Pastor Rev. Dr. Marlayna

Schmidt

“11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11-12) Dear Church-- Through the work of the Search Committee, the Transition Team, various committees, and everyone who participated in the Vision Process, God has led First Parish Church, Congregational, UCC to call Rev. Dr. Mark Boyea as your new settled Pastor--yay! AND, through the work of the Music Search Committee, God has also led you to call Dr. Herman Weiss as your new Music Director/Organist--also, yay! Praise be to God!! Many thanks to the dedicated people who volunteered their time, effort, energy and spirit to serve on these search committees! The Music Search Committee worked hard all summer, and the Pastoral Search Committee put in marathon hours for a whole year! You all deserve some rest for your labors J!! But, as you rest from the work of these searches, there is still some other “work” that can be done. Please continue to do the “work of ministry,” that is, the “work” that builds up the body of Christ. This does not need to be--nor should it be-- strenuous, onerous work. The work I am talking about it what the Apostle Paul refers to in the above quote from his letter to the Ephesians. It is the “work” of continuing to build relationships both within and outside the church. I invite you to intentionally “work” this Fall on strengthening your

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relationships with people at church. Are there people at church whom you don’t really know--other than to say a quick hello in the pew? If so, consider starting a conversation with them at coffee hour--ask them to tell you about something they are looking forward to this Fall. And, speaking of Fall, one of the things the Christian Education Committee and I have planned this Fall are “Family Sundays”-- on the first Sunday of every month, the worship service will be designed to appeal to people of all ages: adults, youth, and children. So, during coffee hour on those Sundays, if you see people who may look familiar but whose names you do not know, please be bold and go start a conversation with them and introduce yourself. Even if you’re not sure whether or not you’ve met them before you can say, “Hi, I’m…. I’m not sure I know your name.” And then, once you’ve heard their name, before you leave the building, make a mental note of it (or, if you’re like me and mental notes don’t work anymore-- make a note on your phone!) I realize this sounds really basic, but I say it because people stay in churches where they feel others care enough to learn their names and get to know them! (And, conversely, people do not stay in churches where others don’t make the effort to learn their names or get to know them.) May God bless you all this fall as we continue to build up the body of Christ by intentionally strengthening our relationships with each other! Blessings, Rev. Marlayna

WORSHIP Scripture and themes for October Worship 2019 Date Scripture Theme Oct 6 I Corinthians 11:23-26 “Passing on the Faith” Family Sunday. Paul Knox is playing guitar. World Communion Sunday; Communion by Intinction? Oct 13 Luke 17:11-19 (lectionary) “Remember to be Thankful” Baptism of Patrick Thomas Weaver Oct 20 Luke 18:1-8 (lectionary) “Persist in Prayer and Action” Mission Sunday? Oct 27 Luke 18:9-14 “Practicing Humility”

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First Parish Church Congregational uses candid photos of church activities on its website and in its publicity from time to time. Any photos of children

used will not contain personally identi-fiable information. Members of the community not wanting their photos depicted (or those of their children)

should inform the church office.

Special Meeting A Special Meeting was called on September 22nd,in accordance with the bylaws, to vote on calling Rev. Dr. Mark Boyea as full time Pastor. I am delighted to report that after 2 years of work and preparation, the Congregation voted UNANIMOUSLY to call our new Pastor. It was a joyous day, the culmination of an incredible Candidating weekend led by the Search Committee. The church was filled and the atmosphere was electric and wonderful. Now we begin the work of preparing for the start of Mark’s tenure in January. In addition to the Search Committee I would also like to thank the Transition Committee, the Church Council, and the Trustees for all their work that led up to this day. Council News The Council met twice over the summer, in June and August, taking a break in July, and then on the third Tuesday in September which is when we will meet going forward. Our work has primarily focused on the transition and fundraising during this time. As always anyone is welcome to attend – I just ask that you let me know in advance. Nancy Peterson Moderator, First Parish Church Congregational nancypete1@gmail.com 978-468-5271 Home 508-284-0883 Cell

CHURCH COUNCIL

Dear Members and Friends of First Parish Church, Congregational, UCC—

Thank you all so much for the love, care, and friendship offered to us and our beloved mother/mother-in-law, Truth Nickerson. She had a wonderful,

long, joyful life—made more beautiful and blessed by her kind-hearted church family! We especially appreciated all of your prayers, cards, calls and visits during her illness and subsequent death this summer. Your support meant the world to us.

With heart-felt thanks, Paul Nickerson and Marlayna Schmidt

CONFIRMATION Rev. Marlayna is organizing a Confirmation Program to

start this Fall. She will “hand it off” to the new pastor to continue in 2020. If

you have children who are in high school,who would like to take part in this

program, please let Rev. Marlayna know by October 10th.

