The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

Stearns Room*

News acorns

Public notices

  • The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. to consider the application by Lincoln Station LLC, 145 Lincoln Road, Lincoln, MA for the transfer of an on-premises all alcoholic beverages restaurant license.
  • There will be a bank auction of the property at 129 Concord Rd. formerly owned by Richard D. Salwitz and Susan Fulmer Salwitz on Friday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m.

Open house at Masonic Lodge

Members of Joseph Warren-Soley Masonic Lodge of Lincoln invite the public to an open house on Saturday, Oct. 20 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Residents can learn about Freemasonry, the numerous local charities they support, educational and leadership skills they impart, and the ability for qualified men to seek the best version of themselves. The lodge is in the old South School at 181 Lincoln Rd. On a recent Charity Night, the Lincoln group donated more than $17,000 to regional charities.

Train schedule change will happen Oct. 29

The adjustments to the commuter rail schedule  affecting Lincoln will take effect on October 29, not October 22 as originally announced. Click here for the October 1 News Acorn.

Parent-child ceramics at deCordova

Parents and children age 6-9 can create unique ceramic sculpture together in deCordova’s professional clay studio during “Family Clay Saturdays: Parent-Child Ceramic Series” on Saturdays, October 13 to November 3 from 10 a.m.–noon. Learn basic hand-building and glazing techniques as you work side by side to create a hanging mobile and a seasonal spirit house. Click here for more information and registration. Questions? Contact Julie Bernson at jbernson@decordova.org or 781-259-3649.

Concert, open house at First Parish

The First Parish in Lincoln will present a “Live in Lincoln Center” concert on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. in the Parish House (14 Bedford Rd.) with works by Corelli, Handel, Vivaldi, Bach and de Boismortier performed by musicians from the Handel & Haydn Society. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $30.

The following day (Sunday, Oct. 21), the church will hold an open house coffee at 11:15 a.m. in the sanctuary’s Stearns Room (4 Bedford Rd.). following the 10 a.m. worship service. Everyone interested in learning more about First Parish in Lincoln is welcome to attend.

Author talk by Cai Emmons

The Lincoln Public Library will host a talk by Lincoln native Cai Emmons, author of the recently published novel Weather Woman, on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. Tarbell Room. Emmons, who grew up in Lincoln, teaches in the University of Oregon’s Creative Writing Program and is the author of two earlier novels, His Mother’s Son and The Stylist. Copies of Weather Woman will be available for purchase and signing.

Talk on Codman Estate portraits

From high-end works by John Singleton Copley and Gilbert Stuart to others by once-famous artists to humble family snapshots, the Codman Estate’s portrait collection extends over 200 years of changing styles. “Portraits and Personalities” on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. takes a fresh look at this collection, including rarely seen works of art. Hear the real stories of the people behind these pictures, both the subjects and the artists. $15 for Historic New England members, $20 for nonmembers. Registration required; call 617-994-6690 or click here.

Two new classes at L-S Adult Ed

Lincoln-Sudbury Adult Education has added two classes to its fall/winter offerings. Lisa Cukier, a partner with Burns and Levinson will host sessions on estate planning and probate administration in Massachusetts on two Wednesdays, Nov. 7 and 14, from 7–8:30 p.m. in Room B330. She will also discuss estate litigation, family disputes, and financial exploitation by caregivers relating to the assets of individuals with diminished mental capacity. “Les Petits Chefs” is a hands-on cooking class for seventh- and eighth-graders 0ffered by L-S faculty members Dot Samsi and M.J. Galano (the ability to speak French is not required). A mini-lesson on French culture will accompany each session. The class will he held on three Thursdays (Nov. 29, Dec. 13, and Jan. 24) in Room C124. Click here for more information and to register for classes.

News acorns

Reed Wentworth to speak at LLCT

The annual meeting of the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust with a keynote address by Rand Wentworth, author of Finding Hope: The Future of Land Conservation in America, takes place on Monday, May 14 from 7–9 p.m. at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields church. LLCT members and friends are invited. Come learn how communities around the country are accelerating environmental protection in spite of federal rollbacks. Wentworth is the Louis Bacon Senior Fellow in Environmental Leadership at Harvard University and president emeritus of the Land Trust Alliance in Washington, D.C.

Hydrant flushing may affect tap water

The Lincoln Water Department will be flushing fire hydrants as part of its program to improve water quality starting Monday, May 14. Flushing will take place during the day from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. on weekdays. If tap water is used during flushing, it could be discolored and contain sediment. This discoloration only affects the appearance of the water; it does not affect the taste or water quality.

If you encounter discolored water, shut the water off and wait several minutes. After waiting, check the clarity by running cold water only for a few minutes, allowing new water to work its way into your pipes. In some cases, there may be slight discoloration for a few hours. The water may also have a milky appearance due to tiny air bubbles; they will dissipate over time and are not harmful.

Avoid washing laundry during scheduled flushing times. Wait until the water runs clear at the tap, then wash a load of dark clothes first. Flush your hot water tank by running the hot water tap for a few minutes after the cold water clears; hot water tanks can hold discolored water for some time after the cold water runs clear. Customers may also notice a more pronounced chlorine taste or odor in the water during springtime flushing. This will dissipate when water is left in an open container in the refrigerator. For additional information, call 781-259-8997.

Club Codman this weekend

Club Codman, the spring fundraising night for Codman Community Farms, kicks off on Saturday, May 19 at 8:30 p.m. in the Codman Barn with live music from DADDA. Sport the great fashions of the past and dance to music from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and beyond. No costumes necessary, but there will be much respect for the biggest hair and most polyester. Tickets are $45 for CCF members and $60 for non-members and are available online. This event sells out every year, so buy your tickets now. 

Film about borderlands trip at First Parish

The First Parish in Lincoln will show a short documentary film about a trip its members took to the Arizona borderlands on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. in the Stearns Room.  This film was produced by Lincoln resident Janet Boynton after the November 2016 trip. The film will be followed by a welcoming town and diversity discussion, co-facilitated by First Parish Ministerial Intern Terry Cumming and Peter Pease of the Lincoln Welcoming, Safe Town Committee of Lincoln.

Holy Week and Easter at Lincoln churches

St. Anne’s

Maundy Thursday (March 29)
  • Family service at 4:30 p.m. — Come to a new family-friendly interactive service. Songs and scripture will direct us through remembrance of Jesus’ demonstration of humility and service to his disciples as we ceremoniously wash one another’s feet. Then, after washing hands as well, we’ll proceed to the Last Supper.
  • Holy Eucharist and foot-washing at 7 p.m.
Good Friday (March 30)
  • Noon service — characterized by silence, solemnity and deep prayer, this service features singers chanting the Passion Gospel and the congregation’s veneration of the cross. 
Great Vigil of Easter (Saturday, March 31)
  • The service begins outside on Holy Saturday at 7 p.m. with the kindling of a new fire to represent Christ, the light of the world. A new Paschal candle is lit from the fire and the people process into the sanctuary. By candlelight, we read stories from the Bible, remember our baptism, sing out the first Alleluia and celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter.
Easter Sunday (April 1)
  • Services at 8:30 and 11 a.m.

First Parish

The First Parish in Lincoln will hold a Good Friday meditation and three services in celebration of Easter Sunday plus an Easter egg hunt for children.

  • A Good Friday meditation will be held Friday, March 30 at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary (4 Bedford Rd.) at 6:20 a.m. on Old Lexington Road at the top of Flint’s Field in Lincoln Center.
  • Senior Minister Manish Misrha-Marzetti will preside over two Easter services at 9 and 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. Children are welcome to attend these services; there will be no religious education. Child care will be available for toddler and pre-K aged children in the lower level of the Parish House (14 Bedford Rd.).
  • An Easter egg hunt will take place in the field behind the sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. Children should meet on the Stearns Room/sanctuary terrace.

News acorns

Estate sale of dolls to benefit MCC

The Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee will have a doll-focused estate sale on Sunday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. at 18 Cerulean Way in Lincoln. On offer will be American Girl and Pleasant Company doll baskets, vintage porcelain Franklin Mint dolls, and antique and vintage dolls from all over the world. If you don’t have a special someone buy for, you can purchase a doll to donate to the Home for Little Wanderers in Boston. Your purchase will support two non-profit organizations. There will be tea, wine, chocolate, cheese, and music. Cash, checks, debit and credit cards will be accepted.

