06/06/2026
Season of Pentecost Sunday Worship Service with Communion
Please join us for the Season of Pentecost Sunday Worship Service, with Communion, in the sanctuary, in person or remotely, at 10:30 a.m on Sunday, June 7th. For worshippers joining us remotely, it is a Communion Sunday, so please have bread and juice available if you wish to partake.
To access the link for the remote service, please send an email to [email protected]. All are welcome.
First Sunday Food Drive
Sunday, June 7th is the first Sunday of the month, so we will be collecting food for the emergency food pantry run by Riverside Early Head Start.
You can deposit your items in the basket at the back of the sanctuary. The foods that are commonly used and needed are: peanut butter, cereal, beans, dry or evaporated milk, oatmeal, cream of wheat, pasta, white rice, sugar, flour, lentils, tomato sauce, brown rice, tuna, sardines and any other non-perishable food items that you wish to donate. Thanks for helping with the high cost of food for our neighbors in Somerville, Medford, and Cambridge.
If you are interested in helping with this local mission project, we are looking for someone to deliver the items we collect to Head Start. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to help.
NEW! Pop-Up Curators Walk through the Uprooted/Transplanted - Stories of Displacement Exhibition
On Sunday, June 7 at 3:00 p.m., there will be a pop-up Curators Walk through the Uprooted/Transplanted - Stories of Displacement exhibition at the Nave Gallery, 155 Powderhouse Boulevard, Somerville, MA.
The local curators Quais Assali and Sara Elbashir will lead a tour and engage with several of the artists and audience members about the exhibit. We are hopeful to have two performances by participating artists Ghazaleh Seidabadi and Katya Popova, relative to their pieces. Please join us; refreshments will be served.
Nave Gallery sitters needed!
We have a very powerful show set up throughout our space with great thanks to Ayman, Scott, Marshall, and Susan Berstler. We still need the members of the church to represent us the first two weekends in June, through June 14th; there are several openings. Please make a commitment to our cause and missions.
Uprooted/Transplanted presents images and stories of displacement, the forced movement of people from their homes due to conflict, violence, economics, discrimination or natural disaster. Somerville and the Greater Boston area are home to many such displaced persons, forced to relocate far from home into a totally different environment. We share these stories.
Come spend time with this great show and help us open our doors to others. If you're able to volunteer to sit for two hours, please use this link to sign up: https://signup.com/go/ZMxjnEY
Location
Nave Gallery (Teele Square), 155 Powder House Blvd, Somerville, MA
Gallery Hours:
Saturday and Sundays; 1 pm - 5 pm
Shares & Prayers
Shares & Prayers will meet remotely on Wednesday evening this coming week (June 10th) beginning at 7:00 p.m. You can ask for prayers if they are needed, or just have a nice chance to share what is on your heart and mind in the middle of the week in a smaller, more intimate setting with your fellow church friends.
For more information about Shares & Prayers, please email [email protected].
Uprooted/Transplanted - Stories of Displacement
Image Credit: Tuareg - Audrey Diallo, Somerville, MA
Uprooted/Transplanted will present images and stories of displacement, the forced movement of people from their homes due to conflict, violence, economics, discrimination or natural disaster. Somerville and the Greater Boston area are home to many such displaced persons, forced to relocate far from home into a totally different environment. Here are some stories.
The Uprooted/Transplanted exhibition will join art exhibited elsewhere in the building tied to the theme of displacement, including selections of “Art in Exile”, a collection of paintings from 10 artists in refugee camps in Jordan. These paintings are currently displayed in the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church (CHPC) Sanctuary as well as “Faces of Syrian Refugees”, a collection of triptych, life-sized portraits with transcribed interviews with relocated Syrian refugees from around the world by Newton, MA photographer Michael S. Cohen, in collaboration with radio journalist Amy Bracken. Both collections are evocative of displacement, survival and hope.
https://navegallery.org/wp/uprooted-transplanted/
EXHIBITION DATES:
May 1 - June 14, 2026
Gallery Hours: Saturday and Sundays; 1 pm-5 pm
LEARN TO TALK SOCIAL JUSTICE SERIES:
Since 2014, The Nave Gallery and the CHPC have presented a social justice art show with supporting events to focus on a societal concern. In the past we have presented programs that highlighted issues such as environmental stewardship (Watermarks), addiction (Every Picture Tells a Story - The Opioid Project), Immigration (Crossing the Border) and community building (Embracing Differences). This year we are presenting images and stories of displacement. We will have several events -a poetry reading, fundraising concert and panel discussion/community conversation to illuminate and engage in thoughtful discourse. This year, we will be raising funds for STEM CURES, a mission project in Jordan that provides educational opportunities for children in refugee camps.
https://www.facebook.com/STEM4Refugee.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
• Sunday, June 7, 20216
Pop-Up Curators Walk, 3:00 p.m.
• Sunday, June 14, 2026
Closing Reception 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
ARTISTS:
Juliana T. Borgiani Geiger, Ronald D. Butler, Sarah Cecil, Gordon D Chase, Audrey Diallo, Shoshanna Ehrlich, Luc Grenier, Sirarpi Heghinian-Walzer, Saeed Hosein, Lou Jones, Nilou Moochhala, Devon Murphy, Katya Popova, Rajiv Raman, Ruth Rosner, Ghazaleh Seidabadi, Mona Sartoveh, Luna Smith, Elizabeth Wilson
JURISTS:
Mohammad Jokhadar and Tamer Jokhador
Syrian artists in exile, former refugees in Jordanian camps, currently living in Canada.
