52 Sundays

St. James Church, Salem, Massachusetts

March 11, 2012 (Sunday 11)
St. James Church
Pastor: Rev. John Sheridan
156 Federal Street
Salem, MA 01970
978.745.9060

Church History: The original St. James Church was built on Federal Street in 1850 to accommodate the growing influx of Irish immigrants to Salem. Construction on the current Church began in 1891, Declared unsafe in 1896 due to sinking and a collapsed wall, caused by an insufficient foundation and also because that end of the church had been constructed on reclaimed marshland, the church was rebuilt. The church is constructed of Danvers pressed brick, with stone trim, and is 178 feet long. In 1971 the decision was made to reduce the church’s 200-foot steeple to the ridgepole level, in order to eliminate the expense of maintaining the steeple.

Affiliation: Roman Catholic Church (1.147 billion members)

Sunday’s Service: Prior to the appearance of the Priest, the lector read some announcements, and then it was time for the service to begin. The Introductory Rite was performed, which consisted of the entry procession, the greeting,  the Penitential Rite, and an opening prayer.

The second part of the Catholic Mass, Liturgy of the Word, began with the lector reading a pair of passages from the Bible; the first from Exodus (the ten commandments) and the second from 1st Corinthians.  After the second reading, the Gospel Acclimation, specific for the season of Lent, was read. The priest, who was visiting from New Hampshire and representing an organization called Food for the Poor, presented a reading from the Gospel, which was from the Gospel of John, Chapter 2, verses 13-22.

Next he delivered the homily, which was quite brief. He spoke about being in his seventies and having experienced many Lents, and that this year his focus was a bit different than in most other years. Rather than focusing on what he has done, he is focusing this year more on what God has done, everything he has given us, including new life through his son, Jesus Christ.

He said that as a child, he thought God was out to catch us in our sins, but that this was wrong. Instead, God is trying to save us.

Then he spoke at length about the organization he represents, Food for the Poor, which provides food and other necessities for the poor in many countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. He pointed out that Food for the Poor feeds over a million people a day, and discussed the specifics of some of the people on the ground and the good work that they do.

Following the homily, everyone recited the Nicene Creed, and then came the Intercession/Prayer of the Faithful, where for each petition recited by the lector, the parishoners respond with “Lord Hear Our Prayer”. Once completed, the collection took place, and then it was time for the next section of Catholic Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which has several specific parts:

• Presentation of gifts
• Preparation of the altar
• Prayer over the gifts
• Eucharistic prayer (preface dialog, Holy Holy, Memorial Acclimation, Doxology
• Communion rite (Lord’s Prayer, sign of peace, breaking of bread)
• Prayer after communion

Then everyone stood for the concluding rite, consisting of a blessing and the dismissal of the congregation, and the recessional.

My Thoughts: The Catholic Church has, in English speaking countries, switched to a new version of the Missal. this means that the standard spoken texts, both for the Priest and for the parishoners, has, for the first time since Vatican II, changed significantly. It was clear that the parishoners are still adjusting to the new version.

Proponents of the change point out that it is a closer translation to the Latin Mass; an often heard criticism of the new Missal is that it doesn’t flow, it uses rather obscure language, and it has lost much of the beauty of the Missal it replaced. I am a little bit familiar with the Vatican II Missal because both of my sons attended Catholic School, and I married into a Catholic family.

I attended the 7:30 am Mass, and St. James, the largest Church I’ve visited so far, looked pretty empty, despite having well over 100 parishoners attending the early Mass. I arrived early to pick up a packet containing an article about the history of the Parish that had been prepared for me by the Church secretary.

The purpose of the visiting priest was to make the parishoners aware of the charity he represented, Food for the Poor. Because most of the Priest’s homily was taken up talking about the worthiness of the charity,  there just wasn’t much meat in the homily. But the Catholic Church is known for its ceremony, and the interior of St. James is beautiful. If I had to make an analogy, I would say that this Mass was like sitting down to a table with a very beautiful place setting, but with no real meal to follow. I don’t believe that is a fair criticism of the Catholic faith, but merely my take on this particular Mass, which as I said, was focused to a great degree on fundraising for a particular charity.

Peoples Evangelical Congregational Church, Ashburnham, Massachusetts

March 4, 2012 (Sunday 10)
Peoples Evangelical Congregational Church
Pastor Dan Allen
56 South Main Street
Ashburnham, MA 01430
978.827.4010

Church History: This congregation was started by a small number of families in South Ashburnham  during the last decade of the nineteenth century. The original church, also on South Main Street, was replaced by the current structure circa 1960. The Congregation affiliated with the CCCC in 1968 or perhaps 1969. The sanctuary is architecturally typical of small twentieth-century New England Churches, and the varnished laminated beams that support both the walls and the sloped roof of the church is very typical of mid-century church construction in general.

Affiliation: Conservative Congregational Christian Conference  (43,000 members)

Sunday’s Service: After the congregation greeted each other and some announcements were read, the congregation was led in song, accompanied by piano. The three songs were examples of modern faith music. Continue reading →

All Saints Church, Peterborough, New Hampshire

February 26, 2012 (Sunday 9)
All Saints Church
Rev. Sarah Robbins-Cole (Associate Rector)
51 Concord Street
Peterborough, NH 03458-1510
603.924.3202

Church History: First organized as a mission in 1904, with meetings held by a small number of worshipers over Dwyers’ Drug Store on Main Street, All Saints became a parish in 1914.  New Hampshire born architect Ralph Adams Cram designed the Church building, which was modeled to some extent on St. Mary the Virgin Church in Iffley, Oxfordshire, England. a 12th century church built in the Romanesque style.

