Thank You!


To Joe Anderson for shepherding us through stewardship season;


To Jim Donna and Sandy Mitchell for their continuing work preparing the budget for 2011 and helping us understand how our budget connects to our mission;


To Pearl Morrison and Ann Marinelli for their great work with children at our "Seasonal Stories" event in collaboration with Watertown Family Network;


To Gail Nordby for her years of wonderful leadership in the Hidden Brook program;


To our choir for beautifully enriching our All Saints Day worship;


To Jim Banta and C.E. Courtney for helping out with moving things and imagining possibilities for our church entryways;


To Steve Steadman and Jim Donna who attended the Small Church Summit in October and brought back insights and reassurances.

 

 




Upcoming Events

 

 

Environment on Tap:  Friday, November 19, 7:00 p.m. at Donohue's Pub

 

 

Thanksgiving Eve Ecumenical Service:  Wednesday,

November 24, 7:00 p.m. at Armenian Memorial Church

(32 Bigelow Street)

 

 

Advent Bible Study:  Sundays

in Advent, 9:00 a.m. in the

upper parish hall

 

 

Blue Christmas:  Wednesday, December 8, 7:00 p.m.

 

 

Holiday Open House at the McCreaths' home:  Sunday, December 12, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

 


Christmas Eve service:  Friday, December 24, 5:00 p.m.

 

Holy Name Day:  Saturday, January 1, 10:00 a.m.

 


Feast of the Epiphany:  Thursday, January 6,

7:00 p.m. at the

Hidden Brook service


 


OOpen House!

 

   

The parish is invited to a Holiday Open House at the McCreath family's home, 23 Gilbert Street, Waltham.  We'll have hors d'oeuvres and eggnog, some holiday singing, and a chance to enjoy one another's company as winter draws on.

Sunday, December 12,

from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. 

Y'all come!

 

 

 

 

Ministry Links

 

  Diocese of Massachusetts
 

 Episcopal Church USA
 

Daily Prayer
 

 Pastor Amy's blog

Rejoice!
The Newsletter of Church of the Good Shepherd, Watertown
November 2010

 

Why I give to Good Shepherd


My first venture into giving in the Episcopal Church occurred shortly after I was married, back in 1975. We were now officially on the roll of St. Stephen's church in Pittsfield, which my wife had attended for a long time, and which I had been pulled into by my marriage to an Episcopalian. And they had this strange practice of actually coming to your house to ask for money - the every member canvass.  In the Catholic church that I had attended up to that time, there was a strange sense that when you put your money in the plate it went directly to the Vatican, like some big corporation, with no discussion of it being used locally or what the needs or ministries of the local parish were. But this man who came to our house was completely different. He knew I was a new pledger and he intended to fill me in on all the things my pledge would be used for. Maintenance, youth group, the salary of the rector and assistant rector (what funny titles - why not just priest?), the diocese and for needs in the world. He was both friendly and serious and he didn't seem to have a sense of how pushy he was being - he really believed it was important for me to give! I embarrassed both my wife and the canvasser by pledging the grand sum of $.50 per week. But in retrospect I think they probably had some kind of secret Episcopalian communication going on between them, with the understanding "He doesn't understand yet, but we'll get to him eventually!" The canvasser left, very grateful for my small pledge.

The next step in my giving life occurred here at Good Shepherd. I started coming fairly regularly after my son was baptized, mostly out of a feeling that he should not grow up a heathen, but also because I kind of liked it here. My son always had separation problems, so I ended up spending a lot of time in the nursery and ended up volunteering there and in Sunday school. My time and effort were accepted gratefully. And then I got a call from out of nowhere asking me to consider being on the vestry - whatever that was. Apparently in this Episcopal church that I was still getting used to, parishes were allowed to make decisions on their own and decide their own budgets and get themselves into and out of trouble without much interference from the Archbishop of Canterbury or whoever was up there. This sounded dangerous and exciting - so my next gift was a gift of time and hopefully some small amount of talent.

  

As I became more involved and started attending deanery and diocesan events, I became aware that there were people who pledged substantial amounts. My $.50 had grown somewhat, but not much. I had my ears open and was vaguely aware of the Bible passages that talk about tithing, but I was beginning to come into contact with people who took them seriously. Not only that, they seemed to give with a sense of joy and freedom. Despite a world of mortgage and car payments, kids clothes and the rising cost of food and fuel, job layoffs and downsizing, they managed to see that they returned the first tenth to God, without any feeling of resentment or regret. This was a new way of seeing things. It reminded me of that passage in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas where the Grinch's heart grew three sizes in one day - all at once when he realized what Christmas was. So the change was still gradual, but I felt that my heart was growing.And then I ran into someone who didn't agree with tithing! Some of you may remember Mary Faith Sutton. She was a pastor's kid and a lay Eucharistic minister in the Episcopal Church. Her disagreement with tithing was that it was not enough - in her view all we have comes from God, and God expects us to use it all to bring about God's kingdom on earth. The idea that we are off the hook if we can manage to return one tenth just didn't appeal to her.

