. Moderator Appointments: Steve Triffletti, Moderator has appointed Brad Willis as Assistant Collector and Dawn Willis to fill an unexpired term on the House Committee. Usher & Acolyte Thank You: Mahlon Walker would like to thank the ushers and acolytes who helped out during the busy month of March. Nancy Scheid is thanking those who have ushered and the children who lit the candles in the month of May.
CHURCH RECORD Hospitalized: Gail Mason is recovering from knee surgery at The Rehabilitation Center of the Cape and Islands. Kara Mallon is recuperating after microsurgery on June 8th. Baptized: On June 5, 2005 Rev. Marks conducted a baptism service for McKenna Kathleen DePasqua Martin, daughter of Kelley DePasqua and Jennifer Martin, in the sanctuary. Also baptized: James William DePasqua in an adult baptism service, June 5, 2005. In Memoriam: On June 3, 2005 Rev. Marks conducted a memorial service for Marjorie Ann Caron in the sanctuary. On June 4, 2005 Rev. Marks conducted a funeral service for life-long church member Dorothy Strassel in the church sanctuary. On June 7, 2005 Rev. Marks conducted a funeral service for Malinda McKay in the church sanctuary. Our sympathies and prayers are with all those who have lost loved ones.
THIS WEEK Sunday, June 12: Morning Worship,10:00 am- Children's Sunday All Church Picnic at the Pinewood Lodge (see notes). Monday, June 13: Aerobics, 9am, Allerton Hall; Pilgrim Festival Chorus rehearsal, 7-10pm, Sanctuary. Tuesday, June 14: Aerobics, 6:30 pm, Allerton Hall. Wednesday, June 15: Aerobics, 9:15 a.m., Allerton Hall; Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm, sanctuary; PFN Free Scrapbooking, 6-9pm, Allerton Hall; Brownie Troop #122 4-5:30, Allerton Hall. Thursday, June 16: Plymouth Antiquarian Society, 7-9:30, Allerton Hall. Friday, June 17: Aerobics, 9am, Allerton Hall; Saturday, June 18: The Fifth Annual Pilgrimage Golf Tournament will be held at The Squirrel Run Golf Course (see notes).
NOTES: MISSIONS AND OUTREACH Collections for the Plymouth Area Food Warehouse continues. Non-perishables needed at present are: peanut butter, jelly, cereal, canned tuna and meat, and macaroni and cheese. New Member Classes: We do hope the classes will begin in the near future. Summer is upon us and schedules are freer than at other times of the year, so finding times to accommodate the most people is more difficult than it might seem. Rev. Marks will share teaching of the classes with members of the Advisory Board and the Membership and Evangelism Committee. Please call the church office to indicate an interest in church membership. DATE & TIME CHANGE! Trip to Six Flags on June 28th: In order to include as many people as possible this year we will not be camping out the night before. Instead, meet in front of the First Parish Office Building at 7am on Tuesday, June 28th . Bring a towel, bathing suit, sunscreen and money for the park, lunch and dinner. We will leave by 7 am so we can get there by 10am! Also, we will need several drivers. Call Rev. Dan with questions 781-413-6794. Plant Sale Thank You!A heartfelt thank you to all who helped with the plant sale. To Steve Triffletti for the use of his parking lot and to all those who donated pots and truly excellent plants, workers that cleaned, priced, marked, and sold plants. To the cashier, the cleaner-uppers and setting up for Sunday's sale in Allerton Hall. Thanks to all of you we made a total of $1056. It couldn't have been done without all of you. Thank you so much. Pat Mudgett The Evening Prayer Services have not been held on recent Wednesday's and will be in recess for the time being. If there is interest to continue the services during the summer months, perhaps arrangements can be made for lay leadership. Rev. Marks plans to continue, or resume, the services in September. Please notify the church office if you know of a young person who is celebrating a milestone in their life's journey. We at the church very much want to recognize and keep in touch with those young people who have been within the church's pastoral care. Summer Concert Series: The annual series of free summer concerts at The Church of the Pilgrimage will begin Tuesday evening, June 21 at 8pm. The kickoff program will be a choir concert by the First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio, who are on tour through New England. Timothy Edward Smith is the Director, and G. Dene Barnard the organist. They will be joined by The Church of the Pilgrimage choir, directed by William Richter. Each choir will sing alone, plus do some music as a combined choir. Music by Vaughan Williams, Mendelssohn, Herbert Howells will be featured. Overall, the music repertoire will span five centuries and many traditions. The concert is free, although donations will be welcome.

Clerk - Lois Post; Moderator - Steven Triffletti; Treasurer - David Kegel; Collector - Debra Richters 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.