It is ALWAYS wonderful to re-gather in September as a church community!

The stories of everyone’s summer adventures (and, yes, challenges) are enriching as we catch up with our friends here at First Congregational.  Plus, “How was your summer?” is a great question to ask of a new person to make them feel welcomed and included.

The summer is always shorter than we think it will be, isn’t it?  It is no surprise, then, that the challenges the world is facing this fall are largely the same as they were last spring.  The difference is summed up in one word:  Community.

Even though the power of community is what defines us as a society, it is one of those things that seems to be slipping away with each new generation.  Blame it on politics, blame it on new technologies, blame it on over-scheduling ourselves but the reality is that we don’t value community like we once did.  We have always treasured individualism, but individualism has given way to isolation; something that has caused us to lose sight of the common good.    

If you think about it, nearly every social ill we face can be traced back to a lack of community.  That, in turn, elicits a dwindling sense of the common good.  In the end, without community and without an abiding sense of the common good, who are we?  How can we be anything other than adrift?

That is why Welcome Back Sunday and this fresh, new program year are so important!  For 175 years our church has been a source of community building in Melrose and beyond.  This year, we will be looking at that rich legacy in order to build excitement about what lies ahead for us as a church community.  

I hope you will make Sunday morning worship part of your weekly habit starting this weekend as we rediscover the power of community.  A great year lies ahead as together we share, learn, grow, and minister to one another and the wider community with renewed energy and commitment!

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic