Benefit Concert at First Church

The members of First Church in Salem are thrilled to welcome to their space, Ingrid Jacoby, for a benefit concert to support both the church and the North Shore Lions Club. The performance begins at 4pm on Saturday, September 9th  in the Meeting House of the First Church located at 316 Essex Street. A reception will follow. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $25 online and at the door. To purchase online go to https://bit.ly/fcbenefitconcert. 

Ingrid Jacoby, internationally acclaimed as both a recording and performing artist, was awarded a Career Life Award by the National Society of Arts and Letters in the United States, is a “Steinway Artist,” and a member of The Steinway Hall of Fame, and she has recorded for its new Steinway Label in Hamburg, Germany. She is a triple United States, United Kingdom, and German citizen and performed at venues across the globe. Ms. Jacoby lives in London and has played piano for the world's best conductors, including Yehudi Menuhin. She has played with the London Symphony, the St. Louis Philharmonic, and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, in addition to a variety of international venues.  She has also recorded a number of CDs, several of which made critics' "best of" lists in the classical music press.

Ingrid’s sister, Helen Jacoby, has been integral to the planning of this event. Helen is a member of the North Shore Lions Club as well as the Standing Committee of First Church. She has been happy to arrange such a wonderful event, “It's a special trip she's making to do this.”

Homecoming Weekend

On Saturday, September 9 The members of First Church in Salem are thrilled to welcome to their space, Ingrid Jacoby, for a benefit concert to support both the church and the North Shore Lions Club. The performance begins at 4pm on in the Meeting House of the First Church located at 316 Essex Street. A reception will follow. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $25 online and at the door.

On Sunday, September 10 we begin our church year with our annual Homecoming Service which includes a Water Communion. Religious Education classes resume. Service begins at 10:30am and we hope you will join us. If you are able feel free to bring a bit of water from your travels - whether from your own tap or garden hose, the local beach, or across the world.

Peaks Island, ME

Weekly e-Herald: Friday, October 28

 
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From Rev. Jenny
Dear Friends
I had another lovely walk through sunny Salem this past week. It looked like a few more costumed visitors than last week but still easy to move through the streets and stroll along. I took note of all the beautiful doorways on Essex and Chestnut Streets, pumpkins and mums lining the steps.  The trees were russet and golden in the autumn sun.  I made my way down to the waterfront and walked out to the little lighthouse, then returned via Herbert Street (where Hawthorne lived for many years in his uncle’s house, the Manning family).  It’s just a stone’s throw from the Customs House where he worked. So interesting to walk the landscape and learn these small details.
I hope you’ll join us on Sunday, either on Zoom or in person, as I share the service with Tiffany Magnolia and we consider the topic of “reckoning.”  On the Sunday closest to Halloween, with the history of the witchcraft trials to consider, and the modern-day visitors who flock to learn more, how might we explore this idea of “reckoning,” in our own personal lives and also in more collective terms?
Jenny

First Church First Looks at RE!
RE is publishing a monthly newsletter. Take a look!
Halloween Sunday
 
Don’t forget to wear your costumes this Sunday! We will have a special Halloween celebration during Sunday School.
 
Religious Education is HIRING!
Needed:
Classroom Teachers
Childcare Provider
 
We are looking for two classroom teachers—one for grades K-4 and one for grades 5-7—as well as a childcare provider.
Please take a look at these job descriptions and share them with anyone you think would be interested. These hires will allow us to create multiple classrooms for our RE program and provide our children and youth with age-specific curricula.
Join us for our first Family Field Trip next Sunday at the Peabody Essex Museum! Children and Youth are invited to come with an adult for a group exploration of the PEM. We will look at some exhibits that illuminate our UU Values, including the hands-on exhibit in the Art and Nature Center. We will leave the church and walk to the museum together at 12:30. We will be leaving after Fellowship, but you might want to pack something a bit more fortifying.

It Starts with ME!

This year, the children and youth of our church are collecting Thanksgiving donations for It Starts With ME!, an organization that will provide Thanksgiving dinner to over 600 households on the North Shore. We will be collecting donations on Sundays from now through November 13th. See the flier below for details!

