From the River's Edge
The Pastors' Blog
The Faith of a Donkey
By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Senior Minister It was great having “Liberty” the donkey (and “Miracle” the baby cow) join us for fellowship hour on Palm Sunday. Obviously, a donkey features prominently in the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and it made our Palm Sunday that much more special to have a real life donkey. But I must confess, I missed an opportunity to share something special about...
What is Your Sabbath?
By Rev. Racquel Ray, Associate Minister of Congregational Life As part of my on-going course work at Boston University, this semester takes a deep look into the meaning of Sabbath across Jewish and Christian understandings. Beginning with the Genesis account of Creation and the Deity’s determination to REST on the seventh day, the Jewish Law in-turn developed around Sabbath keeping. And,...
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...