Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Reading, MA

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Reading, MA

Pillars & Foundations documents an exploration of communities, their foundations, as well as faith through religious institutions. My intent is to share experiences, and spread the positivity that I observe. The hope is to provide a window into these organizations allowing those who might not other wise venture in to appreciate these thoughtful, often intimate groups in our midst. Faith centers embody a drive to make a difference which they deliver upon, regardless if it is with one person looking for hope & community, or a recipient of their expansive charitable work.

Building & History

Good Shepherd has a great history resource on their website which describes how the church grew out of Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Wakefield originally meeting in homes first as well as the Odd Fellow's building. Eventually in 1925 the existing structure was built, and an additional hall was built in 1950. The front of the church also appears to have been modified in more recent times perhaps as part of a renovation, bearing the large contemporary window which contrasts in style with those on the sides of the sanctuary. The grounds on the church are well manicured (by volunteer work from congregants), and the location, on a street corner on the edge of the hill certainly adds to esthetic. I found that depending on what angle you are viewing the church from it can appear modern, or quite traditional. The neighborhood it resides in is on the edge of Reading's center and it is surrounded by older colonials and Victorian style architecture, and the building that is perhaps an amalgam of gothic and modern features still blends in seamlessly, certainly adding beauty to the area.

The Congregation

I was greeted by several people including the Deacon, Rev. Pete Jeffrey, in a well attended service. I can say that there was a mixture of intimacy of the members, while an allowance for independent worship and contemplation. Rev. Brian Raiche was animated, funny at times, and seemingly passionate about the music, assisting the choir and music director in explaining the hymns and how they should be addressed, in advance of the initiation of the service. Perhaps demonstrating the vibrancy of congregation, several families sent their children off to Bible study at the start of the service.

The Service

Readings for the service were Isaiah 53:4-12, Hebrews 5:1-10, and Mark 10:35-45. There is a theme in the readings of announcing the sacrifice of Christ to save people. In Mark the reading expresses the difficulty that the disciples of Christ initially have when he tells them of the sacrifice he will make. They perhaps insensitively discuss it as glory, and Christ re-enforces the idea of the sacrifice to come for the service of humanity.  In this vein Rev. Raiche's sermon of methods of outreach is relevant to the readings in consideration of the most effective methods to inform others of the story and sacrifices of Christ, and by extension, to serve them. 

The sermon described Rev. Raiche's recent experience seeing the play Hamilton. What struck Rev. Raiche was how effective the play is at getting young people and others interested in national history when otherwise they may not be. He spoke to the need to expose to ones self to popular culture that may perhaps be outside of ones comfort zone in an effort to recognize that it can allow us to connect better with others. 

One light moment of this sermon came when Rev. Raiche quizzed the congregation over one historical figure in the play, remarking that there's possibly a lot of Jeopardy fans present (the idea being the more experienced among us may have a predilection to the program). He quickly followed it with the quip, "that's not a dig," to which one congregant behind me half muttered, "yes it is," to the laughter of many. The subject of his quiz was Samuel Seabury, the first bishop of the Episcopal church, originally a hold-out/skeptic on the American Revolution. Rev. Raiche mentioned the effectiveness of how Seabury's music was kept to traditional hymn style, implying that he was stale, backwards, where Hamilton rapped, with the implication that he is edgy, and revolutionary.

Christ was often discussed as a revolutionary teacher, and it therefore makes sense that to keep the story current, and to allow it to reach the biggest audience, clergy, as well as congregants should consider efforts to keep the message palatable to current trends.

The beams in the nave have very clean lines, almost appearing to be newer construction, while the windows and stucco walls lining the sanctuary appear to perhaps be original to the 1920s. The organ was not played on my visit, I would have loved hearing it work.

The gothic windows which seem to be some of the older features of the church really dominate the feel of the sanctuary, making a space with modern touches feel very traditional.

Outreach

Good Shepherd does many good deeds for Reading and abroad, and has a very active collection of groups and ministries to build a sense of community amongst congregants. The home page mentions a ministry to support the Bread of Life, an organization that helps those in need with food. A Community Involvement webpage also details the B-Safe summer youth program it is affiliated with, and El Hogar, an organization that helps impoverished children in Honduras. For congregants there are many Ministries associated with the function of the church, as well as other groups such as a Weekly Women's Wellness group that discusses such items as self-care and stress management.

A unique feature on the Good Shepherd webpage are biographical details on the staff that provide information about outreach they may be providing beyond roles in the church. For example Rev. Raiche serves on the board of directors for Roof Over head, an organization that provides housing to people in several Massachusetts communities. 

Conclusion

Clearly the activity of Good Shepherd is inspirational, and provides tremendous benefit not only to Reading, but to the greater global community.

Text and photographs by George Parks

Sources are embedded in links