Dear First Parish Church,
It’s been an amazing first month with you all. You have been so warm and welcoming. I really appreciate how many of you have filled out the “Connecting with Rev. Katherine Survey” (If you haven’t, no worries. I look forward to getting to know you the old fashioned way). In January I met one-on-one with many church members. Each week I’ve also been blessed to sit with one or two of our long-time members who are no longer able to come into church. I’ve attended meetings with most of our committees and have reached out to a number of community organizations. Building these relationships – within the congregation and beyond the church walls – will remain a cornerstone of my work as your minister. We are called to live our faith in community; we are better together!
In February we will begin the church season of Lent. Lent is a season of preparation, when we strive to strengthen our discipleship skills, grow in our spiritual lives, and renew our connection to God and one another. These six weeks (2/14-3/30) will provide us an opportunity to Dive Deep into our faith. There will be many opportunities to do so, including:
Weekly Vespers Services: Wednesdays, 6:30pm in the Sanctuary
Weekly Lenten Group Study Series on Five Spiritual Disciplines That Draw Us Closer to God: Mondays, 5-6pm on zoom
Weekly At-Home Devotional: “Wendell Berry and the Sabbath Poetry of Lent”
During Sunday worship in the season of Lent we will also explore the Spiritual Disciplines of Worship, Study, Service, Giving and Witness as they are enacted in our worship service. Everything we do in worship is done for a purpose, and has a deep meaning rooted in scripture and tradition. Our worship is more meaningful and we can participate more fully when these intentions are clear. You will notice some changes to the Order of Worship as well in the month of February. I welcome your feedback as we try something new!
The Season of Lent will begin with a traditional Ash Wednesday service, in the Sanctuary on Wednesday, February 14th from 6:30p-7p.
*** Something you probably didn’t know about Rev. Katherine ***
You’ve been so great sharing your stories with me. And while you’ve got my resume in hand, and are getting to know me through worship and church life, there are probably other things you’d like to know. So – to entice you to read your newsletter all the way through I’ll be sliding a tasty tidbit about myself into the end of my newsletter article for the next few months. If you want to be in the know you’ll have to read all the way to the end.
For February… I grew up in Dennis, MA (on the other Cape) and my family has deep roots in Dennis on both sides (like 7-8 generations deep). My parents still live in Dennis and are very active in town (Dennis Union Church, Historical Society, Library, local theater, arts, golf, etc). They retired in 2020 after decades working at our family business, Eldred’s Auctions. They’ll be back for a visit sometime soon and are glad to be part of the extended First Parish family.
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