Life of the Church
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
University Sunday
Faculty Receptions | 10:00 AM
SUN SEP 20, 10:00 AM. Park Street Church academics (faculty, adjuncts, post docs, visiting scholars) are invited to a Zoom Reception. We will get acquainted, hear about upcoming events and resources for faculty, and have a short devo time. Email Bill Hager with questions!
College Worshipping Community | 11:00 AM & 4:00 PM
Come gather with fellow undergraduates as we discuss church and college life amid COVID-19. Every Sunday, we will have two virtual worship communities that stream the 11:00 AM (traditional) and 4:00 PM (contemporary) services before a time of fellowship, reflection, and prayer. We hope to grow together in wisdom as we develop a deeper understanding of who God is on an intellectual and personal level. Students of all spiritual backgrounds are welcome!
College Receptions | 12:20 PM & 5:20 PM
Please join our zoom receptions today for undergrad students at 12:20 PM and 5:20 PM. Email Richard with questions!
Grad Student Receptions | 12:20 & 5:20 PM
Park Street partners with InterVarsity to do grad ministry on campuses around Boston. We will have a zoom reception today after the 11:00 AM and after the 4:00 PM service. Please join us and meet other grad students (and get a $10 Starbucks gift card to help you study!). Email Tim Leary with questions!
International Student Receptions | 1:00 PM
Join our international ministry for a reception today after the 11:00 AM service. Email Raymond Kam with questions!
College Socials
The College Gathering will be hosting socials once or twice a month throughout the semester, featuring games, movies and more with students from a range of colleges. These will mostly be virtual, with a few in-person socials if safe and feasible to do so.
Contact Richard for details on how to join us!
Announcements
Welcome Damian Long!
Hi, I’m Damian Long and will be working with the Cafe Young Adults Ministry this year. My wife, Grace, and our three kids (Moses, Gloryann, and Tesla) just moved back from Central Asia where we’ve been leading a sports ministry for the last ten years. Having been sent and received by this body, we are so grateful for the opportunity to continue our missional calling in this new context.
Fall Ministry Orientation
In the past several years, every second Sunday of September Park Street Church has had a celebratory “Kickoff Sunday.” This year, instead of a bevy of chrysanthemums decorating tables around the Welcome Center, each of our ministers has a greeting for you to scroll through on our Fall Ministry Orientation page. Please enjoy walking through our virtual fair, and share the page with those you may know who are looking for a church community!
Fall Faith & Practice Classes
Faith & Practice Classes are short-term opportunities to enter into interaction, discussion, and accountability with others who attend Park Street Church focusing together on an area of study and life application in order to foster spiritual growth. Each group will meet virtually led by staff and elders of the church. Content will be presented in different formats depending on the group varying between reading, video and/or podcast assignments, power point presentations, scripture study, and guest presenters. Significant time will be given to discussion and application as well as prayer. Faith & Practice Classes will meet for a unique number of gatherings based on content and direction.
Job Opening: Part-time Ministries Assistant
The Ministries Administrative Assistant (MAA) will serve as the primary administrative support for the Senior Minister and other ministers as needed and as time allows. This is a part-time (20 hrs/wk) position.
Job Openings: Park Street School
Exemplifying a Christian worldview, Park Street School offers a continuous, integrated, Christian-based learning environment to students from toddler to grade six.
We are seeking to fill the following positions for the 2020-21 school year:
- Associate Elementary Teacher to support Remote Learners
- Substitute Teachers
- Elementary Science Teacher
Please email [email protected] for complete job descriptions and application instructions.
Community
English as a Second Language classes beginning soon!
SEP 22–DEC 11, 2020. Park Street’s FOCUS ESL program is gearing up for fall term! Classes and other student activities will begin on Tuesday, September 22 and will run through Friday, December 11. This fall we are offering our usual classes and activities such as Conversational English and Professional Communications Workshop to name only a couple, plus some new ones—American Culture and Conversation, Hope for Today, and Language Partners. If you are interested in teaching and/or if you know anyone who might be, please email Karen Patschke, Park Street’s ESL Coordinator. We are especially in need of language partners, as many of our students are requesting one-on-one learning.
Please consider sharing the class descriptions and registration form with your international friends. We offer English learning opportunities for all levels—from beginning to advanced!
Given the uncertainty of COVID-19, we are planning to hold all classes and activities virtually, via Zoom this fall. Note: Registration is required for all classes and activities.
East Boston Food Pantry Volunteers Needed
Central Assembly of God Church in East Boston, one of Park Street’s City Engagement partners, is in urgent need of volunteers for their food pantry. Since the start of the pandemic, Park Streeters have been serving alongside this church to help them in caring for their community. Many of the church’s own volunteers have gone back to school, so their “workforce” has decreased. In addition, there is a growing number of people in the community who need their assistance.
