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The Union Church in Waban
Friday, March 10, 2017
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Bible Discussion at 8:00 a.m.
Bible discussion continues this Sunday in Pastor Stacy's study. We are walking with Jesus through the Gospel of Luke. All are welcome!
Choir Rehearsal at 9:00 a.m.
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Singing the Psalms
at 9:35 a.m.
Join us to sing Psalms together before worship on Sunday mornings. We gather at 9:35 a.m. in Memorial Chapel (the side chapel off the sanctuary),where we sing and pray t
ogether for ten minutes each week. Feel free to arrive a few minutes early for quiet centering prayer.
(Detai
ls here.)
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Worship at 10:00 a.m.
This Sunday is the second Sunday in Lent. The Scripture passage from John's Gospel asks us to consider where in our lives may we be longing for new birth, regeneration, aliveness?
Bell Choir Practice: 11:15 a.m.
Please Note:
Pastor Stacy will be away from Friday, March 17 - Sunday March 19th. If you have an urgent pastoral need during that time, please call Pastor Amy at 617-938-8112. Our ministerial intern, Andrew Heintz will be preaching on Sunday the 19th.
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 Time to update the directory!
Karen Weisgerber will have a draft copy of the directory this Sunday. Please check with her to verify and/or update your contact information. Also, please
send in a photo of you/your family. If you do not have a photo, Jim MacDonald will be available after church to take one.
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Does UCW feel like home?
Do you want to join the church?
We will be receiving new members into our life
together this Spring. If you are interested in
learning more about UCW and/or becoming
a member, please be in touch with
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Lent at the Union Church in Waban
"Creating the Beloved Community - A Lenten Journey of Communion"
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Lent is a season in the liturgical, church year that begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1st and ends at sunset on Maundy Thursday, April 13th. Lent is a season of renewal, a time of growing through repentance, fellowship, prayer, and the embrace of our covenant with each other and with God. Lent is not so much about giving up something but rather about trying to be intentional about opening up to the renewing work of God's grace. Just as the bulbs planted deep in the ground begin to stir to new life as the days grow longer in the coming of spring, so too does this season encourage a kind of germination of God's spirit in us, calling us to new life and new beginnings, of which we will celebrate in the mystery of the empty tomb on Easter morning.
In the very early church, this season was one of intentional formation where those who wished to join in following the Way of Jesus would undergo a concentrated period of study and preparation which would culminate with their baptism and welcome into the church during the Easter Vigil, Saturday service. The liturgical color for Lent is purple which you will remember is also the color for Advent, which is si
milarly a season of preparation.
Food for the Journey
:
Wednesday Evening Worship at
7:00 p.m. Throughout Lent
Come be nourished each week as we journey towards Easter! Each Wednesday night, we will share bread and cup as we are nourished for our pilgrimage. Each worship service will be unique, and there will also be some ongoing practices that we include each week. Come walk the labyrinth, pray with paint, hear a story, sing a song. There will be many opportunities to be renewed with each other!
Memorial Chapel (the side chapel off the sanctuary). Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m., starting March 8th. Childcare will be provided.
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March 15:
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I Wonder... Engaging Our Imaginations
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March 22:
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Walking the Labyrinth
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March 29:
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Feeding the Soul with Quietness
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April 5:
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Babbette's Feast
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C
hildren,Youth, and
Family
Ministries
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TONIGHT! March 10-11 -
Lenten Labyrinth Sleepover
During this sleepover at the church tonight, UCW youth will eat together, play games, talk about the Lenten journey and walk the church's labyrinth. We'll also begin to plan youth-led portions of the worship service on April 2nd. Youth are invited to all or part of the time. For more information contact Amy at
amy@ucw.org
or 617-938-8112.
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UCW Kids and Mini-Missions
UCW Kids and Mini-Missions
Mini-Missions - the new initiative to engage our Rainbows (k-3rd graders) and Stars (4th and 5th graders) in service projects in the community - is well underway! This week and next during Sunday School, the kids will be working on their presentations to the congregation (scheduled for March 26th) about the service organizations they have chosen to support. If you are new to UCW, or if your child has not yet been part of Mini-Missions, no worries! It is easy to join in, and our Mini-Missions leaders will be happy to help your child find his/her way to Sunday School and into a group. You can also visit the hallway outside the church offices to see some of the kids' work, or find information in the Crocker Chapel, or online under the Children's and Youth Ministry tab of www.ucw.org. If you would like to learn more, or volunteer to help, please contact Amy at amy@ucw.org. Thank you!
Youth Lenten Series - This Month
We are engaged creative new series for our youth, which began last Sunday (March 5th), and will run through the five Sundays in Lent, and into Holy Week. This hands-on series will explore the mystery of Communion and what it means to live together as beloved community. This Sunday our youth will consider the theme of hospitality, as they bake quick-breads to share with the congregation and our friends at the Waban Health and Rehab Center. An overview of the Lenten series was sent to parents, and can be found in the Crocker Chapel or online under the Youth Ministry tab of www.ucw.org.
Youth Winter/Spring Calendar
Our Youth Ministry Team has an exciting rest of the winter and spring planned for our UCW youth. An updated calendar-of-events is being sent to all youth families, and is available in the Crocker Chapel. It will also be available online at ucw.org under the Youth Ministry tab.
