First Churches of Northampton

Faithfully Facing Dying

Included in the new United Church of Christ (UCC) Lenten Study Guide, “Faithfully Facing Dying” is The “Friends Indeed” booklet published by our own Helene Powers. Special thanks to Denise Karuth of Northampton for this honor. Denise was serving on a national UCC Health Care Justice committee when she attended the first “Friends Indeed” reading last summer. Denise suggested to the UCC group that the booklet be included in the project’s Resource Guide.

From the Daily Hampshire Gazette, January 25, 2010

Ives to retire from First Churches
By LARRY PARNASS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON – The Rev. Peter B. Ives will leave his First Churches ministry come June, ending a 21-year tenure that makes him the fifth-longest-serving pastor of the church that helped establish Northampton in colonial times.

Ives, the 27th minister of the Northampton church since its founding in 1654, arrived in 1989 just as the First Church of Christ and the First Baptist Church were merging into what was to become known as the First Churches.

Two decades later, he leaves after leading a drive to save the historic building the churches now share at 129 Main St. in the heart of downtown. The church just completed a $2 million project to rebuild its slate roof and fix interior damage due to building leaks.

“I wanted to stay to be part of the reconstruction of First Churches,” Ives, 67, said in an interview before notifying his congregation Sunday of his decision to retire. “I just knew that I had to be with this congregation until we could go back into that sanctuary and restore this congregation.”

The Rev. Peter Wells, western area conference minister of the United Church of Christ, said Ives has led his church at a time when it is increasingly hard for churches to succeed.

“That’s in no small measure because of Peter’s leadership,” Wells said. “He’s led it to continue to be a vital congregation in Northampton and Hampshire County. He’s put them on a firm foundation for the future.”

Marion Van Arsdell, of Florence, said the service Sunday was emotional.

“People are sad to be losing him, but he leaves us in a very good place,” she said. She noted that his wife, Jenny Fleming Ives, helped lead Sunday’s service, and the couple has in effect run a co-ministry.

Ives plans to meet Tuesday with officials from the church’s two denominations, the United Church of Christ and Baptists, to talk about candidates capable of taking interim leadership of the institution after June. A search committee will be created by fall to seek a full-time successor – a process that could take more than a year and bring candidates from around the world, Ives said.

Ives and his wife, Jenny Fleming Ives, own a home in Northampton and expect to remain in the area. They have four grown daughters, Liza, Jen, Katie and Martha. Jenny Fleming Ives works as a nurse clinician for Tapestry Health.

Asked to name the high points of his service, Ives spoke of creating a culture that allows First Churches to be part of the city’s life, making itself useful to all, even those who do not come to worship. He said that mission connects the church with its founding ideals, when the institution was known as a meetinghouse.

A historian of the United Church of Christ refers to that role as offering a “place to discern the mind of the town,” a phrase Ives supports.

The church was one of many that opened its doors to all after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A meetinghouse, Ives said, should be “a place for the town to gather whenever there was a need, a crisis, a pressing concern the city of Northampton needed to address.”

“We’ve tried to do that and I’ve been committed to that,” Ives said.

“It was my deepest commitment to be a congregation, with this cathedral right in the center of Northampton, that was truly open and inviting to the community whenever there was a need to gather.”

The minister said he is also proud of the congregation’s decision in 1996, after a year of discussion, to declare itself “open and affirming” – and welcoming to people regardless of sexual orientation.

And at the start of his ministry, Ives said, he devoted himself to bringing the institution’s Baptist and United Church of Christ membership together as “one family.”

Along with the minister, the church employs a full-time administrative secretary, Joan Frederick, and five others who work part-time. The church’s yearly budget is $250,000.

Even after a major fund drive, the church remains nearly $500,000 short of the $2 million cost of the renovation. It received $1.1 million in gifts and grants and about $450,000 in pledges over the next five years.

Along with the roof repair, the project addressed problems with stained-glass windows, failing horsehair plaster and ruined stenciling in the sanctuary.

