At the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, a gentleman who is the son of Rosa Park’s still-living best friend, told us his growing-up story. He was 5 years old on December 5, 1955 when the Montgomery bus boycott began. At that time African Americans ("Negroes") were not allowed by law to sit in the bus seats set aside for whites, even if there were no whites aboard. Black riders also had to pay their fare at the front of the bus but then get off and enter at the rear. Rosa Parks was sick of it. On December 1 she sat in one of the seats for whites only and refused to get up and was arrested. Immediately the black community organized, calling the new minister in town, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to be their leader. Four days after Ms. Parks’s arrest, they stopped riding the buses for 381 days. On November 15, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the segregation on public buses was against the law.

Hearing the first-hand stories of the civil rights movement and walking in the places where a substantial amount of it took place were a gift I gave to myself. It was a bus tour on the Martin Luther King birthday weekend, January 13-15.

Traveling with us was Dr. Bernard Lafayette, civil rights activist, minister, lecturer, and an authority on nonviolent social change. "Doc" had co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was beaten and jailed during the Freedom Rides. He provided invaluable historical accounts and insights.

The bus rolled into Selma, Alabama after dark. Selma was the gathering point for a voting-rights march from Selma to Montgomery on Sunday, March 7, 1965, now called "Bloody Sunday." On their way out of town, as the 70 marchers came to the other side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were brutally beaten by a phalanx of state troopers. On March 21 they regrouped and began again, this time with 3,000 marchers and protected by federal troops on President Johnson’s orders. They were joined by many others along the 46-mile route, and 25,000 people arrived at the Dallas County Courthouse in Montgomery 5 days later. On August 6, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. We walked quietly across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the morning of January 14.

On to Atlanta and the amazing Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. While not its only notable aspect, it is also the place where the Rev. King and now Coretta Scott King are buried. After an overnight in Atlanta, we boarded the bus and headed to Birmingham on Sunday (147 miles).

Birmingham in 1962-63 was the site of sit-ins, demonstrations, Martin King’s arrest and imprisonment, and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in which four little girls died. It was also where Eugene "Bull" Connors, Director of Public Safety, ordered dogs, fire hoses, and armored tanks to be used against demonstrators in Ingram Park. Today, at the entrance to the restored park is a simple statement carved in stone: "Place of Revolution and Reconciliation."

There is much more to tell of the grisly film footage, the personal witness of participants, and our stops at some memorials to those who were murdered. Today we don’t turn fire hoses and dogs on demonstrators; and the rights to vote, ride, eat, and go to school are not delimited by one’s race. But racism is alive and well 31 years after "Bloody Sunday," and violence has once again become the means of choice for solving interpersonal and international differences. We can’t forget that for every victory of the nonviolent civil rights movement, there were assassinations, bombings, agony, degradation, and despair. In 2006 and beyond, we owe the Rev. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King more than a tribute as benign and photogenic symbols of a once-upon-a-time struggle. We owe our lives to continue what they stood for and what they did. After Mrs. King’s death in February, this letter appeared in the Globe from a woman in Oak Bluffs. I think it says it all, and very simply:

The best way to honor Coretta Scott King’s memory

Faithfully,

Bev Duncan

As Bev is sharing with us highlights of her trip to Atlanta and other places of interest regarding Martin Luther King, Jr., my contribution to this month’s Pilgrim’s Progress is intentionally short – only four brief items:

The first is a web site (part of the Mass. Conference site) for the Lenten Meditation Guide that I alluded to in a recent newsletter. "Offering Light and Life to New Orleans: Good Shepherd Lenten Meditation Guide" by Betsy Waters is the title and author. It includes 40 days of meditation and prayer, based on the Book of Job, that "speaks to us of the Gulf Coast in 2006." This will be a different Lenten discipline than you have previously experienced, and I hope you will find it helpful. You can download this at:

http://macucc.org/goodshepherd/GoodShepherdLentenMeditationGuide.htm#top

The second is to invite you to attend our annual Ash Wednesday Service, to be held on Wednesday evening , Mar. 1, from 7:00 to 7:30 in the Sanctuary. This brief, informal service will include the receiving of ashes and Holy Communion. This is a fine way to begin the holy season of Lent.

The third is to announce the next New Members Class which will be held on Saturday, March 11th at 9:00AM in the Vestry and Parlor. If you are interested in attending, and have not already received a letter of invitation, please call me at the church office (934-6591).

Finally, through a generous donation from the family of the Rev. Steve Turrell, former beloved Pastor who died in January, we will be purchasing a new hymnal to supplement the Pilgrim Hymnal. The Chalice Hymnal (published by the Disciples of Christ, Christian Church) is used by many UCC churches in our area, and I have occasionally borrowed hymns from it for our worship for some time now. It includes many hymns already in our existing hymnal, plus many, many other favorites, including: "Here I Am, Lord," "How Great Thou Art,", "Amazing Grace," "Jesus Loves Me," "Softly and Tenderly," "Blessed Assurance," "The Old Rugged Cross," "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," and literally dozens more! These new hymnals will greatly enhance our worship life and will be a wonderful tribute to Steve. We will also be purchasing new pew Bibles (New Revised Standard Version) with additional Memorial Fund monies.