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Adult Education, Fellowship, and Spiritual Formation
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Lunch Bunch, Wednesday, March 15th, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Come share a hot meal and join in some good conversation as we consider how our lives have been touched by "luck" or "grace" as it may be termed in our faith tradition. We will have a festive Saint Patrick's Day meal and delight in being together. All are welcome. Please let Pastor Stacy know if you plan on attending.
WellSpring, Wednesday, March 15th, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Our "Peace like a River - Finding Balance in an Edgy Time" continues this coming Wednesday. Wellspring is our UCW women's group. We begin at 6:30 with a light meal and then move into a time of discussion and sharing. This week our theme is "Finding balance in the midst of fractured politics." Hope you can join us!
Waban Health Worship, Thursday, March 16th, 10:30 a.m.
You are invited to share in worship with our friends and neighbors at the Waban Health Center. For over five years now, we have shared in worship with the residents of Waban Health. The residents there are very much a part of our UCW community and if you have not had a chance to meet them and to worship together here is your chance. It is a wonderful, grace filled experience. If you can come to our March service, please be in touch with Pastor Stacy.
Book Group, Tuesday, March 28th, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
We will be reading "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson. A Pulitzer Prize winner, this epic of the great migration from the American South to the North and West tells the story of several characters who embody the drama of different time periods in this historic movement of people in American history.
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A
dult, Small Group Retreat
Toah Nipi
Retreat Center
Rindge NH
Spring is the season when our natural world begins to wake up from its winter sleep and make ready for a new season and summer. It is when the frozen earth thaws; bears and their cousins emerge; tree sap flows. It is when many of our birds return home from their far away travels; and when our lakes and streams rebound with oodles of life. With all this stirring - "mixing memory with desire", the woods and fields become filled and pungent with ancient and new smells and sights and sounds and sensations that trigger and feed our own world and imagination. Let us take up spring's invitation and "Come to our Senses".
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Russell School Local Initiative
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN RUSSELL SCHOOL
STUDENTS, PARENTS AND STAFF AT:
The R
ussell Elementary School Academic Night
Union Church serves supper, and supports classroom activities with teachers.
No experience necessary. This is a great way to meet our partners, the students, and their parents. Contact Nancy Zollers (
dr.nancy.zollers@gmail.com
) for more information.
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GBIO News from The Union Church
As part of our commitment to GBIO and its campaign for criminal justice reform (CJR), Union Church will host a showing of Ava DuVernay's film "
13th
," on Friday, March 24, at 7pm. All are welcome. The 13th amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." DuVernay's film connects the dots from this troubled language to Jim Crow to the disproportionate incarceration of Black Americans.
GBIO's CJR campaign has four key goals: reforming the state's pre-trial bail system, ending mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, reducing or eliminating fees and fines for former prisoners, and reducing the maximum amount of time a prisoner can be kept in solitary confinement. You can read more about the CJR goals
here
.
The other issues GBIO is currently active around are the federal Affordable Care Act and Boston's new Community Preservation Act ordinance. The CPA ordinance will generate $16-20 million annually for affordable housing development, historic preservation, and open space initiatives in Boston, through a 1% surcharge on property taxes and matching funds from the state. (Newton adopted the CPA in 2001.)
GBIO worked hard to get the Boston CPA passed and is especially interested in more money for badly needed affordable housing. It has formulated criteria both for filling the four "community seats" on the 9-person Community Preservation Committee, and for the CPC public process. Go
here
for GBIO's criteria and
here
for details on the March 23 action at the State House.
GBIO's ACA activism-urging US lawmakers not to repeal and replace it-is even more urgent now, with the unveiling on Monday of the Republican health care bill. According to Atul Gawande and other experts, the bill offers nothing that would improve the health care system and in fact would make things a bit worse for millions in one category or another-people buying coverage on the exchanges, people on Medicaid-except for the rich, who'd get a slight reduction in taxes. Please consider joining in the GBIO effort. Go
here
for instructions.
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Sun., Mar. 12
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9:35 a.m.
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Singing the Psalms
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10:00 a.m.
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Worship
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11:15 a.m.
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Bell Choir Rehearsal
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Mon., Mar. 13
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10:30 a.m.
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Wednesday Morning Bible Study
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7:00 p.m.
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Mission Team Meeting
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At home of Nancy Zollers. All are welcome! |
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7:00 p.m.
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Choir Rehearsal
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Wed., Mar.15
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7:30 a.m.
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Prayer Group
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9:00 a.m.
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Coffee w/Stacy at Starbucks
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12:00 p.m.
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Lunch Bunch
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6:30 p.m.
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Wellspring Women's Group
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7:00 p.m.
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Wednesday Evening Service
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Thur., Mar. 16
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10:30 a.m.
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Waban Health Worship
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Sun., Mar. 19
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8:00 a.m.
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Bible Study
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9:00 a.m.
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Choir Rehearsal
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9:35 a.m.
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Singing the Psalms
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10:00 a.m.
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Worship
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11:15 a.m.
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Bell Choir Rehearsal
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11:30 p.m.
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NICA Hopes and Dreams Conversation
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For a complete listing, and details of all upcoming events,
please visit our website calendar HERE
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Help lay the table during fellowship hour
One of the many ministries of UCW is hosting a fellowship hour after worship on Sunday morning. This table, laid with love and a simple spread is (as Adam Hearlson said in his mission moment a few weeks ago) very much a communion table. It not only nourishes our bodies, but it also nourishes the relationships that make us one Body, one with each other and with God. If you would like to share in this ministry and host this time of communion, please go
here.
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