The renovations on the exterior of our building at 99 Prospect will be beginning soon. Scaffolding will be going up shortly and will remain up for about 3-4 months. While we will still be able to use the building for all normal functions during the renovation, we ask that parents be particularly mindful of their children around the scaffolding on Sundays, for everyone’s safety. Thanks!
Piano
The church has been offered a grand piano to replace the instrument we currently have in the sanctuary! We are looking to re-home our 7-ft. Young Chang grand as soon as possible. If you or someone you know are interested in owning this instrument at no cost other than moving expenses, please contact amanda@ctkcambridge.org.
No Sunday school
Please note, there will not be Sunday school or Adult Ed this coming Sunday. Classes will resume on April 24th.
Catharine Downs
Congratulations to Catharine (Downs) and Taylor Gamache, the proud new parents of Elijah (Eli) Elwood Gamache, born April 8th. And congrats to Rick & T, for another grandbaby :)
Roommate
CTK member Morgan Crago is looking for a female roommate for a shared bedroom for this summer (roughly May-August, dates are flexible, with a possibility of extension into next year's lease). The apartment is located in Cambridgeport, 10 minutes from Central T stop. Monthly rent is $785 (all-inclusive). Email mcrago@bu.edu with any questions!
Sublet
Looking for subletter: Innocent Mpoki, a Ph.D. student at Boston College and housemate of CTKer Joseph Melkonian, is looking for a summer sublet between June and August in Allston. The rent for the room is $852 per month plus utilities. The room is in a 4 bedroom shared house. The roommates are all male, currently two young professionals, and another Ph.D. student. The room will be fully furnished. The house is close to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and to the Green Line, 86, 70, 66, and 64 buses. It’s also a 5-minute walk to the Harvard School of Engineering and to the Harvard Business School. For more details, please reach Innocent at innocent.mpoki@gmail.com or 603 667 6580.
New Adult Ed Class
New Adult Ed Class starting 4/24: “The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless.” (Ps 146) Such was Ruth, the foreigner. In a day of turmoil, what is the Christian attitude to the foreigner? Remember, when we were strangers to God (foreigners), Christ bought us back, redeemed us. In a 4–5-week survey of The Book of Ruth, we will learn how God redeems the hopeless and turns ordinary lives into the extraordinary. Class will be in-person in the social hall at 9am with a Zoom option.
Songs for Holy Week
In preparation for CTK's Holy Week services, check out www.ctkcambridge.org/songs to find recordings of all of the congregational hymns we will be singing throughout the weekend. Join us in singing the story of Christ's death and resurrection!
Training
FREE training for parents! As part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, our partner, Ministry Safe, is offering their online Parent Abuse Prevention Training in April free of charge! This hour-long video training is a great resource to help parents (and others) understand and address the risk of sexual abuse. Note this training is not identical to nor a substitute for the Sexual Abuse Awareness Training required of CTK children/youth ministry volunteers, but rather intended as an additional resource.
New Hotline Number
If you need to get ahold of staff on a Sunday morning (i.e., if you are scheduled to volunteer on a Sunday and have to cancel at the last minute, or if you’re watching the livestream and are having an issue, or need to cancel your registration for the service), you can now text the church at 617-864-5464. This is the same number to call the church office and is listed on our webpage. The old “CTK Hotline” number is no longer active.
Boston Fellows Teaching Saturday
Boston Fellows is hosting a “Teaching Saturday” event on Saturday, April 23rd from 10a-3p at Park Street Church entitled “Spirituality & Medicine: Historical, Empirical, Theological Views.” Join a conversation with Drs. Tracy and Michael Balboni whose study and profession center on the questions of spirituality and medicine science. They will present viewpoints from previous generations of medicine, from current scientific and clinical data, and from theological perspectives; and discuss whether these disciplines can or should serve together for better outcomes. This event is open to the public. Registration is $15. Lunch is provided. To reserve your spot, please register by Thursday, April 21.
Declaration of Absolution
Leader: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy on us and has given his only Son to die for us and for his sake forgives us all our sins. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Whoever believes in him is not condemned. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. To those who repent and look to Jesus Christ for their salvation, the absolution of sins is effected in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
Holy Week Services
This year, we’re returning in person for all our Holy Week Services. For more details and to register, please visit ctkcambridge.org/holy-week.
