On Tuesday, October 22^nd @ 9:30 AM our Women’s Fellowship will be hosting the Fall meeting of the Pilgrim District Women. This group consists of women from 34 UCC churches in Southeastern Mass. whose purpose is to help women better understand and participate in the life and work of the whole church through fellowship, worship, study and action. We will begin with a welcoming coffee, followed by a special worship service and a luncheon. The luncheon will feature Judi Beldotti, who will speak about the Yellow Brick Road Project. The cost of the luncheon will be $5. Sign-ups will begin October 6^th in the vestry right after the service. Please join us!

All are welcome! Please join us at 9:15 AM on Thursday, October 3rd for coffee, goodies and fellowship. Board members, if you can’t attend, please call Deb Bowen.

The Women’s Fellowship Fall Harvest Tea will be held on Friday, November 8^th from 1-3 PM in the church vestry. Please invite friends and family and join us for an afternoon of fellowship, tea, coffee, and many delicious goodies. All are welcome. Look for sign-up dates in the church bulletin. For further information call Melinda Rooney @ 934-7919.

The Pilgrim Women’s Fellowship group is trying to put together a Ladies Golfing Circle. Wouldn’t it be fun to play 9 (or 18) holes of golf with your church friends? We could play North Hill, or alternate to where people may have memberships. We could play once a month, every two weeks, or as often as we’d like! Sound good? Call me, hopefully we could squeeze in a fall round or two! Susan Walker (781-934-7966).

The Women’s Retreat in Craigville will be held on Friday & Saturday, Oct. 4^th & 5^th. Call Lynn DeHart (837-3668) ASAP to attend!

September is always an exciting month filled with new beginnings for so many of us. The senior choir is off to a good start. Attendance at rehearsals has been very good with everyone happy to greet one another after the long summer away. The first rehearsal is always delayed in starting while we all greet each other and catch up on all the news. None the less, preparation for Sunday worship continues and the choir has sung some joyful as well as reflective music for the praise of God and the inspiration of the congregation.

We are happy to welcome Terri Clarke and Anne Briggs to our choir. Both are wonderful altos. Anne sang with us during our concert featuring The Creation by Haydn and we are delighted to have her back. Terri comes to us from New Jersey orginally where she sang with an excellent choir.

We sorely miss our fine tenor and pastor! Things are just not the same without his good humor and fine voice. We all miss him (the tenors especially!) Hurry back, Ken. Your place is waiting and no one has "borrowed" your music while you are absent. That, in itself, is a tribute as you know. Members of the choir and I have also been busy assisting the organ committee with their huge project. All is going well. We are even planning ahead for a special concert demonstrating the wonderful new organ and its inspiring contribution to our music program. For those who have not yet returned due to heavy fall commitments - we miss you, too. Please hurry back.

The Pilgrim Ringers and Junior Choir are back to rehearsals and both need new members as well as return of former ringers/singers. The church has some exciting events planned for the fall and we are looking forward to music sung/rung by these talented musicians. If you are new, do not be shy. Just come to rehearsal and you will be welcomed with open arms.

Love to all, Cathy

The Pilgrim Ringers are continually looking for interested members of all ages and skill levels to share in the joy of bell ringing. We meet Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the bell room upstairs. If you are interested, drop by a rehearsal, ask at the office, or call Sue Homan (934-0683) for more details.

Over the years, a number of people have inquired about making gifts of landscape materials in memory of friends and family. In an effort to provide an organized means of honoring these requests, a group of members have discussed the creation of a Memorial Garden. A site has been identified in the area between the main church and Pilgrim House on the side next to St. John's parking area. It has been a neglected corner of the church property that has the potential to be an attractive area that will include evergreen and deciduous shrubs that would provide a peaceful background for a stone terrace with a bench. A proposed plan is posted in the Swanson library at the church. If you are considering a memorial donation to the church and would like to earmark it for this project, please indicate your wishes when making your contribution. - Priscilla MacCallum

September was a busy and exciting month for church school! We have welcomed ten new children to our classes and their parents to our church. All our children have grown so much over the summer that I feel as though I am getting shorter each year. When you see the children come down front in the sanctuary for the children’s message, look at how many and how beautiful they are. We are blessed to have such a large church family.