  

So I have grown slowly and perhaps reluctantly in my own giving, pulled along at each stage by someone who had been at it longer than I, who was patient and understanding. Whether it was the original canvasser, or the person on the telephone asking me to join the vestry, or the tither, or Mary Faith, they pulled me along with them and had the patience for me to catch up. It is a process - your heart won't grow three sizes in one day, and you have lots of commitments that you take very seriously. But let Good Shepherd be one more commitment, one that leads to joy and excitement.

 

Parish Treasurer Jim Donna offered these words during worship in October. If you have not yet pledged for 2001, please do! Pledge cards are still available in the back of the church and in the church office.

 

 
 
baptism
 

 

 

Proud father Brad Parsons and Pastor Amy rejoice after the baptism of Marco Lavorata Parsons on All Saints Day.

 

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel 

of the Lord commanded him.                        -- Matthew 1:24

 


I always look forward to Advent. I love the invitation the season holds to watch and wait in hope. It is a season for listening more than speaking, watching more than acting. We are called out of our over-packed schedules and inner dialogues, where there is little chance to hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people. Just sit. Just listen. Wait. God is coming.

 

Joseph is a good icon for this work. Have you ever noticed that he has no lines in the Bible?  We don't quote Joseph. So it's easy not to notice him. But in the face of news he never could have predicted, he does the most courageous, faithful thing imaginable: He does nothing. He watches and waits. He does not turn Mary out, as his society would have expected. He does not protest. Something is happening - something still not completely clear to him - and he trusts that God will be with him.

 

Dive into Advent this year. Small changes to your routine - like simply sitting down and consciously being in the presence of God for a few minutes every day - can yield huge blessings. Or turn the radio off when you're driving your car.  Copy one of the great Advent hymns from the Hymnal & stick it in your wallet; when you're tempted to fret about something or overwork yourself, take it out and sing it. (Singing regulates your breath - another blessing!).

 

Advent is a gift - not a Christmas gift in a shiny wrapping, but a simple gift handed down from our ancestors in the faith. Enjoy the gift - quietly and with hope.

 

Amy McCreath

Priest-in-Charge

 

 roof

REPAIRS

began  recently  on  the  roof  of  Rand  House.

 

Bless this house, O Lord we pray,

Make it safe by night and day;

Bless these walls, so firm and stout;

Keeping want and trouble out:

Bless the roof and chimney tall,

Let thy peace lie over all.

Bless us that one day we may dwell,

O Lord with thee.

--Irish house blessing   


Social Justice Update

        

            For the past eight weeks, I have been listening to Watertown - listening to its people, listening to its needs, and listening to its beat. It has been a challenging, but extremely rewarding two months. I have met people from  the World in Watertown, members of the Watertown Commission for Environmental Safety, the Watertown Youth Coalition, and the providers from Watertown Community Housing. I have also had numerous one-on-ones with members of the CGS community, as well as members of the greater Watertown community. I have been blessed:   some of the conversations I have had and the connections I have made can only be described as gifts from God. How else could I have met a woman who spent a year in Spain working on a farm as her spiritual practice? How else could I have talked with a journalist from the Watertown Tab about why he decided to go into journalism? How else could I have had the chance to listen to the Methodist minister as he passionately described his yearly trips to Venezuela and his dedication to social experiments? With each story that I hear, my life is becoming richer and richer. My eyes are opened every day.

 

            Our Hope in Action campaign has also emerged from my time listening to the Watertown community: Community Gardening. The idea first originated in a one-on-one I had with Louise Forrest. Through a discussion of her love of gardening and her love of teaching children how to garden, the need for a community garden in Watertown became apparent. I took this thought with me into other one-on-ones, and as I listened, I heard two other people explain their interest in bringing Watertown together in the form of a garden: the Green Sanctuary Committee at the Unitarian Universalist church and members of the Watertown Commission on Environmental Safety. Why not bring all of these ideas together? I am excited to get started and to integrate all of this good news back to CGS! 

 

Isabelle Jenkins

Social Justice Minister


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CONTACT INFORMATION

Priest-in-Charge: Amy McCreath (617) 967-7780
Church office: (617) 924-9420