The Union Church in Waban               
Friday, December 27, 2019 

This Sunday
          8:00 a.m. - No Bible this Sunday
( BIBLE STUDY resumes January 5 th at 8:00 a.m. in Pastor Stacy's study
  9:00 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal  
10:00 a.m. - Sunday Worship  
Church Matters - Save the Dates 
Meeting of the Congregation
Sunday January 26, immediately following worship, 
 and a preparatory session on Sunday, January 12
The Church Council invites all members of the Union Church community to meet on January 26 for three important items:
  1. A briefing from our Communications Committee on a Statement of Purpose, an outward-reaching description of who we are that can be used on our web site an in publicity
  2. A vote on adding four words to our Church Covenant (our promise to each other within the church) to update our language with respect to being open to all:
"We, the members of the Union Church in Waban, true to our founding principle of being an inclusive church, covenant together to nourish and to sustain in our common life and practice a fully welcoming and affirming church for all persons. Welcoming all persons who seek to join with us in a commitment to love God and our neighbors, affirming the inclusive love of Jesus, we are open to all, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, nationality, ability or economic circumstance. We invite all to full participation in our worship, membership, leadership and life of this church.
 
3. A creative and interactive conversation about our visions for the church so that we may set our priorities for our spring stewardship campaign and budget-setting process the coming year. This session will set the context for the spending plan we will vote to adopt in June.
 
To prepare for this important meeting, members of the community are invited to engage in conversation and reflection on the importance of being open to all regardless of "gender identity and expression".  We will gather on the stage immediately following worship on
Sunday, January 12.
 
PLEASE NOTE: Pastors Amy and Stacy will be away from December 26th to 28th.   If you are in need of pastoral care during this time, please call our Deacon of the Month, Debbie McGovern at 857-498-1812.
 

Mission Outreach 
Advocates for Racial Justice (ARJ)
A new group at the The Union Church
The June travelers to Montgomery, Alabama have formed a new group to promote the work of racial justice in our community and nation. We are calling the group

Advocates for Racial Justice.
The mission statement of our group is below:
 
Responding to our call as Christians to see the image of God in all people, and to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, we pledge to each other and the Union Church congregation to be faithful Advocates for Racial Justice. We will engage our congregation and the larger community in continuing study and conversation about ideology of white supremacy at its root. We want to unmask and oppose the racism that divides the people of God from one another, unfairly empowering some and not others, in our personal relationships, community, state, and nation.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said that "true peace" is "the presence of justice." Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative says, "We must acknowledge the truth about our history before we can heal." This is our main purpose: to seek, understand, and proclaim the truth about our history-specifically, about slavery and white supremacy-so that we can be properly reconciled to one another and prepare the way for true peace, which is the presence of justice.
 
Advocates for Racial Justice is open to anyone who would like to join us in our work and be on the committee. Please contact Brita Gill-Austern ( [email protected]), if you are interested.   

Please note the following:
  • There is now a bulletin board downstairs with information and upcoming programs in the church and outside about racial justice.
  • There is a bookcase at entrance of Reception Room for borrowing books related to racism, white supremacy, white privilege, etc. Check it out and check one out and return when you have finished.
  • Please put Sunday March 8th at 6 p.m. on your calendar for a potluck and amazing speaker, Jospehine Mc Call, author of Penalty for Success. Her book tells the personal story of her father's lynching and how this was used as a common practice used when African Americans became successful.
  • If you have not had the chance to see the movie Harriet about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad I strongly recommend it.
  • If you can see the very beautiful Black Nativity in Boston through December 26th to broaden your exposure to African American culture and conceptualizations of the Nativity. For discount tickets go to Boston Arts Tickets. A great family activity!
 
Brita Gill-Austern, chair of ARJ.
(Committee members are Annie Gatewood, Jenny Weisz, Kathleen Hobson, Nancy Zollers, Frank Laski, Arlyne Grant and Stacy Swain.

homelessness and housing


This year your    Mission Outreach Leadership Team  is organizing its work (and coordinating with the other areas of UCW life) around seasonal themes. These will provide an organizing context for the many mission activities and we will coordinate educational opportunities, worship, and children's education around these themes when possible. We also hope to coordinate our seasonal offerings around these themes.

Our winter theme is  -  Homelessness and Housing.  Please consider participating in some of the offerings listed below: 
        
February 2 -  Common Art Show at the Union Church
    March 1 - Public Voices Speakers from City Mission
    March 8 - Evening with Josephine Bolling McCall 

Our spring theme is  -  Climate Change (and disaster relief)

For more information about these offerings please feel free to reach out to
Carol Bascom-Slack,Jaap van Reijendam or Julie Heffernan.
Adult Education, Spiritual Formation and Fellowship
Book Group
Tuesday, January 28 th  at 7:00 p.m. 
Our next book is " Evicted " by Matthew Desmond.

" In Evicted," Princeton sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as "wrenching and revelatory" (The Nation), "vivid and unsettling" (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America's most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible . "
(Amazon review)
norwood health  
Pen Pal ministry
   
Once a month, a group from UCW worships with the residents of Norwood Health.  Many of these residents were formerly our neighbors, living at Waban Health before that facility closed.  

