From the Minister

I love that New England churches take a break in the summer. We stop our ordinary schedule to enjoy nature, to spend time with our relatives and to take a break from the ongoing hectic pace of our lives.

Very few of us though are actually able to stop our entire lives to enjoy the summer. Most people continue working and it is only our schools and churches that take this break. Families must wrestle schedules of camp and childcare in the summertime to find enough activities for children while teachers (and ministers) hopefully have the time to regroup and nourish themselves for the months ahead.

When I was young, August would roll around and I would start marking my calendar expectantly for the first day of school. I was itching to see my friends, excited by the possibility of learning something new and beginning again.

Just before school would start my mother would always take me out to get new school clothes and new pencils and pens and notebooks and crayons. The preparation for the new school year was always an important part of making a fresh start.

Preparations for new beginnings are still important top me so my summer has been spent, cleaning up and preparing things for our new church year in Dedham. In fact in an attempt to orient me, many of the church committees have met over the summer working tirelessly to prepare for the fresh start of the new church year.

It is my hope that if you are reading this, you too are marking your calendar and preparing for the fresh start that comes in a new church year. There are countless opportunities for you to lend your support to this new beginning.

• If you are excited about the possibility of welcoming new members to our parish we need greeters to meet with guests after worship each week in order to offer a bit of our history and escort visitors to coffee hour.

• If you are excited about the idea of offering new and innovative energy to our parish as a whole and to the community in and around Dedham we need your ideas and energy to plan outreach activities and Adult Religious Education.

• If you are excited by children and youth at the First Church Dedham Children’s Religious Education would benefit from your input and support.

As Plato pointed out: “The beginning is the chiefest part of any work”. I look forward to planning this new beginning with all of you and finding out where it will lead us.

If you have ideas and or energy to share feel free to email me at: rweaver@dedhamuu.org or by phone at the church (781) 326 7463 or at home (781) 381- 0107.

Office hours will be 10 – 1 Monday through Thursday and Wednesdays 12- 6 or anytime by appointment.