“Making Sense of the Cross” Book Discussion group In the introduction to his book, “Making Sense of the Cross,” Luther Seminary Professor David Lose raises many questions, including these: “How should we regard the cross? Is it a sad tragedy that we should grieve? Is it the moment of God’s victory and redemption that we should celebrate?...what kind of God would re-quire such a gruesome death to achieve redemption?” And then he says, “By the time you are done [reading this book], you should not only understand what other Christians have said about the cross, but also what you believe about this central symbol and element of our faith.” If you have ever asked any of these questions and haven’t

quite yet found answers that are completely satisfactory, you might enjoy exploring this book with your fellow church members. Rev. Marlayna will be eading a 6 week book discussion group on Saturday mornings from 10:30 to 11:45 starting on Saturday, October 5th and running through Saturday, November 2nd. Please talk with Rev. Marlayna if you are interested in attending.

Save the Date Women’s Fellowship

Thursday Octobe 24, at the Chapel 6:30 PM. All are welcome!

6 Treetop Lane Magnolia, MA 01930-4004

Dear Choir Members, Church Members, and Friends of First Parish Church: Not everyone has a Sunday named after them, but that is what happened to me on September 15, 2019 (Don Dunn Sunday). The flowers, spoken comments, gifts, and cards are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your very generous check. I am very grateful to have received it. I am setting aside the money for a possible trip in the future to England to see the cathedral organs.

My twenty-three years at First Parish Church have been thoroughly enjoyable. The choir is like family. My time here has allowed me to develop close friendships with many members that I hope will continue for many years to come.

Most appreciatively yours, Don Dunn

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Christian Education Committee

Dear Parents— Greetings! The Christian Education Committee has been working with Rev. Marlayna to develop programming for the fall. As we outlined in our letter to parents last spring, here are the highlights: FALL FAMILY-FRIENDLY EVENTS Family Sundays with our 10 am worship service designed to appeal to all ag-es: children, youth and adults:

1. October 6: World Communion Sunday: understanding Communion for all ages (Parents Network gathering to follow worship) 2. November 3: All Creatures Great and Small Belong to God, ahead of the town’s annual Bark Festival 3. December 1: What Does Advent Mean?

Seasonal Intergenerational Events: 1. September 28: “Stand Up for your Church” event at Tuck’s Point: a festive fundraiser to help with unanticipated church expenditures. 2. September 29: Jazz Sunday - worship starts at 9:45 am with outdoor sax-ophone prelude, weather permitting 3. October 19: Rev. Marlayna and CE will attend “Food for the Soul” family dinner worship at Topsfield Congregational Church - you are invited to join them 4. Dec. 6: Caroling outside for Manchester’s sidewalk festival 5. Dec. 8: Friendship Tree lighting and concert in the church 6. Every fourth Friday: preparation of brownbag lunches for Action Inc.

Please save the dates! The first Parents Network meeting will be after our first Family Sunday on October 6th from 11:30 to 12:30 in the Chapel Conference Room. The topic will be “Recognizing and Confronting Risky Behaviors among our Children/Youth,” including such behaviors as vaping, promiscuity, drugs, social media bullying, etc. Lunch will be provided. Going forward, the Parents Network will have small group meetings at times of mutual convenience for our parents; the schedule will be announced. In addition, the church will offer All Ages Christian Child Care in the Chapel during Sun-day worship—and during Parents Network meetings. We welcome your comments and suggestions for future programing. Yours in service, Steve Carhart and Sheilagh Mylott, Co-Chairs

WELCOME TO OUR NEW PASTOR

REV DR MARK BOYEA

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Dear Members and Friends of First Parish Church, Congregational, UCC-- The Music Committee is pleased to announce the happy news that we have found a new Director of Music and Organist! We look forward to introducing him to the congregation on his first Sunday with us, which will be October 6th. In the meantime, we want to let you know a little bit about him, so that you can begin to understand why he was our unanimous choice for this position. First, let me share his picture and bio with you: Herman Weiss is an internationally renowned composer, conductor, organist and pianist. Dr. Weiss is co-founder of two chamber music societies and created a Master of Music program in composition at the Longy School of Music, where he chaired the department of composition for twelve years. Formerly president and founding member of the Composers in Red Sneakers, he most recently served as organist-choir director for the Village Church of Nahant and, with Marsha Johnson, is a part of the Dreamsong Duo.

