Barre Congregational Church
Home30 Park Street
Barre, Massachusetts
Interested in learning more about us?
© 2021 Barre Congregational Church 30 Park Street, Barre, MA 01005
Welcoming & Serving the Quabbin Area
Worship Services:
Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
PLEASE NOTE: We are now holding in-person services in the sanctuary!
**see below for details and information on our safety protocols!**
Community Friendship Suppers
Our Community Friendship Suppers have not yet resumed. Several people have asked as to
when they will resume. We feel that it may
still take some time until it is safe to meet
inside and in person. Stay tuned!
From the Church Committee
The Church Committee meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. We are looking for additional members. If interested, please reach out to the Committee.
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
A Message From Pastor Margaret
Something new and different
To start something new can feel unfamiliar, unsettling, and scary to many of us, especially if it is something that
requires a new skill, making changes,
and leaving behind that which is familiar
to us.
Moving to a different place, kids going off to
college, changing jobs and so forth, are
significant changes we go through, changes
that shape us on the journey life presents
to us.
Leaving South Africa was never something
I intended to do in my young adult life,
because I experienced my home country
as a place of comfort, where my family and
friends lived, and still do. When the invitation
to come to Connecticut came out of the blue, I remember feeling my heart racing quite a bit. I was thinking about the wonderful opportunity to do something different, but the thought of leaving behind a life filled with the people and things that gave me joy, was not so easy. We had just
come through apartheid and were a few years into rebuilding the country when the call to leave came. I remember feeling torn between what I could do back home, and the need expressed by my new employer to bring those skills and experiences in mediation and reconciliation to the United States. When I accepted the invitation, and traveled to the many cities I worked in, I realized how the familiarity of home and what I got used to, gave way to new experiences, and meeting new people from all walks of life, from different cultures and languages.
Leaving South Africa, also led me to work in other countries and contexts where I could bring my skills and experiences to bear and
learn from others. In time I realized how much God gave me...the people I already knew and loved, and those whom I met on my journey who brought much joy and love into my life as well. The world became so much larger and my experiences so much richer.
The early disciples’ lives were dramatically changed when they encountered Jesus on their journeys. Their ordinary lives would be transformed into powerful experiences of utter joy, filled with wonder and awe as they deepened their spiritual lives, knowing Christ and knowing God. They would travel and bring the Good News to the many places and people they encountered. They gave birth to the Early Church, which became the foundation of the church we know and experience today. They would become apostles, and many would learn how to be part of the body of Christ with the different gifts they received from God.
You may have traveled your own journeys and made significant changes in your lives as well. During this new season, however, we may not need to leave our beloved town, Barre, but we may be asked to do something different or new in our congregation. Perhaps we may find that to accept the invitation to do something new and different might be good for us. We may meet new people, who will bring new experiences into our lives and to our church. All these parts of our journeys are blessings from God and are meant to fill our lives with the same joy and spiritual riches the disciples experienced.
May this new year be filled with amazing opportunities for all of us, and may we move beyond our fears and uncertainties to a place of calm and purpose. May God bless us all.
Pastor Margaret
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
Barre Congregational Church is holding in-person indoor services at the church! Safety protocols will be in place to protect everyone from unseen virus threats.
- Contact tracing book will continue to be utilized. The book at the back entrance will continue to be required.
- Communion: There are enough prepackaged servings to last several months.
- Singing: There are no state or federal guidelines. After much discussion, it was agreed that singing would resume. Standing is permitted for singing and prayers.
- Masks: Pastor Margaret will continue to wear her mask. Masks are not required for those fully vaccinated. Wearing masks is optional for those vaccinated. Unvaccinated people are asked to wear a mask when in the church.
- Research available for individual town COVID-19 case numbers is available at Boston.com. Members of the committee will monitor activity regarding variants of COVID and any changes by state and federal administrations.
- Reminders and updated information will be posted in the September Spire.
- Sanitizing will continue, by the leader of all groups using the church, after meetings.
- The sexton will resume regular cleaning.
