MOSAC Spies a Turtle

on

            Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission Vice Chairman Alan Harris reported on a meeting with a Natural Resources Conservation Service representative and learned that the parking situation at Grassi Bog “was not so cool” in the eyes of federal officials.

            “It’s getting a little bit muddy with deep muddy ruts,” Harris told the March 4 meeting of the commission. “He said we should work on creating parking control.” Harris said MOSAC had installed some posts on the site to anchor the gates so the cars don’t go down the dikes. The NRCS representative told Harris he would follow up with more direction.

            In going through photos taken a year ago, Harris discovered that there was a yellow-spotted turtle at Grassi Bog on March 12, 2020. He suggested some raking in the area to improve the turtle’s habitat. “March 12 is incredibly early for a turtle to be out wandering, but apparently it happens,” he said.

            MOSAC members planned a raking expedition for March 6. “We don’t want the raccoons and possums to be watching this because they’ll eat those eggs right out,” said MOSAC Chairman John Rockwell.

            Rockwell looked over a Small Communities competitive grant application that Harris brought to his attention and decided it’s worth pursuing. The idea of pursuing a grant application unearthed the need to update the commission’s criteria list established in 1994.

            MOSAC would use its next meeting to figure out a strategy, then meet on May 6 with the end game of submission of the application on May 7 ahead of the application deadline that month.

            “We need a project and a budget,” said Rockwell. “I think if we talk about it it’s a good chance of getting a grant because that process we went through was the basis of the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program getting a federal grant to initially hire Sarah Williams as an open space person…. We want to go through that process again.”

            Open space plans were originally recreation plans, according to Rockwell.

            Rockwell told MOSAC members that the commission had received the signed Hoff Property Conservation Restriction and sent it to the Buzzards Bay Coalition, which added a signature page and sent it to Katie Klein at KP Law, who was holding it in escrow at the time of the meeting. Rockwell said the proper paperwork to facilitate the deal is with the town accountant.

            MOSAC still needs a settlement statement, the only hang-up being arrival at a closing date. “Very close, maybe (this) week,” said Rockwell.

            Rockwell might be seen during this week’s warmer weather steaking out the next half-mile section of the Point Road (bike) Path planned between Joanna Drive and Jenna Drive. Rockwell said grubbing that area out will not require a wetlands permit.

            The next meeting of the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission was not scheduled during the March 4 meeting.

Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission

By Mick Colageo

South Coast Families Make Music Together

on

For over 50 years, the Tri-County Symphonic Band has drawn large and enthusiastic crowds of those who love good music. With a repertoire that includes traditional and contemporary classical music as well as jazz, Broadway, and popular selections, the band has developed great audience excitement throughout the South Coast area. In addition to many concerts in Tabor Academy’s Performing Arts Center in Marion, the band gives concerts in Dartmouth and has recently appeared on the concert stage at Falmouth Academy. Fueling much of this music making are a number of South Coast families. Fathers and sons, brothers, fathers and daughters, and husbands and wives have all appeared with the band.

            With regard to family contributions, the family of Toby Monte, trumpet first chair, stands out. Toby’s great-grandfather, Antonio Pacheco Silva, arrived in America in 1912 and a year later launched a legacy by starting the Acoreana Band (now called the Banda Filarmónica Santa Cecilia). Six of Antonio’s sons played in the band while granddaughter Irene Silva Monte, Toby Monte’s mother, has been the driving force behind the legacy. A gifted pianist and soprano, Irene was the inspiration for her son’s musical achievements. Irene provided the music for services at Santo Christo Church in Fall River for 60 years. In addition to her piano playing and singing, Irene made sure that the church had an organist by urging Toby to learn to play the organ along with his interests in the trumpet.

            Toby Monte began playing with the Tri-County Symphonic Band in the 1970s. At various times, Toby’s children have also played with the Tri-County Symphonic Band. Toby Monte, Jr. is a superb euphonium player and his twin brother, Daniel, is an excellent percussionist. David Monte is an accomplished French horn player. Toby’s brother, Michael, has played with the band as a bass clarinetist as well as an E-flat clarinetist. David Monte’s fiancé, Angela Reed, has played with the band on tuba.

