Do you remember our book drive for More Than Words? We donated around 1,200 books to their cause. Now they are expanding! They were also recently featured in The Boston Globe. Click here to read the story.

​Hello friends,

One of the wonderful things about our interfaith Refugee Immigration Ministry (RIM) cluster is the opportunity to work with – and get to know – people from other faith traditions. We hope to have a series of events where each congregation opens its doors to guests from the other congregations. To that end, on Sunday June 4 at 5:30 PM, all are invited to attend Evensong at Grace Episcopal Church, 76 Eldredge St. in Newton.

A choral Evensong with a choir is one of the most beautiful services in the Episcopalian tradition, and this service will celebrate Pentecost Sunday:

"... suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."

Please come to Grace Church on Sunday June 4th at 5:30 PM for Choral Evensong. Ask Wendy or Eunice if you have any questions or if you need a ride. 

One last thought. Why, you might ask, were all of the disciples gathered along with people of many languages? The disciples and others were in Jerusalem, celebrating Shavuot  ("The Feast of Weeks"),  the Jewish holiday recognizing the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. We are all learning from each other.

~Wendy
On behalf of Compassion in Action

Have you seen the announcement about our weekly Sunday study of Shared Stories, Rival Tellings by Robert C. Gregg in the church bulletin, or read about it in our Friday email? Maybe you are learning about it for the first time by reading this post. Well, read about what the group has been up to over the last couple weeks, then come participate yourself Sunday mornings at 9:00 am in the Everts Room downstairs at our church.

Two weeks ago they looked at the the evolution of the story of Sarah and Hagar from early Christian perspectives. The Apostle Paul radically reimagines the story in his letter to Gentile Christians in the churches of Galatia. Trying to contrast the Jerusalem of the early 50’s CE with the heavenly Jerusalem of which he dreamed, Paul turns Hagar, who had been a slave to Abraham and Sarah, as a representative of Judaism, which he viewed as enslaved to the Law of the Torah, even though Hagar was not viewed as a recipient of God’s covenant to the Jews in Genesis. On the other hand, Paul portrays Sarah, whose progeny were recipients of the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis, as free of the Law and associated with the heavenly Jerusalem which the Christians were to inherit. This reinterpretation of the story would have been highly offensive to contemporary Jews.
 
Five to seven years later, when Paul was writing to congregations in Rome that contained both Jewish and Gentile members, he softens his interpretation of the story to make it more palatable to Jewish readers. He does this by making a distinction between the covenant between God and Moses, which calls for adherence to the Law, and the promise made by God to Abraham before the Law had been handed down to Moses. According to Paul, Abraham’s circumcision was a seal of the righteousness that Abraham had acquired by faith in God while he was still uncircumcised. So to Paul, the key to righteousness was not adherence to the Law or participation in the act of circumcision, but the faith one has in Jesus Christ.
 
Last week they followed this up by examining 3rd century Christian theologian Origen’s homily entitled “On the birth of Isaac and the fact that he is weaned.” The translation used is not a direct translation from Origen’s Greek original into English. It is an English translation of a Latin translation by Tyrannius Rufinus of Origen’s Greek original. Tyrannius Rufinus (also known as Rufinus of Aquileia) was a Christian monk and theologian who was born 155 years after Origen. “Translation” is actually too strong a term; the homilies, as recorded in Latin by Rufinus, are only paraphrases of the original homilies. One scholar has charged that “Rufinus sometimes misreads the Greek text because of the haste with which he works and his insufficient mastery of the Greek language, and... he makes additions and alterations in areas of both theology and rhetoric.” But Rufinus was not trying to highjack Origen’s analysis. To the contrary, he was a great admirer and defender of Origen during a time when many believed Origen to be a heretic. Rufinus believed that many of Origen’s writings had been altered by his opponents (Origen himself had complained about this during his lifetime), and was just trying to recapture Origin’s original intent. (Origen was allegedly declared a heretic at the Second Council of Constantinople, but many scholars dispute this.  He is still considered one the Fathers of the early Church, but was never made a saint.)
 
Does this sound interesting? Come learn more and take part in the ensuing conversations by being here at First Baptist Church in Newton (848 Beacon St. in Newton Centre) Sundays at 9:00 am. Then, if you wish, stay and join us for worship every Sunday at 10:00 am.

Hello First Baptist Friends,

Thank you for your generosity and support as we work to assist Massachusetts based asylum seekers to settle in and integrate into our communities. We have an update on our families, our fundraising and volunteer opportunities, and a call for hosting one of our clients.

We're delighted to announce that our Easter - Passover fundraising efforts exceeded our goal of $30,000. We are at $32,000 at last count, and are aware of more donations on the way. This has allowed us to support two clients, I. and her baby daughter from Cameroon, and R. and her toddler daughter from Uganda.

I. is a high school math teacher, fluent in French with good English skills. We are working with her to improve her knowledge of math terminology in English, and to get work authorization. She is very much looking forward to working and becoming self supporting. Stay tuned, as we may be asking for volunteer babysitters who could commit to an afternoon or morning per week this summer in Brookline.

We are happy to say that R. and her daughter have have found a suitable long-term housing arrangement in Worcester. During the short time they were "in our care" we were able to help them reach several milestones, including getting their first library card, clarifying their career path towards nursing, and, of course, finding long-term housing. We’ll miss R. and we wish her great success as she continues her journey. However this does allow us to help another client.

Our cluster is now actively working with Refugee Immigration Ministry (RIM) to identify another family to support. A likely candidate is a young woman from South America, with a three year old, pregnant with her second child. She speaks Spanish, and very little English. If this works out, we’ll be putting out a call for Spanish speaking volunteers to help us with communication. We’ve discovered that the list of candidates is very fluid as the clients we hear about from RIM sometimes find placements with other clusters or agencies while we are considering them.

