Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

The days continue to get shorter and shorter and for many of us, this is only part of what makes the winter holidays a challenge. Some of us will be spending the holidays without loved ones, perhaps for the first time. Some struggle with mental illnesses including depression and seasonal affective disorder. Others are alone either because they live far from their family or because they have no family left. And some are beset by more than one of these circumstances. These reasons don’t matter. The fact is that not everyone is joyful at this time of year. Christmas carols sound hollow, Hanukah lights don’t seem to dispel the darkness, and the rampant commercialism combined with financial insecurities make it difficult to be “merry,” as so many others seem to expect of us. But there is a place for you to come and dwell for a brief time in a meditative atmosphere that will also give you the opportunity to pay tribute to your grief and sorrow.

On Thursday evening, December 18 at 7pm, the First Baptist Church in Gloucester invites you to attend The Longest Night Service. Named for the winter solstice, the longest night of the year after which the days grow longer and the light returns, The Longest Night is a service of quiet music and candlelight designed for those who need a peaceful place to be, if only for a short time, in the midst of the noise and bustle that the holidays bring. The service is Christian in nature, but all are invited to join us and to participate at a level that is comfortable for you. There will be a time to light candles in memory of loved ones now gone, in hope for our community and our world, and in the promised joy of burdens to be lifted. You may light one candle or many, or none at all if you prefer to just sit and enjoy the soft light that expels the darkness one candle at a time. You will also be able to receive private prayer if you so wish. After this brief service, light refreshments will be served.

If you need some time apart, if you are seeking a reason to sit in stillness, if you need a safe place to cry, please come and join us. No expectations, no jingling bells or blaring carols. Just you, the candlelight, gentle music, and other people who understand the need to be quiet for a while. You are welcome here, whatever you might be facing right now.

The First Baptist Church in Gloucester is an American Baptist congregation located at 38 Gloucester Avenue. For more information please call the church office at 978-283-4808.

May the light of the season illuminate your dark places,

Pastor Cindy Antonuk

Thursday, December 18
7:00 PM
The First Baptist Church in Gloucester

The Longest Night

Sometimes called a Blue Christmas service, this is a time of reflection and light, music and prayer, designed for those who struggle to find happiness during the December holidays.  You will have the opportunity to light candles, receive private prayer, listen to contemplative music, and share light refreshments.
Please join us for this peaceful evening in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season.  All are welcome.

“Blue Christmas” at St. John’s

Dear Joey,

This might be helpful to some of your readers.

For many people, Christmas and the days around it are more about pain than joy. Saint John’s Episcopal Church is offering a service Sunday at 4 pm that will give voice to those feelings and respond to them with prayers and a ritual of spiritual healing. All are welcome.

Peace,

Bret+

Come spend this Saturday morning (Dec 13) at Maritime Gloucester making nautical inspired presents. Ages 5 to 12 years. Cost is $5 per child members, $8 per child non-members. Parents/Guardians are required to attend and registration is required. Workshop will take place in the Sarah Fraser Robbins Classroom accessed from the walkway to the pier. Register here.

Hi Joey,
My name is Danielle Soucy Mills and I am a former Gloucester resident of 23+ years (before I went away to college in Rhode Island and graduate school in California.) I now live in San Diego, but Gloucester is still a place so very near and dear to my heart, especially since my parents still live in Annisquam in the house where I grew up. (My mother is a HUGE Good Morning Gloucester follower, too!) I moved to California to study creative writing and am now publishing my first novel, Illusion of an Ending, which is set in Gloucester (and part in SD and CT too). I am looking for help to get the word out about the book, especially since I am doing a “Pay It Forward Book Launch” where a percentage of the proceeds on Saturday, December 13th, Day 2 of the launch will go toward creating a scholarship in honor of Michael Gryzbinski, a young man from Gloucester who passed away in 2010 at 13 years old. His mother kindly donated her picture for the cover of my book.