Gift basket fundraiser for scholarship

On Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 8 a.m.–3 p.m., the Lincoln-Sudbury Teachers Association will hold a silent auction and raffle to raise money for the 2018 the Paul J. Vernon Memorial Scholarship Award given to a graduating senior. Up for auction will be gift baskets from Starbucks Basket, Candy Apple Shop Basket, Movie Basket, Mindfulness Basket, Bath and Body Works, Book Basket, and Duck Soup; gift cards from Target, Sudbury Pizza, Sudbury Coffee Works, CJ’s Pizza, Selections Boutique, Pure Barre; baked goods and more.

First Parish plans several holiday happenings

Karin Levy and Nancy Fleming, co-chairs of First Parish in Lincoln’s Touch of Christmas Fair, display the wealth of greenery to be made into wreaths and centerpieces for the fair on Saturday, December 9th from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. in the Parish House Auditorium at 14 Bedford Rd.

  • The annual Touch of Christmas Fair will be on Saturday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.in the Parish House (14 Bedford Rd.). Click here for details.
  • Students in the religious education program at the First Parish in Lincoln (FPL) will perform a Christmas pageant on Sunday, Dec. 17. Come enjoy this annual portrayal of the traditional Christmas at 11:30 a.m. in Bemis Hall. There is no snow date. Goodies donated by the families of FPL will be served after the pageant.
  • There will be a hand bell concert on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Parish House. This will be the eighth annual candlelight concert of Christmas carols and holiday favorites. Admission is free, and there will be a reception to follow.
  • The FPL’s Winter Solstice Service will take place on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Parish House. In the tradition of cultures ancient and modern, the First Parish’s service will include music and meditation, story and song as we welcome the return of the light during the winter season. Ministerial intern Terry Cummings will lead the service along with church deacons. The service will be followed by refreshments and conversation in the new Stearns Room at 4 Bedford Rd.
  • As part of its “Live in Lincoln Center” series, the First Parish will present Handel’s Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 23 at 3 p.m. in the Parish House. The traditional holiday musical production will be performed by Ian Watson (conductor/harpsichord), Guy Fishman, Aisslinn Nosky and more, plus the Lincoln Baroque Players and Chorus. Suggested donation is $40 but any amount is appreciated. Seating is limited and is first-come, first seated; doors will open at 2:30 p.m.

Letter to the editor: call for compromise over Stearns Room

letter

To the editor:

Recent letters to the Lincoln Squirrel highlight some difficult and very important issues surrounding the proposed renovation of the Stearns Room of the First Parish in Lincoln. Ease of access by elderly or handicapped individuals is important. So also are sensitivity to neighbor’s concerns about encroachment on their properties and concerns about the effects of modernized building designs on Lincoln’s Historic District. We need to find our ways to a mutually agreeable compromise!

Sincerely,

Bill Stason
29 Sandy Pond Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: restore relationships damaged by church debate

letter

To the editor:

The recent letter in the Lincoln Squirrel from Mr. Pease—a proponent of the current design for the First Parish building project who has been part of the team advancing the application though the permitting process—is deeply disconcerting, and it raises questions regarding what values and commitment to the community are reflected by such a letter.

The letter takes issue with previous letter writers and the Flints for raising objections to the First Parish building project, makes assertions about requirements for handicapped accessibility that strain credulity, misstates facts about the progress of the project through the permitting process, and ignores the fact that many have been taken by surprise with the actual design, given the promises made to the congregation in 2008—promises not kept. And why should the breach of faith with the Flint family matter to the town?

It was the Flint family who, in the 1600s, first settled in what we now know as Lincoln. It was the Flint family that gave land to create the first meeting house and church that allowed us to be recognized as a town in 1754. It was the Flints who led the way in land stewardship, placing the bulk of their very valuable fields in our historic center in permanent conservation, forgoing the large profits that could have been made by the sale of this valuable real estate. And it was a gift from the Flints that allowed a walkway between the First Parish’s two properties and enabled the church to construct the proposed addition. That gift was made assuming the representations presented to them in 2001 had meaning, and that what would be built and what would reflect those representations would be preserved as a result of their gift.

It has been the Flints who have served the town on boards and committees for generations. The Flints have been major contributors of time, resources and talent to the entire community, not just the First Parish community, for 11 generations. It might be said that they are, literally, the first family of Lincoln. They came before any of us, and, I hazard to guess, will remain long after we are gone. They have been the family that has kept core values of caring for community (the entire community) and land in the fore. They have led by example and we all have been the beneficiaries.