Finally, given the success of our fund-raising campaign and the enthusiasm of our volunteers, we hope to add support for a third client. To do so, we'd like to find people who are willing to host an individual or family in their home for up to 6 months. RIM has safeguards in place for the host family and for the client beyond the basic requirements for RIM sponsorship (e.g. must have had their case accepted by a lawyer, passed a medical exam, etc.).

If you think you might be interested in hosting someone for up to six months, let us know and we can talk about what is involved in greater detail.

Gratefully,
Wendy on behalf of Compassion in Action Ministry

We have been deeply blessed by the contributions of Samson Mengsteab for more than 3 years. Samson's contributions have given each Sunday a special heart and each Christmas and Easter service a special sparkle.  

This past Sunday was Samson's last Sunday with us in his current role. He is looking forward to pursuing new opportunities, but will continue to join us periodically to play piano/keyboards. We celebrated him during Sunday's service and presented him with a gift from the church. It was a wonderful time of fellowship as so many people stayed after worship for laughter and conversation.

Moving forward, I am delighted that Christian Saint Louis will be taking on Samson's responsibilities. Christian is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and an established musician, arranger, and musical director in the Boston area.  Christian will not play the organ, as Samson did, and we will fill this role as needed while we search for a more permanent person who can also reignite a choir. Our former Music Director and dear friend Rachel Kurihara will join us Sunday, May 7 and Sunday, June 4 to celebrate communion in the Sanctuary with our treasured pipe organ.

Thank you to Samson, and thank you to everyone who will continue to contribute to our time together.

Warmly,
Sean
​Senior Minister

​“On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.’” Isaiah 19:23-25.
 
Lawrence Wills, Professor of Biblical Studies, spoke at Episcopal Divinity School’s chapel on this fascinating scripture. “At a time when our nation is resounding with calls for exclusivity and for the correct theology, I’m struck,” Wills said, “by the variety of theologies, in this chapel and everywhere I look.” He went on to add, “What I suspect is that the variety of theologies is all around us, but the sameness also.”
 
A few years ago the Bible Gateway webpage listed the 100 most inquired-after passages from the Bible. Interestingly, a big number of those scriptures did not delve into dense theological doctrines. Rather, they were scriptures that drew from a common well of wisdom that helped people to get through their days. They included “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God” and “I can do everything through God who gives me strength.” When Wills mentioned this in his sermon, I took it as a timely word that can encourage us as we initiate and participate in the just one hour, just one scripture small group initiative.
 
All of us are bound by a commonality: we get through life, one day at a time. Often, we need a deeper and higher power to help us get through the day. just one hour, just one scripture serves as a platform to know one another and God in our life journeys. In doing so, the hope is that we recognize our differences and our sameness as we strive to build a community of love, neighborliness, and a sense of wonder that we at First Baptist Church call Wide Eyed Christianity. Spend just one hour in your week, listen, speak as you please, and embrace a sense of wonder and appreciation for life. Come and see. Let’s build community together.
 
~John Boopalan
Director of Community Life
​Theologian in Residence

Palm Sunday - April 9
Holy Week will begin at First Baptist Church in Newton with a Palm Sunday service this Sunday, April 9, at 10:00 am. We will gather in the Chapel.

Maundy Thursday - April 13
​On Thursday, April 13, we will be observing Maundy Thursday in the Chapel with an intimate service including communion at 7:00 pm. We also invite you to join us before then at 6:00 pm for a soup and bread supper in Fellowship Hall. This is a wonderful time to gather together in reflection just as Jesus and his disciples did.

If you wish to contribute soup, bread, or something else (maybe drinks) please email John Boopalan (john@fbcnewton.org) or sign up at http://tiny.cc/lrc59x

Easter Sunday - April 16
Easter Sunday Worship will take place in the Sanctuary at 10:00 am on April 16. We will partake in communion together as we celebrate Christ's resurrection

Once worship concludes, you are invited to stay as children take part in an egg hunt around the church grounds.

You can still place an order for Easter blooms. The flowers will decorate the Sanctuary for Easter, then you are welcome to take your plant home or donate it to spread cheer to those in need. Submit your orders to Doug Shepard: dshep71@verizon.net

If you have any further questions about any of these dates, please contact us at info@fbcnewton.org

It’s Not a Typo

There is an intentional ambiguity embedded in the expression GODISNOWHERE. There are (at least) two ways of reading it. “God is now here” refers to the familiar concept found in Christianity - God’s omnipresence. God is near, close, even everywhere.

“God is nowhere” can be said to refer to the experience of God’s absence. A less familiar concept, but nonetheless as central to Christianity as God’s “immanence”. Jesus’ cry on the Cross, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” points to this ambiguity.

We cannot, in fact, experience the presence of God without also experiencing God’s absence.

To take this a step further, the expression functions as a critique of a kind of dualistic thinking which separates people into "us" and "them", theists and atheists. Both theists and atheists affirm and reject particular notions or concepts about "God". Early Christians, in fact, were considered "atheists" for their rejection of Roman gods (Justin Martyr). Theists and atheists may have more in common than is immediately obvious. Gods come in all shapes and sizes. Just read (or soon watch) Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

Nonetheless, the comments continue: yet another silly church sign gone wrong. Some are offended and wish it were removed and others dismiss it as simple minded carelessness.
One news outlet (ABC affiliate) reported knowing the church ("in Newtown") did not “intend” for it to read the way it does. I'm not sure how they discovered our intentions.

It’s not a typo .
(say it again with your best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice).

Is God now here?
Is God nowhere?

Well…yes, but how? In what way?

It’s not all good nor is it all bad.

“Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Hamlet