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The Union Church in Waban
Friday, March 6, 2020
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Daylight Saving Time
Begins This Weekend!
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8:00 a.m. - Bible Study (Stacy's study)
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9:00 a.m. -
Choir Rehearsal
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10:00 a.m. - Sunday Worship
We will have a special guest, Josephine Bolling McCall with us this morning and she will be sharing with us during the children's time her work with the elementary schools in Lowndes County, Alabama. Pastor Stacy will be our preacher. She will be exploring
Mark 10:32-52
focusing on the healing of blind Bartimaeus. The choir will offer us the anthem "Create in me a Clean Heart" by Victor C. Johnson.
11:30 a.m. - Common Cathedral
We will leave church at 11:30 to travel down to Boston Common, Brewer Fountain, to share a meal with the unhoused congregation of Common Cathedral. Afterwards we will share in a worship service together (more details here).
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6:00 p.m. - The Penalty of Success with Josephine McCall
We will gather with Josephine at the home of Jenny and John Weisz, 96 Dexter Road, Newton. If you have not yet RSVP'd please do so by reaching out to Pastor Stacy.
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"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love
and of a sound mind."
- 1 Timothy 1:7
As we seek to live within the power of God's fearless love and with sound minds, we'll be sharing some new common-sense practices in our worship during this
season of viruses. This will include exploring new options for Passing the Peace and sharing Communion, along with some other changes (e.g. more available hand sanitizer). Please see the
note below from our Church Council, and don't hesitate to reach out to Pastors Stacy or Amy with any questions, thoughts or concerns.
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Lenten Prayer Station
Throughout Lent, we will ask that God's presence
be a light to us, helping us to find The Way of
Jesus in our lives today. You are invited to
spend some time with the Lenten Prayer Station
in Crocker Chapel. You are invited to offer up your prayer
for guidance, support or whatever it is that is
on your heart, as we move deeper in the mystery
of God's profound love that is to be revealed to
us again on Easter morning.
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Sunday, March 15 - Nicaragua Service
Our travelers will lead us in the service sharing with us their experiences and faith formation from their service trip in February (more details
here).
Sunday, March 23
Pastor Stacy will be our preacher and will be exploring Mark 12: 28-44, specifically focusing in on Jesus commandment that we are to love God with our whole selves and love our neighbor as our selves. The choir will offer the anthem "Make me an Instrument of Thy Peace" by Mary MacDonald.
Sunday, March 29
On this last Sunday before Palm Sunday, Ministerial Intern Jade will be our preacher and will be exploring
Mark 13:1-8, 24-37 and the Biblical call to Hope. Our choir will be offering the anthem "Bring us to your Light" by Henry Mollicone.
Palm Sunday, April 5
Children and youth will lead us in this inter-generational service that will tell the story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem and subsequent events of Holy Week. Children will be with us in worship for the entirety of the service, though nursery care will be available for our youngest friends if so desired.
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All of us in the Union Church community are undoubtedly concerned about the health risks posed by the coronavirus. Council reviewed how our church might respond at our monthly Council meeting this week and will implement modifications to our worship service to minimize risks posed by physical contact. We urge everyone to review and follow the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control found on the CDC website and to advise one of the pastors if you or a member of your family is symptomatic or has recently travelled to a country with an outbreak.
And please let us know if there is anything our pastors or church staff can do to help.
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Adult Education, Spiritual Formation and Fellowship
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WEDNESDAY MORNING PRAYER - 7:30-8:15 a.m.
Every Wednesday morning, there is an opportunity to gather in the quiet sun-soaked beauty of Memorial Chapel for a time of prayer. We begin with 20 minutes of quiet meditation, followed by a time of candle lighting as we lift up prayers of the community and prayers that are on our own hearts. We close with a meditation on the embrace of peace for all the world and a recitation of the Prayer of St. Francis which asks that God would make us all "Instruments of Thy Peace." Please consider joining in this quiet and holy time, to center down in the center of your week. If you have questions, please reach out to Pastor Stacy.
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New Bible Study Group at The Union Church
Thursday Morning, from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Join us on Thursday mornings starting March 5
th for six weeks of Exploring the Bible: Old Testament. This study series is intended for all who are interested in learning more about the Bible, even if your previous understanding is limited. In our time together, we will learn more about the content of the Old Testament and the context in which it was written.
We will meet from 10:00-11:30 on March 5, 12, 26, and April 2, 9, and 16.
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Josephine 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. She will provide updates on the Legacy Museum and the Memorial in Montgomery both of which honor her father as one of many victims. Jo will also challenge us 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.