            The musical heritage started by Toby Monte’s great-grandfather continues in other ways. Both of Michael Monte’s children share their musical talents. Michael, Jr. is a percussionist and daughter, Meghan, is a violinist. Toby Monte conducts the Marion Concert Band, is a music professor at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and finds the time to play organ and direct the choir at St. John of God Church in Somerset. He has also shared his talents for conducting and teaching with the Southeastern Massachusetts Youth Orchestras. Both Toby and Michael have been members of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra. Toby Monte continues to be proud of the musical legacy that began with his great-grandfather back in 1912 and he vows to continue it in many ways through playing, teaching, conducting, and directing musical organizations of various kinds. He also encourages his offspring to carry on the legacy into the future with even more musical Montes. While another legacy as large as the Montes’ is unlikely, the families of the Tri-County Symphonic Band will always be a significant part of the band’s success.

            Toby Monte will be performing all of the parts of a seven-trumpet arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a virtual format, on the upcoming Tri-County Symphonic Band concert “March Musical Mosaic – A Virtual Offering.” The concert will be aired at 3:00 pm on Sunday, March 21. Please visit https://tricountysymphonicband.org for more information.

Lorna E. (Lizotte) Boulanger

on

Lorna E. (Lizotte) Boulanger, 72, of Rochester, passed away on Friday, March 5, 2021 at Vibra Hospital of Southeastern MA following a long illness. She was the wife of Donald R. Boulanger.

            Mrs. Boulanger was born in Wareham, daughter of the late Leo N. and Edith I. (Reynolds) Lizotte and had been a lifelong resident of Rochester. Prior to her retirement, she worked for many years at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School. She lived for spending time with her family and friends especially around the holidays. She cherished her weekly coffee dates with Helen and her late friend Carol.

            Survivors along with her husband include her 2 sons: Mark Boulanger and Gary W. Boulanger, both of Rochester; 2 brothers: Ronald Lizotte of FL and David Lizotte of Wareham; 4 grandchildren: Krystle Kennedy, Mark Pinhancos, Sydney Boulanger and Blaine Boulanger; her 2 dear friends Carol Taylor & Helen Medeiros; along with many nieces and nephews.

            Graveside service to which relatives and friends are invited will be Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at Sherman Cemetery, Rochester at 11:00 am.

Winter’s End Sparks Eval of Recreation Facilities

on

            On March 3, Mattapoisett’s Master Plan Committee met to continue exploring concepts and ideas on what living in Mattapoisett might be like for all of its residents in the coming years. Building on the previously explored chapters, which included Land Use, Housing, Economic Development, and Climate Resiliency, on this night, the committee opened discussions for chapters covering Open Space, Recreation, and Natural and Cultural Resources and Services.

            Before plunging too deeply into the topic of Open Space, committee member Carlos DeSousa wanted to drive home what he believed was an important point – existing regulations. “We should look at other regulations such as the waterfront management plan,” he said, explaining that those regulations already covered a variety of recreating topics, primarily on the waterfront, and that those standards should be added to the updated plan.

            Robin Lepore brought the group up to date on the efforts of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path to have amenities added to the bike path plan, such as benches and signage. She also said that the selectmen would be working with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation about the possible bifurcating of the construction contract, given that the opening of the Shining Tides (Phase 1a) section would not be opening this spring.

            In attendance as administrative assistant to the Planning Board, Mike Gagne said that improvement to the crossings at Mattapoisett Neck and Brandt Island Road is in the bidding stages, as well as a parking study for Railroad Avenue.

            Committee member Yasmin Flefleh wanted to make sure that recreational opportunities in the greater village area are not overlooked, adding that the return of the skateboard area near the police station is necessary. She also commented that the consolidation of schools might have a negative impact on children. Gagne said a study was about to get underway that would include school consolidation options.   

            Turning to available open spaces, Lepore and Nathan Ketchel thought the former Holy Ghost grounds now owned by the town might be an ideal location for a playground and rest area for bicyclists. Member Mary Dermody suggested that any amenities added along the bike path should include other areas such as the wharf area and said that the sailing program is an important recreational activity.

            Turning their attention to Natural and Cultural Resources, Ketchel thought that perhaps the tree bylaw governing scenic byways and canopy cover might be expanded to include more streets. He also suggested that a local wetlands bylaw would be beneficial, especially for such features as isolated bodies of water.

            Last year, the Town of Marion began requiring denitrification in new septic systems, and Ketchel said he thinks that Mattapoisett’s Board of Health might consider developing regulations that govern nitrogen removal in septic systems, especially along the Mattapoisett River Valley. He said that sump pumps discharging directly into the municipal stormwater runoff need to be addressed.

            On the topic of residential subdivisions, Ketchel voiced the need to have natural landscaping left in place versus clear-cutting entire construction sites.

