We hope that you will join us in taking part in this Lenten devotional opportunity.  This will include receiving emails each day during Lent which will include questions which we invite you to reflect on and gain insight through. When you sign up now you will receive all the daily emails you missed in the first day, and then you will receive a daily email after that.

It will also include zoom discussions continuing on Monday, March 8 and March 22, which you can access at  https://zoom.us/j/99702256243 .

 If you are interested, please go to his link:https://www.40form.org/cohortparticipantsignup and input your information and select your congregation under the "Community" dropdown menu. If you need help with this connect with Dom Mejia at dom@harvardepworthchurch.org. To find out more about 40form and learn about what it offers go to www.40form.org. We hope that you can be a part of this fantastic Lenten experience.

Our next contemplative in-person worship service will be Thursday, March 4 at 7:00pm. Our focus would continue to provide a safe in-person worship experience for a small number of people. This is different from our typical Sunday morning worship service (as it does not have congregational singing, passing of the peace, sermon, unison readings, etc.), which we continue to livestream on Sunday mornings. This contemplative service, which will happen mid-week in the evening, would include prayer, scripture reading, times for reflection or silent meditation, and may also include piano or organ music during the reflection time. We would limit the size of this in-person service to below the gathering size limitations the city or state would allow. All attendees would be required to wear masks throughout the service and keep socially distanced.

Therefore, in order to register to potentially attend this in person service you must express your interest in attending by this Sunday, February 28. If you have not expressed interest before in this sort of contemplative in-person service, so that we can plan how to manage its operation and number of attendees, please click here to be directed to a Google Form to register your interest through providing your name and email address. If you have questions, please email pastor.herb@harvardepworthchurch.org.

To help address this critical need, Harvard-Epworth’s mission-outreach committee is organizing for this February a “diaper drive.” Because of COVID, the decision has been made not to ask for the actual donation of diapers,, but for financial donations. A $15 to $20 donation provides diapers for a couple weeks ($40 for a whole month). To make a donation for the diaper drive you can either go online to www.harvardepworthchurch.org/giving or write a check to Harvard-Epworth (mail to 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138) and note it is for the diaper drive.

Thanks to all those who have donated to the Stained Glass Window Project. We have raised approximately $30,000 of our $35,000 goal, so are hopeful that we will reach it soon. Please help ensure the light of God shines bright and that these stained glass windows continue to inspire for decades to come.

   This individual giving, plus funds available within the church and a grant from the Cambridge Historic Commission combine for us to accomplish this $125,000 project to restore and refurbish the stained glass windows which have not yet been restored. This project will include the large windows behind the altar, as well as 15 other windows in the sanctuary and vestry hall. As you can see in the photo below, the stained glass windows have already been taken out and work has begun on them. We took photos of the windows people could see on the worship livestream and hung these posters in front of the weather tight wood structure that replaced the windows

Please send in a check to the church (1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138) or go to http://harvardepworthchurch.org/giving/ and click on Give Now so you can be a part of this important effort. Note on your gift that this is for the Stained Glass Window Project.(This picture is from Easter, 2017.)

Millions of people were severely impacted by the this week’s winter storm across the South. The state of Texas has been hit particularly hard, resulting in power blackouts, loss of heat and broken pipes. As the snow and ice melts, flooding will be a significant problem. Many United Methodist and other churches are serving as warming shelters and food banks.  Meanwhile, the same storm system spawned tornadoes in the Carolinas, destroying homes. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), which responds to natural disasters and crisis across the world is providing immediate funding to assist annual conferences and will provide long-term support once the damage is fully assessed. We are blessed as a United Methodist Church to have an organization like UMCOR, and Harvard-Epworth, along with every other UMC, help to support its infrastructure so that every donation an individual makes through UMCOR goes 100 percent to helping people in need. So, consider making a gift today to UMCOR U.S. Disaster Response by CLICKING HERE and making sure you click on the box that says, "Yes, I would like to give credit to my local church."

Join the next Women's Potluck, Thursday, February 25, at 6:45pm via Zoom at:

https://zoom.us/j/94405222401, or call in at 1-929-205-6099 and use the meeting ID: 944 0522 2401. Let's connect with each other and celebrate the hope of spring. 

Harvard-Epworth is making a commitment through this crisis we find ourselves to provide opportunities to connect each day.  Look for an email tomorrow that will outline program and support opportunities for next week. To see this week's programs and opportunities, click here.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/93538291213

You can also join by phone at 1 929 205 6099. The meeting ID is ID 935 3829 1213.

Adult Forum meets once a week before the Sunday service. Feel free to come to all or to whatever might interest you. To join Adult Forums on Sundays at 10:00am, go to: https://zoom.us/j/96481096640 or call 1-929-205-6099 with meeting ID 964 8109 6640

This Sunday, February 28, we will continue the Lenten series focused on spiritual practices/devotions and this week Dom Mejia will be leading the discussion.

Next Sunday, March 7, we will continue the Lenten series focused on spiritual practices/devotion with discussion led by Heather Wakefield.

All are invited to join this Bible study on Wednesdays at 5:45pm. We are now looking through the letters of the New Testament.