If you have not yet RSVP'd please do so by reaching out to
Pastor Stacy
.
Sponsored by the Advocates of Racial Justice,
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Boston City Singers
Sunday, March 15
th at 3:00 p.m.
Performing at The Union Church in Waban
Join us for a memorable concert featuring Luke and Elisabeth van Reijendam and the talented Boston City Singers' 35-voice choir in a program of music and dance from around the world, in collaboration with Naledi Masilo and Chi-Wei Lo. This will be your last chance to hear Luke sing with this choir as he will be graduating from high school this spring!
Your donation will support the Scholarship Fund for our upcoming Global Voices Tour to Ecuador, in the summer of 2021. Your support ensures that all chorus members, regardless of financial means, can participate. We never leave anyone behind! No tickets required. Free-will donations at the door. More details here.
Thank you, Jaap van Reijendam.
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March Book Group:
"Hope in the Dark" by Rebecca Solnit
Tuesday, March 31st from 7:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Our March read is "Hope in the Dark: untold histories, wild possibilities by Rebecca Solnit.
"No writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that's marked this new millennium." - Bill McKibben
"An elegant reminder that activist victories are easily forgotten, and that they often come in extremely unexpected, roundabout ways."
-The New Yorker
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Common Cathedral
This Sunday - March 8
th
, After Worship
Please join us today as we share lunch and worship with our friends and partners at Common Cathedral on Boston Common.
During Sunday School, our children and youth will prepare 80 bagged lunches to share. We then invite all ages to gather at 11:30 p.m. to depart UCW for Boston Common, where we will distribute the lunches at the Brewer Fountain at 12:30 p.m. Following lunch, we will share worship with the Common Cathedral congregation, many of whom are experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. We hope you will join us! Children and youth who would like to attend without a parent/guardian should have a signed waiver, and check in with Pastor Stacy to arrange carpooling.
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NICARAGUA - Worship Service
From February15th -24th , twenty-one members of the Union Church traveled and served in Nicaragua's San Juan del Sur. We helped a local community and school with needed improvements to their building and eating area, but more importantly, we built friendships and deepened relationships with the community and our long-time partners. We are so grateful for the church's prayers and support during the trip, and very much look forward to sharing photos, reflections, songs and more during our Nicaragua worship service, tentatively scheduled for March 15th.
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Who Gets to Live in Suburban Boston?
Sunday,
March 29
t
h
, at 11:30 a.m.
We thank you for our first conversation last month on our severe housing shortages and the terrible history of exclusion. And we invite you to join us again on Sunday
March 29th
, for another opportunity to learn about housing equity and justice.
The Advocates for Racial Justice group of Union Church look forward to your participation in an interactive dialogue on what we can know and what we can do, as we seek to achieve a more equitable and inclusive community..
Everyone and all ages are welcome, no preparation necessary-but these are easy-to-digest pieces create a helpful frame for the conversation we envision:
.......and links to additional resources can be found on our church website HERE:
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Children, Youth and Families
Growing in Faith and Community
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MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH GROUPS - SPRING CALENDAR AVAILABLE!
Please find a full calendar of events in the Crocker Chapel or online, and save the date for upcoming Youth Group get-togethers:
- March 8th: Common Cathedral - All ages are invited to help prepare food in Sunday School, and then to serve lunch and worship with our friends experiencing homelessness on Boston Common.
- March 27th-28th: Middle School Overnight! We'll gather for an awesome night of fun, games, food, connection and worship.
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PALM SUNDAY: ALL-AGES WORSHIP
Sunday April 5th
On April 5
th
we will celebrate Palm Sunday and share a
Walk Through Holy Week during worship. We invite all ages - from 2 to 102! - to share in the telling of this ultimate story of hope and God's healing, life-giving work in the darkest of places. We'll be talking with the kids and preparing for this service during Sunday School in Lent. If you or yours would like to be involved in this meaningful service, please be in touch with Pastor Amy
(
[email protected]
) or Cindy Spertner
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CALLING FOR SUNDAY MORNING VOLUNTEERS - LENT AND BEYOND
LENT AND BEYOND
As we seek to surround our children and youth with loving adults, we would like to ask YOU to volunteer to share one or two worship services in Lent, or May/June with our kids Our hopes are that you can share your presence, maybe a story or thought about the Bible passage, pray with them, and sit with them as they do a craft or service project, or discuss the scripture passage. If you are willing to volunteer your time and presence, please let Pastor Amy know. We'd be so very grateful!
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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.
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For a complete listing, and details of all upcoming events,
please
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.
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Performing at The Union Church
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