"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company … a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past … we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes!"

The interim time ahead will be different from what you all have recently experienced, not necessarily worse, but different (and hopefully in some ways, better!). The attitudes each of you bring to this time will have a big impact in how well it goes for our church in the future. Attitudes have to do with whether we see the glass half full or half empty, whether we are hopeful about the future or whether all we see are clouds. As Swindoll says, "we cannot change the inevitable," but how we deal with it is so important.

Recently, I read somewhere that it is difficult to receive when our fists are clenched; it’s impossible to embrace when our arms are crossed; it’s difficult to see when our eyes are closed; and it’s hard to discover new things when our mind is made up. It all has to do with our attitude.

"An Attitude of Gratitude" is the title of a sermon I preached once. This is what the life of faith is all about – being thankful to God for all that we have, and expressing that thanks in deeds of love to others. If we have grateful hearts for all our blessings, that’s probably all we really need to get on in life. It’s our choice to have an attitude of gratitude or not.

Among the things I am grateful for are the almost seventeen years that you have allowed me to live among you, and for your letting me come into your lives in the moments of joy as well as the times of sadness, and in so many other ways. The ministry that we have shared together has made a positive difference, and for that I am grateful. Thank you for helping to make this possible. Let us all "praise God from whom all blessings flow …"

Shalom, and may God be with you always,

Ken

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On May 13^th, we welcomed the following new members into our fellowship by Confirmation of Faith. In addition to attending classes, attending worship on a regular basis, and two overnight retreats, each of our Confirmands completed 15 hours of church projects and 15 hours of community projects outside the church. We thank the mentors (listed below), Deacons Bill MacLennan, Shawn Dahlen, and the Rev. Eloise Parks (primary coordinator of the Confirmation Program this year), and Heidi Hadley and Jim Anello who helped out with the retreat.

Confirmand Mentor Confirmand Mentor

John Allen Jim McClure Billy MacLennan Carol Allen

Wes Barrington Ed Cheal Clay Mohrman Jim Anello

Kaley Benson Sue Bradford Kristin Nutter Joan Barrington

Sarah Botieri Gwynne Zisko Blair Peterson Susie Bates

Lizz Brewer Dawn Backlund Robin Rader Linda Shropshire

Tim Cameron Wes Horton Sarah Rooney Sue Horton

Diana Cybulska Leslye Peterson Brad Rose Linn Spalding

Vivian Doughty Angelique Kania Jenn Shropshire Dana Rader

Jesse Farrelly Mike Gregg Samantha Sinclair Julia Lizza

Alex Fotta Scott Doughty Andrew Sommer Lynne Wolfe

Tyler Genereux Bob Mustard Sam Vandewater John MacLaren

Seth Gilbert Greg Hunter Lauren Walters Linda VonIderstein

Kyle Hadley Tom Brayer Alex Wheatley David Cheever

Brett Hayes Lori Mahmud Colin Woods Bill Wilhelm

Jessica Lizza Janie Arkema

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If there is one thing I know it is that our Most Holy Creator is patient with us. On May 20^th I graduated from Andover Newton Theological School, receiving a Master of Divinity degree. During my seven years of study I earned 90 credits, including a year of Field Education at South Shore Hospital and a half-year of Clinical Pastoral Education at the Chaplaincy Center in Providence, RI. I was also privileged to serve as a Youth and Family Coordinator and Saturday Night Five Worship Leader here at Pilgrim Church. At this time the most popular question I am asked is, "now what?" I plan to take a day or two this summer and go to the beach. I might even try to read a novel.

That said, I have already written my ordination paper and met with the Pilgrim Association Church and Ministry Committee. The purpose of this meeting was to determine my preparedness and fitness for ordination in and on behalf of the United Church of Christ. Rev. Landall and my advisor accompanied me to that meeting. I was approved to move on to the next step, an ecclesiastical council. On September 17^th at 2:00 an ecclesiastical council will be held in our sanctuary at Pilgrim Church. You are all invited. My advisor will present me as a candidate and I will share my ordination paper. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. Upon completion of the examination, the ecclesiastical council votes whether or not to authorize ordination pending a call to ministry. In the meantime I will be working on my ministerial profile as I prepare to seek a call to ordained ministry. I am grateful to all the members of Pilgrim Church who continue to pray for and support me. I am especially thankful to a steadfast God who has instilled patient persistence in me.

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Our first round of Pilgrim Church transition gatherings was a great success. One hundred and five Pilgrims attended the gatherings, which were sponsored by our Church Council and arranged for and hosted by our Stewardship and Strategic Planning committee members. At each gathering, we shared current transition plans, and at the later gatherings, the status of our interim minister search committee. A highlight of the gatherings was the sharing of personal experience as an intentional interim minister by two of our Pilgrim members, Reverend Dianne Arakawa and Reverend Stephen Washburn, who are each currently serving Massachusetts UCC congregations. At each of the gatherings, and again at the Deacon Alumni Supper which contributed the ideas of twenty-one additional Pilgrims, we promised to share a summary of your concerns about the transition, your views of the strengths of our church, and your ideas for change. Many great ideas for better ways to address specific challenges were also offered, and are being shared with those responsible. A more detailed summary is available upon request (call Lynne Devnew Wolfe or email her at lynne.devnew@verizon.net).

