The Union Church in Waban               
Friday, December 20, 2019 

This Sunday
          8:00 a.m. - No Bible this Sunday
  9:00 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal  
10:00 a.m. - Christmas Sunday  
This Sunday, our guest musician David Norville will be share with us the beauty of the oboe as he and the choir bring us some special music.  We will also be sharing in our special Christmas offering this Sunday as well as on Christmas Eve.  Our offering will go to support the good work of Bridge over Trouble Waters.  To learn more about David Norville and the work of Bridge over Troubled Water, please see below.  
 
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David Alexander Norville is an American oboist, writer, and podcaster fr om Fort Myers,Florida. Born to a Guyanese mother, the West Indian merits of hard work, discipline, and manners were instilled into David from an early age.  As an oboist, Norville is known for his musical performances on NPR's Daytime Emmy-Award winning radio show From the Top, as well as his summer 2016 tour with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. David has been recognized by organizations like YoungArts, Sphinx, and The Jack Kent Cooke foundation for his merits as an oboist and young artist. David was trained under the American school of oboe playing following the pedagogical lineage of Marcel Tabuteu, John Mack, John DeLancie and John Ferrillo. David also is a podcaster, co-host of the new podcast "The No Modifications Podcast," a production in cooperation with the artistic collective, "Focus On Your Art". Norville's artistic affiliates share a goal of functioning as independent artistic entities while advocating and supporting the progression of promising artists of color. David had a hand in forming the group "Focus On Your Art" or FOYA. It's a grassroots organization dedicated to the blossoming of young talent through discipline, creativity, networking, and entrepreneurship. David aspires to use his platforms and art to share his knowledge, experience, and art with those who are also passionate about connecting the world through art, education, and empathy. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, David is currently attending the New England Conservatory of Music where he studies privately with oboist John Ferillo. He is working as a Production Assistant and Audio Editor at From the Top. David's background and artistic experience contribute to his work deconstructing race, social class, and politics through multifaceted artistic lenses.
 5:00  p.m. - Community Carol Sing 
Parish of the Good Shepherd invites us to join them across the street for a time of carols and readings.
Our 2019 Christmas Collection

In keeping with our seasonal theme of housing insecurity, this year's recipient of the Christmas special collection will be  Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Dating to the 1960's, this Boston-based organization provides effective and innovative services to runaway, homeless and high-risk youth through a variety of approaches. Their services range from immediate to long-term assistance to help youth avoid a lifetime of dependency on social services, guiding them towards self-sufficiency, and enabling youth to transform their lives and build fulfilling, meaningful futures. Services offered include a daily "foot patrol", a mobile medical van, community dinners, transitional housing, high school certificate programs, a College Pathways program, counseling and a runaway hotline.
 


Advent and Christmas at UCW



 
Contemplative Service 
TONIGHT  7:00 p.m.
We will gather in the beauty of Memorial Chapel off the UCW sanctuary for a reflective, candle lit service of prayer, contemplative music and quiet.   In this service we make space for what may not be so merry and bright. We hold what is broken in our world and in our lives. We hold the losses we are experiencing. We acknowledge our need to be held by each other and by God's love.
 
CHRISTMAS SUNDAY 
Sunday, December 22, 10:00 a.m.
On this fourth Sunday in Advent we light the Advent candle of Love and celebrate with festive music and song "Ubi Caritas" - Where there is charity and love, God is there.
 
COMMUNITY CAROL SING 
Sunday, December 22, 5:00 p.m., 
Parish of the Good Shepherd invites us to join them across the street for a time of carols and readings.
 
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE OF LESSONS AND CAROLS
Tuesday, December 24, 6:00 p.m.
In this inter-generational service, we gather around the manger as we hear the story of Christmas through lessons and carols. We wonder at the good news of God with Us in the glow of the candle lit sanctuary and we go out into the night as Joy to the World rings forth.
 

Church Matters - Save the Dates 
Meeting of the Congregation
Sunday January 26, immediately following worship, 
 and a preparatory session on Sunday, January 12
The Church Council invites all members of the Union Church community to meet on January 26 for three important items:
  1. A briefing from our Communications Committee on a Statement of Purpose, an outward-reaching description of who we are that can be used on our web site an in publicity
  2. A vote on adding four words to our Church Covenant (our promise to each other within the church) to update our language with respect to being open to all:
"We, the members of the Union Church in Waban, true to our founding principle of being an inclusive church, covenant together to nourish and to sustain in our common life and practice a fully welcoming and affirming church for all persons. Welcoming all persons who seek to join with us in a commitment to love God and our neighbors, affirming the inclusive love of Jesus, we are open to all, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, nationality, ability or economic circumstance. We invite all to full participation in our worship, membership, leadership and life of this church.
 
3. A creative and interactive conversation about our visions for the church so that we may set our priorities for our spring stewardship campaign and budget-setting process the coming year. This session will set the context for the spending plan we will vote to adopt in June.
 
To prepare for this important meeting, members of the community are invited to engage in conversation and reflection on the importance of being open to all regardless of "gender identity and expression".  We will gather on the stage immediately following worship on
Sunday, January 12.
 