Soul Matters Small Group Ministry
You are invited to join our small group ministry Soul Matters which gathers to share reflections on a specific theme each month. Participating in a small group that encourages mindful engagement is a way to deepen your personal spiritual practice and your connection with others in the church community. To help get you started thinking about the monthly theme there is a booklet full of exercises, meditations, questions to ponder, and music and readings to inspire and engage you. Click on the "Courage" link below to open the packet and begin your journey.
The Soul Matters theme for October is Courage. The meeting will take place in person on Sunday, November 6 at 12:15pm in Willson Hall.
Drop-ins are welcomed. Come to the meetings you can. (There will be two meetings in November, the first for the October theme "Courage" on November 6, and the second for the November theme "Change," on November 27.) If you have questions or would like a reminder email, contact Melody Lee at leemelody071@gmail.com.

Opportunities from Pastoral Care

Care Team Coffee
The care team and minister will be meeting over coffee and snacks on Thursday Nov. 10 at 11:00 in the Barnard Room. We will discuss ideas for a goodie bag to provide to our shut ins during the holiday season. It will also give us an opportunity to get to know each other better as we continue to reconnect in person. We look forward to your ideas on items that will provide comfort and cheer to the recipients. Please plan to join us. All are welcome.

Holiday Thank You Lunch December 4
The Care team will acknowledge and express appreciation to all those who have provided meals, rides and cards during the last two years. We are blessed with a caring community who has supported each other all during the pandemic. It is time for a thank you celebration to all the care angels. Please save the date and plan to join us. More details will be coming.

Phone Call Connection Volunteers
The Pastoral Care Committee is looking for a few more volunteers to help with the Phone Call Connection. This phone tree will help us to reconnect, get any updated contact information and find out how church members and friends are doing. If you would be willing to make a few calls please contact Sharon Corrigan (shuisman1936@gmail.com) 802-236-0054.

Meal Train 

Meal Train for Lynn Taggart
Lynn Taggart is having more surgery in November. We have updated the meal train site with additional dates for dinners for Lynn and Russell Lane. Please provide a meal if you are able. Your ongoing support is greatly appreciated and we could use a few more meals for November. Thank you!

Meal Train for Lynn Taggart

A Special Fellowship for Thanksgiving
The deacons would like to welcome everyone to our First Church family table for Thanksgiving Sunday with a community potluck fellowship on November 20 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving). We invite you to bring a dish or snack for either adults or children, but if the season finds you too busy, please join us anyway to share in our gratitude for our many blessings.

Moments of Stewardship

Please take a moment to read this wonderful testimonial provided by First Church member, Iris Weaver, as presented during last week's service. 

Hi, I am Iris Weaver. I have been coming to First Church for 8 years this month.
A couple weeks ago when John Newhall asked us why we had come to church that morning, he had some funny answers, but I could answer that question easily--community and connection.
Eight years ago I was going through a terribly difficult, painful time. My friend Bonnie Hurd Smith, knowing I was suffering, invited me to come visit her church. My long-time friends Penny and Ian Bigmore had been coming here for years and had talked about this church, so it felt safe to check it out. My sister had suggested that I find a community, such as a church or synagogue, to join and have community, companionship, and human company. First Church if the first and last church I checked out.
So I came that first Sunday and I liked it right away and kept coming. Very quickly I went from “I am giving up my Sunday” to “It’s Sunday, I can go to church!”
Being here I felt held and supported, accepted and liked. And who doesn't want to be liked? I felt safe which was hugely important.
I appreciated the spiritual fellowship without heavy dogma and rigid beliefs. I was so surprised that there was an actual religion that espoused the same beliefs that I had come to over many years of experience. It was amazing to me
I got involved with church activities right away, as a way to become part of the community and have company.
When some of my friends heard that I was going to church they thought I was kidding. I had spent my early childhood in an abusive Christian cult that put me off organized religion for good, or so I thought. But being in extremis means you either hunker down and get even more rigid, or you open up to trying new things, and that's what I did, including church.
I became a formal member a couple of months after I started coming here, and from the beginning I gave during the time of generosity. I also started pledging when the next pledge period came around and have continued to do so. I don't give much but I give consistently and that is important to me. To me it is a sign of respect and honoring the organization.
When I join an organization I get involved, I don't just sit back. I get involved in activities, voice my thoughts and opinions, and contribute in the ways I can including financially.
Giving financially is part of supporting the organization I am involved with, part of showing my commitment to its existence and vitality. It makes me feel more thoroughly connected. And so with giving to this church. I have my pledge withdrawn from my bank account automatically so I don't forget. 
I have made wonderful friends here and found a spiritual home. I hope you find some of what I have found here.
I invite you to join me in the satisfaction of pledging by filling out the pledge form in your order of service, talking with Catherine Bertrand or a member of the stewardship committee, or pledging online.

