From the River's Edge
The Pastors' Blog
A Beautiful Lent
By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Senior Minister It is a season of fasting right now – not only did Lent begin yesterday with Ash Wednesday, it’s also the beginning of Ramadan when more than 1 billion Muslims observe the yearly fast (based on a lunar calendar). Traditionally, folks give up “sweets and meats” for Lent, but in both Catholic and Protestant churches the traditions have been changing...
Violence or Vote
By Rev. Racquel R. Ray Watching. Waves of worry wash over us. That will never happen here...Right?? Lurking, lingering… Stirring, recalling… hasn’t history seen this before? Why does this look familiar? Why does it look new? Brown bodies know, they carry the violent history in their DNA. Indigenous bodies know. Jewish bodies...
Minneapolis MARCH
By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Sr. Minister In worship the past 2 weeks, I’ve been asking for prayers for a dear friend of mine, Rev. Susan Hayward. Susie and I met at Harvard Divinity School, and not only did she invite me to parties and trips, she also invited me to church – First Church Somerville became the church I regularly attended then served as student minister thanks to that invitation. We...
The Church is an Anchor in the Community
By Rev. Racquel R. Ray, MDiv Associate Minister of Congregational Life As the new year breaks open but has yet to reveal her secrets, we wait with darkness for dawn to enlighten our days. We reflect on the past year and are surprised at our ‘year in review’ posts, photos, and calendars. We did so much! And yet, the new year is a blank canvas; open for new possibilities and new blessings. As I...
Blue Christmas
Last year I was at Redlands UCC in Southern California, and I was officiating our first Blue Christmas service. I was carrying some grief and sadness in my own life but had a particular congregant in mind who had lost his wife to brain cancer earlier that week. I planned to light a candle for him and his family, but I didn’t have to: the man himself walked through the front door for the first...
Happy New Year!
By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Senior Minister It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I’m wishing you a “Happy New Year” because this Sunday marks the beginning of a new Christian liturgical year. Advent has many meanings, and one of them is “beginning.” It is the beginning of our sacred calendar, and it’s also the beginning of a lot of exciting Advent and Christmas themed activities. Check out the...