Midweek Update: Transfiguration Sunday

Dear friends in Christ,

I hope you’ve all gotten a chance to enjoy the lovely spring-like weather before we get snow on Friday. As we approach Lent, there are a number of things going on In the life of the church;

COVID Updates

Last week Church Council met and updated some of our COVID procedures:

  1. Coffee Hour returns this Sunday, 2/27
  2. We’ll be adding another hymn and the Gloria Patri back into worship on the first Sunday in Lent, 3/6
  3. We’re retaining masks being required for worship

Church Council will revisit our COVID procedures at our March meeting and make adjustments as conditions continue to change.

Jambalaya to Go!: Tuesday 3/1 from 5-6:30pm

This Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, Jambalaya is back! We’ll have Jambalaya available to go for $5 from 5-6:30 on March 1st. Pick up is at the kitchen/Social Hall door. Preorders recommended. For pre orders, contact Ellen A or Jeanine in the Church Office.

Upcoming Worship Plans

Sunday, 2/27: Pulpit Exchange with the First Congregational Church of Watertown

  • It’s traditional for clergy at neighboring churches in our denomination to occasionally exchange pulpits to foster fellowship among neighbors, hear a different voice than usual, and get a chance to meet a pastor who often provides emergency coverage for the church. MCC and FCC Watertown have decided to do a pulpit exchange on 2/27. So, this Sunday I will be in Watertown, and the Rev. Dr. Cindy Carr will be here at MCC.

Ash Wednesday, 3/2: 7pm Service at First Congregational Church of Watertown

  • The Watertown church has invited us to their 7pm Ash Wednesday service. I will be preaching, and Cindy and I will lead the service together.

Soup Sale Update

Everything has been counted, and we sold out of soup and made $370 from the Mission Board Soup Sale! Thank you to everyone who purchased soup, and thank you to all our wonderful cooks for making such great homemade soups!

General Comments

This coming Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. A number of you have asked me at various points why that day is called Shove Tuesday, and I have some answers for you.  So, “shrove” comes from the word “shrive” which basically means “absolve” Throughout a lot of church history, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday was a day to go to confession to get absolved, or shriven, of your sins so you would start out Lent on the right foot. Sometimes the day has been focused on self-examination and figuring out what people should work on repenting or improving during Lent.

That penitential aspect of Shrove Tuesday, has pretty much always been in tension with the other traditions associated with the day. Lots of English speaking areas also call Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday because pancakes were a really good way to use up all the rich foods you would not eat during the fasting period of Lent: butter, eggs, and fat. Other areas celebrate or have celebrated the time before Lent as Carnival, so then the Tuesday before Lent is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. Those celebrations are about eating all the food and doing all the fun things you would not be able to in Lent. As I imagine is not at all surprising to you, Carnival often got/gets quite raucous, and for much of history the church has tried to calm down the festivities.

On Shrove/Fat Tuesday, we’ll have our Jambalaya to go, which is a pretty tame Mardi Gras celebration as far as these things go, but we’ll definitely still have some delicious food, and a fun time before Lent.

Peace,

Pastor Katrina

Midweek Update: 7th Sunday after Epiphany

Dear friends in Christ,

I hope all of you are doing well this week. As we approach Lent, there are a number of things going on in the life of the church:

COVID Updates

Church Council has met and revised our COVID precautions in light of the continuing decline of COVID cases in our community and state:

  • Coffee Hour returns on Sunday,  2/27!
  • We’ll phase back in more pieces of music to the service starting the first Sunday in Lent (3/6)
  • Church Council will continue to reevaluate our procedures monthly.

Jambalaya to Go!: Tuesday 3/1 from 5-6:30pm

This Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, Jambalaya is back! We’ll have Jambalaya available to go for $5 from 5-6:30 on March 1st. Pick up is at the kitchen/Social Hall door. Preorders recommended. For pre orders, contact Ellen A or Jeanine in the Church Office.

Upcoming Worship Plans

Sunday, 2/27: Pulpit Exchange with the First Congregational Church of Watertown

  • It’s traditional for clergy at neighboring churches in our denomination to occasionally exchange pulpits to foster fellowship among neighbors, hear a different voice than usual, and get a chance to meet a pastor who often provides emergency coverage for the church. MCC and FCC Watertown have decided to do a pulpit exchange on 2/27. So, on that Sunday I will be in Watertown, and the Rev. Dr. Cindy Carr will be here at MCC.

Ash Wednesday, 3/2: 7pm Service at First Congregational Church of Watertown

  • The Watertown church has invited us to their 7pm Ash Wednesday service. I will be preaching, and Cindy and I will lead the service together.

Open and Affirming Working Group

In response to member feedback and inquiries, Church Council has voted to form a working group to gather information about the Open and Affirming (ONA) process and explore whether MCC should begin an ONA process. “Open and Affirming” is a designation within the United Church of Christ that indicates a congregation has voted and made a covenant to be officially welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ people after a process of discernment and education. The ONA Working Group will report to Church Council, who will make any decisions about whether to begin an ONA process.  If you are interested in serving on the ONA Working Group, please contact Church Council member Sal S, who is serving as the Working Group contact person until they have opportunity to gather and select a chair.

Vote for MCC in the ion Bank Foundation Community Awards Program

Attention Ion Bank customers!

The Ion Bank Foundation Community Awards Program gives away $70,000 to local non-profit organizations with each Ion Bank customer eligible to vote for their favorite non-profit organization.

Voting has begun for the 13th Annual Community Awards Program so please help us earn grant money! We will receive a $25 donation from the Ion Bank Foundation for every vote* we receive!

Every vote counts! If you are an Ion Bank customer, please visit https://cap.ionbank.com/CAP/CAP.aspx to vote until March 15, 2022.

*Voting is open to all Ion Bank customers. One vote per customer, however, for accounts with multiple owners, each owner may vote. Customers with multiple accounts may only vote once. Each customer can vote for only one organization.

General Comments

This Sunday is the last Sunday in ordinary time before the feast of the Transfiguration on 2/27 and then the first Sunday in Lent on 3/6. The lectionary gospel lesson for this week is from the gospel according to Luke chapter 6, and it’s part of the Sermon on the Plain. You’ve likely heard of the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel according to Matthew. The Sermon on the Plain is Luke’s less famous version where Jesus is speaking from a “level place” instead of a mountain. We’ll be looking at one of Jesus’ harder teachings about love: loving our neighbors means loving our enemies.

See you Sunday!

Peace,

Pastor Katrina