In addition to our monthly worship service, many of the residents enjoy writing and receiving cards.  We know that loneliness adversely affects health and well being and many of the residents are quite socially isolated.  Writing cards is one way we can help foster connection and share the love of UCW.  If you are interested in being a pen pal with a resident of Norwood Health.  Please be in touch with Stacy .
NEW DAY - THURSDAY MORNINGS   
PRAYER GROUP: 7:30 - 8:15 a.m.
  
 
We live in a noisy world.  There is much that clamors for our attention.  Even when we shut our eyes at night it may take a while for the din to die down enough for us to sleep.  You are invited into a practice of cultivating spaciousness and silence.  You are invited into the beauty of the morning light streaming in through the windows of Memorial Chapel.  You are invited to rest a while in the peace of stillness.  If you have questions, please be in touch with  Sandra DaDalt or  Pastor Stacy .
CYFChildren, Youth and Families
Growing in Faith and Community 
EXPLORING OUR FAITH AND HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH GROUP!  
Next meeting: January 5th 
EOF: 5:00-6:30 p.m. 
High School Youth Group: 6:30-8:00 p.m. 
Exploring Our Faith students, and other high-schoolers and adults are invited to join this powerful overnight service trip with our partner, Ecclesia Ministries in downtown Boston. We'll learn from and serve with Ecclesia members who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, share meals, and distribute needed clothing, blankets and hygiene items to guests. If you can contribute any of the items above, we would be so grateful, and will have a collection box in the Crocker Chapel. Please let Pastor Amy ( [email protected] ) know asap (by Jan. 5th at the latest) if you can join us.
SAVE THE DATE:  CITYREACH OVERNIGHT SERVICE TRIP 
Friday - Saturday, January 10th - 11th

Donations of travel-sized toiletries, used men's outdoor clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, carrying cases/bags, and new underwear or white socks are VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! 

Exploring Our Faith students, and other high-schoolers and adults are invited to join this powerful overnight service trip with our partner, Ecclesia Ministries in downtown Boston. We'll learn from and serve with Ecclesia members who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, share meals, and distribute needed clothing, blankets and hygiene items to guests. If you can contribute any of the items above, we would be so grateful, and will have a collection box in the Crocker Chapel. 

Please let Pastor Amy ([email protected]) know asap if you can join us.
NICARAGUA BAKE SALE 
Sunday, January 12th
Save the date and start looking through your favorite bake-sale recipes (no peanuts or tree nuts please)!  In preparation for our service trip to Nicaragua in February, we will hold a bake-sale to raise funds for needed school and other supplies for our partners in San Juan del Sur.  We hope you will plan to contribute something delicious, and buy something yummy for yourself.  We'll need help baking, preparing the goods for sale on Saturday, and selling.  If you can help, please talk to Joannie Kelly or Pastor Amy.   
From the Wider Community



Revisiting Civil Rights Sites in  Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham Alabama,  and Boston MA
 
Purpose             
We propose a project of Civil Rights era remembrance for two audiences, for youth and for civic and academic leaders. This venture is intergenerational. Youth will be involved with film and social media; civic and academic leaders in an academic conference drawing from the New Democracy Coalition's program on Civic Literacy, CMM's Values over Violence and Interfaith Youth Initiatives, the Ella J Baker House and Seymour Institute, and additional partners, churches and synagogues. We seek to acknowledge the 55 th anniversary of the crossing of Pettus Bridge in Selma (2020) and related events.
Selma - 2020     Phase One:
Focus on Youth: travel seminar by bus and one night's hotel lodging

February 28         Friday: 20-hour bus trip as traveling seminar with civil rights video
February 29         Saturday: Montgomery, AL; visit National Memorial for Peace & Justice                                       (Saturday Night - in hotel/motel)
March 1                Sunday: Jubilee Sunday: Church Service and Pettus Bridge Crossing
March 2                Monday: Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and 16 th Baptist Church      
March 3                Tuesday: Back in Boston in the early morning/mid afternoon
April                      Gathering of Sojourners: "What Did It All Mean?" Date & Place: TBA
Boston - 2021   Phase Two:
Five nights of Boston hospitality, receptions and academic conference

April 16                Friday: Welcome reception by a supporting Institute
April 17                Saturday: Freedom Trail and civic welcome, Faneuil/Crispus Attucks Hall
April 18                Sunday: Church Services and Thurman Center, Boston University
April 19                Monday: Black Freedom Trail, Tubman, Baker Houses welcome
April 20                Tuesday: Seymour Institute Academic Round Table, Harvard University
April 21                Wednesday: Depart

Contact CMM for interest and further information at  [email protected]
or by phone at 617-244-3650.
                                                
                                      Our Covenant
 
We, the members of The Union Church in Waban, true to our founding principle of being an inclusive church, covenant together to nourish and to sustain in our common life and practice a fully welcoming and affirming church for all persons. Welcoming all persons who seek to join with us in a commitment to love God and our neighbors, affirming the inclusive love of Jesus, we are open to all, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ability or economic circumstance. We invite all to full participation in our worship, membership, leadership and life of this church.


For a complete listing, and details of all upcoming events,  please 
visit our website, www.ucw.org 
 
Note : Material for inclusion in the Friday e-Blast newsletter should be e-mailed to the office at [email protected] , by 9:00 a.m. on the previous Wednesday morning.