The Union Church in Waban                
Friday, February 9, 2018
This Sunday - 
    8:00 a.m.:   
Bible Study in Stacy's study.  All are welcome. 

 9:00 a.m.:    Choir Rehearsal
 
10:00 a.m.: 
W orship Service.  
This Sunday we will commission our Nicaragua Travelers.   During Sunday School, our children and youth will be invited to participate in a service project preparing supplies and gifts to share with the children of our partner church and school in San Juan del Sur.   We'll prepare and bless the gifts together, as we seek to strengthen the bonds of relationship and love between our UCW community and our partner communities in Nicaragua.  


The travelers will be rebuilding a health center, painting a school, laying water pipes and constructing latrines in the town of San Bernadino that is located about 45 minutes outside of San Juan del Sur to the northeast


11:15 a.m.:  Bell Choir  

11:30 a.m.: 
Nica Travelers

 
  3:00 a.m.: Advance Gift Training

  5:00 a.m.: Campaign Executive Committee 


PLEASE NOTE:  Pastors Stacy and Amy will be accompanying the travelers to Nicaragua from February 16 - 25th.  If you have an urgent pastoral need during this time, please call Senior Deacon Jim MacDonald at 508-395-0431
Ash Wednesday 

Wednesday, February 14 - Ash Wednesday - -  

Please consider joining us in an intergenerational worship service, accessible for all ages at 6:00 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent which is a time of preparation and reflection as we make our selves ready for Holy Week and Easter.  
Featured
There is Still Time:  YOUR HELP:  Baseball Equipment for Nicaragua

 
There is still time to support our collection of baseball equipment for our partner in El Oro, Nicaragua. Nick Tuozzolo (Nica traveler and confirmation student) is coordinating the collection and transport of the equipment, and will be available during the Nicaragua Travelers' meeting following worship, or via phone at 617-637-7741.  You may also contact Susan Gedrick  (cell: 617-460-6619), or Pastor Amy (amy@ucw.org) with questions or to help.   
Thank you so much!
Children, Youth and Families
This Sunday - Exploring Our Faith/Confirmation 
Our high-school Exploring Our Faith students will gather for dinner and discussion tonight in the Reception Room from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.   We look forward to seeing you! 
This Wednesday - Intergenerational Ash Wednesday Service
All are invited to join us this Weds., Feb. 14th, at 6:00 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel as we enter into the Lenten season with this meaningful service, designed for children and adults of all ages. 
Winter/Spring Youth Calendar - Available in Crocker Chapel  
Our calendar of Youth Group events is available in the Crocker Chapel, and will be sent to families early next week.  We have a wonderful series of gatherings and service opportunities ahead, and are so looking forward to this season with our youth!  
  • Coming up next:  Nicaragua prayer partners.  Youth families have been invited to be part of a prayer group linking our Youth Group with our Nica travelers during the school vacation week.  The kids will be invited to pray for one another and share a note mid-week with updates.  With questions, please contact Pastor Amy (amy@ucw.org).
Mission Matters
Union Church 1K Micro-Loan Economic Justice Mission 

Sandra Okiror - Owner of Wham's Café,  visits UCW
Last Sunday our first 1K loan recipient, met with members of the congregation after church along with her mother and daughters. Sandra eloquently shared about her community-based business and her path from Kenya to Lowell. We are grateful for her visit to our church including her participation in service and fellowship time. As Sandra said, "When we all hold hands together magic can happen."
 
We feel blessed to be a 1K church. Our economic justice initiative has launched! 
Field Trip to Wham's Cafe

Join UCW friends on a "field trip" to Wham's Café in Lowell.  Owner Sandra Okikor  will welcome our groups of 4 - 8 people so we can enjoy authentic Kenyan food and fellowship.  

Click Here to sign up for lunch on Feb. 23, dinner on Feb. 24 or breakfast on March 3.  Meal prices are very reasonable.  Enjoy!
GBIO Listening Campaign
The GBIO Strategy Team (board of directors) is proposing a new "listening campaign" to determine, 1) how much appetite and energy GBIO member congregations have for building more power and getting more done, and 2) whether there are any latent issues ripe for collective action. Please consider attending these related events.
 Questions? Contact Kathleen Hobson or Mark Smith .
  • Delegates Assembly, Mon., Feb. 12th, 7-8:30 p.m., Grant AME Church,
    1906 Washington Street, Boston. Attendees will get progress updates on current GBIO campaigns and be asked to ratify the listening-campaign proposal. We're looking for     4-5 people. See flyer here, which leads with the big question, "Who do we want to be in 2018?"
  • House Meeting Training, Mon., Feb. 26, 7 p.m. (location TBD). Many UCW members participated our "relational meeting" sessions in the fall. This training is an opportunity to learn about another critical organizing tool, and we hope as many people as possible can attend. See GBIO in Action, to better understand how house meetings fit into the overall GBIO approach to social justice activism.
GBIO Training Opportunity
 
If you thought about attending the 3-day GBIO organizing training back in November but couldn't manage 3 consecutive whole days, this course might be for you. The more UCW members get trained in GBIO "ways," the greater our capacity to participate effectively in GBIO efforts. Questions? Contact Kathleen Hobson or Mark Smith.
 
