I have heard plenty of grumbling about this bitter cold and "bomb cyclone". Most of it me talking to myself... But some from other people.
What's been surprising is how almost every grumble (even my own) is almost immediately followed by gratitude.
"My car was so cold this morning, but it did warm up. I'm so grateful for my car's heat. And so many people are standing in the cold waiting for a bus."
"I hated coming out in the cold, but at least I have a warm house to return to. What about people who can't afford to heat their homes?"
"My furnace isn't working but I have a house and a fireplace, and I'm so glad for my fleece blankets. I'm worried about people sleeping outside."
This practice of gratitude is part of what keeps us connected to each other, helping us to appreciate what we have while also feeling empathy for people in different circumstances. And we can put that gratitude to work. One of my last acts in 2017 was a down-to-the wire donation to Lowell Transitional Living Center (http://ltlc.org) for their "winter protocol" which means they will provide safe and warm space for anyone who needs it. Not in a position to make a donation right now? Maybe you have an extra coat or pair of leggings to donate (see their wish list). And if you have nothing physical to share, you can sit in stillness and quiet for one minute to send light and love to those who are working or living out in this extreme cold.
Spring will come. Of course, as climate change worsens, spring may come with its own problems. So let us be grateful for what we have, give each other whatever care we can, and keep compassion as our steadfast practice.
Peace,
Rev. Cindy
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Worship
Sunday, January 7, 9:30 am
Epiphany Communion. This Sunday we will celebrate the journey of the wise ones, with (fake) gold and (real!) frankincense and myrrh! The Deacons will serve us communion in our seats.
Sermons
Worship Bulletins
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Spiritual Nurture
Happy new year! We're looking forward to regathering in our Sunday morning spiritual nurture programs.
Here's the schedule for this month:
Jan. 7, 21 and 28, at the second hymn,
Rob will meet with elementary youth in the Pipe Room, and Paul will gather with middle and high school youth in the Community Center. Jan. 14 is
intergenerational Worship in Action, where we'll be painting bowls to benefit Puerto Rico.
Nursery care is available every Sunday during the entire worship service.
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A Sweet! Circle Winter Social for youth and young adults
Jan 5 at 6:00 pm
All high school youth and young adults are invited to gather in the spirit of Ernie Fournier. Let's get together to chat, have fun, bring your favorite board or card game...and bring a donation for the Worcester Fellowship, a church by and for people currently or formerly unhoused. Some of you might recall visiting the church. They are in need of:
New men's underwear (briefs sizes medium and large)
New men's undershirts (sizes medium and large)
New women's underwear (sizes small, medium and large)
New women's personal hygiene products
When? Friday, January 5, from 6 till 8:30 pm in the Gathering Room at UCCB.
Spread the word to current and past mission trippers. Bring old and new friends. Everyone is welcome. We will provide plenty of food and beverages.
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WORSHIP IN ACTION JAN. 14
On the Sunday of Martin Luther King weekend, we will practice "worship in action". We'll begin with brief worship at 9:30 in the Gathering Room, and then we will be painting bowls brought by a local pottery business (wear clothes that don't mind a little paint!). You paint the bowl not to keep, but to be sold to benefit rebuilding efforts in Puerto Rico! (Of course, you can buy your own bowl if you like...)
Our creativity will create a fundraiser for Puerto Rico on Feb. 11. After worship that day, Missions will be hosting a luncheon in place of coffee hour. For a minimum donation of $15, come enjoy soup, bread and dessert (kids eat free!). If you'd like to have your soup in a premium painted bowl, you can buy a bowl for an additional $15 (yours or one painted by someone else). We will also simply be accepting donations for rebuilding in Puerto Rico.
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The 16th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Program
Monday, January 15
9:00--11:00 AM Congregation Beth Elohim
133 Prospect St., Acton
Donations at the door
Special invitation to come hear
Renée Graham
of the Boston Globe
Renée Graham is a columnist for the Globe's op-ed page. She started as a general assignment reporter, and then moved to features and arts covering music, film, and television as a writer and critic. She also wrote a weekly pop culture column. Graham has written numerous pieces on racism and sexual harassment.
The Social Action of Beth Elohim (Na'aseh) is sponsoring this breakfast program. For more information contact Sal Lopes at
[email protected].
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An Evening with Debby Irving
Sponsored by Acton Congregational Church, UCC Boxborough, West Acton Baptist Church, and
Social Action of Beth Elohim (Na'aseh)
Wednesday, January 17 6:45-9:00 pm
Acton Congregational Church
12 Concord Road, Acton
Free Will Offering
Debby Irving
is a racial justice educator, author, and public speaker. A community organizer and classroom teacher for 25 years, Debby Irving grappled with racial injustice without understanding racism as a systemic issue or her own whiteness as an obstacle to it. As general manager of Boston's Dance Umbrella and First Night, and later as an elementary school teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she struggled to make sense of racial tensions she could feel but could not explain. In 2009, Debby took a graduate school course, Racial and Cultural Identities, which gave her the answers she'd been looking for and launched her on a journey of discovery. Now, speaking and leading workshops around the country, Debby devotes herself to exploring the impact white skin can have on perception, problem solving, and creating culturally inclusive communities. A graduate of the Winsor School in Boston, she holds a BA from Kenyon College and an MBA from Simmons College. Her first book, Waking Up White, is the book Debby Irving wishes someone had handed her decades ago. By sharing her sometimes cringe-worthy struggle to understand racism and racial tensions, she offers a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, manners, and tolerance. As she unpacks her own long-held beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person, and wanting to help people of color, she reveals how each of these well-intentioned mindsets actually perpetuated her ill-conceived ideas about race. Monies raised above expenses will benefit the
Fostering Racial Justice Group.
