Much more than a building — it's a place of fellowship, solace & contemplation!
Sunday, October 13, 2024 - Worship 10:00 AM (In person or via ZOOM)
Sermon: Our Ragged Ode to Joy - Kathleen Reed, Pastor To join via ZOOM, please contact us at (617) 479-8778 or [email protected] |
Houghs Neck Congregational Church (UCC)
310 Manet Avenue Quincy, MA 02169 (617) 479-8778 Parking & Directions |
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Are you searching for a spiritual home where all are welcome? Look no further. When our forefathers and mothers settled and formed a church in Houghs Neck 129 years ago, they did so to provide a Christian community that would affirm who they were, their histories, their families and their deep faith in a loving God and their unity in the spirit. It is this legacy that we continue to lift up.
We are an open Community of Faith serving the families and people of Houghs Neck, Quincy and surrounding communities. We seek to create a space for all believers who know their spiritual pilgrimage is one among many. We seek to honor each person’s walk with God and see others who seek the loving presence of God as brothers and sisters.
We are an open Community of Faith serving the families and people of Houghs Neck, Quincy and surrounding communities. We seek to create a space for all believers who know their spiritual pilgrimage is one among many. We seek to honor each person’s walk with God and see others who seek the loving presence of God as brothers and sisters.
Pastor’s Note
October 2024
Heirlooms hold memories. Like a pair of silverplated coffee and tea pots engraved with the initials of my Irish great grandmother. I can only speculate what the engraved silver service meant to her. A wedding gift, I think. And perhaps a statement of family pride in the having made a life of some stability and substance in their adopted country? More than 150 years later, with all the silverplate long ago polished away, these tarnished heirlooms are packed away in a box and none of my children want or need them.
There are other ways family memories can get stored that don’t take up any shelf-space and may be more readily received and passed on from generation to generation. For example, I can’t pick up an iron without thinking of my mother’s mother, Beaulah. I was about to turn 12 years old and wearing oversized men’s cotton shirts with button-down collars was all the rage among preteen girls. So that’s what I wanted and received as a birthday present from my great-aunt Marjorie who resonated with what she saw as my tomboy inclinations. It was huge, maroon, and I loved it. But after it went through the wash and dried on the line at my grandmother’s house it was hopelessly wrinkled. So, Beaulah set up her ironing board in the kitchen, plugged in the iron, and left me to it. I had no idea where to start and was soon moaning as I repeatably seared new creases in places I’d just ironed.
After letting me struggle for several minutes, my grandmother stepped in, and as she re-arranged the shirt on the board, she told me a story. She and my grandfather were newlyweds living in a block of tenements owned by the Gary, Indiana steel mill where my grandfather worked. Having gotten promoted from the factory floor to the accounting office, he now had to wear clean white shirts to work everyday. Beaulah grew up on a farm, taught school before getting married, and was proficient in many things, but pressing perfect creases in a men’s office shirt was entirely new. Like me, she said, she struggled, wept, and even wailed loud enough for a neighbor three doors down to hear. This compassionate neighbor followed the sound of Beaulah’s sobs to her door and knocked. Minutes later Lena Kaminski was standing in my grandmother’s kitchen at the ironing board, showing Beaulah how to tame a men’s cotton shirt, step by step. “You start,” Lena said, “with the little, pesky parts of the shirt—the collar and the cuffs, then the sleeves, and button plackets on each side. Next you do the two front sections, and lastly, the back. The trick is knowing where to start and wear to end.”
As Lena taught Beaulah, so my grandmother taught me, and at same time she engraved in me a story that was as much about how compassion as it was about ironing. Loving one’s neighbor is often an unwieldly proposition, which is why I keep returning to Lena Kaminski’s wisdom, even when I rarely ever iron anything anymore. And I have tried pass this wisdom down my daughter and my sons—both the mechanics of ironing and the story: Always start with the pesky parts, and never be afraid to ask for help.
Autumn Blessings!
Pastor Kathleen
October 2024
Heirlooms hold memories. Like a pair of silverplated coffee and tea pots engraved with the initials of my Irish great grandmother. I can only speculate what the engraved silver service meant to her. A wedding gift, I think. And perhaps a statement of family pride in the having made a life of some stability and substance in their adopted country? More than 150 years later, with all the silverplate long ago polished away, these tarnished heirlooms are packed away in a box and none of my children want or need them.
There are other ways family memories can get stored that don’t take up any shelf-space and may be more readily received and passed on from generation to generation. For example, I can’t pick up an iron without thinking of my mother’s mother, Beaulah. I was about to turn 12 years old and wearing oversized men’s cotton shirts with button-down collars was all the rage among preteen girls. So that’s what I wanted and received as a birthday present from my great-aunt Marjorie who resonated with what she saw as my tomboy inclinations. It was huge, maroon, and I loved it. But after it went through the wash and dried on the line at my grandmother’s house it was hopelessly wrinkled. So, Beaulah set up her ironing board in the kitchen, plugged in the iron, and left me to it. I had no idea where to start and was soon moaning as I repeatably seared new creases in places I’d just ironed.
