The Union Church in Waban                
Friday, February 16, 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.  
 
11:15 a.m.:  Bell Choir  

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
Lent at UCW 

Cairns are piles of rocks laid down over the years by passersby on mountainous trails or paths, and used as way-finders when weather is bad or darkness falls, or on trails above tree line.  Often years in the making, hikers leave stones on the piles left by others;insome areas of the world they are also known as  prayer towers, as the stones and rocks left by hikers and pilgrims represent a prayer or petition.  Cairns help us find our way in difficult conditions and difficult times; they also remind us that we are not lost as we navigate through darkness or barren landscapes. 
 
This Lenten season, stone by stone together, we will build a cairn in Memorial Chapel. We will build a cairn to help us find our way as we journey through Lent, seeking to walk in the way of Jesus. Stone by stone, prayer by prayer it will grow throughout the six weeks of Lent. We will have stones available in Memorial Chapel but you are also invited to bring stones from your travel whether that be in your own back yard or as far away as Nicaragua.
 
We are building a cairn during Lent to help us find our way, but also because a cairn is what we hope this church is and will continue to be into the future for people out in the community and in the world. Build stone upon prayer-filled stone, we hope that this church on the corner of Collins Road and Beacon Street will be a signpost for all who are trying to find their way. A signpost leading to a welcoming community of healing, servant-hood, truth telling, witness, trust and new life.


Photo by Mark Smith
Featured - UCW in Nicaragua
Fifity-two travelers from the Union Church in Waban are on their Nicaraguan journey. Please check the Union Church Facebook page often to see updates. A link to our facebook page can also be found  here. They return home on Feb 25 th .See them connect and work side by side with old and new friends in country. See them work with and celebrate with former and current students that have the love and support of the UCW.
 
Some major project trip goals in the barrio Bernardino:


Connect about 35 families to municipal water:



Rebuild the health center and school:

Children, Youth and Families
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 later today.  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).
Sunday, Feb. 25th: PJs and Pancakes!   
On Sunday, Feb. 25 children and youth are invited to come to worship and Sunday School in pajamas!  They'll make and enjoy a pancake breakfast together, and learn about the season and traditions of Lent.  We look forward to seeing you there!  
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
Mission Matters
Field Trip to Wham's Cafe

Join UCW friends on a "field trip" to Wham's CafĂ© 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.
 Questions? Contact
Kathleen Hobson or Mark Smith .
  • 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.
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!  
The Week Ahead at UCW
 
 
 
 
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
Mon., Feb. 19
7:30 a.m.
Living waters prayer in Memorial Chapel
Sun., Feb. 25
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!