SUDBURY: Paranormal beliefs are rising fast. In 2016, 46 percent of Americans reported believing in ghosts, according to Chapman University. That figure has reached 57 percent, and since the pandemic, one in five Americans say they’ve personally met a ghost. And it’s not just ghosts. Topics like astrology, dream interpretation, and psychic abilities are rapidly becoming mainstream.
 
Although the resurgence of public interest in the paranormal is new, Rabbi Yisroel Freeman of the Chabad Center of Sudbury says we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Starting May 2 and running through May 23, he will be leading a 4-week course from the Jewish Learning Institute entitled Jewpernatural that unearths the Jewish perspective on dreams, astrology, spirits, and other enduring mysteries.
 
The trend toward the paranormal encompasses a broad spectrum of beliefs, including jinxes, demons, spirits, communicating with the deceased, and astrology. To satisfy this curiosity, Jewpernatural addresses everything from the role of angels and the efficacy of the “evil eye” to whether the stars have much to say about your future.
 
The course is open to the wider community and like all of our courses no background knowledge is required. The course will be offered online and in person and will run for four Tuesday evenings.  Interested students can see more detailed information on this course and sign up.  You may also call (978) 443-0110 or email info@chabadsudbury.com.

NORTHBOROUGH: The Northborough Southborough Special Education Parent Advisory Council (NSPAC) will host its 13th annual Go the Distance Awards Night on May 11 at Algonquin Regional High School cafeteria, 70 Bartlett Street, 6-7:30pm. The evening strives to recognize district staff and community members who have made a difference in the life of a special needs student in the Northborough/Southborough school district. All are welcome. For more information, visit www.nspac.org/gtd. The nomination window will be open thru April 14.

NSPAC is a volunteer-run, positive and solution oriented organization of parents of students ages 3-22 with special needs, medical challenges, and learning differences in the Northborough and Southborough School Districts.  
Whether your child is already receiving support services or you are trying to determine if your child needs services, NSPAC is dedicated to providing information, resources and friendships to families as you navigate the special education process. 

Meetings, speakers, and events of interest can be found on the website at www.nspac.org or follow NSPAC on Facebook.

BOYLSTON: Assabet Valley Mastersingers is hosting its 2023 AVM Golf Outing and Dinner/Concert benefit on May 22 at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club. Golfers will enjoy the Mark Mungeam-designed championship course which has received national recognitions and numerous awards. Players will compete for a $10,000 Cash Prize for a Hole in One on the targeted hole, with ancillary prizes on non-targeted holes.

The Golf Outing includes an 18-hole scramble, contests, prizes, raffle, lunch and dinner, gifts, a team photo, and concert! Additional contests include: First Place and Runner Up Foursomes, Most Honest Foursome, Longest Drive Men, Longest Drive Women, and Closest to the Pin. The single golfer fee is $150 and $580 for a foursome.

Golf registration is available at www.avmsingers.org/golf through May 7, 2023. This popular event entertains both golfers and dinner/concert guests. Guests will enjoy appetizers, raffle, and dinner followed by a lighthearted concert called “What the Court Jester Saw!”. The Chambersingers, an 18-voice ensemble, will perform in the Music Room. Dinner/Concert pricing is $50 per person. Dinner reservations are required and available at www.avmsingers.org/golf through May 7, 2023.

Money raised at this event enables AVM to continue to bring quality programming to the community while enhancing the area’s cultural offerings. All proceeds from this benefit event will support the operating expenses of the Assabet Valley Mastersingers, a non-profit 501(c)(3) arts organization. For more information and/or sponsorship, visit www.avmsingers.org/golf or contact Matt Pietro, Event Chair at AVMgolf@avmsingers.org.

Area residents are invited to attend one of the many nature-themed programs hosted by Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT). The nonprofit conservation group recently posted its Spring 2023 Program Calendar on its website, along with complete details and registration information.  Highlights include a Senior Walks in Acton, Wayland, and Sudbury (various dates in April and May); Unlock Your Inner Food Gardener (May 6); Spring Wildflower Walks in Berlin and Sudbury (May 13); a Plant Identification and Natural History Walk in Harvard (May 14); and a Full Moon Walk in Wayland (June 2). Space is limited and registration is required.

In honor of Earth Day, SVT will lead a History Hike Up Tippling Rock in Sudbury on April 22, at 9am. Plus, a special webinar on April 20 will explore how backyard gardens can contribute to climate change resilience.

SVT also offers volunteer opportunities for those interested in caring for local conservation lands. Upcoming projects include building a boardwalk across wetlands in Sudbury, creating a new hiking trail in Berlin, and pulling non-native invasive plants from conservation areas in several towns. New volunteers are also invited to attend the Spring Volunteer Orientation Session over Zoom on April 26 at 7pm.

Complete information about SVT programs and volunteer projects is available at www.svtweb.org/calendar.

MARLBOROUGH: Parishioners at St. Stephen Lutheran Church welcomed a new pastor recently, and the warmth of that welcome has brought joy to Pastor Rheanna Goodrich and her family as they settle in to their new home. “The call has been amazing so far,” says Pr Rheanna.
“The congregation has been so welcoming to our family, and super supportive.”

At St. Stephen, the new pastor is “looking forward to getting to know everybody here, working with people to figure out what comes next.” Her focus is both the church and the Marlborough-Hudson community. She notes that “a lot of people don’t know Jesus, a loving, benevolent God. There is so much pain and brokenness.” The call of the church, she says “is to help heal.”

