Park Avenue Congregational Church
50 Paul Revere Road, Arlington Heights, MA 02476 — (781)643-8680 — office@pacc-ucc.org
Saturday, February 6, 2016
We will discuss This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin, a book that looks on the effects of music on the physical brain and your emotions and well-being. Our February meeting will be Saturday, February 6th from 10 a.m. until 12 noon in the Fellowship Room at PACC (those wishing to meditate should come at 9:30.
February 21 and 28, 2016
Interested in membership at PACC?
Please join us for two sessions designed to review PACC’s history and structure, the UCC, and provide an opportunity to learn about programs and activities we host and sponsor. We’ll gather on February 21 and 28 from 7:00-8:30 in the Fellowship Room. That’s the ground-level room with the stained glass.
Those wishing to covenant with us will be received into membership on March 6 during the 10:00 a.m. worship service. Please contact the church office if you’d like to participate or for more information. By the way…if you’re already a member, you’re welcome too!
February 10, 2016
Many Christians set apart the season of Lent as a time of reflection. Lent begins on February 10, Ash Wednesday. We invite you to mark, literally, this time for walking with Jesus through the imposition of ashes from 7:00-7:30 p.m. The sanctuary will be quiet and candle-lit, offering a time and place to engage the Spirit. Our interim pastor, the Reverend Jill Small, will be present throughout this time to share the imposition of ashes but you
February 9, 2016
Shrove Tuesday is traditionally a time to use up fats and sugar before the simpler meals of Lent. Pancakes are often served on Shrove Tuesday. Join us on Tuesday, February 9 from 5:30-7 in Parish Hall for pancakes, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice and coffee. Adults $5, Children $3, $20 family cap. Please speak to Betty Rich, Barbara Wagner or Kate Lindheim if you have questions or if you’d like to help set up or clean up
February 10, 17, 21, 2016
March 2, 9, 16, 2016
Beginning Ash Wednesday, February 10, we’ll be watching and discussing The Power of Myth, a conversation between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers. This six-session program first was broadcast on PBS in 1988 and it remains a meaningful introduction to stories, rituals, and meaning shared by cultures and faiths around the world. Myth, said Campbell, “awakens a sense of awe before the mystery of being”.
Professor Campbell’s seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) heavily influenced a young George Lucas as he brought myth into the future in Star Wars. There’s even a PlayStation game based on The Hero’s Journey!
We’ll begin at 7:30 p.m., watch and discuss
one program each week, and conclude at 9:00 p.m.
It’s worthwhile seeing all six of these conversations but they are independent topics, and you’re welcome to participate in one, some, or all of the Lenten series. Bring a friend: these are wonderful conversation starters!
February 2016
The first time I wrote for the Spire, I mentioned that September is my favorite month. February, at least part of February, is a time when I am especially introspective. This February presents two milestones, linked for me by six days in 1991.
After six-plus years of clean health reports, my best friend, Daniel, woke one morning with a pain in his side. A trip to the hospital revealed a broken rib – out of nowhere. The next day, he had more pain in more places. It was bad: cancer, in his case, melanoma, had returned with a vengeance.
When Daniel began the final part of his journey with cancer, I told my mother that I was afraid he wouldn’t live to see the baby that Charles and I were expecting. My mom did what moms do: she reassured me. It was Thanksgiving and the baby was due on January 28th. A calendar doesn’t matter to babies, and it certainly doesn’t matter to cancer.
Daniel died on February 5, 1991, three weeks shy of his 40th birthday. Becca was born on February 11th.
Becca knows this story well. It’s one of many I’ve told her about Daniel. It’s the only one that doesn’t end with laughter. She knows that when I get teary close to her birthday, it’s because I’m thinking of how long he has been gone, and she’s OK with that. Without a word, she’ll hug me and in that moment, the three of us are somehow together in much the same way we were when he’d hug me as I carried her within.
Daniel was with me in looking forward to my child’s birth; Becca is with me in remembering my friend’s death. What great gifts these two people have been, and are, and will be always, in my life.
Each of us has a story filled with names, faces, laughter, and tears. Our stories intertwine and as they do, we learn about one another and we learn about ourselves. What a blessing it is to have people who matter so much to us that they change our lives, sometimes very dramatically and sometimes quite gently, forever.
In the approaching season of Lent, the light-time grows and the shadows fade sooner. Use some of this time of preparation and reflection to think about the people who have made a difference in your life. Consider that you too have affected others’ lives and that you have opportunity to do so now.
Remember that the story of our faith includes the celebration of a birth, the anguish of a death, and the hope and joy of life everlasting In the Spirit. It’s a story that has been, is, and will be life-changing. Thanks be to God.
Faithfully,
Jill
The Reverend Jill H. Small
On Sunday, February 7, 2016 at 3:00 PM, PACC welcomes Floyds Row, a British-American ensemble founded in Oxford, UK. Fusing different styles including folk, Celtic and classical, they often include selections from their early British repertoire as well as performing new folk and classical works. Tickets in advance are $18 adults and $12 seniors and students: and at the door $23 and $15. Tickets are available at Coffee hour or call 781-643-8680 to reserve tickets that will be held for you at the door.
These versatile talented performers have been praised in numerous reviews for their elegant flowing programs, nuanced playing, ability to bring elegant early as well as homespun English songs to vivid life, and their generous presentation of a most sumptuous musical repast that sometimes, as in this case, also includes clog dancing. Performing with a diverse array of period instruments, their specialties include voice, accordion, autoharp, fiddle, viola da gamba, double bass, cittern, mandolin, guitar, and a fascinating array of percussion instruments. Hearing these unique instruments in the wonderful acoustics of the PACC Sanctuary will certainly be a treat.
Learn more about the concert series at www.pacc-ucc.org/concertseries.
(The Arlington Advocate printed the wrong time in its calendar the week before the concert. The correct time is 3pm.)
Women’s Guild, Thurs., January 21
The Women’s Guild will meet on Thursday, January 21, at 11:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Room. We will continue with our brown bag lunches which means bring your own lunch. The hostesses provide coffee/tea and dessert. This allows time for fellowship and touching base with PACC friends, while making it easier for the hostesses. As always during the winter months, use your best judgement for being safe during cold or snow. All women of the church are welcome and encouraged to join us. Whether you’re able to come just once in a while or every time, we will be happy to see you!!
Knitting Group, January 12 & 26
Join us for handcrafts and chat in the Fellowship room on Tuesday, January 12 & 26 at 7:30 p.m. Bring any hand-craft that you enjoy. Talk to Kate Lindheim if you have any questions.
PACC-Men, Tues., January 5
The PACC-Men will gather for fellowship, a presentation and light refreshments at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5th in the Fellowship Room. Please let Mike Rich know if you will attend, what snacks or beverages you will bring and whether you have a subject you’d like to inform us about.