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Hancock Weekly

The Official Newsletter of Hancock Church

Worship With Us
Sunday, March 8
Third Sunday of Lent

Morning Worship, 10am

Paul Shupe preaches on Matthew 5:1-16 on this special Building Rededication Day!

Evening Worship @the Well

6:15pm in Clark Hall

Alex Shea Will preaches, and the River Rock Band plays New Orleans Style Jazz!

IN THIS ISSUE...

Rededication Day!

Help Wanted!

Rededication Schedule

Holy Week and Lent

Notes about the Hancock Weekly! This is a special "Rededication Day" issue of the Hancock Weekly! Let's get excited for a momentous occasion, and celebrate our future!

If you are new to Hancock, please read our welcome message and general information HERE.

The Hancock Weekly is a newsletter distributed every Wednesday afternoon. The submission deadline is that same Wednesday at 9am. Read submission guidelines HERE.

Growing for Good.

Five Years of Dreaming

This Sunday we welcome the new thing God is doing in our midst; the culmination of five years of dreaming, planning and waiting.

For the past 21 months, we turned our building over to construction. We sacrificed a front entrance, the essential door to welcoming everyone and greeting people face to face. We gave up our kitchen area, the dining room, and our CE wing, areas critical to our fellowship and growth. Wright Lab is gone, the old second minister's office is gone, and the old nursery is gone. The front lobby, receptionist office, Wilson Room, Choir Room, and Conference Room belonged to the contractors and construction zones all this time. The Chapel has been housing the Choir, the balcony capacity was lowered, and there's been a constant battle with dust in the sanctuary.

But, can you remember, too, the hope we had so long ago?

My hope for Hancock Is...

...that our building can become a better symbol of who we are, that it can communicate the joy and spirit of this place.

...that we can create a sustainable future for the next generation.

...that we can create the kind of space that fosters fellowship and helps our ministries evolve.

...that we can be a center for social justice.

...that we will make it easy for those who have mobility issues to get around in our building, rather than difficult.

...that we can open ourselves up to the community through a visible, inviting, accessible building and ministries and programs that draw people in.

Welcome to your new spaces.

Dana Allen Walsh's former office.

Five years ago, we wrote down these hopes for the Capital Campaign. While some of these hopes will become reality on Sunday morning, others will take time. This Sunday marks the beginning of the next phase of living into our hopes for Hancock and Lexington. When you join us this Sunday, take more than a passing glance. As you move from place to place, with your brothers and sisters in faith, close your eyes for a moment and imagine what the future might hold. Imagine what we could do in these sacred spaces.

ML looks up the stairwell.

For the first time in two years, enter through Mass Ave and into our new lobby and reception area. Can you see the greeters welcoming you and new families with a smile? Stand at the foot of our new grand staircase, and gaze upward to the third floor. Can you hear the sounds of our high school youth walking into the upper room and adults talking about their week before worship? Can you see the doors of the elevator opening, and people of every ability streaming out for worship?

Our beautiful kitchen.

Take a moment to walk through our new dining room and kitchen. Can you smell coffee brewing and see the many loving hands at work? Can you see church members and friends, young and old, gathering around tables to talk about their life and their faith?

Before you leave the sanctuary, look through our new windows in the narthex and out on to Mass Ave. Do you see both familiar and new faces coming through our door? Can you see yourself going to meet them, excited that they've decided to join us?

Welcome to the narthex.

When you join us on Sunday, sit in the Pearson Room, walk through the CE Commons, and don't forget to visit the TV studio. No matter where our rededication takes you on Sunday, remember to stop and dream. Remember that while we celebrate the end of our journey, God is already calling us to another. Let us gather to rededicate not only our spaces, but also our hearts, to the mission of "growing for good on the green" for many more years to come.

We'll be so happy to see you all on Sunday.

Help Wanted!

Building Rededication starts with Congregational Clean Up on March 7th!

Activities for our Building Rededication starts Saturday, March 7, 1-3pm for a congregation-wide, all-ages Clean Up Day! Come to Hancock in your jeans and work clothes for some dusting, sweeping, and general tidying. Through this simple cleaning ministry, we can all lay down the welcome!

Food for Dedication Day

Food is an essential element and many hands are needed! We will offer "walkabout" soup, sandwiches, and cookies. If you can help in any of these ways, please let Carol Puschak know!