Each of these sessions (5:45pm to 7:00pm) will be self contained, so you are welcome to join for the entire journey or to join when you can.

To connect to the Journey through the Bible Study on Zoom go to this link: https://zoom.us/j/92805225510

or call 1 929 205 6099. The meeting ID is 928 0522 5510.

All young adults are invited to the events hosted by the group, which usually range from engaging discussions to outings and meals. If you are a young adult or university student who would like to receive weekly email updates from Dom Mejia regarding programming for young adults and students, and are not yet receiving those, please email Dom at dom@harvardepworthchurch.org to be added to the list.

TONIGHT! Monthly "Teach What You Know" Series: Journal Making with Teal on February 25 at 7pm

Over the next few months, we're happy to introduce a monthly "Teach What You Know" series at Harvard-Epworth, with young adults offering workshops, lessons, and introductions on what they know. For February, Teal will be offering a workshop on journal making. Having learned some binding techniques from Teal, Dom assures you that you need no knowledge or skill in book binding or journal-making to walk away from this workshop with a lil' journal for notes and scribbles.

Send Dom an email to sign-up and to receive a materials list/the Zoom link.

If you would like to teach what you know, send Dom an email!

TOMORROW! Young Adult Game Night

Join us at 7:00pm for our monthly game night via Jackbox. Email Dom to RSVP!

Next Book Club Sign-Up: Inspired by Rachel Held Evans

In Inspired, author Rachel Held Evans offers tools and stories to help us navigate the stickiest parts of the Bible. Instead of rejecting the text wholesale or engaging in fundamentalist readings, Held Evans invites readers to linger in the tension, humanity, and ambiguity in our central scripture. In doing so, perhaps we will catch a glimpse of the Word of God.

For this next book club, we'll do things a bit differently. For the first 45 minutes of each discussion, we'll reflect upon the readings from the book. Then, for the second half, we'll apply the tools Held Evans offers directly to the biblical text. My hope is that we as a community will develop the spiritual muscles to help us approach the Bible with humility, faith, and care.

If you're interested in the book club, please send me an email letting me know and fill out this Doodle Poll so we can find a time that works best for everyone. We will begin meeting the first week of March and will meet every other week.

I plan to have participants pick up their copy of Inspired after church on February 21. If you would like to join the book club but can't pick up the book in person, please let me know, and I'll have a used copy shipped directly to you.

Young Adult Check-ins: We have Young Adult Zoom check-ins only on the first Wednesday of the month at noon. 

Thanks for all the students and volunteer teachers who were involved in online Sunday School this past Sunday. It was a great experience and we had great numbers, so a wonderful start to this new initiative.

Children's Sunday School will be offered virtually for children age 3 to 4th grade from 10-10:25 am via zoom. We will have a brief Bible lesson and a craft or activity. To join, please go to https://bostonu.zoom.us/j/5397806919 at 10:00am on Sunday.

Youth Sunday School will be offered virtually for students grades 5 to12 from 10:30-10:55 am via zoom. We will provide an opportunity to check in and discuss how our faith relates to our church and wider world. To join, please go to https://bostonu.zoom.us/j/5397806919 at 10:30am on Sunday.

Volunteers are needed to help us ensure Sunday School on Zoom is a success this Fall.  Please consider volunteering in Sunday School this year. There are opportunities for people of any ability to get involved for whatever time in whatever way you can help. Please express your interest in volunteering for Sunday School go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B4DA4AA2CA7FA7-youth to sign up.  By volunteering you will make a big difference to the children and youth of our church and a big difference to your life too!  Thank you in advance! 

If you would like to take a tour of Harvard-Epworth join Rev. Taylor as he gives a brief visit to the building by going to https://youtu.be/Lp1YeyzDP84 or clicking the image below!

If you'd like to learn more about Harvard-Epworth, you can watch this video from the Harvard Square Business Association's (HSBA) "Sacred Spaces and Good Works" project by clicking on this link. 

On Sunday morning for the livestream worship we usually have 5 to 7 people who are there to make it happen. We are thinking that we have room for one or two more, keeping a safe COVID protocol. So, if you would like to come in person on a Sunday, either as a guest or to actually learn to help with the livestream, please email pastor.herb@harvardepworthchurch and we can set a Sunday in the future for you to visit.

Friday Cafe will now works in a bag-lunch format, offering lunches provided by caring neighbors like you! With the help of Doing Good Together, Friday Cafe has set up an online signup  where you can commit to making 10 or more bagged lunches each week. Sign up to make sandwiches once, or once a month, or every week, if you want to! This is a great activity to do with kids, if you're home with family and looking for things to do. Lunches can be dropped off curbside on Fridays from 12:30-1:00: You don't even have to get out of your car. Just text Rev. Kate Layzer, Director of the Friday Cafe, at (617) 851-5074, and she'll come to you.

Remember that we have a Harvard Epworth Church Member Online Directory.  You can log in to the directory by going to directory.harvardepworthchurch.org by clicking on the link in the menu on the church website (it's next to the live stream link).

Current users can reset their password with the "Need a password" button on the directory login. If you don't have a directory account or access to it, email pastor.herb@harvardepworthchurch.org  and we will be in touch with login information for you