Have a blessed Lenten season.

A NEW BEGINNING

Marlene Biffar, Moderator

"When we come to the edge of the light we know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, of this we can be sure...either God will provide something solid to stand on, or we will be taught to fly." This quote, from a book entitled Temporary Shepherds – A Congregational Handbook for Interim Ministry, edited by Roger S. Nicholson, speaks directly to us, the congregation of Pilgrim Church, as we face the excitement and challenge of preparing for a change in pastoral leadership.

Did you know that the church property is valued at over $3,000,000; and that our insurance premiums exceed $2,000 each month?

Did you know that the United States has the highest rate of child poverty in the world; and that by our support for the Plymouth Coalition for the Homeless, we help feed 25 to 30 local families each week?

The Stewardship Committee

Linda Gray Kelley, humorist, will entertain us with a contemporary interpretation of the famous (as well as the infamous) women of the Bible. Her monologue of sketches, using costumes of the period but language of the present, allows us to look at these legendary characters as if they lived next door...sexy, sublime, silly, serious, and spiritual.

Lunch Out!

The next church Lunch Out! will be at Siam Cuisine on Route 53 - across from the Building #19 in Hanover, at 12:00 noon on Tues., March 14th. I hear the food is wonderful! – Hope you can join us! Call Lilly Cleveland -934-1519- if you need more information.
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Members of mainline reformed churches are often referred to as the "Frozen Chosen"; many of us go to church most Sundays and seek to be good Christians in the ways we live our lives, but the idea of talking about our religion and what it means to us is alien. It seems inappropriate, and besides, many of us don’t have a clue how to begin! Perhaps we’ve never even taken the first step, identifying to ourselves what we believe and what our beliefs and our church mean to us. When we try to speak of our church’s strengths, do we talk about Christ, or do we merely say we belong to a good church with lots of great people? Are we afraid that if we share our faith with others, they will think we are nuts and we’ll lose our friends? The leadership of the United Church of Christ believes this is a serious problem for the future of our churches and asks, is it surprising we "Frozen Chosen" have a difficult time asking others to join us at our churches?

So, Richard Peace, an ordained UCC minister and Professor of Evangelism and Spiritualism at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, has developed a curriculum to be published this summer on "Holy Conversations". At the request of the small group which studied "The Purpose Driven Life" this past fall, we are piloting the 5 session curriculum for the Massachusetts Conference of the UCC here at Pilgrim Church this spring.

We will be meeting in the library at 11:30 on March 5^th, 12^th, 19^th and 26^th and on April 2^nd. There is a short reading (1 or 2 pages) and some reflection and practice to do between sessions. Please come and join us as we learn to better articulate what our beliefs and our church mean to us! Please let me know if you have questions.

Hope to see you after church on March 5^th .

Bring a friend and join us!

Also, please reserve SATURDAY APRIL 29^TH. That is the night of our big fund raiser dinner.

Sign up for Vacation Bible School begins March 5th! This year's theme is "Fiesta! Where kids are fired up about Jesus." VBS will be held July 10th-14th from 9AM-noon. It is open to kids who will be 4 by June 1st up through 5th grade. Any questions? Call Rev. Eloise at the Church office.
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Remember – If you have an item to submit for the newsletter, you can send it via email or as an attachment to:

(The above names will be listed in the Easter Sunday Bulletin)

*Lilies must be picked up directly after the 11AM service at church on April 16^th. Please send your donation to: Pilgrim Church, P.O. Box 186, Duxbury, MA 02331, or drop off at the church office.

The Pilgrim Child Care & Preschool (PCCP) celebrates ten years this 2006. Founding Director, Dottie Collins, and many others will find it hard to believe that a tenth birthday celebration is coming quickly. More information to come regarding PCCP's 10th year anniversary celebration, which will be held this summer.

Are you friendly and engaging? Do you have one to two hours a week to devote to one of Duxbury’s senior citizens? If so, please contact Lynn Madore at the Duxbury Senior Center (781-934-5774, Ext. 14). Training and support group meetings provided.

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Prayers of Healing - Larry Anderson - Connie Milligan - Helen DeWolf - Henry Bostder

For the family and friends of Gaylord (Tom) Entrot, Karen Entrot’s husband, and Hannah and Ian Entrot’s father.

For the family and friends of Robert Richmond, Marion Dwyer’s father.

For the baptism of Henry Alvin, son of Suzanne and James Bicknell.