Pledge Sunday

April 3 

Please remember what Eliot means to you and to the life of our community and give generously to support our ministries and staff for the coming fiscal year.  And do, please, fill out your pledge card and return it to the church on or before Sunday, April 3rd.  Thank you.

Service of Healing Prayer - Sunday April 10 

The Sunday worship service on April 10 will include a time of Prayers for Healing with Laying on of Hands. 

There will be three prayer circles at the front and back of the sanctuary.  You may join any of the circles at any time during this prayer period.  One of the leaders will ask you to share your prayer concern, and those at the station will place their hands on your head and shoulders and pray.  Prayers may be for healing of mind or of body, for things of a spiritual nature, or for relationships that stand in need of healing.  Prayer requests may be for yourself or for someone else.  After your request has been prayed for, you may return to your pew or remain in the prayer circle.  If you wish to remain in your pew, you may use this time to pray for those in the prayer circles, and for others. 

Dedication of Memorial Pavers

Sunday April 10 

Now that the snow has finally  receded, we there are three  Memorial Pavers to be installed in the Eliot Memorial Garden:  One for Virginia Webber, given by her niece's family, Donna and Tony  Burkhart, and two for Pastor Tony's parents, George Kill and Lauretta Eklund Kill, given by their eight children.  Immediately after the worship service on April 10, those who wish can join the pastors in the Memorial Garden for a brief Dedication ceremony. 

Eliot Exploration - Sunday April 3

Membership Sunday - April 10

If you are interested in learning more about Eliot Church, our history, our ministries, our denomination, the United Church of Christ, and about church membership, then join us for an Eliot Exploration Session Sunday April 3 at 11:30 in the Parlor.  This session will be hosted by the leaders of the church; we will share with you an overview of all the events, activities and ministries our congregation undertakes.  For those of you interested in joining the church, we have scheduled Membership Sunday on April 10.  We hope you can join us!  Contact Pastor Karla for more info at 617-244-3639 ext. 204 or revkarla@gmail.com.

Maundy Thursday - April 21

Washing of Feet 

"Won't you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you?"                          

Maundy Thursday is one of the most dramatic and moving  worship services of the church year.  The Maundy Thursday service combines the institution of the Last Supper, the Washing of Feet as a sign of the servanthood of Christ and of his disciples, and the recounting of the passion and death of Jesus in the growing darkness of the Tenebrae service.                                      

This year, as always, we are asking for volunteers to participate in the footwashing by coming forward to the front pew to have their feet washed by the pastor.  Even though this is a symbol of the humility and servanthood of Christ, as an example to his disciples, here in staid New England it is almost as much of a discipline of humility and humiliation to let your feet be washed as it is to wash feet.  That is one of the elements that makes this ritual so powerful.  So - will you let us wash your feet this year?  Simply wear shoes and socks that can be easily removed (no pantyhose) and come forward to the front pew at the appropriate time in the service.                         

Thank you.                     

Tony  

From the Moderator, Lisa Hines 

So much news coming from so many directions! 

Are we not truly blessed at Eliot Church? 

The Implementation Task Force has just concluded their work in presenting their third in a series of Forums this year for Ensuring a Vibrant Future for Eliot and so much has come to light in these reports.  We are in a great place to understand ourselves so much better.  We are blessed with the leadership of Susan Jeghelian who took Eliot on a journey and unveiled some interesting ideas and generated some movement forward while giving us an opportunity to explore ourselves.  We are truly grateful for her ability to bring her professional skills to our house of worship and blend the two so well.  The discernment process that she led will have an indelible footprint and will be a guiding light through the new interim process and beyond.  Her adherence to process gave rise to Eliot embracing a big task in a whole new way.  Susan Jeghelian, you rock! Thank you also to all who committed themselves in gathering information, visiting, asking the right questions, researching, meeting and lastly reporting back to the congregation on all the initiatives.                                           

Wendy Vander Hart, the MACUCC area minister, will be addressing the Coordinating Council and anyone else who would like to be present at a special Coordinating Council meeting on Tuesday, March 22nd at 7:30 p.m.  She will be lending guidance on a pilgrimage through transitions and new beginnings.  She will be walking us through the farewell process, the process of interim selection and the longer road of searching and calling for a new minister.  There are lots of areas that Eliot is not familiar with.  Although there are many members who have been on a search committee in the past, I believe that this will be different.  The Eliot community has looked at so many options of what they want to look like going forward.  This will have a huge impact on how we call a new minister to lead us into the next years.                          

I have called an Interim Selection Committee and their first meeting will be on March 22nd to listen to Wendy Vander Hart, our area minister.  They will understand their calling a bit more when she presents the suggested methods by which their time is best spent.  This group should not be confused with a Search Committee which will not be put into place until well after an Interim Minister has been selected.  Putting an Interim into place before a search committee is put into place provides breathing room to move forward with the search process that is right for Eliot.  Remember that a UCC does not have rules by which they call a minister, but the MACUCC does provide guidance given their many years of working with churches that have different by-laws and special situations that make them unique.                        

To really step up the events of saying farewell to Rev. Tony Kill, I would greatly appreciate everyone's involvement in the following events:

• Sunday June 5th - Tony's last Sunday                           
• Saturday May 21st - Tentative Farewell Shindig

Some volunteers have stepped forward, but it would be wonderful if more would join so that we can spread out the responsibilities ensuring that we all have a good time at these events.  These will be great celebrations and will involve people inside Eliot as well as communities outside Eliot.   We will know more after Wendy Vander Hart makes her presentation on March 22nd.  Please call (617-527-4158), email or speak with me about joining forces.                             

With the approval of the Coordinating Council, the spring Congregational meeting has been moved from Sunday, May 22, to Sunday May 1, 2011 immediately following worship.  I know that this is the Sunday of the Walk For Hunger, but it is important to get the Congregational Meeting and the business of the year behind us so that we can focus on the other important task of saying farewell to Rev. Kill.  Most of our important work was done at the Special Congregational Meeting on Sunday, March 6th, but I will be making sure that everyone can report their rosters, annual reports and budgets at the new date before finalizing the change.  I will report back to you as to their decision.

In faith,

Lisa Hines

New Date for Annual Meeting

Sunday, May 1 

From the Membership Commission

Eliot to Host Two Concerts to Benefit Japan