It should be noted that all that the Flints have called for (recently reiterated by Ephraim Flint in the Lincoln Squirrel) in fact was promised in the 2008 report from the Building Committee in “The Parish News” (Vol. 45 #8, Sept. 24, 2008). The Flints and many others expected church leadership to honor these promises and assurances. When they were not, the Flints and others raised objections that continue today.

We as a larger community have a right to celebrate and a responsibility to preserve and protect the “sacred space” that is our historic center. It was created to serve all, not just a few. Generations of Flints have fully understood this and today, as in the past, remind us of the need to think of stewardship for the whole. None should be subjected to ridicule and mockery when we question and openly and respectfully express disagreement with each other about the meaning of stewardship for the whole. Does such intolerance for civil debate best reflect the values of a church or our community?

The 200+ year-old tree that will be felled to make room for the proposed addition cannot be restored. But more important are the human relationships that have been damaged in this process. Let us hope that the new church leadership can find ways to restore the relationships and mutual respect within the church community, between the town and the church, and certainly with those who were so instrumental in giving birth and nurturing our wonderful town—the Flints.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: trust between Flints and First Parish lost

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To the editor:

I believe most people, who have issues with the design proposed by the First Parish Building Committee for an addition to the White Church, are not “opposing the proposed new Stearns Room” project. There are legitimate concerns about specifics of the design that for the most part, have not been addressed in the many meetings with the town boards over the last 18 months. The white church in the historic district at our town’s center is classic New England. Any addition to that structure needs to be sensitive to the beauty of this special building.

I have attended most of those meetings and have not heard one comment voiced against the need for handicapped accessibility. The need for handicap accessibility is not at issue. There are however, several design issues that trouble me deeply. Last Sunday evening I stood on the library lawn watching the re-enactment of the April 18th mustering of the Minutemen. I could see over the roof of the Stearns Room, through the trees to the fading, evening light. The height of the proposed roof will be over 5 feet higher than the existing Stearns Room roof. Lowering the roof somewhat would not impact the prominence of the handicapped-accessible entrance planned for that façade. There are other design features such as the tin roof and the amount of glass that could be modified in a way to better protect the sanctuary without affecting the goals of handicapped accessibility and function.

In 2000, my brother Warren and I met with a representative of the First Parish Church to discuss a purchase of land by the First Parish sufficient to support an addition to the Stearns Room built in 1960. That original Stearns Room was designed with a philosophy of modest design and scale to protect the original 1842 building. It was our clear understanding that the addition would be designed with the same considerations in mind. Warren marked a parcel sufficient to support the project as described and the family decided to make a gift of this land. The plan that appears to be in the final stages of approval is not consistent with the understanding that the Flints had with the church at the time of the gift. I have been attending the meetings between the church building committee and the town boards and have tried to articulate the issues with the design that I believe will have a negative impact on the old sanctuary in historic center, the conservation field behind the church and the neighborhood. With one exception, a slight lifting of the window sills, there have been no compromises.

I feel that the trust between the First Parish Church and the Flint family has been lost, but far more importantly, I feel that the “Lincoln way” of decision-making—one characterized by the inclusion of different ideas and compromise—has been abandoned in this process.

Sincerely,

Ephraim Flint (trustee, Flint Realty Trust)

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: concern about church committee’s “adversarial approach”

letter

To the editor:

I fully understand and appreciate the First Parish may want to upgrade the Stearns Room to enhance after-service socializing and improve handicapped access. However, it is not clear why the Building Committee has adopted an adversarial approach to the process—one which antagonizes Lincoln neighbors near and far, divides the congregation, threatens lawsuit, disrespects certain town boards and alienates long-term benefactors.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: concern about church committee’s “adversarial approach”

Letter to the editor: How big is too big for Stearns Room?

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(Editor’s note: This letter concerns the proposed expansion to the First Parish Church’s Stearns Room. The Planning Commission has continued a hearing on details of the plan, including the roofing material, until April 28. The church has already won zoning approval for the proposal.)

To the editor:

Are there no alternative treatments for expansion of this addition than the one proposed? A metal roof seems more appropriate on a contemporary structure than on the current historic church building even though it might have some energy-saving or environmental benefits. [Read more…] about Letter to the editor: How big is too big for Stearns Room?