I have attached a copy of the book cover, and my website, which details the launch as well as what the book is about. Please let me know if you would be able to help me in getting the word out. Also, here is the link to the Book Launch event which I created on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1579026482330880/

www.daniellesoucymills.com

Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Danielle

Danielle Soucy Mills

Dec 9 at 2:35 PM

Hi Joey –
If possible to get this on GMG this week (or next) that would be great. The Shop has been vastly improved with the renovation – chock full of new items for the holidays, most of local interest including books, prints, cards, posters, maps, toys, home goods, and so on!   There’s also the Working Waterfront exhibit on view through Feb. 1 and the Diane KW ceramic shard installation (permanent) in the vestibule and entry level restroom (catalogs available in the gift shop for both) – as well as the Museum’s 2015 Fitz Henry Lane Calendar.
Thanks,
Meredith
Meredith Anderson
Media & Communications Coordinator
Cape Ann Museum

If you have memories, objects or photographs from the Tarr and Wonson Paint Manufactory, Ocean Alliance and Maritime Gloucester would love to hear from you. We are creating an exhibit on the Manufactory’s history, and its pioneering role in the development of commercially viable anti-fouling paint which played a pivotal role in america’s industrial revolution and the rapid growth of its commercial fishing industry. Your stories could be just what we need to make it come alive. Objects or memorabilia that might be borrowed for the exhibit or examined for their information are also of great interest, and we will happily copy any photographs and return originals to you. Please contact Melanie Murray-Brown at Maritime Gloucester at 978-281-0470 or mmurray-brown@maritimegloucester.org

Thomas Balf
Executive Director
Maritime Gloucester

Gloucester nonprofits receive $11,000

Thanksgiving week, Cummings Properties distributed $327,000 to local nonprofits, including $11,000 to four Gloucester organizations. Cape Ann Animal Aid, Day by Day Adult Care, SeniorCare, and The Open Door each received multiple donations in honor of the commercial real estate firm’s full-time staff members, who were each invited to select a charity to receive $1,000 through the Employee Directed Giving program.

The program, now in its third year, supports local communities through organizations based and providing services in or near employees’ hometowns. Eight Cummings organization staff members reside in Gloucester, including John Dionne, associate division manager at Cummings Center in Beverly, who has been with the Company for more than 17 years.

“My wife works for Day by Day Adult Care and it has a short budget. The donations allow them to have programs and equipment they couldn’t otherwise afford,” said Dionne, whose past donation went to purchase a Nintendo Wii system for physical therapy. “I can speak for myself and others; we greatly appreciate that the Company makes these donations in our names.”

When looking for a local charity to donate to during the last Employee Directed Giving cycle, carpenter and Gloucester resident Saverio Sciortino asked his colleague Mike Taormina to recommend one; he suggested The Open Door.

“This time I decided to visit in person to see where the donation was going,” said Sciortino. “I went to deliver the check and get a tour on the day before Thanksgiving, so it was busier than usual. When I saw what these people do, how much they help so many in need, I wanted to cry.”

Sciortino was so moved, he volunteered his handyman skills to executive director Julie LaFontaine.

“Employee Directed Giving is a unique opportunity for the company to make an impact in the communities where our employees live in a way that is particularly meaningful to them,” said president and CEO Dennis Clarke. “The fact that families are sitting down having discussions about where to give and why has resulted in numerous colleagues feeling especially good about the program.” 

Employee Directed Giving is open to all full-time staff within the Cummings organization annually, including the firm’s affiliated New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn.

A complete list of recipient organizations is available at www.cummingsproperties.com/employee_directed_giving.htm.

Cummings Properties carpenter Saverio Sciortino, once a Gloucester fisherman, delivers a $1,000 Employee Directed Giving check to The Open Door. Pictured left to right: Kevin Brisson, food pantry supervisor, executive director Julie LaFontaine, and Sciortino.

Cummings Properties carpenter Mike Taormina and electrician apprentice Mike Kiene made a special trip to Gloucester’s The Open Door to deliver their Employee Directed Giving checks to executive director Julie LaFontaine.