Barre Congregational Church
Home30 Park Street
Barre, Massachusetts
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© 2018 Barre Congregational Church 30 Park Street, Barre, MA 01005
Welcome to the Barre Congregational Church United Church of Christ (BCCUCC) website. BCCUCC is a center for community where we live the statement of ministry printed each week in the worship bulletin --
"The mission of the Barre Congregational Church is to serve God, and to spread the word and love of God's risen son, Jesus Christ, to all people through Christian faith and unity. By our words and actions, we will bring love, hope, and acceptance to family and neighbors, respecting all differences and diversities."
We live according to our statement of ministry in order to bring hope, justice, and love to people wherever they are on their path to knowing The Lord, Jesus Christ, whose ministries of compassion, extravagant hospitality, and love inspire us.
Welcoming & Serving the Quabbin Area
A Message From Pastor Margaret
Our Differences as Gifts from God…
I just discovered this past month that being
a secret pen-pal is not only mysterious, but
also a lot of fun. Not knowing the other person
for a period of time leads to a sense of anticipation
and excitement. What would she/he be like? Why
does this young person or adult like this kind of
movie, or book; why this color? It was awesome
meeting my young secret pen-pal and watching everyone else full of joy and smiles after the “big reveal” on Sunday! For some, meeting the secret pen pal could lead to a new friendship, which is wonderful; and for others it may have been simply a lot of fun to do.
Our secret pen-pal initiative was part of a month-long stewardship campaign, which focused on our differences and diversities. What an incredible opportunity it was to explore the meaning of our differences…as gifts from God. Understanding our differences and diversities gives us the opportunity to build relationships at a deeper level and delve into the places and spaces of the other that are different from ourselves. It gives us the opportunity to ask questions to which the answers may not always be easy to hear but leads us to new knowledge about fellow human beings.
Christ demonstrates through His own life and teaching, the courage of engaging with the other in their fullness, despite their differences in language, cultures and life stories. As a Man from Jewish origin, He touched and healed those who were different from Him. His message of love breaks through the bondage of diversities. That bondage of difference makes us often fear the other, instead of loving the other; it makes us avoid the other, instead of getting to know their stories, and learning from them; it prevents us from the joy of our common humanity. Fear and avoidance create huge gaps between and among people. Those gaps are hard to bridge, because in those spaces we build images of the other which aren’t their stories. Likewise, the other build images of us, which aren’t our stories either.
How do we as Christians bridge those divides? By letting go of the fear that is not from God. The fear of the other is a foreign concept to Christ, our role model in building relationships with strangers. Letting go of our fear of the other makes room for God’s Spirit to move, and to introduce to us another way…the way of God’s love for humanity. God’s love wants to find its way into our hearts in ways we can never even imagine. That love wants to shine from deep within our hearts. It is the love that leads to compassion, empathy, getting to know…then know…then dwell with the other.
May this secret pen-pal initiative be our teacher for a little while, but may God help us all to allow Christ’s example of a fearless heart make us into a fearless loving community of faith, embracing differences and diversities way beyond our familiar relationships.
May God bless and help us all,
Pastor Margaret
From the Diaconate
The deacons have been working with the Church Committee to find a way to keep Pastor Margaret as our part-time Pastor.
Pastor Margaret has been visiting
those who need her. She has also
been doing memorial services for
those members who have passed.
The deacons have also been
visiting members of our church.
We are working on a smooth
transition for Rev. Charlie Page to
take over while Pastor Margaret
is away.
She will be away the second Sunday in December and return in January. If you need a visit, please call the church at 978-355-4041.
Sunday, November 18, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.
There will be a Special Meeting to Discuss and Vote on the Church Budget for 2019
From the Church Committee
The Church Committee is preparing the 2019 Budget. Our next meeting is November 7, 2018 in the chapel at 6:30 p.m., and it is open to all members of the church.
The thermostats in the church have been set at 60 degrees. Please make sure you reset them to 60 degrees when you leave.
November Worship Services
Worship and Sunday School at 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, November 4, 2018 ~ Twenty – Fourth Sunday after Pentecost - Communion Sunday /Sunday School
Choir directed by Scott Bryant
Deacon—Marsha Bray
Pastor Margaret Keyser, preaching
Sunday, November 11, 2018 ~Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost—Sunday School
Deacon— Jim VanWert
Rev. Charlie Page, preaching
Sunday, November 18, 2018 ~ Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost—Sunday School
Choir directed by Karla Peterson
Deacon— Kevin Fogarty
Pastor Margaret Keyser, preaching
Sunday, November 25, 2018 ~ Reign of Christ Sunday
Sunday School
Deacon— Lisa Holloway
Rev. Charlie Page, preaching