After letting me struggle for several minutes, my grandmother stepped in, and as she re-arranged the shirt on the board, she told me a story. She and my grandfather were newlyweds living in a block of tenements owned by the Gary, Indiana steel mill where my grandfather worked. Having gotten promoted from the factory floor to the accounting office, he now had to wear clean white shirts to work everyday. Beaulah grew up on a farm, taught school before getting married, and was proficient in many things, but pressing perfect creases in a men’s office shirt was entirely new. Like me, she said, she struggled, wept, and even wailed loud enough for a neighbor three doors down to hear. This compassionate neighbor followed the sound of Beaulah’s sobs to her door and knocked. Minutes later Lena Kaminski was standing in my grandmother’s kitchen at the ironing board, showing Beaulah how to tame a men’s cotton shirt, step by step. “You start,” Lena said, “with the little, pesky parts of the shirt—the collar and the cuffs, then the sleeves, and button plackets on each side. Next you do the two front sections, and lastly, the back. The trick is knowing where to start and wear to end.”
As Lena taught Beaulah, so my grandmother taught me, and at same time she engraved in me a story that was as much about how compassion as it was about ironing. Loving one’s neighbor is often an unwieldly proposition, which is why I keep returning to Lena Kaminski’s wisdom, even when I rarely ever iron anything anymore. And I have tried pass this wisdom down my daughter and my sons—both the mechanics of ironing and the story: Always start with the pesky parts, and never be afraid to ask for help.
Autumn Blessings!
Pastor Kathleen
upcoming events in the life of our church
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Calling All Who Love to Sing! |
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Both the Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionaries define a choir as an organized company of singers. Neither state that you have to be able to read music, have perfect pitch or an amazing voice. The Houghs Neck Congregational Church choir welcomes anyone who loves to sing. Each Wednesday evening from September through May, our talented director Steve Reed works with us going over individual parts until we are comfortable with them then magically combines our voices and voila - we have a four-part anthem for our Sunday service!
So, if you love to sing, give us a try. We meet at the Church (310 Manet Avenue, Quincy, MA 02169) Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 PM then again at 9:30 AM Sunday mornings to prepare for the 10:00 AM Worship Service.
Bible, Brews & Qs - Wednesdays 10-11AM
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Gather for a midweek pick me up. Bible for inspiration,
Brewed coffee and the Questions we all wrestle with. To join via ZOOM, please contact us at (617) 479-8778 or [email protected] Houghs Neck Congregational Church (Coffee Room) 310 Manet Avenue Quincy, MA 02169 |
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Seaside Social Club - Tuesday, October 8, 2024 - 7PM
Houghs Neck Congregational Church
310 Manet Avenue Quincy, MA 02169
PRESIDENTS COAST
Presented by PJ Foley
Houghs Neck Congregational Church
310 Manet Avenue Quincy, MA 02169
PRESIDENTS COAST
Presented by PJ Foley
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Please join the Seaside Social Club on Tuesday, October 8th at 7:00 pm as we welcome longtime environmentalist PJ Foley to speak about what’s called Presidents Coast - envisioned as a citywide network of pedestrian trails that would be a roughly 5-mile "pedestrian highway" that would run from Quincy Center over Town Brook and Town River, through Broad Meadows, along the river and to Palmer Street, where it would then snake into Germantown and Houghs Neck near Rock Island Cove.
All are welcome. The program will run roughly from 7:00 until 8:30 and is open to the public. Members will gather at 6:30 for a brief business meeting. |
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Eldy’s Yoga
Houghs Neck Congregational Church – lower level
Tuesdays 1:00–2:00PM
Cost $5 per session
Let’s Get Moving – Even if you think you can’t
Eldy’s yoga was developed specifically for those over 50 or those with joint issues who might find other forms of exercise difficult. The sessions can be done entirely from a seated position or can be done standing and seated (no poses that require you to be on the floor). You will learn to coordinate your breath and movement. You will also increase your strength and flexibility. If this sounds right for you please join us with our certified yoga instructor, Linda Beck. Hope to see you there. Namaste.
Houghs Neck Congregational Church – lower level
Tuesdays 1:00–2:00PM
Cost $5 per session
Let’s Get Moving – Even if you think you can’t
Eldy’s yoga was developed specifically for those over 50 or those with joint issues who might find other forms of exercise difficult. The sessions can be done entirely from a seated position or can be done standing and seated (no poses that require you to be on the floor). You will learn to coordinate your breath and movement. You will also increase your strength and flexibility. If this sounds right for you please join us with our certified yoga instructor, Linda Beck. Hope to see you there. Namaste.
