This Sunday you have the perfect excuse to dress way down for worship. It's "Blue Jeans Sunday", so wear your jeans and t-shirts. After worship we're going to clean out the basement of Fellowship Hall; I know, you could stay home and clean your own basement, but it's more fun to do this together, and it's a way we can put some "sweat equity" into the Master Plan. We'll work for about 90 minutes, then celebrate with pizza. But even if you can't stay and help clean the basement, you can still wear your jeans! And there will be a simple coffee hour for those who aren't heading to the basement.
Peace,
Rev. Cindy
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Worship
Sunday, May 21, 9:30 am
No Fixing, No Saving, No Advising, No Setting Each Other Straight. Come hear how Rev. Cindy finds this quote from Parker Palmer to be a guiding blessing and a nagging curse. Todd Waddington will inspire us with music, as will the junior choir.
Sermons
Worship Bulletins
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Spiritual Nurture
Can you believe the end of the school year is in sight?! Here is the Spiritual Nurture schedule for the rest of the program year.
Nursery care is available for our youngest parishioners every Sunday, in the Vestry. When Spiritual Nurture is offered for elementary, middle and high school youth, kids begin with us in worship then leave for their programming at the second hymn.
May 21 - Spiritual Nurture for elementary through high school
May 28 - Intergenerational worship with Baptism (Memorial Day weekend)
June 4 - Final day of Spiritual Nurture for elementary through high school
June 11 - Spiritual Nurture Sunday! Intergenerational worship featuring our youth.
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Sunday, May 21, after worship
On Sunday May 21, come to church ready to work on a project near and dear to so many hearts.
The plan is to clean out and organize the basement of Fellowship Hall. Lenny (our custodian) will be here to help, but we will need a lot of people to clear everything out of the FH basement, get rid of what is not needed, clean the floors and walls, and return and store what we want to keep in an organized way.
Did I mention that pizza would be served to provide nourishment to keep your strength up?
Come to church dressed to work. Hope to see you all there.
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Graduates
Graduating from high school or college this spring? We'd love to celebrate your accomplishment! Please contact the church office (
boxborochurch@verizon.net) with your name, school you're graduating from, degree you're receiving, and any known plans. High school graduates, we'd particularly love to celebrate you in worship on June 11, so let us know if you are available.
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Church Master Plan
Drop-in to review the Church Master Plan. We love your input!
Curious about the progress of the Church Master Plan? Come and take a deeper look, at your own pace, at the current renovation plans. The Master Plan Team has been diligently working over the past 8 months with Dan Burton of Maugel Architects. The current concept was presented at the Congregational Visioning meeting on April 30, followed by lively small group discussions. We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts with a member of the Master Plan team who can walk you through or answer questions. We hope you can drop-in and join the conversation, even if you can only stay for a couple of minutes! Bring your family, kids, friends or neighbors, ... we love to hear all perspectives.
If you can't make it to any of the drop-in sessions, you can still participate. Take a look at the church website to view the current plans. Share your comments with Guy Marchmont, the Master Plan Team Chair (marchmont922@gmail ). If you want a ride to one of the sessions, contact Heather at the office.
Drop-in sessions in the Gathering Room:
Sun, May 21 - 5:00 to 7:00 pm (for youth & young adults)
Tue, May 30 - 10:00 to 11:30 am
Thur, June 1 - 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Sat, June 3 - 9:00 to 10:30 am
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Unified Pledging -- Frequently Asked Questions
What is Unified Pledging?
Parishioners will be invited to pledge a single unified amount yearly to support UCC Boxborough.
How is it different from current practice?
Each of us currently pledges a separate amount for operations and a separate amount for missions. In the last several years, the percentage for missions has ranged between 8% and 10% of the total pledged giving.
Why are we changing?
Combining into one unified pledge amount affirms that the entire church is a mission.
When we pledge for "Operation Expenses", we are enabling the church to carry out its fundamental goal of mission in the community. Combining the two amounts underlines our commitment to mission. The Missions and Outreach Ministry Team, the Finance Team and the Generosity Team have endorsed unified pledging. Two thirds of Massachusetts UCC congregations currently practice unified pledging. Council intends to improve on two fronts. First, we want to make annual budgeting a more holistic process where Missions is a part of everything we do. Second, we would like to see more active planning and communicating of specific forecasted Missions activities during the budgeting process.
When will this change become effective?
The Fall 2017 pledge campaign will invite unified pledges.
How will the Missions and Outreach budget be determined?
In the last several years, the percentage for missions has ranged between 8% and 10% of the total pledged giving. Council proposes a three-year transition period where we will set 9% of budgeted pledge income as the planned budget allocation of pledges for the Missions and Outreach budget. After three years of transition, council will determine how to better codify our lessons learned into formal church processes as needed. During this transition period, a different percentage can be proposed if there are specific needs forecasted by the Missions and Outreach team. A proposal to change the 9% allocation to Missions could be accommodated in the existing budget process and would have to be approved by the Congregation at the Annual Budget Meeting. We also want to separate OCWM from the Missions budget and manage that contribution more intentionally.
What about the Merrie Christmas Fair and other fund raisers?
These funds will remain separate and will not be included in the percentage.
How can I learn more?
Talk to any council member. Also, a cottage meeting will be held after service on June 18th to discuss further and answer any questions.
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Fresh Air And Fellowship
Saturdays, 10:00 am
Want to experience some fresh air and fellowship? Saturday mornings are a great time!
Let's meet at 10:00 at UCCB for a walk - destination/distance unknown!
The walk will be customized depending upon who joins. Perhaps down Middle Road and then crossing into Steele Farm (if we have some good Boxborough guides!) or perhaps a loop on the roads. We'll be flexible and welcoming to all!
Please bring your own water bottle. If the organizers are organized (no guarantees!), there may be refreshments at the church for before / after.
Please feel free to personally invite family, friends, and neighbors to join.
The more, the merrier!
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The Saturdays Concert
Saturday, May 20th, 7:00 pm
Concert featuring UCCB's own The Saturdays
The First Church Unitarian, Littleton, presents a folk concert featuring FCU's Patti Sardella and UCCB's The Saturdays. Come for an evening of live music, refreshments, and fun! Patti performed at the most recent UCCB Folk Coffeehouse and has invited the Saturdays to join her at her FCU folk concert.
When: Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 7 p.m.
Where: FCU, Littleton, 19 Foster St., Littleton, MA 01460
Tickets: $20 donation @ the door
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The Compassion Experience
June 9 - 13
"The Compassion Experience" is coming to the United Methodist Church in Leominster, June 9 - 13. This interactive experience shares the stories of children living in poverty around the world. It also shows the impact of Compassion International, a Christian child development organization. For more information and to register, visit:
http://www.leominsterumc.org/TheCompassionExperience
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Want to learn more... click the links below!
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