LYME-OLD LYME — In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, all churches in Lyme and Old Lyme are again planning online services for this Sunday, July 12. Christ The King, however, will also offer in-person masses with a restriction on the number of congregants.

CHRIST THE KING CHURCH:

At Christ The King, public attendance will now be allowed at weekday mass only (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.), in accordance with directives from the Norwich Diocese.  All who attend will be required to wear face masks, use hand sanitizer, and follow social distancing guidelines. This mass will continue to be live-streamed via Zoom for those who cannot come to church or are in a vulnerable population and wish to stay home..

Details of this weekend’s services are as follows:

Public attendance is now allowed at weekend Masses, as announced by Bishop Cote.  Christ the King Church will return to its usual schedule of Masses: 5 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

All who attend will be required to wear face masks, use hand sanitizer, and follow social distancing guidelines, and attendance will be limited to no more than 100 at each Mass.  Because of this, a brief survey has been created — just three questions — which will helps determine how many parishioners to expect at each Mass. 

If you are sick, have a fever, or think you may have been exposed to the coronavirus, stay home.

The Sunday obligation to attend Mass is still suspended, and Masses will continue to be live-streamed via Zoom for those who cannot come to church or prefer to stay home.

Click here for links to participate to live-streamed Masses.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF LYME:

Email Pastor Susan Olson at pastorsusanolson@gmail.com or Emily Bjornberg for the URL to view the Sunday service.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF OLD LYME:

Visit this link for today’s (July 12) service.

The Church will host a Fellowship Hour via Zoom at 10 a.m. this morning. Visit this link for more details of how to access the event.

SAINT ANN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH:
Online services are available at this link.

SOUTH LYME UNION CHAPEL:
Worship services are being held online at 11 a.m. each Sunday. Email Karen Geisler at karengr007@gmail.com for connection details.

The Old Saybrook March for Justice meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in front of ‘the Kate’ in old Saybrook to hear speakers and then march down Main St.

OLD SAYBROOK/LYME/OLD LYME — The Old Saybrook March for Justice is an inclusive and welcoming coalition of friends and neighbors, who care deeply about basic human rights. The group gathers each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. in front of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook — the Kate — where they listen to speakers and then, immediately following the speeches, march peacefully up and down Main St. All are requested to wear masks.

Their mission statement says, ” We are outraged by centuries of structural racism in this country. We stand with Black Lives Matter. We listen, learn and act. We understand that silence is not an option and we will not be bystanders to white supremacy.”

The statement continues, “We aim to be allies and antiracist. We are respectful, nonpartisan and inclusive. We welcome all who share our values. We educate ourselves and join in weekly marches.”

Signs were held high at a previous rally as the marchers crossed Main Street in Old Saybrook.

Today, Wednesday, July 8, all are welcome to meet at the Kate at 6 p.m. for a teach-in followed by a march.

Rev. David W. Good, Minister Emeritus of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme

The speakers at this evening’s event will be Rev. Jack Madry from New London and Rev. David Good from Old Lyme. The question they will address is: “What role should the faith community be playing in advancing our national movement on racial justice?”

Rev. Jack Madry is the pastor of the Madry Temple, a predominantly Black congregation in New London, named in honor of Pastor Jack’s father.  Rev. Jack Madry is also an accomplished jazz pianist and for many years performed at Mashantucket. 

Rev. David W. Good is the Minister Emeritus of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, a predominantly White congregation. 

Through many years of interracial friendship, the two congregations have shared picnics, jazz concerts, volleyball games and church banquets.  Their ministers have preached in each others’ pulpits and shared Christmas and New Year’s Eve worship services.

Out of this friendship, the two congregations have partnered with Habitat for Humanity, building houses in New London County, starting first with a home on Pattagansett Road in East Lyme on land donated by Judy and Phil Simmons, members of the Old Lyme church. In Salem, members and friends of both churches had the honor of working side by side with Rachel Robinson — wife of Jackie Robinson, the great player and pioneer in racial justice — on land she donated to Habitat for Humanity.  

Representatives of each church then traveled to South Africa, along with Rachel Robinson and Emmanuel Red Bear (a proud descendant of Sitting Bull) to take part in the Jimmy Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity, working side by side with Black choir members from Soweto and Johannesburg. 

To celebrate Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and the end of Apartheid, Madry Temple and The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme organized the “World House Tour” for a 50-member choir from South Africa that performed throughout New England and New York, including the Garde Theater in New London. 

“World House” came from Martin Luther King Jr.’s book, “Chaos or Community: Where Do We Go From Here?”  In the last chapter, Dr. King recommended that all imagine that the human race had inherited a large house — a World House — in which all the races, religions and nationalities had to learn how to live together in peace.