Please take a moment to pledge by doing one of the following:

Thank you for considering!

Anna Brandenburg | Sarah Blodgett | Valentina Burbank | Jessica Kane |
Nicole McLaughlin, Chair

Standing Committee Presentation
For anyone who was unable to attend last week’s presentation by Steve Palmer regarding the governance and decision-making processes of First Church the slideshow can be found here:
https://www.firstchurchinsalem.org/first-church-governance
Additionally there are plans in the works to hold a virtual session as well. Thank you for all the feedback asking about that!

Visiting First Church?
If you're visiting First Church for the first time in a long time or the first time ever please click here for information about parking, directions, service times and more!
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Weekly e-Herald: Friday, October 21

 
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From Rev. Jenny
Dear Friends,
Well it’s been quite a week and I feel like my head is still spinning!
I’m writing this in my quiet study at home in Concord on Friday. But my mind is filled with visions of Salem on a glorious fall afternoon—deep blue sky, bright sunshine and streets flocking with visitors—cloaks, felted witch hats, talking, eating, consulting cell phones and occasionally looking at (I know - so old school) a paper map or a guide book.
You’ve been speaking of “October in Salem” in ominous tones since I started, and this week I decided to take the plunge and get right into it. I booked a ticket for the House of the Seven Gables for Thursday morning (even though you told me “not to go in October"). I decided I wanted to get right out there and experience it for myself. 
If you want to read more of my “Letter from Salem", zoom in or come to church on Sunday. That will be the subject of my sermon, exploring the larger topic of First Church roots, as well as some ruminations of what its like as we try to “come back from the pandemic years.”  See you on Sunday!
Jenny

First Church First Looks!
Family Fun Night is TONIGHT!
 
Join us in the Cleveland Room
from 6:00-8:30.
 
There will be crafts, games, pizza, and some fun around the “campfire”. Come in costume, and bring your friends!
Open House on First Church Governance
and
Decision-making
 
This Sunday, October 23rd,
during Fellowship
Are you wondering how First Church is organized?  How decisions are made, and who makes them?  In this session, we'll:
  • take a look at the leadership structure of the church;
  • describe some of the key roles and responsibilities;
  • share the high level priorities that your current Standing Committee has identified.
The presentation will take about 20 minutes, but we are planning lots of time for questions.  Please grab coffee and a snack, get comfortable, and ask away!

Religious Education

Don’t forget to wear your costumes on Sunday, October 30th as well for our costume parade in the meeting house!

Religious Education is hiring! We are looking for two classroom teachers—one for grades K-4 and one for grades 5-7—as well as a childcare provider. Please take a look at these job descriptions and share them with anyone you think would be interested. These hires will allow us to create multiple classrooms for our RE program and provide our children and youth with age-specific curricula.

This year, the children and youth of our church are collecting Thanksgiving donations for It Starts With ME!, an organization that will provide Thanksgiving dinner to over 600 households on the North Shore. We will be collecting donations on Sundays from now through November 13th. See the flier below for details!

Opportunities from Pastoral Care

Meal Train for Lynn Taggart
Lynn Taggart is having more surgery in November. We have updated the meal train site with additional dates for dinners for Lynn and Russell Lane. Please provide a meal if you are able. Your ongoing support is greatly appreciated. 