            Member Donna Shea said she would like to see more cultural events such as open-air musical performances, theater, and art shows.

            Circling back to the harbor and stormwater runoff, DeSousa said, “We need to do something somehow so that we don’t have raw stormwater discharging into the harbor.” He said that after a big storm event, plumes of murky water flood the harbor, sometimes not dissipating for several days. Gagne noted that new state environmental regulations, Municipal Storm Separate Storm Sewer System, aka, MS4, “will address this based on discharges.”

            The lack of public access to the waterfront was broached in a wide-ranging manner that covered everything from what is currently truly public and beachfront that cannot be accessed due to private property and/or private associations. Gagne thinks securing an accurate map of the waterfront is a first step towards looking into any lots that might be used for public access.

            Onward, the committee marched into the chapter covering Services, to which they included Facilities.

            Member Bob Bergman said that flood mapping would demonstrate the vulnerability of such buildings as Town Hall and Center School. DeSousa said that the police station has not been renovated since the mid-1980s and needs to be taken into account, including energy studies for all municipal buildings, maintenance costs, and the hiring of a consultant to facilitate the process.

            Walsh called litter throughout the community an “eye-sore” and said that “maybe some town effort could be made to clear sidewalks of snow.”

            The issue of improvements to Route 6, though more apropos to the Transportation chapter planned for future meetings, was also discussed.

            Member Janice Robbins said, when an earlier Route 6 study covering Fairhaven through Wareham had been completed by the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District, it was left up to the communities to decide what they wanted to do with the results. Robbins is the Planning Board’s designated member to SRPEDD. Gagne suggested that the Master Plan committee could take up the report in question in a meeting dedicated solely to that topic. Gagne also thinks nothing is impossible and that if the committee could establish a list of priorities associated with Route 6, it could be added to the Master Plan. “It’s an opportunity to send a message to the town fathers and legislature,” he said.

            Returning to playgrounds, Robbins thinks it would be advantageous to know what the current usage is to establish the need for more facilities. Gagne thinks that the majority of children in the town reside north of Route 6, where homes were more affordable, and that there had been some consideration of providing those households with playground areas closer to home. He thinks polling the residents might help to better understand the need.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee is scheduled for April 7 at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Master Plan Committee

By Marilou Newell

Great Blue Heron a Sign of Equinox

on

            In late winter, the great blue herons are the first to be seen with lumbering wing beats from over the horizon of Little Bay in Fairhaven. They are very noticeable in coastal flight with long S-shaped necks of their Florentine-shaped figurine profile, pointing the way toward open waters liberated from winter bondage.

            Their welcome arrival is often well ahead of other waterfowl migrations still making up in flocks several hundred miles behind them. As they pass Ashley Island, clearly identified and classified from our picture window, the bird-watching seasonal panorama has officially and vividly come alive with an awareness to be appreciated.

            As illustrated, males are the first to arrive to stake their claim on a preferred nesting site, sometimes the same as last year or even in the same tree, simply by building a new one directly above last year’s.

            When females finally show up, males attract them to the new abode by performing an elaborate courtship dance. To motion her attention, he will erect and wave his regal head plume until she responds. After the two join one another as partners, they both clack their bills together in an avian consent ceremony to procreate a family of three fledglings, as in my illustration. This will soon keep them both busy for long periods of time at the water’s edge.

            When looking to find prey, they stand motionless with head and beak drawn back until a sudden sighting releases a hair-trigger that springs the point of the bill with lethal force and deadly accuracy. The heron can close up the air-intake valve on its bill that underwater can scoop up and retrieve a variety of fish, frogs, salamanders, or small turtles. They also easily take insects, rodents, and birds at the edge of a marsh.

            Both parents feed their young by regurgitation, making a diversity of edible creatures appetizing for small chicks at an early age. To be so well fed, the offspring can take flight in less than two months and be able to launch their own migration before the end of summer. Or if they are well situated, they can handle severe winter weather longer and farther north than most other species.

            Because of this successful reproduction in raising their young, the latest American breeding-bird survey estimates a continental population of 83,000 reproducing pairs that, with this mobility, can be found almost all across North America. Their timeless broad survival at the water’s edge since the ancient formation of the evolution of living species originally crawled out of the primordial soup of the ocean millions of years ago hints at supernatural powers of survival.

            The narrative of the great blue heron might well be written in the stars of the night sky, shining down on the eve of the vernal equinox, when the hours of light and shadow are the same all over the world. With the planetary cycle of tidal pull over the universe, the arrival of spring again proves to be a spiritual, environmental awareness that includes the great blue heron for our appreciation as birdwatchers.

