Nancy Rottman preaches 

Special Music by A Joyful Noyse

The second chapter of 1 Samuel begins with the 'Song of Hannah.' Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel and we learn in the opening of 1 Samuel that she was barren. Hannah prayed to the Lord and promised that if God would give her a son, she would dedicate him to God's service. Hannah does indeed conceive and bear a son who she names Samuel and after he is weaned she returns to the Temple and gives him over to be a servant of God. As she does so, she sings a song of praise!

On closer examination... Read more on our website.

As our contractor begins the process of aligning the doors to the narthex with the aisles in the sanctuary, our access to the main entrance to the sanctuary will begin to change. While it appears there will be limited access to the sanctuary through the narthex on Sunday, please consider using one of the two other entrances. One can be found through the backdoor in the parking lot, and the other just past the stone arch portico on the left side of the church. This work will likely take 2-3 weeks.  

As always, there will be ushers at every entrance providing helpful directions and answering questions. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the church office.

SPOTLIGHT 

EDUCATION AND FELLOWSHIP 

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

If you sing or play an instrument, consider sharing your talents with the congregation in helping lead worship this summer! We are looking for solos, duets, trios, etc. in a variety of genres for preludes, postludes, offertories, etc. for July and August. We would especially encourage middle, high school, and returning college students!  

If interested, please contact Mark Morgan, Director of Music, at mark@hancockchurch.org or (781) 862-4220 ext 212. 

Interfaith Garden, located across Lexington Common, continues its great success, with increasing pounds of produce harvested and delivered to Lexington's Food Pantry each week. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Do you remember circling words on a prayer flag in October, processing to the front of the sanctuary on Commitment Sunday in November, or enjoying a juicy pear at the coffee hour celebration that day? Do you remember opening a pledge packet with information about Hancock's financial priorities or filling out your pledge card? Then you remember the Delight in Giving stewardship campaign through which our church family came together to further God's work in the world!

Three Hancock members are in Fort Wayne, Indiana building homes with Blitz Home Builders and Habitat for Humanity. Amy and Lisle Swanson, and Scott Martin are over there right now! Read their blog here:  

http://hucc-ft-wayne.blogspot.com/  

The local news also covered the work they're doing down there! Apparently Amy and Lisle Swanson make cameos, but you have to look for their light blue hats.

The new green paraments for "Ordinary Time" were designed and made by Joan Rutila and MaryAnn Shupe with the help of the Project Group. The design was inspired by the grate work in the right front of the church covering the organ pipes and the stained glass in the chancel. Individual pieces of fabric were cut and fused to a black background giving it a "stained glass" effect.

Our construction project is in full swing, and the installation of the elevator is almost ready to begin. The contractor has been working on many other areas of the church as well and some of these (like the CE Wing) are almost complete. Problems in the kitchen related to a subcontractor are being resolved; work there will resume soon and the equipment is ready to install as soon as that is finished.

Work on the Narthex wall and the realigning of the doors with the aisles begins this week.

As we've been told a number of times, and as many of you know from your own home construction projects, it is not if there will be delays in a construction project, but when the delays will be identified. We have found ours! Due to an unforeseen problem with a pier from the 1960 addition as well as some other minor setbacks, our project will take longer to complete than we had hoped. This means that, come September, construction will still be happening at Hancock. Disappointing, surely, but we are committed to finishing the project correctly and doing it well so that our modifications can stand up to the test of time.

We will have a better sense of the project time frame once this pier has been repaired and the elevator installation begins. Be assured that we will keep you up to date as we gain information. Growing pains on the Green - but it's still for the Good!