8:00 a.m.: Practices of Prayer for All Ages (details below)
9:00 a.m.:
Choir Rehearsal
10:00 a.m.: Sunday Worship
11:15 a.m.:Bell Choir Rehearsal
Children, Youth and Families
Upcoming Youth Events! Sunday, April 29th and May 6th
On Sunday, April 29th, youth are invited to a fun afternoon adventure together. We'll carpool church following worship and return by 4:30 p.m. (see more details via the youth evite). Then, save the date for Common Cathedral on May 6th. This is always a favorite service event for our youth, who will again lead the preparing and serving of food (see above).
Exploring Our Faith - May 6th, 12th and 20th
Next month's first-Sunday gathering will take place on Sunday, May 6th (6-8:00 p.m.), followed by a day retreat on Saturday, May 12th. Exploring our Faith families and mentors should have received an Evite to this special retreat, which will help the students prepare for worship on May 20th Pentecost (Confirmation Sunday), and celebrate their year and spiritual journey together.
Mission Outreach
City Mission Sunday: April 29
On Sunday, April 29, Rev. June Cooper from our partner City Mission joins us at church. After church, meet with June on the stage to discuss preventing family homelessness and poverty, and how CM is responding in Boston.
Common Cathedral: May 6
CALLING FOR DONATIONS OF SOCKS!
Join us as we worship and share lunch with the members of the Common Cathedral congregation on Boston Common. Youth will prepare food during Sunday School, and then help serve lunch before joining their afternoon worship. Common Cathedral is an outdoor church with many members who are experiencing homelessness. In addition to food, we will bring gifts of much-needed men's tube/athletic white socks, and are grateful for sock donations (please see the box in the Crocker Chapel). For more information, please contact Jane Purser or Pastor Amy (amy@ucw.org).
Walk for Peace
May 13
Your generous offerings to the Easter Special Collection will support both the Mass Coalition to End Gun Violence and the Louis Brown Peace Institute.
Please follow the link below for information on the 22nd Brown Mother's Day Walk.
Our church has a 3-pronged response against gun violence in our society; the March for Life in solidarity with students who are continuing to advocate for gun control across the country, the Easter offering of funds contributed to the Coalition Against Gun Violence, and the forthcoming Offering of Letters to our Massachusetts legislators regarding laws on gun control.
On Mother's Day (May 13th), we will be signing and collecting letters to be sent to our legislators in the Senate and House of Representatives. Marching for a cause, contributing funds, and advocating for legislation reflect our concern for commonsense gun control.
UCW-GBIO
House Meetings Starting Soon
Join the conversation!
The Union Church in Wabanis one of the 40-plus congregations of GBIO, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. GBIO's mission is to organize people across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines to achieve specific social-justice goals: criminal justice reform, for example, which the MA legislature recently approved, thanks in no small part to GBIO's activism.
The primary way GBIO identifieswhich issues to tackle-the ones for which there is coalition-wide energy for action-is through periodic "listening campaigns," starting with congregation-based house meetings. These are focused small-group conversations in which 8 to 10 people share their defining stories and concerns.
Like the one-to-one "relational" meetingswe had last fall, house meetings have intrinsic value to us as a congregation, regardless of whether our particular passions translate into GBIO-level action. They are a wonderful opportunity to deepen our relationships with each other.
UCW has pledged to haveat least 5 house meetings before June 30-5 in people's homes, and perhaps another 3 on a Sunday after church-and to report back on our congregation's passions. The first one is coming up onSat., April 21, at 6:30 p.m., at the home of Jenny and John Weisz. The other home-based meetings are on Sun., May 6; Tues., May 8; Tues., May 15; and Sun., June 10.
GBIO's listening campaignwill culminate in late October with a large "action" involving 3,000 people from across GBIO. Candidates for US Senator, MA Governor, and Suffolk County DA will be asked to declare where they stand on the issues identified in the campaign.
WELLSPRING for women will meet on Wednesday April 25, at 6:30 p.m. in the Reception Room. We start with a simple meal, followed by sharing and a reflection on how God knows us by name, based on the Resurrection narrative. All women are welcome.
Practices of Prayer for All Ages over Eastertide
Why do we pray? Who are we praying to? Is anyone listening? Have you ever found yourself asking these questions? Do you still practice daily prayer? During the season of Easter, let us come together to explore any, and all, questions about prayer that weighs heavily on your heart. In our journey together as a community devoted to mindful prayer, we may each discover a daily prayer practice which may add to our spiritual wholeness. Each practice will be explained on one week; then, we will explore together how this form of prayer from various faith traditions rejuvenates the spirit, or if the practice does not help you reach God. This is a multigenerational exploration into the communal and individual prayer practices of humankind. Please join us on Sunday mornings during Eastertide on the Stage from 8-9:00 a.m. If you have any question or for more information please be in touch with Brian Donovan, Brian@ucw.org
What: We cannot live without water. Water is essential to life. In biblical times (as in many cultures around the world today), the source of water was a well and women were the ones who came to the well to draw water for their families. As such, wells were a meeting place, a place of encounter where women gathered not only to draw up the water but also to share with each other, to hear the news of their lives, to be friends in their community. We invite the women of the church to "come to the well" on May 4 - 6th.
Why: This will be a time to enjoy each other's company, share our stories and grow together in love and hope -- a time to draw deeply of the nourishing waters of our faith and to be refreshed and renewed by God's word and presence.
Where: Toah Nipi, 252 Old Ashburnham Road, Rindge, NH 03461, toahnipi.office@intervarsity.org, Phone: 603-899-5464. Toah Nipi (which means "Quiet Waters") is a lovely and rest-filled setting in the spring for walks and activities by the lake.
When: 6:30 p.m., Friday, May 4 to 11:00 a.m., Sunday, May 6.
Cost: $120 includesfour meals, and two nights lodging. If the cost of the retreat is a barrier to you, please feel free to contribute whatever is within your means. Also, if you would like to make a donation to a common fund to help make it possible for others to attend, it would be very much appreciated.
If you have questions or would like more information about the retreat please reach out to Priscilla Kelso, plkelso@verizon.net / (617) 965-5399 or Pastor Stacy at
Adam Betters Reed, member of UCW and current Newton resident is a 30-year-old on the autism spectrum with experience living on his own who is looking for both housing and for an apartment/condo mate starting approximately August 2018.
There is no expectation of coordinating meals or social life. Adam has a strong preference for living in Newton, MA with access to the Green Line and near stores. He grew up in Waban and is currently living in Newton Center in a house that is closing this summer.
Adam's interests include: history, politics, Fan Fiction, Anime, walking, dogs/animals, food. Adam is currently enrolled in Pathways to Employment JF&CS program, but this too will discontinue in early fall.
His mother Bonnie is coordinating these multiple searches, and can be reached at
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
"Moral Courage in Public Policy"
Thursday, May 10, 2018, 6 - 9:00 p.m.
Temple Ohabei Shalom
1187 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446
"Moral Courage in Public Policy": What does this mean? Why do communities need to be a part of shaping public policy? What areas do they want involvement in? What are some examples in communities already? How do WE participate in society? It will be a
night of music,
community awards, and a
great way to meet people
across our different constituencies.
Reverend Liz Walker,
Roxbury Presbyterian Church's senior pastor, joined them in December of 2011. Rev. Liz, an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal tradition is a 2005 graduate of Harvard Divinity School and a veteran television journalist, the first African-American weeknight news anchor in Boston. Rev Liz can be heard on the radio Monday - Friday on WROL 950AM at 8:15am. Listen to her previous radio sermons in Roxbury Presbyterian Church's
Audio Archive or subscribe to them on
iTunes