The church dates to 1888, when it was rebuilt after a fire gutted it. The original structure was erected in 1878.

With 21 years in the pulpit, Ives will have served longer than 22 other ministers, but not as long as the church’s second minister, the Rev. Solomon Stoddard (who led the church for 60 years), or the Rev. Jonathan Edwards (23 years), the Rev. Thomas Hooker (23 years) or the Rev. Solomon Williams (60 years).

When he was called to his Northampton ministry in 1989, Ives had worked for churches in New Haven, Conn., Cambridge and Glasgow, Scotland.

Taking a job in Northampton was a kind of homecoming for Ives, whose father had served as chaplain at Williston Academy in Easthampton.

Ives attended Deerfield Academy before taking degrees at Colby College in Maine, Colgate University in New York, Union Theological Seminary in New York and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Ives broke the news to church members Sunday in a sermon called “You Shall Not Go Over.” In it, he cited God’s instruction to Moses, as that leader looked out from a mountaintop across to the Promised Land.

“I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over,” Ives told his congregation, repeating God’s words to Moses.

“And that is what happened to Moses on Mount Pisgah, but that is also what happens to every minister of every church who retires,” he said.

“There comes a time when you cannot cross over. # No matter how long you have traveled together, you cannot go with them forever. # Today, Jenny and I know how Moses felt.”

Dear Members and Friends,

For 20 years I have been your Pastor at First Churches. During these years I have done my best to honor the calling you extended to me in June of 1989: (1) to preach the Gospel; (2) administer the sacraments; (3) to attend to the pastoral needs of the congregation; (4) to supervise the Staff and (5) to provide leadership for the Church in the community. These responsibilities I have tried to fulfill to the best of my abilities.

Jenny has also been a vital part of this ministry. She has worked side by side with me and used all her skills and abilities for the good and well being of this Church. Though her primary work has been as the Nurse Clinician at Tapestry Health on Center Street she has regarded her work at the Church as a calling too. Every day, in every way we have tried to be partners in carrying out the daily responsibilities of serving this congregation.

The Bible says that for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. The time has now come for us to complete the ministry we began with you twenty years ago. This Sunday, January 24, 2010, I will announcement my retirement from the pulpit of The First Churches. I plan to retire on June 30, 2010. I am announcing now to give you plenty of time to find an interim minister to guide you in that period of time you will need to do a comprehensive search to find a new settled pastor for this church.

This decision is not easy for me, nor for Jenny. We have been with you at family births, baptisms and weddings, and at times of sickness, loss and funerals. And you have been with us as we raised our four daughters, Liza, Jen, Katie and Martha in schools here in Northampton.

You got to know Jenny’s parents from Scotland, John and Pearl Fleming, and mourned with us at their passing. You have supported us through times of sorrow, and shared in our joys, at high school plays, graduations and most recently in our delight at becoming grandparents. In our work and worship together and in Christian faith and friendship over these years our lives have been woven together with yours in an inseparable bond that we will always treasure.

We will leave with great gratitude to God for the years God has given us and for all we’ve been able to accomplish together. What a wonderful congregation you are – so enthusiastic, so gifted, so committed to the work of ministry in this city we all have come to love. Your enthusiasm for the ministry of this Church makes you a model for so many other congregations to aspire, and so attractive to others who will come as we did, eager to serve you in all the days ahead. What a blessing these twenty years have been! Thanks be to God.

With love, Peter and Jenny

You can access the most recent Messenger newsletter here (PDF).

First Churches has a special connection to Haiti, with members traveling (along with members from the Longmeadow church) there regularly in connection with CONASPEH.  We are, of course, very concerned about the disaster that is unfolding there and will be responding as a church. If you wish to contribute towards humanitarian relief, there are myriad ways to do so, including through our denominations — the UCC has a page for donation, as does the American Baptist Church.