By George B. Emmons

Marion Dog Registration

on

The deadline to register your dog for the 2021 license period (1/1/21 – 12/31/21) is March 31. After that date, there will be a $25 late fee PER dog in your household. The charge is $10 for spayed/neutered, and $13 for “intact.” You may either mail or drop off your payment and rabies certificate in one of the drop boxes out front. If you don’t have a copy of your dog’s rabies certificate but know it’s still valid, please call to confirm we have it. If someone in your household is over 70, you may get ONE dog license at no charge; however, you will need to pay for additional ones. Thank you.

COA Discusses Community Pavilion

on

            During the March 9 meeting of the Marion Council on Aging Board of Directors, a community pavilion was discussed. Chairman Harry Norweb opened the discussion by first sharing the importance of coordinating proposed improvements to the former VFW Hall grounds with the town’s plans to replace old sewer pipes located near a proposed pavilion.

            The board discussed design features for the pavilion, such as exterior hardware and support column facades. But before that project can be mounted, the cost will need to come primarily from donations, the board concluded. Estimates for the pavilion building range from $150,000 to $160,000.

            Norweb said bidding for the pavilion will have to proceed through government channels, but if initial bids hold, “We’ll be in a good spot.” The pavilion is part of a more expansive proposal to turn the property into a community park, with a pavilion that may include such amenities as a fire pit and outdoor furnishings. But costs will be one of several hurdles yet to be scaled.

            Another aspect of the parkland concept is a walking trail. That project saw movement when the COA directors submitted a grant request to the Community Preservation Act Committee for $30,000 and received a thumbs-up in Friday’s vote. Norweb said the next step for the project is to bring the request to the Board of Selectmen to gain its support in advance of the Annual Town Meeting, where voters will have the final word on whether or not the walking trail advances to construction. Norweb said the overall estimate of the trail was $39,000, of which $9,000 is being funded jointly by the Friends of the COA and the Friends of the Recreation Department.

            A third part of the overall parkland project is landscaping. The board discussed securing expert advice from a local resident whose knowledge base will help in the selecting and pricing of landscape plantings. Norweb said that paying y for the landscaping and the construction of a community pavilion will require a “coalition of support.”

            Member Merry Conway asked, “Are there other budgets that might pick up some of these enhancements?”

            Norweb said that funds were gifted from the Marion Social Club by a former member for improvements such as those discussed. COA Director Karen Gregory said that no funds could be anticipated from that operation given the tight budget she is working with.

            Norweb took time to acknowledge Dianne Cosman’s efforts in writing the grant submitted to the CPC, saying her work proved “victorious!”

            The next meeting of the Marion COA Board of Directors was not set at adjournment.

Marion Council on Aging Board of Directors

By Marilou Newell

Concom Grants Routine Approvals, Continuations

on

            The Mattapoisett Conservation Commission on March 8 dispensed with a number of continued public hearings from prior meetings and immediately continued several others at the applicants’ request.

            Alan Loomis of McKenzie Engineering Group, Inc. returned for a Notice of Intent on behalf of his client, Armand Cortellesso/Brandt Point Road Builders, LLC, to construct a single-family house with associated grading and infrastructure within the 100-foot buffer to bordering vegetated wetlands at Lot 16 Nantucket Drive.

            Since the prior meeting, the conservation agent identified some minor issues that needed addressing. The commission asked Loomis to rectify some signage that was facing the wrong way, redo some of the wetland flags, sort out a failing siltation fence, and apply some siltation socks at a nearby catch basin.

            “That’s very reasonable,” commented Mr. Loomis.

            With no further questions or comments from the commission or the public, the commission approved the application and issued an Order of Conditions.

            David Davignon of Schneider, Davignon & Leone, Inc. returned for a continued public hearing for a NOI on behalf of his client, William Saunders, 50 County Road, the location of Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, to remove and replace a parking lot and stormwater management system.

            During the last meeting, abutters’ concerns prompted Davignon to integrate some screening along the southwestern property line and submit an operational maintenance plan to plant and maintain 12 6-foot green giant arborvitaes spaced 6 feet apart.

            The commission approved the application and issued an Order of Conditions.

            Davignon was also present for the continued public hearing for a NOI filed by Matthew Considina and Alex Monreal, 29 North Street, for proposed landscaping improvements, tree removal, a 12-inch earth berm installation to contain stormwater runoff, cedar posts with signs for permanent markers at each wetland flag, and a groundwater recharge basin upgradient of the earth berm.