PLEASE NOTE: Pastors Amy and Stacy will be away from December 26th to 28th.   If you are in need of pastoral care during this time, please call our Deacon of the Month, Debbie McGovern at 857-498-1812.
 

Mission Outreach 
UPDATE FROM CATIE'S CLOSET

Last week Julie (our Catie's Closet coordinator) and Brian Heffernan went over to the Russell School to help Sharon Sodergren restock the shelves. While they were doing that, a teacher came in to get a winter coat, size 7, for a little girl in her class who had come to school without a coat. (As you may remember, the temperature last week was in the low 30s.) Also, there was a cart loaded up with clothes. Julie asked Sharon if they also needed to be shelved or hung, and she said that everything on the cart had been put aside because it was going to one family. --- This is such an important project. Thank you for supporting it!

Advocates for Racial Justice (ARJ)
A new group at the The Union Church
The June travelers to Montgomery, Alabama have formed a new group to promote the work of racial justice in our community and nation. We are calling the group

Advocates for Racial Justice.
The mission statement of our group is below:
 
Responding to our call as Christians to see the image of God in all people, and to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, we pledge to each other and the Union Church congregation to be faithful Advocates for Racial Justice. We will engage our congregation and the larger community in continuing study and conversation about ideology of white supremacy at its root. We want to unmask and oppose the racism that divides the people of God from one another, unfairly empowering some and not others, in our personal relationships, community, state, and nation.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said that "true peace" is "the presence of justice." Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative says, "We must acknowledge the truth about our history before we can heal." This is our main purpose: to seek, understand, and proclaim the truth about our history-specifically, about slavery and white supremacy-so that we can be properly reconciled to one another and prepare the way for true peace, which is the presence of justice.
 
Advocates for Racial Justice is open to anyone who would like to join us in our work and be on the committee. Please contact Brita Gill-Austern ( bgillaustern@gmail.com), if you are interested.   

Please note the following:
  • There is now a bulletin board downstairs with information and upcoming programs in the church and outside about racial justice.
  • There is a bookcase at entrance of Reception Room for borrowing books related to racism, white supremacy, white privilege, etc. Check it out and check one out and return when you have finished.
  • Please put Sunday March 8th at 6 p.m. on your calendar for a potluck and amazing speaker, Jospehine Mc Call, author of Penalty for Success. Her book tells the personal story of her father's lynching and how this was used as a common practice used when African Americans became successful.
  • If you have not had the chance to see the movie Harriet about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad I strongly recommend it.
  • If you can see the very beautiful Black Nativity in Boston through December 26th to broaden your exposure to African American culture and conceptualizations of the Nativity. For discount tickets go to Boston Arts Tickets. A great family activity!
 
Brita Gill-Austern, chair of ARJ.
(Committee members are Annie Gatewood, Jenny Weisz, Kathleen Hobson, Nancy Zollers, Frank Laski, Arlyne Grant and Stacy Swain.

homelessness and housing


This year your    Mission Outreach Leadership Team  is organizing its work (and coordinating with the other areas of UCW life) around seasonal themes. These will provide an organizing context for the many mission activities and we will coordinate educational opportunities, worship, and children's education around these themes when possible. We also hope to coordinate our seasonal offerings around these themes.

Our winter theme is  -  Homelessness and Housing.  Please consider participating in some of the offerings listed below: 
        
February 2 -  Common Art Show at the Union Church
    March 1 - Public Voices Speakers from City Mission
    March 8 - Evening with Josephine Bolling McCall 

Our spring theme is  -  Climate Change (and disaster relief)

For more information about these offerings please feel free to reach out to
Carol Bascom-Slack,Jaap van Reijendam or Julie Heffernan.
Adult Education, Spiritual Formation and Fellowship
Book Group
Tuesday, January 28 th  at 7:00 p.m. 
Our next book is " Evicted " by Matthew Desmond.

" In Evicted," Princeton sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as "wrenching and revelatory" (The Nation), "vivid and unsettling" (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America's most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible . "
(Amazon review)
norwood health  
Pen Pal ministry
   
Once a month, a group from UCW worships with the residents of Norwood Health.  Many of these residents were formerly our neighbors, living at Waban Health before that facility closed.  

In addition to our monthly worship service, many of the residents enjoy writing and receiving cards.  We know that loneliness adversely affects health and well being and many of the residents are quite socially isolated.  Writing cards is one way we can help foster connection and share the love of UCW.  If you are interested in being a pen pal with a resident of Norwood Health.  Please be in touch with Stacy .
NEW DAY - THURSDAY MORNINGS   
PRAYER GROUP: 7:30 - 8:15 a.m.
  
 
We live in a noisy world.  There is much that clamors for our attention.  Even when we shut our eyes at night it may take a while for the din to die down enough for us to sleep.  You are invited into a practice of cultivating spaciousness and silence.  You are invited into the beauty of the morning light streaming in through the windows of Memorial Chapel.  You are invited to rest a while in the peace of stillness.  If you have questions, please be in touch with  Sandra DaDalt or  Pastor Stacy .
CYFChildren, Youth and Families
Growing in Faith and Community 
THANK YOU!! CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
We're so grateful to the children and youth who so beautifully and faithfully led us in worship last Sunday.  We give a special thanks for their families; our teachers and lay-leaders (especially Cindy, Rob, Jane and Kathy); our music ministers (Kayla and Daon); high school seniors (Luke and Kat), and others in the UCW community who did so much to make the service such a meaningful one! 
 