1. We have a growing church with young people and children. We don’t want this to change. We need to keep people engaged and be alert to those dropping out. We need a stronger drive to grow.
2. People want to be involved – to be well informed and to have the opportunity to participate throughout the transition process and the calling of a new senior pastor including both defining who we are as a church and determining the characteristics we are seeking in our next pastor.
3. There is a concern that the transition in pastoral leadership will lead to division in the church, because we have a broad span of conservative/liberal biblical interpretations and diversity of resulting beliefs among our members. It will take a special pastor to serve without alienating a major segment of our congregation.
4. We want to keep on doing pretty much everything we are doing today. However, this might not be realistic. It is particularly important we not expect the Interim, or Eloise to fill all the gaps. We don’t want to lose Eloise! Don’t let her be overloaded. As one member said, she is the "greatest treasure in my time at Pilgrim."
5. We have a responsibility; how important it is for us to make the interim feel comfortable! We also have a major role in helping the interim get to know us.

1. "The Whole Package" – one of our newest members summarized it beautifully – the people, the welcoming, the mission trip in which her daughter is participating, being asked to be on the Outreach Committee, the fact that we keep going in spite of change…it’s a wonderful place.
2. We are here to praise God! The worship service, including the sermons, the music, the explanation of the liturgy, and the youth participation – feeling uplifted and inspired when we leave church and thinking about it during the week.
3. There are lots of doors for folks to come in – "everyone" seems to do something and many of our major activities are lead by our church laity.
4. Kiddie church – the CE rotation program is phenomenal and a great way to invite people in to the church.
5. We are good, we can be better – it’s a great place from which to start a transition!

1. Growth and development of the congregation - grow while maintaining our nurturing nature! Find more ways to get our new members and "unfamiliar faces" involved.
2. Draw for younger people – greatest concern is keeping our high school aged members involved.
3. More adult Christian Education opportunities, especially during the transition.
4. More small groups in our church.
5. More experimenting – willingness to try new things. It’s okay if they aren’t all successful.
6. More emphasis on doing things for other people and less on doing things for ourselves.
7. Financial side – it seems as if we are always struggling to meet the budget.

We have had a busy year and we are winding down for the summer. The Rotation Model has been a wonderful experience for the kids and the teachers. A lot of hard work went into getting ready for this new way of doing Church School but it was all worth it. Church School Sunday is on June 12^th. The theme for our service will be "Heroes of the Bible". It will be a very special service of worship and celebration. We will not have a picnic as we will be partied out from the previous weekend celebration for Ken with all of its festivities! Church School Sunday has always a fun Sunday. Come and join us for the last Sunday of the school year.

But remember-the Church is OPEN all summer long! We will have

our One Room Schoolhouse for Church School again this summer. The

first Sunday for this is June 18^th. All ages will meet together for

Church School. This is a fun time and a chance to get to know the kids

in other grades.

Kid’s Klub*Kid’s Klub-We will meet on June 18th^th for some good summer fun. Meet in the vestry at 2PM. We will celebrate the end of school and of course, have a fun snack. Join us and bring a friend.

JYF*JYF- will hold our last gathering before the summer break on

Duxbury Beach on Friday June 2nd from 7:00 - 10:00pm. We encourage

7^th and 8^th graders, their families and friends to join us. We will have

games and a fire. (Not necessarily together!) JYF will provide hot

dogs, hamburgers, s’mores and drinks. We will meet in the parking

lot to the right of the guard shack at the beach and then go to the

Mission Trip-This is the month!! We’ve worked towards it all year and

we are finally going to be on our way. Remember to

keep June 18^th for the Service of Blessing and Sending Forth. We leave on June 24^th and return July 1^st. We will have a quick meeting on June 11^th after Church.

We raised over $14,000 through raffle sales and donations to take

with us to Mississippi to help with the work we are going to do there!!! Thanks to everyone who sold tickets, bought tickets or helped in any

other way. A very special thanks to Lindsay Auer for all of her hard

work and her monumental achievement not only with the raffle but

the Mardi Gras dinner as well.

We’ll see you this summer! Keep an eye out for upcoming activities.

Peace and Grace,

Rev. Eloise

If you are interested in enrollment, please contact the program director at 781-934-8145, extension 1#

The PCCP is also looking for grandparents of our students who might be interested in coming to read a children’s story to our preschool classes on pre-scheduled days over the upcoming year. We will provide the book and a comfortable chair. Call the director if you are interested.

Michelle L. Manganaro, M.Ed., Director PCCP
PO Box 121
Duxbury, MA 02331

The Duxbury Interfaith Council is sponsoring the annual baccalaureate service for this year’s graduating class on Thursday, June 8^th at 7:00 PM, at the First Parish Church – 842 Tremont St.

The Baccalaureate is intended to provide a forum for the students to express their feelings and appreciation for –

• Support of family, friends, community, and congregation
• Experiences that shaped their values
• God-given talents and strengths
• Confidence to embrace the challenges of the future
• Hope that comes through faith.

This service is for the seniors and by the seniors and faith representatives, but the entire Duxbury community is welcome. All are invited to come support our graduating seniors as they celebrate their faith.

For more information, go to duxburybaccalaureate@yahoo.com.