            Neither the commission nor any abutters had any questions or comments, so the commission swiftly approved the application and issued an Order of Conditions with an additional condition of an on-site, pre-construction meeting before commencing the work.

            Dan Wells represented his client, Aaron Halimi, in a continued Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation public hearing for wetland line verification at 0 Route 195, North of 0 Fairhaven Line North, owned by Gerald Randall.

            Wells said three Fairhaven abutters had been duly served notification of the public hearing since the last meeting, and no one from the public appeared that evening to speak on the project.

            The commission selected Ecosystem Solutions, Inc. as its peer-review consultant and continued the public hearing until March 22.

            Before adjourning, the commission approved a Request for a Certificate of Compliance for Christian McCullough, 12 Oliver Street, after positive feedback from the building commissioner and the conservation agent confirming that the project was built according to the plan and no surrounding wetlands were disturbed in the process.

            The following public hearings were immediately continued until March 22: NOI, Randall Lane Solar, LLC, for a solar array at 29 Randall Lane; and NOI for Alexander Bauer, 7 Nashawena Road, to construct a single-family house with rear deck and concrete slab beneath the house to direct stormwater to the rear of the lot.

            The Request for a Certificate of Compliance for The Preserve at Bay Club, LLC was immediately continued until March 22.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Conservation Commission will be held on Monday, March 22, at 6:30 pm.

Mattapoisett Conservation Commission

By Jean Perry

‘A Thousand Words in A Few Sentences’

on

            It didn’t take more than a moment for Aliyah Jordan to know what she wanted to say. The question was how to say it, and her answer won first place out of 38 entries in Tri-Town Against Racism’s Black History Month Creative Expression Contest.

            Tri-Town Against Racism asked Grades 7-12 Tri-Town students for forward thinking “Beyond Martin and Rosa,” and the 15-year-old Tabor Academy sophomore from Atlanta went backward instead to the story of Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks’ unheralded predecessor, by writing a poem she titled “Heroes Unsung.”

            Like the dimmest star in the galaxy,

shadowed by the most blinding of them all,

both with the same success,

but one seems more small.

            Like Claudette who first refused to sit in the back,

the knowledge of this many people seem to lack.

The dark-skinned teen with a soul in her womb,

was told that she was too black.

            To lead a movement.

            Rosa followed in her footsteps,

and sat right in the front.

Fair-skinned and well respected,

she had to be the one.

            To lead the movement.

            Division in the world,

the black vs. the white,

dissension in our own communities,

the dark-skinned against the light.

            Why must we classify ourselves,

based on hue and hair?

            We’re all human beings,

deserving of what’s equal and fair.

            Heroes.

            “You said 1,000 words in a few sentences,” recalled Jordan of her brother Jorian’s reaction after watching the video of the reading that Aliyah had submitted.

            With stunning eloquence befitting a perspective of someone many years her senior, Jordan took a courageous step by looking inside the Civil Rights Movement. Her authentic response resounded with Tri-Town Against Racism when winners were decided on February 28.

            “The judges were completed floored by both her poem and her reciting of it. She perfectly embodied the theme of our contest,” said Alison Noyce, Tri-Town Against Racism vice-president.

            Colvin’s obscured place in history was daunting to Jordan, who, ever since reading about the pregnant teenager and her determination not to be unseated preceded Parks’ famous act by nine months, was impressed by the former’s fearlessness. “She was the first person I thought about,” said Jordan.

            Despite admittedly being plugged into Tabor’s world and not being aware of the protests that transpired last year in the Tri-Town, or Old Rochester Regional School District’s subsequent adoption of an anti-racism resolution, policy, and subcommittee, Jordan’s mindset is unconsciously synched with that of the local area and especially the sponsoring organization that encourages people to “start where you are.”

            One of the leaders of Tabor Academy’s Black Student Union, Jordan will return to campus later this month for the first time since the pandemic, having studied remotely since the initial closure of the Marion-based prep school in March 2020.

            “I don’t think there’s ever going to be a hard solution, but progress comes with education,” said Jordan, adding it is important to keep “learning how other people see the world and how things affect them.”

            Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School student Noah Sullivan took second place with a video presentation celebrating Black History month featuring blockbuster movies “Black Panther” and “Spiderman – Into the Spider-Verse.”

            ORR student Autumn Tilly took third place with a digital drawing called “Pushing Forward,” her illustration a brilliant use of emerging shade as a foot belonging to a person of color steps toward light.

