The Union Church in Waban               
Friday, January 17, 2020 

This Sunday
          8:00 a.m. - No Bible Study 
We will resume next week.
  9:00 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal  
10:00 a.m. - Sunday Worship 
Deacon's Corner
hearts-icon.jpg

Valentine Care Packages for 
Our Young People

The Deacons will be compiling Valentine Care Packages to send to our UCW young people who are in their first year of being away from home. We want them to know that the church is thinking of them and sending love.  If you have a young person who is newly away from home whether as a college freshman or in another setting please send  Pastor Stacy their mailing address so that we can send them a box of treats. 
Church Matters 
Meeting of the Congregation
Sunday January 26, immediately following worship

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.

New Members - Would you like to join the church?

We rejoice and welcome all who gather and share in our life together as church. And there may be some of us who are feeling called to deepen our relationship with the community by becoming members of UCW. Membership offers the congregant and congregation an opportunity to pledge ourselves one to another in an intentional walk of faith. Membership also enables one to vote in congregational matters like the vote we will take on updating the language. We will be receiving new members into our life together during worship on Sunday, January 26th. If you are interested in membership, please reach out to  Pastor Stacy.

CYFChildren, Youth and Families
Growing in Faith and Community 
CITYREACH LAST WEEKEND - THANK YOU!
Nearly 20 high-schoolers and adults participated in last weekend's overnight with Ecclesia Ministries in downtown Boston. We learned from and built relationships with members of the Ecclesia congregation who are experiencing homelessness, saw the city through their eyes, and served with them on Saturday distributing needed food, clothing, blankets and more. We're so grateful for the support of this UCW congregation, and especially for the generous donations so many of you made on short notice!
 
  


NICARAGUA BAKE SALE 
&  LUKE'S LIGHTS

THANK YOU!  


We're so grateful to everyone who supported our Bake Sale last weekend for Nicaragua! We raised more than $1000 for needed school and other supplies for our partners in San Juan Del Sur, and also raised enough to purchase many solar-powered Luke's Lights, which will bring needed light to homes without electricity. Thank you for your generosity!
  
YOUTH MINISTRY TEAM -- COMING UP! 
Sunday, Jan. 26 th ,  at the Abbiati-Collins home
The Youth Ministry Team is made up of caring adults and teens who are interested in shaping a planning our ministries with middle and high schoolers. We're finalizing our Youth Ministry calendar for the winter and spring, and will gather as a team on Sunday, Jan. 26 th at the Abbiati-Collins home. We'd love to have you join us! Contact Pastor Amy
PARENT'S GROUP
Rescheduled for Monday, January 27 th , 7:30 - 9:00  p.m. at UCW
Because of the long MLK weekend, we're rescheduling our monthly Parents' Group meeting this month to Monday, January 27 th.  Come find peace and support as we share in the good and hard work of parenting!  We'll gather around tea, cocoa and cookies to share a New Year reflection.
MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH GROUP DINNER OUT
Coming up on Friday, January 31 st
Our Dinner Out on the Town is always a great time! Save the Date and plan to join us for a delicious and fun dinner at the Biltmore Bar & Grille in Newton Upper Falls. Sign-up on WeSpire or be in touch with Pastor Amy ([email protected])!  
 
EXPLORING OUR FAITH - Visit to the Islamic Center in Wayland
Sunday, February 9 th 
The Islamic Center in Wayland generously opens their doors to visitors, and we will gather with them for a time of learning and worship on February 9th. Exploring our Faith students and other high-schoolers are especially encouraged to attend, and mentors are always welcome! We'll gather after UCW worship for a brief lunch, and then head to the Islamic Center by 12:30 p.m.  

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)
Mission Outreach 
Advocates for Racial Justice (ARJ)
A new group at the The Union Church
Wednesday, January 22 nd at 4:30 p.m.
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 next meeting ARJ is scheduled for Wednesday, January 22nd at 4:30 p.m. in Pastor Stacy's Study. The following is the group's statement of purpose, which we will share during our worship service this Sunday:
 
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 racism in all its manifestations-private, institutional, and cultural-and about the 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.