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FAITH AND FOOD FOR ONE AND ALL
JAN. 21
Feed body and soul at 5 pm on Sunday, Jan. 21! Join us for food, fun and the nurturing of faith. In 90 minutes you can have dinner with family and friends (meatball subs, salad and brownies!), and create a resource to nurture your spiritual life at home. This month, we'll be exploring creative ways to pray, including with one of Rev. Cindy's Christmas presents.
This is a great gathering for families and young adults who have sports, theater or are sleeping in on Sunday mornings. But it's also a great opportunity for single people to break bread with others! Or people who find worship too passive. Or anyone looking for spiritual practices they can use at home. So whatever your age or family configuration, join us! Please contact Rev. Cindy at [email protected] with any questions or to RSVP.
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Fostering Racial Justice Group
Fostering racial equity and justice by activating the community to dismantle bias and systems that reinforce racism.
Waking Up White Book Discussion
Join us for a guided discussion of Waking Up White. Debby Irving describes her continuous journey from white unawareness to white alertness. She candidly and generously shares her personal process with us. Her work is important because like her, many of us are still trying to understand what it means to be white in this country. In a culture where race plays a center role, understanding the assumptions that we believe to be true is critical. This book can help us start the process of understanding the extent of white privilege in our society.
Maria-Veronica Barnes, FRJG member, will facilitate book discussions for members of our community who are interested to dig a bit deeper. The book has questions and reflections at the end that will guide our conversation.
We will review different parts of the book in each session, so you are welcome to all of them or a couple, if you prefer that.
Let's meet at the
Gathering Room at UCC Boxborough, 723 Massachusetts Avenue, Boxborough on,
- January, 24th 7:00 PM (Chapters 1 to 16)
- January, 31st 7:00 PM (Chapters 17 to 33)
- February, 7th 7:00 PM (Chapters 34 to 46)
Registration is free, just sent an email to
[email protected] by January 20th to let us know that you are coming.
Even if you didn't read all chapters you are welcome to come!!!
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Boxborough Community
Contra Dance
Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 7 PM - 9:30 PM
Gathering Room
Come warm up, and beat the winter blues with us! Contra dancing is a type of dancing that is traditional to New England, and can be danced by just about anyone. This event is free and open to all, and is a chance to meet your neighbors. No partner or experience is necessary. All dances will be taught and led by a caller. Fun, lively music will be provided by Julie Metcalf on fiddle and Mark David Buckles on guitar. Dereck Kalish will be on sound.
While these dances are not specifically geared toward kids, children are welcome with a supervising adult, and dances are fun for all ages.
What does contra dancing look like? Here's a video of a dance I called in Portland, Maine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekt6GJ9uY48
Please bring a pair of clean shoes to change into to protect the wooden floor.
There is free parking in the church lot.
Special thanks to the United Church of Christ, Boxborough for donating the dance space, and to
John Aiello
for sponsoring this event!
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Adult Mission Trip
July 15-20th, 2018
You are invited to join us on our fourth Adult Mission Trip to Cherryfield, Maine, where we work in partnership with the Maine Seacoast Mission. Last summer's trip was another resounding success and we are excited to be making a return trip. We'd love to have you join us! Maine Seacoast Mission was started in 1905 by two brothers who were both pastors who realized that the spiritual needs of the island residents of far Downeast Maine were not being met. Today Maine Seacoast Mission's focus includes rural education and healthcare issues. While they provide a wide array of support services, they only utilize mission trip volunteers in their Housing Repairs Program. Downeast Maine has an old and decaying housing stock and the need for repairs and weatherization on these homes is constant. With the support of volunteers, Maine Seacoast Mission is able to help their most vulnerable neighbors. The UCCB has reserved several spots for this trip. We can always adjust this number later, so the more, the merrier! To join us you only need to be 18 or older (too "old" to participate in one of our youth mission trips). While this has been called a "hammer and nails" experience, all levels of physical ability and expertise are welcome. Feel free to check in with prior years' mission trippers for a sense of the physical demands of the week. Please contact Peter or Kellie Senghas if you are interested in joining us or if you wish more information
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Looking for a roommate:
I'm a 38-year-old liberal minded French teacher and contra-dance caller, looking for a roommate to share my 2-bedroom apartment.
The unit has a dishwasher and extra storage space in the attic. Laundry is in the basement. Your room looks out over the garden, gets lots of light, and has the larger closet.
Our landlord is conscientious and responsible. The scenery is beautiful (gorgeous fall foliage, hiking trails, and apple orchards). The neighbors in our complex are super-nice. We sometimes have cookouts together.
What I'm looking for in a roommate, is someone courteous and respectful. If you'd enjoy hiking or biking with me that is great, but if you just want a quiet place to feel at home, that is fine too.
No pets are allowed in our complex.
This is a smoke-free, drug-free home.
LGBTQ friendlly.
The rent is $650/mo. + utilities. Our heat is electric, and electricity is priced very reasonably through our provider, so no worries about keeping the apartment comfortable or paying astronomical heating bills in the winter.
If this sounds like a place you'd want to live, please email me at
[email protected]
or call me at 617-230-8145.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
- Jeannine Ameduri
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Weather Policy
In the event of inclement weather, Buildings and Grounds works with the Pastor to determine if it is safe to hold worship or other events at UCCB. They take into consideration travel advisories, weather outlook, and the condition of the church itself. For Sunday morning worship, information regarding the canceling or continuing of worship is left on the outgoing voicemail by 7 am.
Regardless of whether or not worship or other events are officially canceled, all parishioners, staff and lay leaders are urged to make their own decision based on their individual circumstances and comfort level: safety is our first priority.
If you have a role in worship or an event and are unable to attend, please notify Rev. Cindy via email ([email protected]) or church voicemail (978-263-7387).
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Want to learn more... click the links below!
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