SPOTLIGHT

An excerpt From Rev. Paul Shupe's Letter to the Congregation: "On Friday, April 19, a group called Gun Rights Across America will be holding a rally in opposition to proposed legislation restricting the right to bear arms.   At Hancock, we believe in the rights of all people to speak.  We are also aware that we likely have within our church community individuals whose convictions may well be very similar to those of this group.

    In response to this rally, citizens of Lexington are planning other activities.  Among these groups is the Lexington Interfaith Clergy Association (LICA) in which Dana Allen Walsh and I are participants and occasional leaders.  The clergy of LICA do not presume to speak for their congregations, nor for every member of them.  But LICA is in agreement that the role of guns and the violent uses to which they are too often put, is a matter not merely of constitutional concern, but of moral and spiritual concern.  As such, we will be responding..."

 ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS 

Join the Welcoming Committee for a Newcomer's Dinner Sunday April 21st at 5pm in the church Dining Room. Come to this fun family event to meet others in the church in an informal setting. Rev. Paul Shupe will give a brief presentation and you will have a chance to ask all your questions about Hancock. It's a great chance to discover what church activities might interest you, and learn about the church's structure and mission and what it means to be a member. Childcare and activities are provided, and we will finish by 6:15 for those who would like to attend Worship @ the Well. RSVPs are helpful for planning, but come even if you can't decide until the last minute!

You are welcome to attend if you are new to Hancock or have been at Hancock for many months and want to learn more about how this large, active, vibrant congregation operates. For more information or to RSVP, contact Barbara Shafer of the Welcoming and Membership Committee at welcoming@HancockChurch.org or 781-863-0862.

May will come with flowers

Songs of Love and Spring from

16th century Germany

During the 16th century a distinctive art song form, the tenorlied, gained prominence and popularity in Germany. The tenorlied was a delightful mixture of styles and elements, combining the German heritage of folk song, the song forms and tradition of the troubadours and Meistersingers, the cantus firmus principle of sacred music, and the contrapuntal trappings and canonic devices derived from the Netherlands.

Although the tenorlied manifested itself in a variety of ways, from simple note against note compositions to contrapuntally intricate settings, its vitality and charm lay in its narrative quality.  The tenorlied was a reflection and intrinsic part of the social life of the age, becoming a vehicle to express every facet of emotion and a mirror of the everyday life of a prospering middle class.  It was music that resounded in courts, as well as in taverns and private homes. The joy of singing is expressed in this quote from a German book of 1509:

When two or three come together, they have to sing,

 and they all sing at work, in the house and field,

at prayer and devotion, in joy and sorrow, mourning and feasting.

Join A Joyful Noyse, on Saturday, April 27th at 7:30pm in the Sanctuary of Hancock Church as we draw from this rich heritage songs that focus on love and spring.  With voices and period instruments, including recorders, crumhorns, viole da gamba, rackett and renaissance fiddle, we welcome the lovely and amorous month of May! 

A donation of $10 will be accepted to help maintain the diverse and vibrant music programs at Hancock Church.

On Sunday, April 28, we will give thanks and celebrate the lives of Hancock members who have recently passed and are being commemorated with plaques in our Remembrance Hall. During the service, we will remember their generous and meaningful contributions to building our foundations of faith and service. Paul will lead a short prayer service in the Memorial Garden immediately following the regular Sunday service.

We invite you to add the name of a family member or special friend who shared a deep connection to our Hancock community, so that all can celebrate their faith journeys, their many contributions to Hancock Church and our affection for one another. Please contact Rosemarie Sauermann (rosemarie@sauermann.com) or Bill Erickson (berickson@bfearc.com), co-chairs of the Memorial Garden Committee, before April 9 if you wish to include someone special in the April 28 remembrances.

 EDUCATION & SMALL GROUPS 

Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., starting April 23rd.

Sunday evenings at 7:15 p.m. starting April 28th

Will meet April 28, May 5, May 12, and May 19 in the Pearson Room

How often do we talk about our faith?  How would you answer that question if asked not to consider time in Hancock or with Hancock friends?  Have you ever invited someone to worship with us, or shared with them the Good News of our faith?  Do you have an idea of what you would say if you had to?  Might it scare you, just a bit, to consider all this?

Whether this scares or excites you, join others to explore what it means to name and share our faith as a progressive, Christian community during the season of Eastertide.  We won't meet to draft Bible tracts or role play logic games to battle non-believers, nor will there be tests or correct answers.  Rather, we'll spend time together, as a diverse group, exploring what sharing the good news means for each of us.  Just maybe, we'll even try to reclaim that difficult "e" word: Evangelism.

Our time together will be guided by the book Unbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese (2 copies will be available in the Hancock Church library).   Should you have questions or want more information, please contact Seminarian Alex Shea Will.  

Join others Sunday mornings for a lively, contemplative discussion of the worship theme for the day.  The class will be led by members of the group through May, based on the framework Senior Minister Paul Shupe has provided us. 

 SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES   

Construction documents are almost completed and our architect plans to put the project out to bid May 1.  Assuming that we will then have a contractor on board in June, we hope to see construction activity begin in mid-June to early-July.

Much preparation needs to take place in our building before then.  Because of requirements for staging space for construction, many offices and functions will be displaced: our receptionist Jane will move to the work room, our business administrator Kim will move to the seminarians' office and they will move into the CE office with Pam.  The choir will have to move its rehearsals and music library to the chapel, and the historian's office will have to relocate temporarily.

This means that storage space will be at a premium.  This is a golden opportunity to purge much of the "stuff" which has been stashed at church for years-a real spring cleaning.   If your committee or group has stored boxes, papers, supplies, posters, equipment, etc. in the work room, room 205, tower room, closets off the dining room, hallways, or elsewhere in the building, please go through everything to determine what you want to keep-and if at all possible store it at home. We can help with the disposal of unwanted things.  After the construction we will establish storage areas as needed, but for the coming year we need to clear out everything possible.  

Please help us get the building ready for its transformation.  If you have questions or need help getting organized, please contact Yvette Kirby (yvette.kirby@verizon.net),  Joan Rutila (rutila@rcn.com) or Julina Rundberg (church.administrator@hancockchurch.org).

Interfaith Garden--Want to Help?

 

The garden has been cleaned up from the winter, compost has been added and the first of the cool weather crops have been planted.  Parsley, lettuce, beets, radishes, spinach and peas were planted to join the crops that wintered over (asparagus, strawberries and garlic).  Hancock regularly joins members of 12 other churches and temples working at the garden.  The produce will go to the Lexington Food Pantry.  All are welcome...bring a friend, neighbor or your kids.  There are plenty of times that extra help is needed...not just when Hancock is scheduled.  If you are interested in working at the garden, contact Amy Swanson amy.swanson@rcn.com. 

Sat      4/27/13           9 to 10:30am

Sat      5/25/13           8:30 to 10am

If you or anyone you know are interested in more information or want to sign up to work any of those days, contact Amy Swanson amy.swanson@rcn.com . More information available at http://interfaithgarden.org/  

Read the first Garden Report from Opening day on March 30th Here   

Read the Garden Report from April 6th Here. 

Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort
 

Eleven Hancock members will travel to Atlantic City, NJ to rehab houses damaged by Hurricane Sandy for 20 families, primarily seniors on fixed incomes and disabled residents, with the Fuller Center for Housing's Covenant Partner in Tabernacle, NJ. FCH has been working hard this last 5 months to remediate the homes by removing everything that was touched by salt water or sand that could become moldy.  Their FCH Legacy Build beginning April 29 will bring hundreds of volunteers from around the country, including us, to renovate these homes so their families can finally move back in.

Neil Brown, president of the FCH NJ Pines, estimates that each house will require on average $12-15 thousand dollars in construction materials to bring them back to livable condition. That doesn't count any labor costs. Volunteers can do much of the work, but pros will be needed to do the electrical and plumbing work. FEMA and/or insurance covers only a very small percentage, if any, of this for most home owners.

The Fuller Center has been raising funds for this Legacy Build since November, but much more money is still needed. They have faith that the money will be found. The Hancock contingent would like to help by raising $30,000 to rehab the two houses on which we will be working. Your Easter donation of any size will bring warmth and comfort to these displaced families and will be a tangible reminder that the Risen Christ is still at work in our world today.

How can you give?

1. Make a check out to Hancock Church and put FCH-NJPines on the memo line. Put it in the offering plate, drop it by the church office, or mail it to the church.

2. Go to hancockchurch.org and click on GIVE to make an online donation to the Fuller Center for Housing, NJ Pines.

For questions, contact Cheryl Kraley at cheryl@kraley.com or Paul DiGiammarino at paul.digiammarino@gmail.com .

THE TRIP: Travel to Tranquilla, Panama - a rural community in the highlands - to work with local families on sustainable farming and reforestation projects. Local farmers will be our teachers, and together, we'll work, reflect, relax, and build deep and lasting bonds. Participants will stay with host families while in the community, and the trip will end with a relaxing stay at on the coast of Panama.

OPEN TO ALL AGES: It is scheduled for the first week of July so that students and families with students will be able to participate.

WHEN: July 2 -10, 2013. There is some flexibility in the dates, which can be modified slightly to meet the needs of trip participants.

PURPOSE: To support Sustainable Harvest International in its mission to provide farming families in Central America with training and tools to overcome poverty while restoring our planet's tropical forests.

WORK PROJECTS: Planting vegetable gardens, building tree nurseries, building wood-conserving stoves, planting trees, implementing erosion control measures, building rice patty and fish pond systems.

COST: Trip fee is $1500 (excluding air fare). A deposit of $500 is due on April 1, 2013.

REGISTER: The trip is organized by Smaller World Trips, a program of Sustainable Harvest International. To register or get more information about the trip, please contact one of the following Hancock Church coordinators:

Charlotte Dougherty, charlottepdougherty@gmail.com, 781.863.8018
Alex Will, alex@hancockchurch.org, 781.862.4200