Qais Assali
Palestinian artist, designer, and curator, Professor of the Practice at SMFA, Tufts University, Boston area based.
Sara Elbashir
Sudanese-Alexandrian artist and calligrapher,
SMFA Post-Baccalaureate 2024, Boston area based.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Upcoming Fellowship and local mission Events:
Here is a listing of fellowship and local mission events that the Congregational Care Committee/Deacons are planning to hold through the end of June. Dates may change, or be postponed or cancelled due to weather or other issues, but please pencil them in on your calendar and plan to join us.
These June events and dates are tentative, as weather or other issues may cause the dates or events to change:
Sunday, June 14th - full coffee hour after the service
Monday, June 15th - next CCC/Deacons meeting at 6:30 p.m. by Zoom
Saturday, June 20th - Fellowship event; walk through Mt. Auburn Cemetery, visiting historical grave sites. 10:00 a.m. - noon
Sunday, June 28th - end of the school year potluck after the service
Capital Campaign for New Accessible Bathrooms has begun!!
As part of the overall funding for this long-desired project, we have committed to raising at least $25,000 from the wider public, our current congregation, and the far-flung diaspora of people who have been with us in the past! We are hoping to raise this money by donations and pledges before the end of this year, so that the work can be completed before Easter. The more money we raise now, the less the church will have to borrow (at a very low interest rate) from our national Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program. Further information is available at church and also (very soon) other ways to donate (and more information) will be available on our website. Please give as you are able, over and above your current giving if possible and as you are able. You can pick up a pledge card on Sundays and we will send out other ways soon. God bless the church in this undertaking.
Here is the information on our "GoFundMe" page, along with a link where you can make a donation.
Help Us Complete Our Church Accessibility Project
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, Somerville MA https://clarendonhillchurch.org/
We long have been committed to the belief that "ALL ARE WELCOME" at our church. In early 2025, in preparation for our 100th year anniversary, we began focused conversations about the barriers that our beautiful 100-year-old building presents. Our resolve increased as some new folks with physical challenges began to show up regularly for worship. We determined that our bathrooms were outdated and difficult to maneuver in; ignoring the problem has become unacceptable to us.
Our leadership decided after many discussions to direct our resources and energy towards accessibility as an opportunity for community service and social justice. The specific purpose of this GoFundMe fundraiser is to help finance the construction of 2 new ADA-compliant bathrooms and other accessibility improvements throughout our 100-year-old building including handrails and repairing passageway limitations.
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church – Who We Are
CHPC is a progressive, peace and justice community of faith; we are a small but mighty Presbyterian USA congregation (https://pcusa.org/). We are long-time partners with our two mission-based tenants – The Open Center for Children (https://www.open-center.org/) and the all-volunteer Nave Gallery (https://navegallery.org/wp/). We also serve the greater community by offering reasonable rental costs for 12 Step Recovery groups, band rehearsals and community groups such as the Girl Scouts.
We believe this project is critical to our mission. Our sincere hope and long-term goals are to make our community spaces more accessible for all. These ADA-compliant bathrooms are the first step to realizing this dream. For more information about these projects and our church’s missions, please visit clarendonhillchurch.org
Thank you for considering a donation to this cause.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-complete-our-accessibility-project
Volunteer Sign-Ups
To help support the vibrancy of our worshipping community, we are requesting volunteers to sign up to occasionally host coffee hour and assist with worship services. For coffee hour, responsibilities include making coffee, setting out snacks, and helping with clean-up.
You do not need to bring a lot of food - fruit, crackers and cheese, healthy snacks or cookies are some examples. All food must be nut-free, and some gluten free items are appreciated.
For assisting with worship, responsibilities may include reading scripture, passing out bulletins, or learning to run the technology aspects of worship.
To sign up, please contact Kristen Sheau ([email protected]) and Pastor Allen ([email protected]), or add your name to the sign-up sheet posted in the fellowship hall. Please include your Name, Email, and Phone Number.
STEM CURES High School Committee
I'm excited to announce the formation of the STEM CURES High School Committee! This committee will bring together high school students from neighboring towns to organize STEM CURES exhibitions at their schools and write articles about STEM CURES projects in refugee camps or about the refugee status.
We're looking for students of all ages to join. Our goal is to create a community to raise awareness about the refugees within their high schools and their communities. I understand that seniors could be very busy, but we need them to guide and mentor freshmen to organize events in their schools.
We also plan to create engaging social media content and start an Instagram account to share our work and inspire others.
If you know of any high school students who might be interested in joining the STEM CURES High School Committee, please encourage them to reach out to me at [email protected].
Thank you!
Ayman Halaseh
Photo Permission Policy
The Session plans to discuss and revise the Photo Permission Policy originally approved by Session on July 26, 2012. No new photos of individuals will be posted on the church page or website without their permission, until a new revised policy is approved.
Offerings
Here are the various ways that you can continue to support the church through your offerings. Thank you so much for your generosity!
Prayers for our church community are always needed and much appreciated.
You can also -
Write a check, and mail it to the church:
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church
155 Powderhouse Boulevard
Somerville, MA 02144
If you use a bill paying service through your bank, add us to your list. You can use your envelope number for an account number; our mailing address is listed above. The phone number for the church is 617-625-4823.
You can use your PayPal account, a credit card or a debit card,through our website: www.clarendonhillchurch.org. Look for the "Donations" button on the home page.
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, Somerville MA https://clarendo… Rev Allen Fairfax needs your support for Help Us Complete Our Church Accessibility Project