A Course in Power, Broad-Based Organizing, and Leadership
  • 5 Tuesdays, 6:30-8pm: Feb. 6, 13, and 27, and Mar. 6 and 13
  • Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave., Boston
  • Cost: $200-If this is prohibitive for you, please contact Fran Godine (godine@comcast.net) about a possible reduction in price.
In today's America, how can a faith community engage in civic life? How do we put our values into action in pursuit of social justice? Course content will include exercises and role-play combined with lecture and discussion. Stories about GBIO's biggest successes and challenges will be woven throughout. The course will be taught by GBIO organizer Kathleen Patron and other GBIO leaders. To register, follow this link or email Mike Fishbein of Temple Israel (mfishbein@tisrael.org).
NICA Service Trip
During the February public school vacation, over fifty UCWers will be traveling to San Juan del Sur to engage in service and learning with our Nicaraguan friends.  Go here to read the latest about the project and to share in the preparation as this trip draws near.  We will be commissioning the Travelers during worship on February 11, but in the meantime all of us can share in the preparations by praying for the travelers.  The relationships they will engage and the work they will do is not theirs alone.  It is all of ours!  
Faith Formation and Education 
Book group:
Our next book for our multicultural theme is  "Interpreter of Maladies"  by Jhumpa Lahiri  (Indian/American)  -- a collection of short stories that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000.   Based on the lives of  Indian-American immigrants  in  America.  Lahiri  "speaks with universal eloquence to everyone who has ever felt like a foreigner,"   Her prose is both powerful and gentle in her gift of story-telling.  Jhumpa Lahiri  received  her graduate degrees  from  Boston University.  
 
There are several copies of the book at the Newton Free Library.
 
Looking forward to seeing you on FEB. 27  (last Tuesday),  7 PM at the reception room.      Priscilla, Alan, and Stacy
The Week Ahead at UCW
 
 
 
Sun., Feb. 11
8:00 a.m.
Bible Study
 
9:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
 
10:00 a.m.
Worship
 
11:15 a.m.
Bell Choir Rehearsal
 
11:30 a.m.
Nica Travelers
 
3:00 p.m.
Advance Gift Training
 
5:00 p.m.
Campaign Executive Committee

6:00 p.m.
Exploring or Faith
Mon., Feb. 12
7:30 a.m.
Living waters prayer in Memorial Chapel
 
7:00 p.m.
Nimbus/Moderators Team
Wed., Feb. 14
6:00 p.m.
Ash Wednesday Service
Thur., Feb.15
10.30 a.m.
Waban Health Worship
Fri., Feb.16
7:00 a.m.
Java Gents
Sun., Feb. 18
8:00 a.m.
Bible Study
 
9:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
 
10:00 a.m.
Worship
 
11:15 a.m.
Bell Choir Rehearsal
 
 
 
 
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 or our Sunday Announcements insert should be e-mailed to the office at ucw@ucw.org , by 9:00 a.m. on the previous Wednesday morning.  Please specify whether for e-Blast, Sunday Announcements, or both. Thank you!  
From the Wider Community

Today! Waban Community Blood Drive
 
Every two seconds someone in the U.S needs blood. Please help show how much the Waban community cares by attending  Angier Elementary School's first-ever Red Cross Blood Drive!
When:      Sunday, February 11th , fro 9 - 2:00 p.m.
Where:   Angier Elementary School Gym (Refreshments will be served)
How:        Sign up for a time slot by calling 1-800-733-2767 or going
                to www.RedCrossBlood.org and selecting "Angier". Walk-ins will also be welcome.
 Why:        After a number of tragic events occurred last fall, the Angier Community Service                       Team called the Red Cross to see how we could help. They asked us to wait until                       February when supply is low and donating isn't as top-of-mind. Being that Boston                     has so many incredible hospitals, demand for blood is even higher here. Don't let                     the supply get too low. Show your love this February saving a life with your blood                     donation!