Thu, 4/14, 7:30p :: Maundy Thursday Service :: a service centering on the Lord’s Supper
Fri, 4/15, 7:30p :: Good Friday Service :: a tenebrae service of readings and songs
Sun, 4/17, 6a :: Sunrise Service and Breakfast :: a celebratory service followed by a shared meal
We’re in need of volunteers to help at these services. In particular, we need folks who are willing to help set up and tear down for the Sunrise breakfast. If you’d willing to help, please contact laura@ctkcambridge.org.
Resurrection Eggs
Resurrection Egg Kits available: Homemade Resurrection Egg Kits are egg cartons with plastic Easter eggs filled with 12 different objects and scripture verses to help explain the story of the Passover feast through Jesus's death on the cross leading up to the empty tomb on Easter morning. We have enough for one per family and if you have not received one, completed kits will be available this Sunday for families to pick up after the service. Please contact lara@ctkcambridge.org if you have any questions.
Women's Ministry Picnic
CTK Women's Picnic: Women and girls of all ages are invited to join us for fellowship and picnic on Sunday, April 10! This will take place immediately after church. There is a picnic area at the park, but you are welcome to bring a blanket or chairs if you prefer. Dress according to the weather, and either bring your lunch or pick up something at Whole Foods and join us at Dana Square Park. If the weather is rainy, we will have an indoor picnic in the social hall.
Prattville Gallery
Joanna Muehleisen attends CTK, is a friend of the community, and an artist whose primary medium is painting (https://earlymorningart.com). The CTK community is invited to come see an exhibit of Joanna's recent work this coming Saturday at Rosemary Boyle's home. Please join in the celebration of art-making and hospitality, together on Saturday, April 2, from 3-6pm at Rosemary's home in Chelsea. There will be refreshments. Address is 42 Nichols St, Chelsea MA. Plentiful free on-street parking.
Phishing
Phishing alert: Though Pastor Travis hasn’t yet officially started as our senior pastor, and doesn’t even have a CTK email address yet, there have already been phishing attempts under his name to CTK congregants. Unfortunately, churches are frequent targets of this type of scam. If you receive an email that claims to be from Travis or any other member of church staff, please take note of the sending address, and don’t reply to the email unless you are confident it came from CTK staff. When in doubt, compose a new message to us to check.
Easter Services
Please join us for our Holy Week services and for our sunrise breakfast. Please register by Wednesday for any services you plan to attend (we want to make sure we have enough bulletins and bacon for all!). For more details and to register, please visit ctkcambridge.org/holy-week.
Thu, 4/14, 7:30p :: Maundy Thursday Service :: a service centering on the Lord’s Supper
Fri, 4/15, 7:30p :: Good Friday Service :: a tenebrae service of readings and songs
Sun, 4/17, 6a :: Sunrise Service and Breakfast :: a celebratory service followed by a shared meal
Sun, 4/17, 10:30a :: Sunday Worship Service
We’re also in need of volunteers to help at these services. In particular, we need folks who are willing to greet at the services and a few who are willing to help set up and tear down for the Sunrise breakfast. If you’d willing to help, please contact laura@ctkcambridge.org.
Route One Ministries
Route One Ministry is a Boston-area ministry devoted to serving sexually exploited and trafficked women. They also strive to equip the local church and community leaders with the tools they need to understand trafficking, identify venerable people, and respond in the most healthy ways to those who have experienced sexual abuse. On Saturday, April 9th, they are hosting a Freedom Concert at our building (99 Prospect St.), and are inviting anyone in our community to attend. The event will be a fundraiser to end trafficking through a night of worship and storytelling. Free tickets are available at freedomconcert2022.eventbrite.com.
PT Holy Saturday
The Saturday before Easter (April 16), Pentecostal Tabernacle will be holding an Easter community event and a food pantry at the Washington Elms neighborhood. The PT outreach coordinator has invited folks from CTK to help with the preparations, distribution of food, and hosting of craft and game stations. This is a good opportunity to serve the community alongside fellow Christians in Cambridge! Sign-up information is here--there are options for Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon.