HOLY WEEK

AT 

THE HILLS CHURCH

After years spent considering the mystery of Easter, Dietrich Bonhoeffer proposed that we consider the events of Holy Week “God’s new commandment.” “This,” he wrote, “is God’s new commandment, that we should look at him in Holy Week: how in death he creates life, how on the cross he creates resurrection.”

The week that leads us to the resurrection is full of despair, celebration, mystery, and the greatest joy known to humanity. In order for us to experience the height of Easter exultation, it is essential that we plumb the depths of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. For it is in death that God creates life and through the cross that God creates resurrection.

On Sunday, March 28th, at 10:00 a.m. we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and wrestle with the implications of his death at our Palm and Passion Sunday service. Come wave a palm, sing hosannas, and listen with all your heart as the story of Holy Week is read.

On Maundy Thursday, April 1st, at 8:00 at we will honor the Last Supper and the mystery of the cross with a service of Eucharist and Tennebrae in the Sanctuary. This is one of the most intense and powerful worship services of the year. Each year, more and more church members change their schedules in order to attend.
On Good Friday, April 2nd, we continue to contemplate the difficult wonder of the cross with an Easter Vigil from 12:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon in the Sanctuary. From 12:00 to 1:00, we worship together. From 1:00 to 2:45, the church is open to those who would like to sit in silent prayer and meditation for all or part of that time. At 2:45, we meet again for a brief closing service.

Our Easter Sunday will be full of joy and celebration! Indeed, more than any other Sunday, Easter lifts up the heart and the meaning of the Christian life.

We will celebrate Christ’s resurrection with two wonderful worship services. Our first service is at 9:00 a.m. and features soaring trumpets, an uplifting sermon, and moving, beautiful hymns and anthems. Bring a friend to Easter worship! Our second service will be held at 11:00 a.m. and features all of these same elements as well as a joyful celebration of the Eucharist. Childcare will be available at both services.

I simply cannot wait to join all of you as we celebrate our Holy Week together. Along with Bonnie, Jim, Pash, John, and Lauren, I sincerely hope that you will join our church family for the most important and exhilarating week of the year.

With great gladness, Matt

 

Day by Day Weekly Prayer

Assist me mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our salvation, that I may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts in Holy Week, whereby you have given us life, joy and immortality through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

—From the Book of Common Prayer

2010 LENTEN SMALL GROUPS SCHEDULE

Sunday: 
9:00 a.m. 3rd-floor Youth Rm (Middle/High School)
9:00 a.m. Reception Room (Karl Baumann)
7:00 p.m. 3rd-floor Youth Rm (Bruce Dishman)
7:30 p.m. Hoffmanns’ (Lesley Peebles/Kelly Ford)

Thursday:
9:00 a.m. Boardroom (Mary Hill Canavan)
7:15 p.m. Boardroom (Carolyn Sheild/Bill Spencer)

HILLS CHURCH 

FAMILY BREAKFAST & EASTER EGG HUNT 

Join us on Saturday, April 3rd, at 9:00 a.m. for breakfast and “Barn Babies” (petting zoo), an Easter egg hunt, an appearance by the Easter Bunny, crafts...and prizes!

Please RSVP to egghunt@hillschurch.org by Tuesday, March 30th, with number of kids and adults, so we can provide ample food and prizes.

AND HOP ON OVER...!

Parish Register

†    The family of Dana Mathews, on the death of his father Herb on March 19th. 
†    Nancy Gillett, recovering from heart surgery at home. 
†    Deb Thornton, recovering from surgery at home. 
†    The Frey and McCartney families on the death of Beryl Frey, Saturday, March 13th. 
†    Jodi Baier, whose sister Carole Hull, died on Sunday, March 14th.
†    Ann Ingram, recovering from surgery. 
†    Bill White, recovering at Whitney Place from a fall. 
†    Gifford Stowell, father of Chris Stowell, recently diagnosed with cancer. 
†    Mary Stewart, recovering at North Hill. 
†    Parker Stiles, recovering at home from a recent accident. 
†    Marjorie Steacie. 
†    Bill Spencer’s sister, Martha

JOIN THE HILLS CHURCH SERVICE TEAM! 

The Outreach Committee is focusing its efforts in 2010 on expanding the number and types of service opportunities available to members, and making it easy to match volunteers with service projects. Each individual has unique skills, interests and availability, so we are striving to make sure that in the range of service opportunities offered each year, there will be something for everyone. In addition, we’ve heard that members don’t know how to get involved in service, and project sponsors have struggled to find members interested in helping out. Through better communication and use of the scheduling capability via the church’s own website, we aim to make this process more effective.

Activities in support of these goals will be introduced throughout the year, and we are starting now with an invitation from the Outreach Committee to join the Hills Church Service Team! As a “member”, you will be:

• Signifying your commitment to participate in service activities sponsored by the Hills Church throughout the year
• Helping to identify types of service that are of interest to individuals and families in our church,
• Simplifying the process of matching enthusiastic volunteers to service opportunities.

On Easter Sunday, Service Team “pledge cards” will be available in the pews. Please use the card to let us know the types of service opportunities you are interested in, and state your commitment to participating in service activities through the Hills Church. The cards will be collected with the morning offering.

Our faith calls us to help those in need. Through the Hills Church Service Team and other activities, the Outreach Committee hopes to help our church build upon our strong history of generosity and service to our neighbors, near and far.