Meet with Newton State Representatives
Kay Kahn and Ruth Balser
Sunday, January 26th from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Myrtle Baptist Church
 21 Curve Street, W. Newton 
The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) Health Care Campaign is holding meetings with Greater Boston Area State Representatives to win their support for our 3 healthcare issues:
  • Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs
  • Enforcing Real Parity for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Care
  • Regulating Out-of-network Surprise Billing
Your voice and your presence matters. We need you here to make this campaign a success .   For more information or to register, click here.
Newton In-District Meeting Planning Team Fran Godine, Rosalind Joffe Susan Bookbinder, Shelby Robinson, Paul Hattis, Rob Saper

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: 


common art Show at the Union Church

Sunday, February 2 nd


Valentine's Day will be upon us before you know it! Come find a gift for that special someone after church service on Sunday, Feb. 2nd, when we will host artists from Common Art. Common Art is a program of common cathedral which provides space, materials and caring support staff to support unhoused and low-income individuals as they develop their artistic abilities. People who live in shelters, rooming houses, on unclaimed couches and benches, and on Boston's streets, gather every Wednesday at Emmanuel Church on Newbury Street to draw, paint, sculpt, make crafts, and to share with other artists in like circumstances. For many common art members, art is a way of life. For others, it's a new discovery. But for all, art is passion, expressing and affirming life itself, a defiant or gentle "yes" in the face of stigma amid the constant struggle of poverty and homelessness

Zoned Out: Who gets to live in suburban Boston
Sunday, Feb. 9 th ,  11:30 a.m. 

Ever thought about why you live where you do? If you can articulate deliberate reasons, have you ever considered what unseen forces might have led you there? Please join Kathleen Hobson, Nancy Zollers, Frank Laski three of our Advocates for Racial Justice, in a history-infused discussion about the origins of the Boston suburbs, the roots of our chronic housing shortage, and how we might achieve a more just and inclusive community. Suggestions for pre-discussion reading: " The Case for Reparations " (Atlantic, 2014), by Te-Nehisi Coates;  The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America  (2017), by Richard Rothstein; " How Segregation Caused Your Traffic Jam " (NY Times, 2019). You could also listen to  Rothstein's interview  on NPR's Fresh Air.
 
 
Public Voice Speakers from City Mission
Sunday, March 1 st , following worship

We are privileged to host two speakers from City Mission's Public Voice program on Mar.1 st after fellowship. Public Voice provides trained storytellers/speakers whose lived experience gives insight, understanding and perspective to the issues underlying homelessness. City Mission's Public Voice Project customizes storytelling training and presentations to help participants find and share the stories which break down barriers and build understanding within oneself as well as across groups, cultures and communities.
Po tluck with Speaker, Josephine Bolling McCall, author of:
The Penalty for Success - My Father was Lynched in Lowndes County, Alabama.
Sunday, March 8 th, at 6:0 p.m .


The speaker will tell the story of how her father's success as a businessman in Alabama led to his lynching and how that impacts his descendants and the community even today. This speaker will provide updates on the Legacy Museum and the Memorial in Montgomery both of which honor her father as one of many victims. This sensitive information will make a strong impact on students as they strive for improved social justice and diversity. Josephine McCall will also challenge participants to rethink the reality of life for Blacks and whites in the mid-20th century rural South by considering joining a literacy campaign. Research shows that children who have learned to read by the third grade have a much better chance of completing high school. Alabama has a new law that children will be retained if they do not successfully complete the third grade. The speaker hopes her presentation will set the stage for dialogue on creative ideas for participants to help improve literacy in Lowndes County, Alabama.                      

  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.

                                                
                                      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.


            
Union Church in Waban -  Inclement Weather Advisory

It is the hope of the Union Church to always have our sanctuary open on Sunday mornings for worship and fellowship. We also realize that conditions may be such that the safest option for staff and congregants is not to travel. We ask that all use their best judgment. As such, in inclement conditions, the church will remain open - however we cannot assure that there will be childcare, Sunday School, professional music or pulpit coverage. Every effort will be made to keep walkways and stairs clear, although this cannot be guaranteed. Congregants will find an open door, a worship service and sanctuary together with others. In the extreme situation in which the church is unable to open, notification will be on the church website ( [email protected] ), and a message will be on the church phone - 617-527-6221.
     

Performing at the Union Church 
Marie Antoinette  by David Adjmi

The Union Church in Waban: This Weekend,  January 17-19

Marie Antoinette is coming to Newton! Newton Theatre Company's newest production provides a modern take on the insane-- and eventually heroic-- life of 18th-century Paris' most infamous It Girl. Despite her initial popularity in France, Marie finds herself in jeopardy as the revolution draws near. As the line between the personal and political begins to blur, Marie must fight to save herself from destruction in this humorous and haunting piece.
 
Tickets available at NewtonTheatreCompany.com
 
This production contains mature themes and is not suitable for children under 13.  

From the Wider Community


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.