Pr Rheanna comes to SSLC from Michigan, where she has spent the major portion of her life, but New England is also in her background. Born in Montana, she lived with her parents and sister in New Hampshire from age 2 to Grade 4, and has fond memories of outdoor activities. “We ran around in the woods all the time and loved playing outside.” Her family attended Baptist and Episcopal churches, but she came back to her Lutheran roots in Michigan during her high school years. Her faith was important, but Pr. Rheanna didn’t realize then that it  would become her vocation and went on to earn a BS in English with a focus in Creative Writing at
Central Michigan University. After graduation, “I quickly realized I needed a job and went into business,” she recalls of her time spent managing apartment complexes. “Then God got involved.”

Active in her congregation leading programs, and serving as council president, the thought of becoming a pastor emerged, but she was unsure “whether I wanted to take on the responsibility in my 20s.” She was now married - she and Mara will mark their 21 st anniversary this summer. Talking with Mara and her pastor, eventually “there were enough signs that I couldn’t ignore it. This was in my heart.” She enrolled in the five year program at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, and daughter Kaili, now 12, was born during this time. Pr Rheanna accepted a first call to a church in Au Gres, MI, “a lovely, rural community experience,” and a second call to Bridgeport, MI, closer to Mara’s work.

Accepting her third call meant a move to Massachusetts for the family of three and four cats. “It is fabulous to be back in a place of diverse culture, people, language, and food,” she says. The family likes the outdoors, especially hiking, biking, and camping. Pr Rheanna also enjoys creative writing, including science fiction as well as poetry. Among many new and old adventures, she would love to try snowshoeing again, take Kaili to Hampton Beach, to experience it as she had as a child, and all three would like to explore Salem, and the history of a very distinct era. “We were looking for a new adventure,” Pr. Rheanna says with a smile, adding that “New England is a homecoming for me and had everything we were looking for.”

For more information about the church, visit www.saintstephenlutheran.com or the church’s Facebook page. Saint Stephen is a member of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org) . The church is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, welcoming to all. Parishioners come from Marlborough, Hudson, Berlin, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Stow and Bolton. Sunday worship is at 10am, with Sunday School at 9am.

SUDBURY: Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT), a nonprofit conservation organization that works in 36 cities and towns, recently worked with the Town of Berlin to protect 44 acres of open space off Highland Street in the northern part of town. SVT has given the name Highland Ridge Woods to this new conservation area. The organization plans to work with the Town of Berlin to create public hiking trails at the site.

The Highland Ridge Woods property encircles the new Homes at Highland Ridge 55+ community. During the permitting process for the housing development, the Town of Berlin required that these 44 acres be permanently conserved as open space. This resulted in the landowner donating the land to SVT.

“SVT was happy to accept the donation and permanently protect this land,” said Meredith Houghton, SVT Senior Land Protection Specialist. “The property features a rich diversity of wildlife habitats. It sits in a white pine forest with a mix of young and old trees, and it also plays a role in flood protection for the surrounding area.”

In the coming months, SVT will grant a conservation restriction (CR) on the property to the Berlin Conservation Commission. The CR is a legal agreement that will permanently restrict development and become part of the property deed. By holding the CR, the Conservation Commission can ensure that this land will remain undeveloped.

“The Town wanted these 44 acres to be protected as open space, so we were pleased that SVT was able to take ownership of the property,” said Carolyn MacDonald, chair of the Berlin Conservation Commission. “We have worked with SVT on several previous conservation projects in Berlin, so we knew the organization would take good care of the land and its wildlife habitats.”

The Town of Berlin holds a trail easement across the Highland Ridge Woods property. Together, SVT and the Town will create hiking trails that will give the public permanent access to this new conservation land.

PHOTO: The 44-acre Highland Ridge Woods property will be permanently conserved as open space with hiking trails for public enjoyment.

HOLLISTON: The Walk 'n Mass Volkssport Club invites walkers to complete a 5km or 10km (3.1 or 6.2 mile) walk route and join in on the Club’s Soup Social April 1. This is a walk-at-your-own pace, just-for-fun event “in your own backyard”. The start point is the First Congregational Church, 725 Washington Street. The 5km start time is 10:15- 11am and the 10km start time is 9-10am. The walk times are staggered so that walkers will finish shortly before noon when the soups are served. 

WESTBOROUGH: Join Westborough's annual Town-Wide Litter Clean-Up sponsored by the Westborough Community Land Trust, and enjoy a drop-in Earth Day Volunteers’ pizza picnic lunch afterwards! Come on your own, or rally your family, co-workers, or neighbors and form a team to beautify our town! Go to https://westboroughlandtrust.org/earth-day-signup between April 1-6 to sign up and choose an area to clean. Trash bags will be dropped off at participants’ homes by the April 7, or if necessary, you can arrange to pick up. Clean your chosen area any day or time from April 8 to noon on April 15. Leave closed bags by the road in the area you cleaned, and they will be removed on April 15. Then head over to Bay State Commons on April 15, from 11:30am-12:30pm, for an appreciation picnic of pizza with all the sides and live music! For questions contact earthday@westboroughlandtrust.org.

MARLBORO/SUDBURY: Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) recently expanded its Grist Mill Pond Conservation Area thanks to land donations from two members of a neighboring family. The conservation area, which runs along Route 20 near the Marlborough-Sudbury line, is home to native plants such as winterberry and highbush blueberry with impressively large and statuesque oak trees.

The nonprofit land trust has been protecting this wetland habitat since 1975, when it purchased 18 acres of land around Grist Mill Pond. The conservation area expanded in June 2022 when a member of the Hutch family donated an adjacent 4.4-acre parcel that further buffers the habitat. The area expanded again on February 24, when another member of the Hutch family donated an additional 2.7 acres for permanent protection.

“We were delighted to accept these two donations from the Hutch family,” said Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship. “It’s important to add to and create buffers around wetlands so our native wildlife can thrive. Every time we increase the size of a conservation area, we provide additional protections for wildlife.”