Being part of a family means sharing the responsibilities, at home and at church. We are encouraging you to be more active in your child’s church school class. Many of our classes are very large. With the assistance of one parent in the classroom each Sunday, our teachers can concentrate more on the lesson being taught. You may join any class, not necessarily your child’s class. Any adult is welcomed and appreciated to help our teachers. You need not have children of your own going through church school now. Every member of our church family has something special to offer our children. Please, prayerfully consider one Sunday to help serve our children. Under the Safe Sanctuaries program, where we are creating the safest environment for our children, adults are needed to be present with our youth teachers. Your presence is required to allow our youth to teach. Call Geri (934-6591) or see her on Sunday. You can make a difference to church school just by being in a classroom on Sunday.

September 22 was the commissioning of our church school children and teachers. September 29^th our third graders received their Bibles and they promised to bring them to church each Sunday! Parents, can you please help your child in grades 3 and up to remember to bring their Bibles each Sunday? Any child who has not received a Bible of their own since coming to Pilgrim Church should notify Geri.

October 4^th the "Blessing of the Animals" held at St. John’s parking lot next door to Pilgrim Church at 4:00. Everyone is welcomed to bring his or her pets to be blessed. This is to celebrate St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. October 20^th is Stewardship Sunday. All church school children will receive their own boxed set of offering envelopes for their use each Sunday. October 27^th is Harvest Sunday and all children are asked to bring in a donation of boxed or canned food items. Outreach will give these donations to the local food pantry.

Reminder - The 1^st Sunday of each month is "Children’s Worship", held in the vestry. Children attend their own worship service led by Mrs. Peggy Files and then go to their classroom from the vestry. Church school dismissal is 11:15. Teachers plan their lessons for this time frame. Your cooperation in not disturbing the class is very appreciated.

We begin our year of fellowship and outreach on Sunday, October 6^th. Meet in the parking lot at 12:00 for a trip to Nantasket Beach in Hull where we will be participating in the "Take a Stand in the Sand" event with other communities from the South Shore. Permission slips available in the vestry or from Peg Files (934-6591). See you then!

Confirmation kicks-off with a fall mini-retreat to be held Friday, October 25th at 7:30pm until Saturday, October 26^th at 7:30am. We are looking forward to coming together as a group and getting to know each other better, We will also introduce our study of the Gospel of Luke. Luke classes will then start meeting on Sunday mornings 11:20-12:20. The first class will be on November 3^rd and you should be prepared to discuss Luke chapters 1-4.

At this moment we anticipate a Confirmation Class of 35 students. We are thankful that the Lord has blessed us with an abundance of young adults anticipating full membership in our congregation. If you are interested in being a mentor this year or as a confirmand have someone in mind to consider as a mentor please contact Rev. Landall or Peggy Files (934 – 6591).

The Holiday season is approaching fast! We are beginning preparations for our Annual Christmas Eve pageant, and need parent volunteers to help us with costume additions (no sewing necessary!) and scenery. If you have an hour or two you can help – we will be getting together Wednesday mornings through October. Please call Geri Holden (934-6591) for more information or to help out!

Our Saturday Evening Worship services have begun and continue on October 5^th with a celebration of "All God’s Creatures" and on October 19^th by "Sharing Our Gifts and Talents" through music and stewardship. These services are more casual with much of the worship being led by members of Pilgrim Church. The message is often shared through the Word, drama, and visual arts. We look forward to having members of Pilgrim Church and our larger community join us.

Prepare yourself for a rip roarin’, foot stompin’ good ol’ time. Enjoy hayrides, raffle prizes & auction, live music from Caller Cliff Brodeur and the Square One Band, line & square dancing, great food, and good company. Tickets cost $50 per person or $400 for a table of 10. Tickets are available at Bennett’s General Store, Millbrook Market and Westwinds Bookshop. For more information, contact Jim McClure @ (781) 934-5255 or Crossroads office @ (781) 834-2700.