The Union Church in Waban               
Friday, December 6, 2019 

This Sunday
          8:00 a.m. - No Bible this Sunday
  9:00 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal  
10:00 a.m. - Kids and Youth Prepare for the Pageant
All Kids Meet Downstairs at the Start of Worship
Our child-and youth-led worship service/pageant is next Sunday, Dec.15 th, and we'll spend this Sunday (Dec. 8 th ) getting ready.  Rather than begin worship in the sanctuary, kids will gather downstairs right at 10 a.m.  We'll split into groups; make sure everyone has a part; pick out costumes; and do some rehearsing.  We can't wait to see you there!  Extra adult helpers are very welcome :)  Please contact Amy ( [email protected] ) with any questions; if you can help; or if you won't be with us this Sunday, but you or your children would still like to participate in the pageant.  There are easy ways for everyone to be part of the worship and fun!  
MUSICIANS - Please bring your instruments!  
10:00 a.m. -  Worship 
11:15  a.m. -   Intergenerational  Advent Wreath Making 
 
Bring the light of peace, love, hope and joy into your home during this Advent season! We'll have all the supplies you need to create an Advent wreath for your home, just bring your creativity and a desire to create sacred space in the busyness of the season. If you have a wire frame from years past, please feel free to bring it to add new greens and candles. Donations towards materials are welcome. 
 11:30 a.m. - Montgomery Traveler's Meeting
   5:00 p.m. - Exploring Our Faith Meeting
We had to postpone our regular monthly Exploring Our Faith meeting last week because of the snow, and so we'll meet this Sunday instead!  We'll gather from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Choir Room at UCW and celebrate Advent together. Ninth and 10 th graders should come ready to talk about their project; and to RSVP for CityReach (Jan.10-11 overnight in Boston).  Mentors are always invited, but not expected.  
Please contact Amy ( [email protected] ) if any questions.

 
T he Union Church Mitten Tree 2019
Were you away last weekend and didn't have a chance to grab a mitten from the Christmas tree? No worries- we have LOTS more waiting to be taken and made into a Christmas gift either for a resident at Norwood Healthcare, or for a resident with Project Care and Concern in Boston.

Here's what you need to know:
 
1. Red mittens- each red mitten has male/female on it and a list of suggested items you might want to include in the holiday gift basket for a resident at Norwood Healthcare. These are just suggestions- fill your basket with whatever you think an elderly person would enjoy having. You will be given a basket, prayer bookmark and cellophane to wrap your gift basket in and return it to the chapel. Pls include the mitten attached to the basket!
 
2. Green mittens- each green mitten has the name of a resident living in one of the group homes with Project Care and Concern. Pls shop for that individual and return the gift wrapped with the mitten on the outside of the package.
 
All wrapped gifts need to be back to UCW on Sunday Dec 15th.
 
We have an unusually large number of mittens this year, and we so appreciate the congregation's generosity in helping to fill the larger need. 

If you have any questions please contact Erika Pond o r Molly Owen-Kiritsy   Thank you for your generosity this holiday season.


CYFChildren, Youth and Families
Growing in Faith and Community 
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - KIDS LEAD US IN ADVENT WORSHIP
Sunday, December 15 th ,  (with rehearsal on Dec.   14th )
(This Sunday, Dec. 6 th , Kids will spend the entirety of our worship time preparing, see details above in the This Sunday section.)
Calling all UCW Musicians!
We're excited to begin thinking about our child-and-youth-led Advent worship service. If you or your kids would like to share music for this special service, lead our storytelling or liturgy, or help behind the scenes, greeting, or in any other way, please let Pastor Amy ( [email protected] ) know. There are ways for everyone to participate!  
MIDDLE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PARTY!  
Re-Scheduled! Friday, December 14th, from 6:30 - at 8:30 p.m.
Middle School Youth and members of the Youth Ministry Team are invited to gather at the Hunt-Stevens home with friends for food, Christmas-themed games, and a white-elephant gift exchange (bring something wacky, weird or wonderful under $10). We'll have a jolly good time! Please RSVP on WeSpire, or contact Amy ([email protected]) or Susan ([email protected]). 
CAROLING AT NORWOOD HEALTH  
Sunday, December 15th, at 1:00 p.m.
All ages are invited to join this joyous tradition, as we bring holiday cheer to our friends at the Norwood Health Center.  Please plan to gather at the church at 12:45 p.m.  We'll go over a few songs, and then carpool together.  
SAVE THE DATE:  CITYREACH OVERNIGHT SERVICE TRIP 
Friday - Saturday, January 10th - 11th
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 currently experiencing homelessness. Please let Pastor Amy ([email protected]) know this week if you can join us.
Adult Education, Spiritual Formation and Fellowship
DECEMBER Book group  
ThisTuesday, December 10th, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Our next book is "Between the World and Me"
by Ta-Nehisi Coates. 

"In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men-bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?" 
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 .
YOGA WITH ANDREW
CONTINUES THROUGH DECEMBER   
THURSDAYS from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
(Note new time.)
Join body and spirit in an accessible yoga class. In this hour-long class, we will join breath and body both in energetic flow and restorative stretching. No matter where you are on your yoga journey, you will build strength and find a quiet restful center. This class is accessible to all body types and abilities.  Please bring a yoga mat and any favorite props. Andrew has some props and mats available to borrow.  
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 .
Mission Outreach 

Nicaragua Travelers Meeting & PIzza !
December 15 th  at 5:30 p.m. 

If you are travelling to Nicaragua in February, please plan to join us on Sunday, Dec. 15 th from 5:30-7 p.m. at the church.  We'll share a pizza meal, learn about the trip, and spend time connecting as a group.  We hope to see you there!  

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.


Themes are as follows:
    
Winter -  Homelessness and Housing
February 2  - Common Art Show at the Union Church
    March 1 - Public Voices Speakers from City Mission

Spring -  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.
                                                
                                      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 [email protected] , by 9:00 a.m. on the previous Wednesday morning.  
From the Wider Community


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  [email protected]
or by phone at 617-244-3650.