Mary Lyon Cheney Schofield was the sole benefactor of the Church, which has been called “one of the most satisfying works of one of America’s more important architects.” The Church’s stained glass windows were designed by Charles Connick. Service was first held in the newly completed building on August 8, 1920. The original organ was dedicated in 1921, and the bells were installed in 1923.

The Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1980.

Affiliation: The Episcopal Church (2.1 million  members)

Sunday’s Service: Preceding the service was music from the pipe organ. Episcopal services are divided up into two mains parts, The Word of the Lord and the Holy Communion. This Sunday’s service was given by Associate Rector Sarah Robbins-Cole Continue reading →

First Baptist Church of West Townsend, Massachusetts

February 19, 2012 (Sunday 8)
First Baptist Church of West Townsend
Rev. Kevin Patterson
461 Main Street
Townsend, MA 01474
978.597.2641

Church History: Originally constructed circa 1834, the First Baptist Church of West Townsend possesses a tower clock and bells that were cast in East Medway, Massachusetts (now Millis) by George Handel Holbrook, the son of Maj. George Holbrook. The tower clock and bells were installed at the time of construction.

Affiliation: Conservative Baptist Association of America (200,00 members)

Sunday’s Service: After a pair of services with denominations  (Quakers, Christian Scientists) that do not have a clergy, it was time to visit a more traditional service. This week I chose the First Baptist Church of West Townsend, in Townsend, Massachusetts. This church has two services each Sunday. The 9:30 service has a more modern flavor, featuring current worship music led by a band of musicians. I chose, quite by accident, to attend the 11:00 am service, which features more traditional hymns with piano accompaniment. Continue reading →

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Peterborough, New Hampshire

February 12, 2012 (Sunday 7)
First Church of Christ Scientist
26 Concord Street
Peterborough, NH  03458
603.924.7412

Church History: Formerly a residence belonging to the Goyette family, the structure was purchased by the First Church of Christ Scientist and converted to a church during the first half of the twentieth century. The Peterborough Church’s web site is here.

Affiliation: First Church of Christ, Scientist (85,000 members)

Sunday’s Service: This denomination has no clergy, although it does have practitioners and teachers. The church considers its pastor to be the Holy Bible in combination with the Mary Baker Eddy Book, “Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures”. The duties of presenting both the selected biblical passages and the accompanying readings from the Mary Baker Eddy text, “Science and Health”, rotates periodically among the members. The readings for each service during the course of the year are determined by church headquarters in Boston and published in a quarterly pamphlet that is distributed to the satellite churches. Continue reading →

Monadnock Quaker Meeting House, Jaffrey, New Hampshire

February 5, 2012 (Sunday 6)
Monadnock Quaker Meeting House
3 Davidson Road
Jaffrey, NH 03452
603.532.6203

Church History: Monadnock Meeting was founded in 1957 by Quakers from The Meeting School in Rindge, New Hampshire.
Before acquiring its current building, places where gatherings were held included the offices of a rehabilitation center in Peterborough, the Peterborough Library and the barn at the Meeting School in Rindge. The Jaffrey meeting house, formerly a private home, was purchased in 1993 and remodeled to accommodate the needs of Monadnock Quaker Meeting.

Affiliation: Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) (340,000 Members)

This week I stayed relatively close to home and chose to attend the Monadnock Quaker Meeting  in Jaffrey. Not surprisingly, when I took the Belief-O-Matic test over at beliefnet.com, the results indicated that my beliefs are most compatible with the Quakers. I have always been very impressed (and more than a little intimidated) by the strong commitment to social and moral issues that Quakers are known for. Continue reading →

First Parish Church, Ashby, MA

January 22, 2012 (Sunday 4)
First Parish Church
Rev. Eric Hausman
831 Main Street
Ashby, MA 01431
978.386.5660

Church History: The First Parish Church in Ashby was originally constructed as the Ashby Town hall in 1809, based on a pattern by influential American architect Asher Benjamin.   The structure still possesses its original siding, as well as its bell, which was cast by Paul Revere’s Bronze Works. The town of Ashby retains ownership of the clock, which is wound once a week by a town employee.

Affiliation: Unitarian Universalist (217,000 members)

The theological swing between the Cornerstone Church that I visited last week, and this week’s visit to the First Parish Church in Ashby, may well end up being the largest one-week theological swing I encounter this year. This marks the first time I’ve ever attended service at a Unitarian Universalist Church, although I have played at many open mikes that are hosted by area UU churches. Continue reading →

Cornerstone Church, Winchendon, MA

January 15, 2012 (Sunday 3)
Cornerstone Church
Pastor Barry Risto
122 Gardner Road
Winchendon, MA 01475
978.297.3125 

Church History: The church in Winchendon was established in 1981.  Until the present building was constructed in 1985, services were held at the United Parish Church in Winchendon. The Church was expanded in 1999 to meet the needs of a growing congregation.

Affiliation: Assemblies of God (64 million members)

For this week, I decided to visit a church representing a denomination with a more fundamentalist view of Christianity than the churches of the previous two weeks. The sanctuary at Cornerstone Church was unusual in its configuration, with the pulpit central along the long wall (the side of the room) rather than at one end. This resulted in fewer rows of seats, which brought everyone relatively close to the altar, but alas, many of the seats were placed at a severe angle to the front of the risers that defined the altar. Flags of many nations were displayed along the back wall, as well as posters of major geographical regions of the world. The “technology dais” for want of a better term, stretched across the back wall of the sanctuary, running sound as well as front of room and back of room powerpoint style slides that provided words for devotional songs and video presentations, etc. Continue reading →