Barre Congregational Church
Home30 Park Street
Barre, Massachusetts
A Message From Pastor Margaret
Let’s Clean Up That Room and Bring
in New Ideas and New Life!
My husband and I did some house cleaning
yesterday, after returning from South Africa
two Fridays ago. We started feeling better
after the severe jet lag settled down, and the
bout of bronchitis I have been dealing
with. I left so much stuff around in our living
room in December, thinking I would take
this or that to my family. We managed to
get all that from the floor and the chairs
and did some vacuuming, dusting, polishing
and sweeping a bit outside. I was so tired
afterwards, but we both were very proud of
each other, appreciating the cleanliness and open spaces around us. We were ready to let the sunshine through the win-
dows, so happy the sunlight would not pick up any obvious dust anymore! Cleaning house is hard work, but
it feels so good afterwards, right?
I was thinking about this housecleaning, while reflecting on how we all are getting ourselves ready for this new calendar year as a church. I love the phrase Wendy, our office manager, often uses, “You better get on it!” There is some energy to it and at the same time it carries a message with it, to get moving! You must be getting the message by now, right? As a church we are ready to clean out some old stuff, dusting off old ideas and thinking about new and refreshing ideas.
One major and costly project our Church Committee already took on was the installation of our new furnace. This is huge for us as a church, and we are grateful for having it, and at the same time we know that such an undertaking means there is a hole somewhere in our finances, and pray to God for provision and blessings on us as we are moving forward as a church. It is quite something to walk into the room where the furnace is. It looks very nice, clean and shiny, and very different from the old system we had before.
As a church we prayed about this, came together, with good conversations, weighing the pros and cons and discerned what was important, and made the decision to go forward with this project. Our various committees are ready to take on their respective responsibilities, from the Missions Committee serving the community with the Community Friendship Suppers, the Deacons ready for the year ahead, working with me in planning our worship services, to the Nominating Committee making sure our committees have enough volunteers and leaders to lead them, to the Pastor Parish Relations Committee making sure concerns are heard from the congregation and the pastor, to name but a few of our committees. The choir is ready to bless us with their beautiful music, and we are grateful for that. I look forward to working with the Sunday school to bring God’s message and various teachings to our young people who are so eager to learn and to share their own insights, to my surprise sometimes! They keep me on my toes during our children’s moment in church! Please note all the committee reports in this edition of the Spire. It is getting busy here at Barre Congregational Church, and we thank God, through Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit for inspiring us to love and to serve.
As I am thinking about the room where I put some of the stuff I picked up from the living room floor, yes, there is another room (smile), and as I reflect on my own role here at our church, I will be cleaning up that
room as I am thinking and planning for the year ahead. I pray that God will help me and all of us to clean up the old ideas, polish them nicely and bring in new ones, new energy and new life into our church. We
welcome them, and we welcome others to join us in this humble effort to be followers of Christ, serving Christ’s church here in Barre. May God bless us and keep us during this new year, 2023. Amen!
-- Pastor Margaret
© 2022 Barre Congregational Church 30 Park Street, Barre, MA 01005
Interested in learning more about us?
Welcoming & Serving the Quabbin Area
Worship Services:
Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
Community Friendship Suppers (CFS)
We are so happy to be able to welcome members of our community to a meal prepared by our Community Friendship Supper volunteers. We are offering to-go meals on the third Thursday of every month, between 5:30-6:30 p.m.
From the Church Committee
Lights and Locks. Just a reminder that if you come
into the church and turn on lights, please make sure
the lights are turned off before you leave the church.
Also, make sure the doors are locked.
The Church Committee would like to remind everyone that the daily functioning of the church continues. They remind you to please keep up your pledges and donations to the church even in these challenging times. Donations can be submitted through the "Donate" page on this website or mailed to:
Margaret Marshall
169 Sunrise Ave
Barre, MA 01005
Welcome to the Barre Congregational Church Website!
A congregation of the United Church of Christ, Barre Congregational Church (BCCUCC) is located on the Common in Barre, Massachusetts. We are a caring community of Christ committed to reaching out into the wider community. We offer ourselves as ministers of grace, healing, understanding, inclusiveness, reconciliation, and joy for the sake of showing our love for Jesus.
Our Pastor: Margaret Keyser