As you can imagine from the short summary above, the committee was very impressed with Dr. Weiss’ education, experience, and vast array of musical talents and gifts! So, with his permission, we share with you some of the details he shared with us during the search process: Prior to serving as Choir Director and Organist of the Village Church in Nahant, Dr. Weiss was Choir Director and Organist at Quincy Point Congregational Church in Quincy, MA, Musical Director at Temple Beth Shalom, Peabody, MA, Organist, Choir Director and Composer at Temple Isaiah, Lexington, MA, Organist and Choir Director at First Baptist Church of Medford, MA, and Organist and Choir Director at First Congregational Church of West Medford, MA. He has conducted adult and children’s choirs and also managed a bell choir. Besides extensive experience working with churches and temples, Dr. Weiss has a PhD in music composition from Brandeis University and studied composition and organ in Paris at Conservatoire National on a Fulbright Fellowship with Olivier Messaien. He also studied composition, piano and conducting at New England Conservatory. In his work at Longy School of Music outlined above, he created and taught curriculum for Theory and Modern American Music programs. As a composer, Dr. Weiss has written a great range of works including solo pieces, chamber music, symphonic and choral works. As a pianist and conductor, Dr. Weiss has been a guest artist at numerous music festivals in New England. Dr. Weiss also has a wide range of musical ability and has worked in Shakespearean theater, was involved with production of musicals including “Godspell” and “Guys and Dolls,” and worked at an improvisation type theater. He worked with a choir to perform an interesting and delightfully humorous musical setting of a weather report composed by

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First Parish Church

Manchester-by-the-Sea www.firstparishchurch.org

Henry Mollicone that is called “National Weather Report.” Herman also performs as part of the DreamSong Duo with his wife, soprano Marsha Johnson. Herman has expressed that one of the most satisfying aspects of being a church Music Director is making the worship experience in church more meaningful. He also enjoys getting people to make music together. All of this, in combination with his “big picture” thinking, contributed to our committee’s sense that Dr. Herman Weiss is exactly what our church is looking for--praise be to God!

With joy and gratitude, Maggie Michael, on behalf of the Music Committee (Ann Greenleaf, Lauren Gudonis, Maggie Michael, Jen Powers, and John Round) and other church leaders who participated in the search effort (Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt, Interim Minister; Nancy Peterson, Moderator; Paul Knox and Rebecca Shrimpton, Section Leaders)

The Jordan Peterson Discussion Group will meet next at 7:30 pm in the Parlor on Monday, October 7. The topic will be lecture 4 of the Biblical Series, Cain and Abel: The Hostile Brothers. No preparation is necessary; clips of the video lecture will be provided as a springboard for discussion. However, if you would

like to view the full lecture ahead of the discussion, it may be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44f3mxcsI50&t=4925s This group is open to the public, so please feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested. If you have any questions, contact Richard Smith (978-590-7497) or Steve Carhart (978-407-8454 Seaside Parish Knitters Meeting the 1st & 3rd Thursdays, of the month (Upcoming meetings October 3 & 17th! ) 3-5 PM, in the Chapel Conference Room. We all love to knit/crochet, but more importantly we have been rewarded with helping others by sharing our hand-work. We would love to have you join us! Read more about us online.

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October 28 at 6:30 PM at Donna Johnson’s home, 9 Hickory Hill Rd. Manchester. The book for discussion is “News of the World” by Paulette Jiles. Please RSVP to Donna at bammadonna@icloud.com or 978-8706493 for planning purposes. Book group is open to everyone! Each month is a new host, who provides light snacks, beverages and dessert but

only once a year! The host then chooses the book for the next month. Bible Study Thursdays, 4:00 to 5:30 at the home of Vin Terrill, 37 Beach Street In keeping with our usual practice, we will be studying the scripture texts for the following Sunday’s worship. Format of the study is as follows: we begin with sharing joys and concerns, we have a time of prayer (where people are free to pray silently or out loud), and then 2 volunteers read the text out loud, while we all notice which

words the Spirit draws our attention to. (This way of reading Scripture is called “Lectio Divina.”) We each have the opportunity to share with others the words “speak” to us, as well as ask questions about the text. We also discuss how the text might apply to our lives today. The study is led by Rev. Marlayna. All are welcome to join us! Email or call Rev. Marlayna for more information.

