Program & Workshop Schedule

March 27: Celebrating Your Church's Anniversary

The Library is preparing an event specially designed for churches planning for an upcoming anniversary. The event will include a "pep talk", a panel discussion between representatives of churches who have just finished a successful celebration, and a series of brainstorming session on liturgy, technology, and the mechanics of writing a local church history booklet.

Schedule for the day includes:

10:00 a.m. Welcome, Devotions and Opening Remarks by Dr. Peggy Bendroth, Librarian & Executive Director, Congregational Library

11:00 a.m. Panel Discussion, members of Park Street Church in Boston, Falmouth Congregational Church, and First Parish Congregational Church, Dover, NH, will share their church anniversary stories and make recommendations that will help inspire you as you plan your church's anniversary celebration.

12:00 p.m. Break for Lunch

12:30 p.m. Brainstorming Sessions

• Worship & Liturgy, led by Rev. Kate Layzer, Pastor, Union Congregational Church, Winthrop, MA
• Technology, led by Rev. Anne Robertson, Executive Director, Massachusetts Bible Society
• Writing Your Local Church History, led by Dr. Peggy Bendroth,

1:30 p.m. Wrap-up, led by Dr. Peggy Bendroth. Congregational Library's tours and workshops this summer and fall to assist with research as well as resources available through our Web site. Q&A session-what additional resources can the Congregational Library provide to assist your church as it plans for the anniversary celebration?

The event will be held at the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury, MA. We will begin at 10:00 a.m. and conclude by 2:00 p.m. The cost is $30 per person; $50 for two participants; and $65 for 3 participants. Cost includes morning coffee and lunch. For more information or to register, please contact Susan Thomas at (617) 523-0470, ext. 4, or sthomas@14beacon.org. Download the event flyer and registration form.

March 27: Cultivating Your Church Library: A Workshop for Church Librarians

Church libraries offer services and materials (books, videos, audio discs) to their church members that are often not available at public libraries and local bookstores. The church Librarian serves a special role in supporting and extending the mission and goals of a church's ministry. To assist librarians, the Congregational Library is offering this important workshop.

Librarian Claudette Newhall leads this workshop on creating, managing and promoting your church library/resource center. Opportunities to network and share experiences with your colleagues will be available and a resource list will be provided.

This event will be held at the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury, MA. We will begin at 10:00 a.m. and conclude by 12:30 p.m. The cost is $15 and includes morning coffee and lunch. For more information or to register, please contact Susan Thomas at (617) 523-0470, ext. 4, or sthomas@14beacon.org. Download the event flyer and share it with your colleagues!

April 14: Walking tour of the Congregational North End of Boston

Exploring Boston’s Congregational Roots

This year, we’re adding a new wrinkle to our brown bag lunches and our existing tour programs: a series about Boston’s Congregational past conducted by Donna La Rue, a local church historian, gravestone researcher, and expert tour guide. She has planned a three-part presentation on the history of the city’s thirteen Congregational churches, discussing their known buildings, worship practices and music, as well as their ministers’ and congregants’ homesites and gravestones. Donna will also tell their stories about their neighbors: the Baptist, Quaker, Anglican, Presbyterian, Huguenot, (secret) Catholic, and later Unitarian, Universalist, and Swedenborgian congregations of the pre-Revolutionary period.

• October 14, 2009 – Walking tour of downtown Boston, from the Common to the Old Town House
• February 17, 2010 – Illustrated lecture about Congregational Boston in the colonial era
• April 14, 2010 – Walking tour of the Congregational North End of Boston

Both tours and the illustrated lecture are open to the public and will begin at the Congregational Library at noon. There is no cost for the lecture, which is part of our brown bag lunch series. The walking tours require an advance registration (617-523-0470 x4) and $5.00/person.

Donna La Rue holds degrees from Ohio State University, Lesley College, and has done doctoral level research on “The Arts for Then and Now.” She is widely known as a researcher, writer, and tour guide in the Boston area, and brings a wealth of knowledge on American colonial church art and architecture. For more information on other tours, please consult her webpage: www.freewebs.com/buryinggroundstours.

Registration

Advance registration is required for events with a program fee. For additional information or to register, contact us by phone at (617) 523-0470 ext. 4 or send an email to Susan Thomas to register.

Click www.congregationallibrary.org/support-us and then the "Donate" button in the right column to pay the program fee online using PayPal. On PayPal please use the "Purpose" field to indicate the title of the class you are registering for.

Year-long Activities

Library Tour

The Library now offers tours of our stacks and archive, which are otherwise closed to the public. If you're going to be in town, come on by and let us show you around. Join us for an introductory tour of the library, its history and services. Reservations are appreciated, but walk-ins are always welcome. Please contact Claudette Newhall cnewhall@14beacon.org or call 617-523-0470 ext. 1 to arrange the date and time for your visit. No charge.

Walking Tour of Congregational Boston

by reservation

Offered May 15 through October 15. Library Director Peggy Bendroth will guide participants to the city's famous landmarks, from Old South Church to Park Street. Call or e-mail to arrange a day and time. Program fee: $10.

Preferred minimum: 3 people