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September 1,  2005

Dear Old South Leaders (Officers, Trustees, Board and Committee Members, Volunteers and Staff):

Greetings, grace and peace to you. Today, we pause to mark a most
extraordinary anniversary. On September 1, 1773, Phillis Wheatley's first
book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published.
Wheatley was the first African-American poet to be published. She was
approximately twenty-one at the time. Phillis was a baptized member of Old
South Church. Her story is our story. It is a story of courage and religious
imagination: the courage and imagination to see beyond the limits of the
social, religious and cultural restraints of the day, to a day of justice
and equality in the name of the God of Moses and Miriam . the God who loved
and liberated slaves.

As we contemplate the company we keep and the legacy we have inherited in
this remarkable Christian community, let me update you on the swirl of
transitions and changes that are taking place at Old South.

Our Assistant Minister, Jennifer Mills-Knutsen, was successful in her
candidacy with St. Luke's United Church of Christ in Jacksonville, Indiana.
After nearly five years of a remarkably effective and poignant ministry,
Jennifer's last Sunday with us will be October 2nd. We will celebrate her
ministry that Sunday with a Service of Godspeed and a Reception/Party after
church. She is more than ready to take on her own church and, of course, to
resume life with her husband, Josh (a doctoral candidate in philosophy), who
lives and works in Kentucky.

Our new Associate Minister, Quinn Caldwell, began today. Due to prior
commitments Quinn will not be with us on a Sunday morning until September
18th. Quinn has been described as one of the most gifted young ministers in
the UCC. The unanimous congregational vote to call him to serve Old South
reinforces the congregation's affirmation of that promise.

Our Interim Organist and Director of Music, Brian Jones, begins on September
6th. Brian hired George Sargeant as his Assistant Organist. Brian is an
immensely gifted and experienced professional musician and we all look
forward to his leadership.

Over the summer, as the result of a reorganization of our administrative
offices, Helen McCrady was promoted to Senior Church Administrator. Our new
Administrative Assistant, Estelle Ellis, will begin on September 6th. Jim
McDonnel is our new weekend receptionist. Our new Sunday Hospitality
Coordinator (coffee hour), Amanda Wilson, is also at work. Offices have been
cleaned and emptied and moved, floors have been stripped and waxed, new and
additional computers are installed. Our Receptionists and Sextons are now
on-line and networked with the other church computers.

Our early worship service in Gordon Chapel is an undisputed success. With
congregations ranging from 20 (on a sweltering Sunday) to 50, we are clearly
meeting a need. Summer worship attendance, including both services, was
significantly increased this summer. The last six years' totals for worship
attendance in July and August bare this out:  in 2000 = 1293 attended / in
2001 = 1154 attended / in 2002 = 1137 attended / in 2003 = 1333 attended /
in 2004 = 1229 attended / this summer in 2005 = 1909 attended.

Our two ministerial interns, Tadd Allman-Morton and Jeff VonWald, are
already deeply into the ministries to which we have called them. Among other
things, they are responsible for NewJazz@OldSouth, Thursdays at 6pm
(beginning September 8th). Described as "syncopated rhythms and
improvisation in word and music around the spiritual life" and featuring the
Willie Sordillo Trio, we hope to attract professionals (especially young,
unchurched professionals) who work in the area, as well as high school,
college and university students. It is designed to be a Christian service
with a less traditional feel . although it will include sharing the Lord's
Supper and will be couched in classical Christian theology.

Through these two new services and our "signature" 11 O'clock Sanctuary
Service with its emphasis on excellent sacred music and serious preaching,
we are reaching out to an ever broader population, and we are utilizing the
extraordinary gifts of space, location, instruments, sanctuaries and
leadership with which we are so richly blessed. Together, we continue to
adapt this Old South Church to this New Millennium.

This summer also saw the near completion of another phase in our
accessibility projects. The step into the portico has been entirely
eliminated, making for a gently ramped and gracious entrance into the
church. The front entrance now features beautiful sandstone blocks from a
quarry in Nova Scotia (replacing concrete). The renovation of the Mezzanine
bathroom and new facilities in the choir loft are, regrettably, behind
schedule and will not be completed until mid September. Nevertheless, they
are coming along!

Finally, a select group of Old South leaders has been working throughout the
summer to protect our historic landmark building from potential damage due
to proposed subterranean renovations to the Copley Square T Station. While
we fully support the purpose of the proposed renovations (to increase
accessibility to the Copley T Station), we discovered that the MBTA had
failed to investigate adequately the potential harm to our Dartmouth Street
wall from adjacent excavations. Our building is not only historic, it is
irreplaceable. The Dartmouth Street wall is not only the featured wall in
the sanctuary, it supports precious stained glass windows and one of the
finest organs in Boston. While we have not settled this matter, we are
making headway.

All the changes, transitions, and new people, projects, programs and worship
experiences require everyone's best efforts, both staff and volunteers.
There are far too many people to name and to thank in this (already long)
letter. Suffice it to say, all of these changes and programs are the result
of many meetings, countless emails, lots of prayer, and the gifts of time,
talent and treasure . all contributed so freely by so many. Thank you.

Phillis Wheatley's courageous life reminds us that change is both exciting
and scary; the familiar is replaced by the new . it inspires and challenges
us. If she can read this from her home in heaven, I wish congratulations
today to Phillis Wheately, on the anniversary of her magnificent
achievement.

In her company and inspired by her imagination, we move forward.

Nancy S. Taylor
Senior Minister
Old South Church in Boston
 

ARISE, my soul, on wings enraptur'd, rise
To praise the monarch of the earth and skies,
Whose goodness and benificence appear
As round its centre moves the rolling year,
Or when the morning glows with rosy charms,
Or the sun slumbers in the ocean's arms:
Of light divine be a rich portion lent
To guide my soul, and favour my intend.
Celestial muse, my arduous flight sustain
And raise my mind to a seraphic strain!

Phillis Wheatley, "Thoughts on the Works of Providence"