EXPLORING OUR FAITH AND HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH GROUP!  
Next meeting: January 5th 
EOF: 5:00-6:30 p.m. 
High School Youth Group: 6:30-8:00 p.m. 
Exploring Our Faith students, and other high-schoolers and adults are invited to join this powerful overnight service trip with our partner, Ecclesia Ministries in downtown Boston. We'll learn from and serve with Ecclesia members who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, share meals, and distribute needed clothing, blankets and hygiene items to guests. If you can contribute any of the items above, we would be so grateful, and will have a collection box in the Crocker Chapel. Please let Pastor Amy ( amy@ucw.org ) know asap (by Jan. 5th at the latest) if you can join us.
SAVE THE DATE:  CITYREACH OVERNIGHT SERVICE TRIP 
Friday - Saturday, January 10th - 11th

Donations of travel-sized toiletries, used men's outdoor clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, carrying cases/bags, and new underwear or white socks are VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! 

Exploring Our Faith students, and other high-schoolers and adults are invited to join this powerful overnight service trip with our partner, Ecclesia Ministries in downtown Boston. We'll learn from and serve with Ecclesia members who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, share meals, and distribute needed clothing, blankets and hygiene items to guests. If you can contribute any of the items above, we would be so grateful, and will have a collection box in the Crocker Chapel. 

Please let Pastor Amy (amy@ucw.org) know asap if you can join us.
NICARAGUA BAKE SALE 
Sunday, January 12th
Save the date and start looking through your favorite bake-sale recipes (no peanuts or tree nuts please)!  In preparation for our service trip to Nicaragua in February, we will hold a bake-sale to raise funds for needed school and other supplies for our partners in San Juan del Sur.  We hope you will plan to contribute something delicious, and buy something yummy for yourself.  We'll need help baking, preparing the goods for sale on Saturday, and selling.  If you can help, please talk to Joannie Kelly or Pastor Amy.   
From the Wider Community
Opera Group to Perform at the Union Church

Due Donne Productions  presents 
Engelbert Humperdinck's 
Hansel and Gretel  (sung in English) 

Tomorrow, Saturday, December  21, at 7:30 PM. 

This is a holiday revival of the company's first production, and is cast with students from the New England Conservatory. Performance is December 21, at 7:30 p.m.. All performances are free with suggested donation and family friendly. More information at  duedonneproductions.com 




Revisiting Civil Rights Sites in  Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham Alabama,  and Boston MA
 
Purpose             
We propose a project of Civil Rights era remembrance for two audiences, for youth and for civic and academic leaders. This venture is intergenerational. Youth will be involved with film and social media; civic and academic leaders in an academic conference drawing from the New Democracy Coalition's program on Civic Literacy, CMM's Values over Violence and Interfaith Youth Initiatives, the Ella J Baker House and Seymour Institute, and additional partners, churches and synagogues. We seek to acknowledge the 55 th anniversary of the crossing of Pettus Bridge in Selma (2020) and related events.
Selma - 2020     Phase One:
Focus on Youth: travel seminar by bus and one night's hotel lodging

February 28         Friday: 20-hour bus trip as traveling seminar with civil rights video
February 29         Saturday: Montgomery, AL; visit National Memorial for Peace & Justice                                       (Saturday Night - in hotel/motel)
March 1                Sunday: Jubilee Sunday: Church Service and Pettus Bridge Crossing
March 2                Monday: Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and 16 th Baptist Church      
March 3                Tuesday: Back in Boston in the early morning/mid afternoon
April                      Gathering of Sojourners: "What Did It All Mean?" Date & Place: TBA
Boston - 2021   Phase Two:
Five nights of Boston hospitality, receptions and academic conference

April 16                Friday: Welcome reception by a supporting Institute
April 17                Saturday: Freedom Trail and civic welcome, Faneuil/Crispus Attucks Hall
April 18                Sunday: Church Services and Thurman Center, Boston University
April 19                Monday: Black Freedom Trail, Tubman, Baker Houses welcome
April 20                Tuesday: Seymour Institute Academic Round Table, Harvard University
April 21                Wednesday: Depart

Contact CMM for interest and further information at  info@coopmet.org
or by phone at 617-244-3650.
                                                
                                      Our Covenant
 
We, the members of The Union Church in Waban, true to our founding principle of being an inclusive church, covenant together to nourish and to sustain in our common life and practice a fully welcoming and affirming church for all persons. Welcoming all persons who seek to join with us in a commitment to love God and our neighbors, affirming the inclusive love of Jesus, we are open to all, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ability or economic circumstance. We invite all to full participation in our worship, membership, leadership and life of this church.


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 should be e-mailed to the office at ucw@ucw.org , by 9:00 a.m. on the previous Wednesday morning.