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By BELLA LEVAVI

ASHFIELD — The First Congregational Church and St. John’s Episcopal Church will host a “Sacred Stroll” as an early Earth Day celebration on Friday, April 21, at 4 p.m. “Our two Ashfield churches are working together to encourage care for our planet,”...

By THE REV. HEATHER BLAIS

Our faith is like a garden, and we are the gardeners. I once read that to be a great gardener, we might take classes or read books about gardening, nurture our soil, pay attention, visit other gardens, plant seeds and take chances. This same advice...

By BRETT SHERWOOD

If you belong to a church in any capacity, you’re already prepared for tomorrow. The most pastel of your Sunday finest are ironed and laid out and your children’s baskets wait by the door, not to be forgotten in the mad dash to worship. Tomorrow is...

By JANET KEYES

I am “Hamor.” My master is an 11-year-old boy named Zechariah. His father has a vineyard in Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives. My master has never given me a name. Hamor simply means “donkey.” When I was very young, he called me Ayir, the sound of a...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

SHUTESBURY — A member of the Shutesbury Community Church for 30 years, Chris Footit is relieved to be back participating in and attending services, something he can do after a three-stop lift was installed at the 1827 meetinghouse on the town...

By THE REV. VICKI IX

It happened in 1970. A huge, unexpected snowstorm hit the New York metropolitan area on March 29 — Easter Sunday. The storm was so big and powerful, it dumped 2 or 3 feet of snow in the New Jersey suburbs. All the winter snow equipment had been put...

By THE REV. JIM EWEN

One of the first scripture passages that I memorized in Sunday School as a child remains one of my favorite passages of scripture to this day: It was what is commonly referred to as “the Golden Rule.” It is found in the great body of Jesus’ ethical...

By MADDIE FABIAN

The Station of the Cross Catholic Media Network recently expanded its reach across western Massachusetts. The network now broadcasts on 730 AM in Springfield, reaching western Massachusetts and Hartford, with a potential of more than 2.2 million...

By ROBERT PECK

The formation of the United States of America was based on what is known as the rule of law to guard us from tyranny and to promote peace and safety for all its citizens. Our forefathers were faced with the challenge of finding laws that would be...

By DOMENIC POLI

Walk into a restaurant during a lunch or dinner rush and you’re likely to hear the hum of chitchat of diners talking about their lives and interests.But the people at 67 Dugway Road in Petersham eat in silence, with only the clinking of silverware or...

By THE REV. LIZA KNAPP

I missed church last Sunday.That’s unusual for a pastor. But I was sick on Sunday morning, and as I write this on Tuesday morning, I still am. It could be COVID or just a nasty cold; either way, I hope and expect to be better soon. But meanwhile, I’m...

By THE REV. CANDI ASHENDEN

Well, here we are beginning our Lenten journey. This is the holy time that begins on Ash Wednesday and continues until sundown on Maundy Thursday.In scripture, we are told that this is the time after Jesus’ baptism when Jesus went off into the...

By ALLEN COMSTOCK

This is certainly a time when something is ending and something is beginning. It’s easier to see what’s ending than what’s beginning. How you see what’s ending probably depends on where and when you began.My first memory was V-J Day (the day on which...

By GURUJIMA

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’Emma Lazarus poem - Statue of Liberty pedestal,...

By JULIAN MENDOZA

CONWAY — The United Congregational Church of Conway welcomed two parishes for its first-ever joint worship service on Sunday, celebrating the end of a four-year rebuilding process more united than ever.“Yes, we can care individually, but we can care...

By RABBI ANDREA COHEN KIENER

Yes, it’s cold and grey and snowy. It’s February! The cruelest month. But more and more, slowly, slowly, we are beginning to register that the sun is rising earlier and riding higher in the sky. Sunset is holding on a few minutes later each and every...

By JAN FLASKA

The joy of football – global, that is, not American – found its spiritual home in Qatar for one month this winter. Few celebratory storylines were as gripping as Morocco’s run to the semifinals. When that former French colony stood on the pitch facing...

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — When the United Congregational Church of Conway officially reopens its doors in February, its services will be led by a new pastor with an eye toward building community.The Rev. Marianne MacCullagh was appointed as the joint pastor for the...

By JANET KEYES

In 2022 our church had two special funerals for deceased members.First there was Tom. I did not know Tom very well, but my husband knew him as a high school classmate, and later as a customer and friend of ours. Tom was a lifelong bachelor in his...