            Cash awards went to first place in the amount of $200, second place $100, and third place $50. Contest judges were Tangi Thomas, the president of Tri-Town Against Racism, and area residents Darrin Garcia, Jean DaSilva, and Janis Johnson.

            ORR student Alia Cusolito, who submitted a painting of late activist Audre Lorde, Old Colony student James Pierson with a drawing of late activist Malcolm X, and ORR Junior High student Sophia Cruz with a poster melding several influences, all received honorable mentions for their work.

            Jordan’s interest in poetry is only recent.

            “It really started last year after the Poetry Out Loud contest,” she said of Tabor’s event that enters every freshman. Jordan won second place among freshmen. The challenge was to write five poems and put them into a book. Other than that experience, she said she had never before submitted a poem for a contest.

            “I have taken a liking to journalism and anchoring, and also poetry, obviously. I think writing is kind of my passion,” said Jordan. “Being a lyricist is something I enjoy.”

            She used to play clarinet and wants to learn how to play piano. She participates in chorus and acapella groups.

            “I’m really into the drama and musical,” said Jordan, whose other school activities have included soccer and softball in 2019-20, and this year she wants to add tennis. She’s a big fan of two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who emerged as the sport’s spokesperson against racially motivated violence.

            The what-now aspect of Tri-Town Against Racism’s educational effort is daunting as it asks young people to formulate thoughts and express them publicly. While Jordan, at 15, has not plotted her career, “I’m just trying to find my passion and what I love to do,” she is participating as she is compelled.

            Tabor’s BSU only started last year and includes monthly debriefings on “what’s going on in the world … we’re just starting some of those hard conversations on campus,” said Jordan, whose outlook is “just bringing the world together instead of dividing us more.”

Tri-Town Against Racism Creative Expression Contest

By Mick Colageo

First Congregational Church of Marion

on

The First Congregational Church of Marion is pleased to welcome Rev. Richard Woodward as our new Transitional Interim Pastor. Rev. Woodward was raised in the First Congregational Church of Royal Oak, Michigan, and went on to be ordained in his home church. He has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Religion from Central Michigan University and is a graduate of Gordon-Cornwell Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in divinity.

            Throughout his ministry, Rev. Woodward has served in a diverse range of churches. His first call to ministry came from the East Freetown Congregational Christian Church in East Freetown, Massachusetts. From there he was called to the Evangelical Congregational Church in Dunstable, Massachusetts, where he served as Senior Pastor for 24 years.

            Then, Rev. Woodward made the decision to expand his training in the field of Intentional Interim Ministry, taking courses with both the Interim Ministry Network and Interim Pastor Ministries. From 2014 to the present, he has enjoyed serving as Interim Pastor at three churches: Greenwoods Community Church in Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, the Sherman Congregational Church in Sherman, Connecticut, and the First Baptist Church in Plymouth, Connecticut.

            Rev. Woodward and his wife, Martha, are happy to be moving to Marion and being closer to their grown children who live north of Boston. Martha worked as a certified nurse’s aide, and through her work they have both been involved in volunteer nursing home ministry. Rev. Woodward also did a volunteer prison ministry conducting Bible studies. He helped start a prison ministry where men from his church were trained to be mentors to inmates to prepare for transition when released.

            After their second child passed away at five weeks, Rev. Woodward was drawn to grief work. He has spent time with those who are grieving and worked to help those who have lost loved ones. Rev. Woodward has found that “God always prepares us for the ministries that we will be doing.”

            Rev. Woodward is passionate about being with people. He enjoys family time, reading, music, gardening, cooking, camping, and travel. He has hiked all of the Connecticut Appalachian Trail, along with sections in five other states.

            The members and friends of The First Congregational Church of Marion are excited to have Rev. Richard Woodward as our new Transitional Interim Pastor. He feels our church has wonderful potential as we seek what God has called us to do in this town. We look forward to his guidance and leadership in this time of assessment, reflection, and planning as we prepare to search for a settled pastor.

            Feel free to email Rev. Richard Woodward at Rhwoodward@gmail.com or call the church office at 508-748-1053 to contact him.

            The First Congregational Church of Marion is located at 28 Main Street, Marion. Sunday Worship Service is at 10:00 am in person (following all COVID-19 protocols) and also on Zoom. The sanctuary is handicap accessible with an elevator. The church website is marionfirstchurch.org. You can find information here and a link to our YouTube channel to view previous worship services. The church office is located in the Community Center, 144 Front Street, at the rear of the parking lot.