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

10/04 LUMSDEN, MARY 18 WOODCREST ROAD MANCHESTER rasc84@hotmail.com

10/10 STEFANOVICH, ETHAN 61 FOREST ST MANCHESTER

10/15 ARNTSEN, ELLA 20 WOODCREST ROAD MANCHESTER

10/24 HESLOP, WILLIAM 34 NORWOOD AVE MANCHESTER will@heslopfamily.com

10/26 CARRASSI, SHEILA 19 VINE ST MANCHESTER scbythesea@comcast.net

10/26 FEUERBACH, MARYJO 5 HAROLD ST MANCHESTER maryjofeuerbach@gmail.com

10/28 BOTHWELL, SAMUEL 121 PLEASANT ST MANCHESTER

Daily Lectionary Committee

Tues., Oct.1 Psalm 119:49-56

Jeremiah 32:36-44 James

5:1-6

Wed., Oct. 2 Psalm 119:49-56

Jeremiah 33:1-13 Matthew

19:16-22

Thurs., Oct. 3 Lamentations

3:19-26 Jeremiah 52:1-11

Revelation 2:8-11

Fri., Oct. 4 Lamentations

3:19-26 Jeremiah 52:12-30

Revelation 2:12-29

Sat., Oct. 5 Lamentations

3:19-26 Lamentations 1:7-15

Matthew 20:29-34

Sun., Oct. 6 Seventeenth

Sunday after Pentecost

Lamentations 1:1-6

Lamentations 3:19-26 or

Psalm 137 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Luke 17:5-10

Mon., Oct. 7 Psalm 137

Lamentations 1:16-22 James

1:2-11

Tues., Oct. 8 Psalm 137

Lamentations 2:13-22 1 John

5:1-5, 13-21

Wed., Oct. 9 Psalm 137

Lamentations 5:1-22 Mark

11:12-14, 20-24

Thurs., Oct. 10 Psalm 66:1-12

Jeremiah 25:1-14 2 Timothy

1:13-18

Fri., Oct. 11 Psalm 66:1-12

Jeremiah 27:1-22 2 Timothy

2:1-7

Sat., Oct. 12 Psalm 66:1-12

Jeremiah 28:1-17 Luke 5:12-

16

Sun., Oct. 13 Eighteenth

Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Psalm

66:1-12 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Luke 17:11-19

Mon., Oct. 14 Psalm 102:1-17

Jeremiah 29:8-23 Acts 26:24-

29

Tues., Oct. 15 Psalm 102:1-17

Jeremiah 29:24-32 Ephesians

6:10-20

Wed., Oct. 16 Psalm 102:1-17

Jeremiah 25:15-32 Matthew

10:5-15

Thurs., Oct. 17 Psalm 119:97-

104 Jeremiah 26:1-15 Acts

17:22-34

Fri., Oct. 18 Psalm 119:97-

104 Jeremiah 26:16-24 2

Timothy 2:14-26

Sat., Oct. 19 Psalm 119:97-

104 Jeremiah 31:15-26 Mark

10:46-52

Sun., Oct. 20 Nineteenth

Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 31:27-34 Psalm

119:97-104 2 Timothy 3:14—

4:5 Luke 18:1-8

Mon., Oct. 21 Psalm 129

Jeremiah 38:14-28 1 Corin-

thians 6:1-11

Tues., Oct. 22 Psalm 129

Jeremiah 39:1-18 James 5:7-

12

Wed., Oct. 23 Psalm 129

Jeremiah 50:1-7, 17-20 Luke

22:39-46

Thurs., Oct. 24 Psalm 65 Joel

1:1-20 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Fri., Oct. 25 Psalm 65 Joel

2:1-11 2 Timothy 3:10-15

Sat., Oct. 26 Psalm 65 Joel

2:12-22 Luke 1:46-55

Sun., Oct. 27 Twentieth

Sunday after Pentecost Joel

2:23-32 Psalm 65 2 Timothy

4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14

Mon., Oct. 28 Psalm 87 Joel

3:1-8 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tues., Oct. 29 Psalm 87 Joel

3:9-16 1 Peter 5:1-11

Wed., Oct. 30 Psalm 87 Joel

3:17-20 Matthew 21:28-32

Thurs., Oct. 31 Psalm

119:137-144 Jeremiah 33:14-

26 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005

Consultation on Common Texts. commontexts.org. Used by

permission. This resource may be reproduced by congregations for their

own worship and educational activities. Provided by the

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First Parish Church, Congregational 1 Chapel Lane, P.O. Box 187

Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA 01944 Address Correction Requested

Ongoing through October we will be collecting non-perishable food items to help our neighbors who are struggling to feed their families. Every year our congregation responds generously to the call for food donations to stock the pantries at Beverly Bootstraps and The Open Door. The canned goods and non-perishables that are col-lected during our Harvest Food Drive assist families and individuals in Beverly, Manchester, Essex, Gloucester, Essex, Ipswich, and Rockport. Items can be dropped at the Chapel or the Narthex.

Most Needed: Peanut Butter Canned Tuna, Chicken and Turkey Healthy Snack Items 100% Juice/Juice boxes Breakfast Cereal Hearty Soups Spaghetti Sauce Macaroni and Cheese Rice, Noodles, and PastaCake, Muffins, and Pancake Mix Canned Vegetables and Fruits