Dear friends,
Last year’s Summer Steeple included an invitation to a dessert and brainstorming gathering to begin imagining our 200th Anniversary celebration. A dozen people squeezed into Fran’s and my living room, eating chocolate chip cookies and bringing lots of creative ideas. We agreed that we want this anniversary to be an opportunity to bring people together, to honor and strengthen our collaborations, to dive deeper into our history, and to envision what our future might be.
From that first gathering, a team of seven emerged. After multiple meetings and a congregational tea, a year-long celebration leading up to the actual date (September 20, 2027) is taking shape. It is ambitious and energizing. Here are a few highlights:
- We will begin by hosting Framingham’s annual Indigenous People’s Day celebration in October 2026. Long before anyone imagined a church on this hill, Nipmuc people lived here during fishing season. We want to honor that history. We are working with the city and with Maria and Shani Turner, leaders in the Natick Nipmuc community.
- We will have lots of special music, including a service led by the Norumbega Harmony Singers (featuring music written in Framingham in the early 1800s) and at least one concert, celebrating the variety of music and musicians in our midst.
- Throughout the year, our worship will center on themes from our history: how the church survived and thrived during lean times, our commitment to social justice, how theology and worship have evolved, and how we respond to societal crisis.
- We will bring people onto our campus for a variety of special events: hosting the annual UCC combined Epiphany Service in January 2027, collaborating with Friends of Saxonville and Open Spirit for a giant block party in May 2027, and hosting the November 2027 Interfaith Thanksgiving service.
- We will work intergenerationally to create new sanctuary banners (to go on the sides of the church) to celebrate our history.
- We will have a special mission / service project to support the wider community.
- We will collect oral histories (and recipes!) with an eye toward creating new publications at the culmination of the year.
- We will organize, digitize, and create an easily accessible portal for historical documents pertaining to our church (Edwards and Grace), along with a Wikipedia entry about Edwards and Grace.
- The year will culminate with an anniversary dinner and special worship service in September 2027.
Each of these projects has a “champion” from within the planning team, and we will need lots of folks to join in to help! If one of these projects intrigues you, please speak with Rick Robinson or me and we’ll connect you with the appropriate champion!
These plans reflect who we are at Edwards Church: creative, joyous, welcoming, collaborative, always seeking deeper understanding, and longing to make a difference. I can’t wait!
Peace, Debbie