Dear friends,

After several weeks away for vacation and study leave, it was such a joy to see many First Church members this past weekend! Saturday, a group of about 20 of us braved the heat to march with the church in the Salem 400 Heritage Days Parade. Then, I had a top-notch pit crew on the beach as a colleague and I competed in the Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta. Our First-Church shaped vessel named “Holy Ship!” stayed afloat through the first heat but met her watery demise in the final “survival of the fittest” race. Sunday, Diane Smith and friends shared our remarkable history with those who gathered for our annual Founders Day service. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made this a weekend to remember! Our rich history and our vibrant, fun-loving, spirit-nurturing, justice-seeking present was truly on display for the greater Salem community.

August started with a flurry of activity, but the rest of the month will provide opportunities for a slow, thoughtful transition into the new church year. I’m spending time reading, worship planning, goal-setting, and working on curriculum for adult faith formation classes (by the ocean whenever possible!), but have lots of space on my calendar to meet with committees and church members about your hopes for the year ahead. Feel free to book some time!

And we will enjoy a series of spiritual rich, but relaxed summer services in the Cleveland Room, led by a wise and creative group of lay-leaders. I hope you’ll join us on Sundays this month.

August 9th: “The Parable of the Sower” with Tiffany Magnolia and Terri Soohoo
August 16th: “Blessings for the Earth” with Melody Lee
August 23: Claire Donaldson
August 30th: Spiritual Wisdom of writer and producer Rod Sterling with Wolfgang Koch

Labor Day weekend (September 6th), I’ll be offering a unique hybrid workshop/worship service titled, “Sacred Texts and Spiritual Practice” where I’ll share my learnings from my summer studying sacred texts. Drawing from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and secular traditions, we'll explore different ways for engaging scripture, poetry, and other sacred writings in our spiritual lives.

Then we’ll kick off our new church year with Homecoming and Water Communion on September 13th. Our theme will be “Faith Like a River,” and New England contemporary folk band the Backwards Hats will provide joyful music!

I look forward to connecting with you in the days ahead. May your August be full of slow days, good tomatoes, golden sunshine, and moments of connection.

In faith,

Rev. Danielle