In addition, Hatian-born musician Wyclef Jean set up a way to donate to the relief fund similar to the Red Cross’s. Text YELE (the name of the non-profit benefiting Haiti) to 501501 and a $5 donation to the program’s earthquake relief fund will be billed to your cell phone bill.

This Sunday, January 17, David Entin, who chairs the church’s Peace & Justice Committee, will be giving the sermon, addressing Haiti.  We will take up a special collection at the service to assist with the disaster relief.  After the service, David and Pauline Bassett will discuss their recent trip to Haiti.

All are welcome to join us in our special Christmas Eve Service, December 24 at 7:15pm.  Prelude Music with the Bell Choir will begin at 7:15 with the service beginning at 7:30pm.  We will conclude with the beautiful candlelight singing of Silent Night.  Please join us.

Dear friends and members,

Due to the impending snow storm, worship services for Sunday, December 20 are canceled.  We will have our special candle-light Christmas Eve Service on December 24th at 7:15pm.  All are welcome to celebrate Christmas with us in this very special service.

The Youth Group is asking each member of the congregation to look in their sock drawer for an unmatched sock.  (You know, the one you’ve had in there for months because its mate was lost in the laundry and you keep thinking it will turn up…) Take that sock out and hang it up  (like a Christmas stocking) all through Advent.  Whenever you have some spare change, put it in your spare sock.

Bring your socks into Church on Sunday, December 13 and the Youth Group will use the money to buy brand new, warm socks for the interfaith homeless shelter.  This is an easy thing to do which can make a huge difference to someone out on the streets this winter.

This year’s Children’s Christmas Pageant will be held Sunday, December 13 during the Sunday worship.  Please come and celebrate the First Churches’ Sunday School children as they perform “Wise Guys and Starry Skies.”  This just may be the best pageant ever!  All are welcome!

First Churches member Kenneth T. McKown, 89, of South Street, died Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, at his home.

Born in Northampton, he was the son of the late Charles T. and Lena (Witherell) McKown. Kenneth attended local schools, graduating from Northampton High School. He attended Indiana Tech following high school, but put his studies on hold to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1942. Kenneth served as a tech/4 in the 2015th Ordnance Maintenance Company and was awarded the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze Service Star for his service. He later continued his service with the Air National Guard at Barnes Airport and had been stationed in France during the Berlin crisis. Following his service during World War II, Kenneth completed his education at the former Boston Trade Shops School.

He initially worked for Sears, the former Jeffway Hatch and Harris Radio companies of Easthampton and eventually began a career at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was an electronic technician working out of the School of Education.

He retired from UMass in 1985. Kenneth was a member of First Churches in Northampton for many years. He was very active in scouting and had been leader of Troop 105 for many years. In 1969 he was awarded the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver award. Kenneth was a life member and past commander of the Disabled American Veterans of Florence; a life member of the VFW Michael Curtin Post in Florence and also was a life member of the American Legion Club of Easthampton. He was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Pioneer Valley Mineral Club and the AARL Ham Radio association.

Kenneth is survived by his wife of 61 years, Elizabeth (Wright) McKown; three daughters, Jean McMahon and her husband Patrick of Granville, Nancy Waters and her husband James of Coventry, R.I., and Marcia Kennick and her husband Christopher of Northampton; seven grandchildren, Andrea, Heather, David, Timothy, Jonathan, Christopher and Steven; five great-grandchildren, Joseph, Conner, Cole, Quinn and Ryan; a nephew, Joseph Burleski of Cheyenne, Wyo., and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Viola Cole.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 10 a.m. at First Churches, 129 Main St., Northampton. Burial will be at the convenience of the family in the Bridge Street Cemetery. There are no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to the Capital Campaign at First Churches, 129 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060; the Disabled American Veterans; or to the Boy Scouts of America, Western Mass Council. Pease and Gay Funeral Service of Northampton has been entrusted with Kenneth’s care and arrangements. www.peaseandgay.com.