Andover & North Andover Interfaith Clergy: Every Black Life Matters

As clergy of various faiths, we seek justice and equity for all of God’s people. We are grieved by the brutality and racial injustice in our country, especially when coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that we are called to find our way through this together, with one united voice, standing in solidarity and boldly proclaiming: Every black life matters. [CONTINUE READING]

Digital Ministry: What We've Learned, What's Next (Panel Discussion)

Listen in to hear worship leaders from around the [Southern New England] Conference discuss what they've learned so far about doing digital ministry, and where they believe we are headed. Hosted by Kent Siladi, with : Jonathan Chapman, Anna Flowers, Isaac Lawson, Jenn Macy, Ashley Popperson and Alex Shea Will.

Andover Women Will March in Boston
Andover church sends many feet to Boston protest

Part of the broad interest in the march from the Andover church may stem from last Sunday's Martin Luther King Jr. service. In preparation for it, Will had done a lot of MLK reading and one quote stood out, in particular, he said. "Dr. King said, '(the Church) must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool,'" Will said.  Unfortunately, the associate pastor said, churches in 20th century America, including [South] Church, have too often gotten too comfortable with the power structure. [READ MORE]
Original Facebook Post Here

Ash Wednesday to-go
Andover pastors administer religious ritual at train station, coffee shops

Dana Allen Walsh and Alex Shea Will, co-pastors of their Central Street parish, spent about 90 minutes giving out ashes at the Andover train depot, greeting commuters taking the 7:06 a.m. train to Boston. Then they greeted coffee lovers on Main Street, making stops at Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks.
​
​[Will] and Walsh hit the road with their ashes reminding people that Lent does not have to be a dour and depressing time in one's life.
​
"Rather, Lent urges us to think about our lives - not so we might fear what is to come, but rather so we might live more fully in the present,” Will said. "Our church may be 305 years old, but our thinking isn’t. This is only one of the ways we hope that South Church will feel like a vibrant and relevant piece of the Andover community for years to come."​[READ MORE]

SPOTLIGHT: A Small Change Can Make a Big Difference
Super Saturday Workshop Inspired a Westborough Church to  Create a More Welcoming Bulletin

At last year’s Super Saturday, Pastor Paul Sangree attended a workshop led by Alex Shea Will, Associate Pastor at South Church in Andover, on being a more welcoming church.

​During the session, Shea Will and the Andover church’s Welcome Team leader, Laura Jordan, explained that the success of any initiative aimed at inviting and retaining new disciples depends upon a church’s embracing a theology of welcome.  The two shared the various ways South Church has attempted to live into that theology. This included practical suggestions around websites, signage, bulletins, and face-to-face conversations, among other topics.

“Before you even speak to a new visitor, your church has already given them a thousand clues about whether they are welcome or not,” said Shea Will.  “What does your website convey? Did they struggle to find an unlocked door? How did your pastor welcome the congregation from the pulpit? Extravagant welcome is a church-wide, ever-evolving spiritual practice that every UCC church should be actively engaged in.” [READ MORE]

Faith leaders discuss ballot question that would eliminate transgender rights

Close to 100 people gathered at South Church the evening of May 9 to participate in a discussion about protection of transgender rights that will be on the state ballot in November.
​
Rev. Alex Shea Will, associate pastor, welcomed the group to the forum that was co-sponsored by Freedom for All Massachusetts and LGBTQ+ Welcoming Communities of Faith.
[READ MORE]

Clergy members call on congressional candidates to defund ICE / Manifestación religiosa en contra de ICE​

On Thursday, clergy members from across the Merrimack Valley gathered in front of St. Mary's church in Lawrence to call on candidates for the 3rd Congressional District seat to defund Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The clergy members said they plan to meet individually with every candidate in the race for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell. There are 10 Democrats vying for the primary nomination and one Republican.
[READ MORE] / [EN ESPAÑOL]

Elizabeth Warren, pastor honored during pride ceremony at Old South Church

Beside a wooden podium draped in a rainbow flag at the Old South Church, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Pastor Judy Hanlon, an advocate for asylum seekers, were given the church’s Open Door award Saturday in recognition of their work on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.
[READ MORE] 

*Alex has been a yearly, clergy participant in the annual Pride Worship Service held before the parade in Boston. In the photo on the right, Alex offers the Prayer of Blessing over the 2016 Open Door Award recipients: U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Pastor Judy Hanlon

EDITORIAL: 'Love your neighbor...as yourself'

In Pittsburgh, 11 adults were gunned down by a white nationalist while they gathered to pray and bless a baby in a Jewish synagogue. One of the victims of this deadly shooting was a Holocaust survivor. Over 70 years after the fall of Nazi Germany, we are still fighting the atrocity of anti-Semitism in our world.

​When Jesus (who was Jewish) was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” We show our love for God through how we treat our neighbor. And we don’t get to decide to love only our neighbors who believe, vote, look, think, or worship in the same way that we do. We cannot self select who our neighbor is. There’s a spark of the divine in each of us.
[READ MORE] 

Local clergy help to build a home in Andover

Eight local clergy spent a recent morning together to help build a house with Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity and many of them are from Andover congregations.

“Partnering with Habitat has been one of my proudest moments in ministry," said Rev. Will, associate Pastor of South Church. "A church using its resources to help create affordable housing is exactly what Jesus would want us to do. Getting the chance to use our hands and bodies to help build the homes our new neighbors will soon live in, on Lupine Road in Andover, is an incredible joy and blessing. There is something deeply powerful about doing the physical work of welcoming and making room for our neighbors," 
[READ MORE] 

SPOTLIGHT: Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh and Beer?

The night began by singing “Joy to the World” and ended with “Silent Night.“  Attendees greeted one another with smiles and hugs. The mood was festive and joyful. And there was lots of beer. 
 
No, this wasn’t a Christmas or Advent worship service, it was the 3rd annual Beer and Carols held last month at Oak and Iron Brewery, sponsored by South Church in Andover, MA. What began as a one-night-only event in 2017, is now a two-night, sold out mainstay of the Christmas season in Andover. 
 
“I had a hunch this would meet a need in the community, but I had no idea it would be as popular as it is,” said Alex Shea Will, Associate Pastor for South Church. “The interest was so huge the first year, we had to institute a ticketing system for the second year to make sure we weren’t violating the fire code of the brewery.” Despite adding an additional night and charging $5 a ticket, both nights sold out in 2018 and 2019 in about three days. 
[READ MORE]