—John Worrall, Outreach Committee Chair

JOHN FINNEY’S 25th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

On Sunday afternoon, March 14th, nearly 200 friends and admirers gathered in the Assembly Room to celebrate John Finney’s first 25 years as Director of Music at the Hills Church. The appreciation we all feel for his ministry was palpable as the beautifully decorated space buzzed with conversation and carried the aroma of good food and the spirit of good fun. At this occasion, John was presented with an official Certificate of Appreciation from the United Church of Christ; a personalized, leather- bound copy of Hymns of Truth & Light; and the Easter Anthem, Alleluia, Heart and Voice to Heaven Raise, commissioned by the church in John’s honor, and written by Joel Martinson. A new chime was given in his honor, as well as a monetary award, and a memory book containing over 75 entries and pictures. Matt Fitzgerald and Craig Adams both spoke, as did Nancy Simons, on behalf of the choir, who reminded John that the party was not a “retirement” party! The afternoon closed with the choir’s own rendition of a Broadway favorite with words re-written. Those of us who were able to attend agreed that it was wonderful to have the chance to thank John for his musical leadership and warm friendship. For those not able to attend, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy. And, please, it is not too late to add to John’s memory book!

—The Music Committee

Thank you

Dear Friends, My deepest and most heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful celebration in honor of my 25th anniversary as Director of Music at the Hills Church! Such a well-orchestrated celebration must have required months of careful planning, and I hope I can adequately express my thanks to everyone who took part in it.

The party on March 14th was one of the happiest events of my life. I felt truly blessed to be surrounded by so many of the amazing people I have been fortunate to know during my (first) quarter-century at the Hills Church. The decorations were elegant, and the food was superb - including the beautiful cake which the Chancel Choir and I enjoyed again on Wednesday night! The speeches by Diana Strange, Matt Fitzgerald, Nancy Simons, and Craig Adams filled my soul with joy and gratitude.

The gifts I received were out of this world. The digital picture key chain will allow me to keep pictures of my beloved Hills Church close by wherever I go. The exquisitely bound copy of “Hymns of Truth & Light” is gorgeous (and its large-print is a welcome sight for my 54-year-old eyes!). The sonorous chime from the Bell Choir will always strike a special chord in me when I hear its deep and resonant tone. The generous check will allow me to travel to Paris this fall (where Jim Christie, our former Director of Music, will be spending his sabbatical).

The choir’s presentation of “Hooray for John Finney...” (complete with kick- line!) may go down in history as my all-time favorite performance!

The commissioning of a newly-composed anthem by Joel Martinson is a gift that will bring joy and splendor to our Easter services this year. The anthem itself is such a fine piece of music that it will surely enhance Easter services in countless other churches for years to come, after it is published later this year.

The beautifully-crafted Memory Book is something I will hold near and dear to my heart for the rest of my life. The letters it contains are of all sorts: uplifting, poignant, heart-warming. And the pictures are worth thousands of words. I’m planning to have the Memory Book at the church for the next few weeks so that you can see for yourself what a treasure it is.

As I tried to say at the party on March 14th, I feel “immersed in joy” whenever I am at the Hills Church. My work here has been one of the greatest joys of my life for 25 years, and I trust it will continue to be so for many years to come.
Thank you for being the Hills Church!

With deepest gratitude, 

John Finney, Director of Music

All women of the church are invited to...

Hills Church Women’s Retreat “Spirituality in the Home” 

When:   Saturday, March 27th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Who:    All women of the Hills Church are invited. Retreat leaders are Rev. Bonnie Scott Jelinek and Seminarian Lauren Lorincz
 
What:   Group fellowship and discussion; Private meditation

Where:  Home of Rev. Bonnie Jelinek, 11 Brookfield Road, Wellesley

Cost:      $10 contribution for lunch (payable at the retreat)

Sign Up: Email carol.mills@db.com

Questions:
Bonnie Jelinek (bsjel@usa.net)
Lauren Lorincz (Lauren.lorincz@gmail.com)
Donna Conlin (donna.conlin@bose.com)
Carol Mills (carol.mills@db.com, home 781-239-0520)

Wear comfortable, informal clothing. Lunch and beverages will be provided.

Optional: bring knitting, journal or sketchpad
Optional: share with the group - a morning snack or afternoon dessert

Directions to 11 Brookfield Road in Wellesley:
From the church parking lot, take Route 9 west, turn off on Weston Road, right onto Pilgrim Road, right onto Brookfield Road. 781-589-6400.

YOUTH NEWS AND EVENTS

SUNDAY, MARCH 28th
9:00 a.m. Last Middle School Lenten Small Group 3rd-floor Youth Room (with snacks from Quebrada)

SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 9:00 a.m. Middle School students are invited to help lead the Family Breakfast & Easter Egg Hunt. Come hide eggs for the younger kids, lead games, and have fun while serving others.

THIS SUNDAY Youth groups and Confirmation meet at their regular times. 4:00 p.m. “6:8” (Jr. Fellowship) 5:30 p.m. Confirmation 7:00 p.m. Sr. Fellowship

HOLY WEEK 2010 AT THE HILLS CHURCH

On Sunday, March 28th, at 10:00 a.m., we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and wrestle with the implications of his death at our Palm and Passion Sunday service.

On Maundy Thursday, April 1st, at 8:00 p.m., we will honor the Last Supper and the mystery of the cross with a service of Eucharist and Tennebrae in the Sanctuary, one of the most intense and powerful worship services of the year.

On Good Friday, April 2nd, we continue to contemplate the difficult wonder of the cross with an Easter Vigil from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. From 12:00-1:00, we worship together. From 1:00 to 2:45, the church is open to those who would like to sit in silence for all or part of that time. At 2:45, we will meet again for a brief closing service.

On Easter Sunday, April 4th, we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection with two wonderful worship services. Our first service, at 9:00 a.m., features an uplifting inspirational sermon, beautiful and moving hymns and anthems. Bring a friend to Easter worship! Our second service, at 11:00 a.m., features all of these same elements as well as a joyful celebration of the Eucharist. Childcare will be available at both services.