Old North Church has a new logo! Thanks to Jennifer Tips for her creative work, and to all the ONC church members who voted and provided feedback on the draft logo designs.

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Capital Campaign Projects Update - As you can see, the construction scaffolding is now up in the center section of the granite facade of the church, reaching up to the top of the bell tower where we mounted the traditional “topping up” flag. The next step, which will start next week, is to extend the scaffold to the sides of the front wall, and then begin re-pointing it over about a month. The renovation of the Bell Tower will follow, beginning in June.

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Much of this remaining construction work is on the exterior, so speed and completion will be dictated in part by how many rainy days there are this spring and summer. We are confident that these final two Capital Campaign projects will be completed by the end of August when services return from the Lighthouse.

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Church Members Lead Informational Session about Town Meeting – THIS SUNDAY 11:30 in the Sanctuary Marblehead is facing a critical budget decision: a Proposition 2½ general override on the upcoming Town Meeting ballot that would address a $7.7 million structural deficit driven by rising costs for schools, public safety, and town services that have outpaced the state's 2.5% tax revenue cap for years. Select Board member Erin Noonan will join church members Adam Smith and Dave Weber to walk through what the override means, how the tiered options work, and what happens to our schools and services if it doesn't pass. Join us for this informational session to get the facts you need before Town Meeting on May 4 and the ballot vote on June 9.

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Earth Day Celebration THIS SUNDAY—The Green Team will be hosting coffee hour following the 10:00 AM service. In addition to coffee and treats, we will have a table dedicated to answering your questions about recycling and composting. We will also provide sign-up sheets for volunteers interested in tending the Village School Organic Garden, to grow, harvest and deliver vegetables for the Marblehead Food Pantry and sign-ups to volunteer for a morning of planting native trees and shrubs on the Marblehead Conservancy property at Robinson Farm. Additionally, we will have a collection box available for donations of old eyeglasses, hearing aids, printer cartridges, and cell phones. These will all go to great causes. Donors should remove all personal information from their cell phones before donating. We hope you will join us.

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Life and Living Course Continues THIS SUNDAY: “Trust”

Last month our discussion of ‘Hope’ led to the topic ‘Trust’, which will be our focus on April 26. Trust can be defined as the belief or “supposition” that most people are reliable, honest, and will follow shared moral rules. The bedrock of social life is trusting each other –it makes social life possible. Ongoing research has shown that “ . . .we are afflicted with lessening social connectedness or ‘Social Capital’, and this trend, is strongly correlated with declining social trust”. Have we become more socially isolated?

 

It remains a relevant question to ask in our world that offers abundant social internet connectivity.

• Trust evolved for survival, helping human beings build strong societal bonds.

• Trust fuels society, shaping governance, trade, and economic systems.

 

Trust connects everything – our friendships, families, communities, and even how we run businesses, or build nations. Think of trust as something we’re taught by society, but it runs deeper than that. Trust is part of our wiring. It’s built through thousands of years of evolution.

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As always, we gather in person in the Great Room of Old North Church’s Stacey Street Office, from 11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., or on-line via the Zoom link below. If you would like to join the discussion and are not on the mailing-list, email: elsewiersma@comcast.net or contact the church office (781-631-1244), or email: office@onchurch.org. Future dates: May 31, and June 28.

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