Meal Train for Lynn Taggart

Care Team Coffee
The care team and minister will be meeting over coffee and snacks on Thursday Nov. 10 at 11:00 in the Barnard Room. We will discuss ideas for a goodie bag to provide to our shut ins during the holiday season. It will also give us an opportunity to get to know each other better as we continue to reconnect in person. We look forward to your ideas on items that will provide comfort and cheer to the recipients. Please plan to join us. All are welcome.

Phone Call Connection
We are planning to call all members and friends of First Church in the next month. This will allow us to reconnect, get any updated contact information and find out how you and your family are doing. Volunteers will each be given about 10 names to call. We'll provide a sample script and ask that you provide any comments or suggestions you hear on how we can better communicate with our congregation.
If you would be willing to make a few calls, please contact Sharon Corrigan at 802-236-0054 (shuisman1936@gmail.com)

Holiday Thank You Lunch December 4
The Care team will acknowledge and express appreciation to all those who have provided meals, rides and cards during the last two years. We are blessed with a caring community who has supported each other all during the pandemic. It is time for a thank you celebration to all the care angels. Please save the date and plan to join us. More details will be coming.

A Special Fellowship for Thanksgiving
The deacons would like to welcome everyone to our First Church family table for Thanksgiving Sunday with a community potluck fellowship on November 20 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving). We invite you to bring a dish or snack for either adults or children, but if the season finds you too busy, please join us anyway to share in our gratitude for our many blessings.

Monthly Thursday Breakfasts
Last Thursdays Breakfast: 7:00a.m. Maria's Restaurant, 10 Jefferson Ave.
We are reviving a popular pre-COVID event:  On the last Thursday morning of every month, we will get breakfast together at Maria's Restaurant when it opens at 7:00 a.m. There is no agenda, other than to enjoy one another's company.  All are welcome.  Contact Duncan Cox with any questions: coxes3@protonmail.com

October Tours Off to a Fun Start!

Last weekend we welcomed a steady stream of curious visitors into the Meetinghouse ... including an out-of-state couple who were married at our church years ago!  Please feel free to drop by, join the evening fellowship, and brush up on your First Church history this weekend!

Tours are scheduled for: Saturday Oct. 22, Thursday Oct. 27, and Friday Oct. 28. Volunteers are still needed on all of those nights, in order for the fun to continue. Online sign-ups are here: 

October 2022 First Church Tours

Any questions, contact Anna (text/voice 413-244-4021) / annabrande@icloud.com or Alicia alicia_diozzi@yahoo.com. Please reach out if you'd like to help, but aren't able to commit to a full 3 hours. Thank you!

Moments of Stewardship

Welcome back to Church! Fall has arrived, with all the high spirits it brings with it here in Salem.

On Homecoming Sunday we enjoyed our tradition of sharing water from our various summer experiences, a beautiful way of calling us in after being apart for the summer. Pouring our water from many sources – some salty, some fresh – into a shared bowl, reminds us of the power of coming together from our divergent paths.

With the Fall, we welcome our Interim Minister Jenny Rankin. We’re thankful for Jenny’s years of experience as we enter a time of transition. She is here to help us along during this in-between time, as we work to better understand ourselves and one another.

One of the non-verbal ways we communicate our support of the First Church community in times of transition is through our generosity of financial resources, recognizing that some have more to offer than others, and that all gifts from the heart are meaningful. Indeed, it is at times of tenderness and vulnerability that the strength of a community is revealed through generosity of many sorts.

Pledging may feel like a token gesture, especially if you are not in a position to give much. It’s not. Rather, the act of making a commitment is very meaningful in what it communicates to fellow congregants about the strength of our covenant with one another, to staff who rely on us for their livelihoods, and to prospective ministers who might consider answering our call.

Please consider pledging generously today by using any of the following methods:

Thank you for considering!

Anna Brandenburg | Sarah Blodgett | Valentina Burbank | Jessica Kane |
Nicole McLaughlin, Chair

Visiting First Church?
If you're visiting First Church for the first time in a long time or the first time ever please click here for information about parking, directions, service times and more!
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