Regular needs:
- Every other Thursday morning pick up and unload cases of food from Voice of the Gospel Church in Mattapan to Central Assembly of God Church in East Boston. A van or SUV is needed for this. Heavy lifting is required.
- Occasional single donor pickups/drop-offs.
- Mondays and Thursdays, 8:00–9:30 AM, bag food and clean up.
Spanish speakers especially needed to help with registration and handing out food. Questions? Contact Rich Spinelli.
First Friday Prayer is now Weekly
First Friday prayer meetings are now weekly!
1st & 3rd Fridays, 7:00–8:30 PM
2nd & 4th Sundays, 7:00–8:30 PM
Human Flourishing at MIT
SAT OCT 10, 4:00-6:00 PM. The Boston Fellows Program invites you to their October Teaching Saturday, Human Flourishing at MIT, a virtual summit presented by The Octet Collaborative, a new study center serving MIT, and co-sponsored by The Veritas Forum.
What does it mean to flourish? How can the resources of Christian faith and practice contribute to human flourishing around the world? Join faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the MIT community to discover and share perspectives and wisdom with plenary speakers Andy Crouch, Roz Picard, and others.
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Andy Crouch |
Roz Picard |
This event is open to the public.
In-Person Worship Services
We have begun opening our doors for an in-person worship service on Sundays at 8:30 AM. The sermon for all three services will be the same, but the 8:30 liturgy will be unique; we are drawing on historic church traditions in order to invite more congregational participation, while also limiting the service to approximately 60 minutes. Music from the organ (and instruments) will be a part of the service. The 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM live-streamed worship services will continue in their current format.
Attendees must pre-register. Those fully registered should plan to arrive between 7:30 and 7:45 AM.
Please note: If statistics in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts worsen in our continuing battle against the coronavirus, we will need to revise this decision. However, at this time we believe these are small steps forward to opening up our meetinghouse and worshiping together in-person.
If you have any trouble registering, please email [email protected] and we will help you.
John Collins Warren: Man of Science, Faith, and Influence (Good Neighbor Series)
WED OCT 14, 4:00 PM via Zoom
Hear the story of a man whose legacy contributed importantly to Boston as a global leader in healthcare and biomedical science.
Dr. John Collins Warren, leading 19th-century figure in Boston, was the physician and scientist who co-founded the Massachusetts General Hospital and introduced ether anesthesia to the world. He lived at Two Park Street from 1805 till his death in 1856. Underlying his fervor for science and medicine was a robust faith that made him an intellectual and energetic force for influence on the landscape of Boston’s medical community and eventual prominence as a global leader for health.
Motherhood Unfiltered
Begins SEP 24 at 8:30 PM.
Come as you are, lay down your burdens, and be revived.
Motherhood Unfiltered is an online support group for moms in all stages of parenting. The hope for this group is to be a safe space where we can be real about the difficulty of parenting. We will talk with one another, pray for one another, and prayerfully be revived for another week of motherhood.
You must have a Realm account to join this group. Need an account? Email us! We will get you set up right away.
New England Prayer Gatherings for Global Missions
OCT 4, NOV 1, DEC 6: 7:30 PM
God has placed us here on this earth for such a time as this. We live in a world that is full of turmoil, division, and disease. Through prayer, we get to gather and pray that God’s Kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. We will pray for God to bring peace, unity, hope, and salvation in situations and places that are currently not experiencing those things. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
We invite you to join us on the first Sunday night in October, November, and December from 7:30 to 8:30 PM to pray for God to move powerfully in our region, our churches, our nation, and in the nations of the world. Register HERE for the OCT 4 prayer gathering. If you have any questions, please feel free to send us an email at [email protected].
Details about these and other events can be found on the events page!
Prayer & Praise
Pray for the Congregation
- “We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds” (Psa. 75:1);
- Worry less, trust more (Mt. 6:31-33);
- Pray and ask God who gives generously (Jas. 1:5);
- Reflect to others the true Light of Christ (Jn. 1:8).
Pray for the People
- For our Global Missionaries, each in their own context: wise, secure and creative use of technology for their ministries this fall;
- For our Elders: heavenly wisdom, grace and unity as they continue to discuss our worship together;
- For our Deacons: enduring joy in the care and encouragement of vulnerable members of our community;
- For our Staff: that God continues to watch over, provide, guide and sustain the many ministries;
- For those suffering illness: comfort on the sickbed, ease in suffering, and healing from God;
- Protection from harm and fulfillment of God’s purposes for students, faculty and staff of universities and colleges across greater Boston;
- Safety for firefighters and first responders battling west coast fires, peace for those who are frightened, and God’s comfort to those who are grieving;
- Encouragement and help for those seeking employment to work that meet needs.
Pray for Grace
- To halt the spread of COVID-19 on college and university campuses;
- To guard personal time with Bible amidst demands of study;
- To discern God’s direction in selecting majors, internships and relationships.