First Congregational Church UCC Harwich

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Newsletter

March 2, 2015 by FCCH Staff

The group assembled to address the ongoing dispute between the church and the Town of Harwich regarding the future of our Memorial Garden (Bob Buchanan, Lynn Carver, Mary Montgomery, and myself) has been hard at work. As part of our ongoing efforts, and with prior approval of the Cabinet, we recently hired Barbara Huggins, a partner in the law firm of Huggins and Witten, with offices in Duxbury and Newton, to help us navigate the legal waters surrounding the Garden.

Barbara came down to the Cape to meet with us several weeks ago and we were immediately impressed with her intelligence, knowledge, and passionate concern for the church’s situation. (She even worked during part of the 90’s in the Land Court in Boston!) The firm’s specialty is municipal law (precisely what we needed) and they even serve as town counsel to several municipalities throughout the state.

As it stands, in late October, First Church submitted a written proposal to the Cemetery Commission requesting that the Memorial Garden be allowed to remain in its current location, with the caveat that no further interments of cremains would take place in the “excluded areas,” those areas within the Garden where cremains lie over unmarked, preexisting graves. We also proposed erecting a suitable monument or marker to honor those buried beneath the Garden.

At their December meeting, the Cemetery Commission rejected our proposal. Currently they are in the process of drafting a counterproposal that we have every reason to believe will involve moving the Garden to a cite in the southwest corner of the cemetery, the very spot where the first meeting house stood and where there are no known graves.

We believe, as does Barbara, that our proposal is both fair and equitable, particularly given that the Cemetery Commission approved the construction of the Garden in December of 1988 with the knowledge that it would be built over “known, unmarked graves.” It is Barbara’s informed opinion as well that the town’s desire to disinter our cremains and relocate them elsewhere is an altogether extreme remedy in rectifying the situation.

Two issues are paramount. First, does the current Memorial Garden violate any state law? As far as we know, this is not at all clear, though the town assumes otherwise. (As we understand it, the church did seek legal advice in 1988-9, before the Garden was built, and earnestly believed that no law was being breached.)

Secondly, the ownership of the cemetery, despite a Land Court decision in the mid-60s granting ownership to the town, remains a hotly contested issue. As we understand it, the court used town assessor records as the sole basis for their decision, something we’ve come to learn is highly inordinate. Whether we contest the court’s questionable ruling remains uncertain.

In conclusion, and most importantly, we thank each of you for your ongoing prayers and support as we seek to address this most difficult and emotionally taxing situation.

Grace and peace,

Thomas C. Leinbach, Pastor

Filed Under: Letter

Sunday Worship

We are an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ.

During the health pandemic, we invite worshippers to join us on Sundays at 10:30 am. We meet in safety for a 45-minute service on our (encrypted) video-conference platform.

How to Find Us

Past Sermons

Sermon: Plan? What Plan?

December 27, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Worry, Be Happy

December 18, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Thoughts for 3 a.m.

December 11, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: The Moods of Christian Life

December 5, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Who Are We to Judge?

November 27, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Keeping One’s Marbles amid the Whistling Tree Frogs

November 20, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Interpreting the Bible

November 7, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Luther, Schmuther!

October 30, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: A Mechanistic God

October 16, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Knowing Who We Are

October 12, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: The Freedom of Constraint

October 2, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Daytime TV and Bonbons

September 25, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Mind Your Own Knitting

September 18, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Stasis, Novelty or Reform

September 11, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Decisions, Decisions

September 5, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Everyone’s Got One

August 28, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Self-Righteousness, Othering, and Violence

August 21, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Oh, This!

August 14, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: From Heel to Healer

August 8, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Unexpectedly

July 31, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Surviving Hope

July 25, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Prevenient Grace

July 17, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: The Strange Persistence of Guilt

July 11, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Freedom

July 3, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Looking for the Lord

June 26, 2017 By FCCH Staff

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