John and Marilyn Allen
Prayer Vigil and Brief History Lesson
This week, our Spotlight of Gratitude belongs to Marilyn and John Allen.
If you don’t know John and Marilyn, you can scroll to the bottom of the article. They are the two beautiful people in the picture. John and Marilyn have been members of the church since 1976, which means they are celebrating 50 years with this church community. I had the honor of sitting down with them this week to talk about their journey of faith, the history of the church, and the meaning behind the prayer vigil.
John and Marilyn have always had ties to the Newmarket Community Church. They both grew up in Epping, New Hampshire, and John’s mother and grandmother were members here long before he was. Years later, when they moved to Newmarket and began looking for a place to enroll their son in Sunday school, their connection to the church came full circle.
Marilyn reached out to the minister at NCC and invited him over to meet with John. What John didn’t realize at the time was that he was walking into a bit of a loving ambush. During that visit, the minister made a simple but bold statement. If they wanted their son to have a Sunday school teacher, it was going to have to be John. With a moment of surprise and maybe a little hesitation, John said yes, and that yes became the beginning of something much bigger. Thank God for that moment.
What followed was decades of deep involvement. For the next 10 years, John served as a Sunday School teacher. Then, for the 13 years after that, John and Marilyn served faithfully as deacons and contributed in countless other ways. Their presence helped shape not just programs, but the spirit of the church itself. Although they no longer assume official titles, they still contribute to the church in so many impactful ways.
In the 1980s, alongside other members, they played a meaningful role in guiding the church toward becoming a more open and inclusive community. With courage and compassion, they supported conversations and decisions that opened the church up to so many in need, something that continues to define the church today. They also helped build bridges with neighboring congregations, including the local Catholic church, at a time when those relationships were not always easy. Because of efforts like theirs, we now enjoy strong, meaningful connections with other churches in the community.
John and Marilyn didn’t just attend this church. They helped shape it into the loving and accepting place it is today.
One of the programs they helped shape was the Prayer Vigil. The Prayer Vigil was something they had participated in at the church in Epping and were deeply passionate about bringing that tradition to NCC. They started it here almost 40 years ago. It was not easy in the beginning. There were no online sign-ups or access codes, and getting people to commit was a challenge. But that did not stop them. Year after year, they showed up. Even in the years when participation was low, they remained faithful to it. Because of that commitment, the Prayer Vigil continues today.
When I asked them what they loved most about the Prayer Vigil, their answer was simple but powerful. It is a special moment to sit in the church with God, to reflect on life, to deepen that connection, and to consider how to be of service to others. There is something especially meaningful about doing that at NCC, a place where you are surrounded by love, where so much care is both given and received. What a time and place to receive God’s love and to be reminded that God is not a punishing God, but a loving one.
It was truly an honor to write this and to spend time with John and Marilyn. Thank you to those of you who took the time to read this and made it all the way through.
