Eliot Presbyterian Church | Lowell, MA

Presbyterian Church in Lowell, MA

News

This Old Church: From Crawl Space to High Tech

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We have been busy in 2018 with many repairs and fix-ups.

Charly continues with the kitchen floor renewal. The final part of the renewal is over a crawl space in the cellar, and is a new scenario for the repair work. It is expected that we will complete the task in the next couple of months. This is no ordinary repair job, and we appreciate his taking this project on. All who contributed finances and assistance to the project are also much appreciated.

Some plumbing repairs have been accomplished: a leaky nipple on the furnace, and leaky steam pipe in the kitchen. A new outside water faucet and locking security door have been installed on the Favor Street side of the building.

Some outside painting has been done: new paint on front door and surrounding trim to perk up our first impression area. Also, our address number has been placed on this area to meet fire department requirements.

High tech has come to our classrooms. A TV has been installed in the grade 3-5 classroom and a second is in progress in the grade 1-2 classroom. Student reaction to this technology has been very positive.

Some minor roof work has been done on the flat roof, and the rest of the roof has no known problems, and looks good from the street. We hope that this year only a few missing slates will be the extent of what will be needed.

Again thanks to all who participated in our activities and helped out in any way. It is much appreciated in caring for This Old Church.

From the Pastor’s Desk: Doing a New Thing

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This summer we have been trying some new things in worship at Eliot Church. We sat in new seats, sang some new songs, and experimented with more interactive forms of hearing God’s word. For five weeks we heard stories from the Bible and set them beside our own stories. In these weeks, we did a lot of sharing – getting to know one another and mining our lives for signs of God’s activity. For five more weeks we explored faith practices that can help us deepen our relationship with God and live more faithfully in the world. Instead of listening to sermons, we gave thanks, prayed, reflected, wrote letters, and rested together. Both storytelling and faith practices were intergenerational experiences where children, youth, and adults could participate fully and across generational lines.

While I received lots of positive feedback about our summer worship, I am sure there are some who disliked worshipping in Olney Hall, who prefer more traditional music or who did not connect with the interactive style of preaching. That’s okay! While storytelling and faith practices are valuable in their own right, so is trying something new and moving beyond our personal comfort zones, even if the results are not perfect!

This summer I have also been learning something new – how to drive a standard/manual/five-speed car. Friends who drive these cars regularly keep telling me they’re “fun to drive.”  But as a newbie, I find that it takes too much concentration to be fun. It’s a little scary (What if I stall in a busy intersection?), a little frustrating, (Quit honking at me; I’m trying!) and a little anxiety inducing (What gear should I be in now?!). At the same time, I like the idea of learning new things. I feel proud when I make it from first, to second, to third gear without any grinding or squealing or thunking. Realizing that I can learn this new thing increases my confidence that I can do other new and difficult things.

The session of Eliot church has also been wondering about what new things God might do with us and through us as we prepare to celebrate 150 years of Presbyterian ministry in Lowell. We’ve tried on a few possibilities. We’ve evaluated whether the things we have been doing for a long time still fit. There are no clear answers yet. In some respects we’re still grinding and squealing and thunking through the learning process. But trying new things – from creative worship to imagining a Young Adult Volunteer program to sharing our building more widely – helps us deepen our faith in a God who can do “abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine”
(Ephesians 3:20).

Growth may be uncomfortable. Trying new things usually includes some missteps and failures along the way. But we trust in the power of the Holy Spirit who has led us in the past and who is still doing a new thing among us today.