Possible Clues:

• Old Colony, northeast US state
• State ceremony by church held amongst sculpted statues
• State must act as she's in a mess
• State hates cuts planned in service
• Tests as much as can be arranged for state
• State of holy ritual a church employs when keeping dry
• One of the original 13 US states
• Harvard's state
• The full version of Mass
• ...and another!