Make soup and bring to church on Mar. 8 (recipes provided)
Help assemble sandwiches on Saturday afternoon Mar. 7 or Sunday morning Mar. 8
Bake cookies or bars and bring to church on Mar. 8

cpuschak@msn.com, (home) (781) 863-8635, (cell) (781) 248-4023

Rededication Day Schedule!

10:00 AM Morning Worship
We will include a "Gathering of the Generations," featuring new and familiar faces, to symbolize our many years together in community. Last Sunday, the Chancel Choir bid us to take "The Road Home" as we prepared to come back to our new building. This week the Hancock Choristers will bid us to "Make the walls of faith, make the floors of truth..." a they and the combined Bell Choirs will lead us into our celebration. We'll lift our voices in song, using a hymn written for the first dedication of our building in 1899. Former minister Dana Allen Walsh will join us for worship and charge us to use our building faithfully.

11:00 AM (Following Worship)
Communal dedication of the building and open-house. We'll form groups to spread throughout the building to bless and dedicate our new and renovated spaces.

11:30 Public Open House Hancock committees will host a moving open house throughout the building with food at each location.

2:00 PM Bay Colony Brass Concert
The community is invited to join us for Bay Colony's "England, Wales, and Yonder" concert in our sanctuary. Edward Elgar's Severn Suite, his only composition for brass band, celebrates the history and majesty of Worcester Castle, Worcester Cathedral, and other monuments along the River Severn. Malcolm Arnold's brilliant Festival Fanfare was written to inaugurate the now famous Farnham Music Festival. Ralph Vaughan Williams' beautifully meandering Rhosymedre hearkens from an old Welsh hymn. Gustav Holst's The Planets offers tableaux of faraway worlds reflected through our own stories and experiences. Bay Colony Brass is directed by Channing Yu.

5:00 PM Community Potluck

Bring your favorite dish to a family pot-luck hosted by Evening Worship @the Well. All are welcome!

6:15 PM Worship @The Well

We sing, clap, stomp, and shout as our celebration makes it's way to Worship @the Well in Clark Hall, accompanied by an 11-piece River Rock band, including: trumpet, clarinet and trombone. Mardi Gras might be over in New Orleans, but we're havin' a bit of it here on Sunday night as we worship, celebrate communion, and dedicate Clark Hall.

7:00 PM HYG Dessert and Dedication of the Upper Room
All High School aged youth are invited to gather for dessert and fellowship in the newly accessible Upper Room.

HOLY WEEK

Mar 29

Palm Sunday

10am, Morning Worship

We mark the last week of Jesus' life, from the triumphant Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem through his arrest and trial, to his death on the cross. Stay for Palm Sunday Brunch after worship!

6:15pm, Worship @the Well

We celebrate Palm Sunday, and Pam Cochrane preaches on Mark 1:1-11.

Apr 2

Maundy Thursday

7pm in Clark Hall

The Maundy Thursday Service celebrates Jesus' last supper with his disciples with communion, reflection, and prayer.

Apr 3
Good Friday

7pm in the Sanctuary

Using scripture and candle light, we face the difficult story of Jesus' death on Good Friday. This moving service includes readings by Confirmation Class and music from the River Rock Band.

EASTER WORSHIP

Apr 5

6am Sunrise

Sunrise Service: It has become a tradition to gather atop the hill at the Old Belfry (behind Hancock Church) for a simple Easter Sunrise worship service of singing, scripture, communion, and sharing the names of loved ones who have died. Park in the Cary Library lot, and climb the pathway across Clarke St. Dress warmly for the spring sunrise.

9am & 11am
Morning Worship

Two full worship services are held in the sanctuary for Easter Sunday! Our Chancel Choir is joined by brass quartet and timpani for a festive morning of music, including our annual singing of the Hallelujah Chorus! Children worship with their families. Childcare provided for infants and toddlers.

Coffee Hour will be held at 10am, between the two services.

Lilies Dedication
If you would like to dedicate a Lily Plant for Easter, please go HERE.

LENTEN CLASSES

Mar 14
8am-2pm
Getting Real With God

Join Student Minister Nancy Rottman for a mini-retreat during Lent to learn more about the power of lament to deepen our relationship with God and one another. All are welcome and can be assured of a safe, accepting, and risk-free environment in which to share as little or as much of yourself as you are comfortable with.