The Union Church in Waban
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Friday, December 18th, 2020
Online Worship This Sunday
Christmas Sunday
December 20th  - Advent 4
10:00 a.m. Zoom Worship





On this Christmas Sunday, we approach the manger with Joseph as the Nativity Story is told by the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 1: 18-25) and consider what Immanuel, "God with us" may mean in our lives today.

A highlight of the service will be the return of our UCW choir who will sing a traditional German carol entitled "How Great Our Joy."

To join worship on Zoom:  

Zoom Link:  HERE
Meeting ID: 825 3458 9833
Passcode: 895091
Dial in only: 1 646 558 8656 
 
Find a Copy of the Bulletin by CLICKING HERE  
Special Christmas Collection 

Please consider donating to the Chelsea Collaborative for our Christmas Special Collection recipient. The City of Chelsea has the highest incidence rate of COVID-19 cases in all of Massachusetts and a large population of Latinx residents. La Colaborativa (The Chelsea Collaborative) is feeding families, supporting residents facing eviction, and disseminating critical information about COVID-19. This organization has a history of assisting and empowering immigrants through facilitating youth employment, providing English language classes, and in recent Get Out the Vote efforts, among other activities. Their goal is to empower through enhancing the social and economic health of the community.

NOTE:  To connect to Sunday Worship or to any of our online offerings, you may go to our website at www.ucw.org. There you will find a click through to Sunday morning worship and to other online opportunities.  You may also use the link below.   
AdventCalendar
Upcoming ADVENT  and CHRISTMAS Services
  

All-Ages Come to the Manger - Forest Church Drive By!  
This Sunday Afternoon! December 20th, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. 
As we look ahead to the weather and try to keep everyone safe in this time of COVID, we'll have a modified Forest Church this Sunday.  Pastor Amy will be a the church from 3-4pm and invites you to come pick up materials to craft your own simple Nativity Scene at home.  She'll also have extra candles and jingle bells for the Christmas Eve 4pm service (below).  

Christmas Eve: Thursday , Dec. 24th    

Updated - Children's Nativity Service: 4:00 p.m. on Zoom
Note that we will not gather in person. 
With much prayer and consideration, and in concert with recent updates from our City of Newton public health officials, we have decided not to gather in person at 4pm on Christmas Eve. As much as we desire to be together in person, we desire so much more that every member of our beloved community remain stay safe and healthy as COVID numbers increase.     

Instead, Pastors Amy and Stacy invite you to a short, interactive service on Zoom at 4pm!  The service will be especially geared toward our kids.  We'll share the Christmas Story, build our nativity scene together, pray, light our candles, and ring our Christmas Bells with Joy!   Please join us and bring: Your Nativity Scene, a Candle, and a Jingle Bell (come to Forest Church above to pick up materials or use your own from home).  

Lessons and Carols: 6:00 on Zoom
This will be an online version of our traditional service of lessons and carols.  Bring a candle to light as we spread the light through our zoom room and across our communities and a bell to ring as we go out with Joy to the World.  
   
Adventbooklet

Advent Devotional Booklet 
Version 2 - Now Available
(Contains new and updated content.)


Our Advent theme this year is "Fear Not."  As is our custom we compiled our Advent devotions booklet to accompany us through our walk of Advent.  If you would like a hard copy mailed to you, please be in touch with Office Manager, Aidan (ucw@ucw.org)

You may also access a PDF of the booklet HERE.
 

Heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to our booklet this year. 
   
CYF
Children, Youth and Families 
 

A Huge Thank You for Our
 2020 Christmas Pageant!

Thank you to all the amazing children, youth, and families that contributed so generously to our beautiful telling of the Christmas Story in worship last Sunday! Through their gifts of story-telling, music, dance, visual art, and more, our kids truly shared the Advent light of hope, love, peace, and joy, and we are so grateful!
 
We have posted the videos of the service online, and you can access them by clicking on the image below:  



CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE VIDEOS OF OUR 2020 CHRISTMAS PAGEANT


Pastor Amy Away from Dec. 26th to Jan. 2nd

Please Note that Pastor Amy will be away and not checking email or phone during the week between Christmas and New Year.  If you have any questions or pastoral concerns during that time, please reach out to Pastor Stacy at stacy@gmail.com or 617-759-9016. 


Youth Ministry
  
Youth Groups:

This Sunday, Dec 20th 
9th Grade Youth Group 
Christmas Party on Zoom!  7:00-8:00 p.m.
Given the rising COVID numbers and wet weather we've decided to move our Christmas Party online!  Join in for Christmas Fun from 7:00-8:00 p.m.  Pastor Amy has sent an Evite to all 9th grade families with the Zoom link.  

Sunday, January 3rd
Exploring Our Faith - 5:00-6:30 p.m.
We'll meet on Zoom for our final gathering before our January 10th Baptism/Confirmation/Affirmation Sunday!  All EOF Students should also meet with Pastor Amy before Jan. 10th. Please see your emails for the sign-up!  

MIssionMatters
Mission Matters


 Donate a Tree to the
Newton Food Pantry 



We have an opportunity to bring joy to the Newton Food Pantry Families and support our mission efforts!

As you may know, greens sales support our UCW mission efforts and our Nicaragua partnership.  Last year we launched an initiative for UCW folks, in their greens order, to donate a tree for Newton Food pantry families.  The response and gratitude were resounding.  

This year, due to COVID uncertainties, we didn't know if we could offer the same opportunity to support these families.  We now know trees can come from our Canadian provider and cross the border into the US (total thanks to the Nagle family) - so at this late date we are asking if anyone would like to donate a tree to the Newton Food Pantry.

If you are interested, please contact Karen Weisgerber at  karen@weisbrown.net

Advocates for Racial Justice

Did you know......

The FBI circulated the following memo after King's "I Have a Dream" Speech:  In the light of King's powerful demagogic speech yesterday he stands heads and shoulders over all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negros. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro, and national security.

1K Task Force Chooses
New Recipient for 1K Loan!
Meet Aaron Spencer, Owner of A-Butter 

The 1K Task Force, decided it was appropriate to focus our outreach to those communities where small businesses were being hit the hardest by Covid 19, black and brown communities.  In order to do this we contacted over 10 churches and several individuals and businesses to explore possibilities.  

We chose to make a $2500 loan, to be repaid within two years, to Aaron Spencer, owner of A-Butter.  A Butter's mission is to provide people in local communities with a healthy and tasty eating option with different almond butter flavors.  These are: original, maple, honey and apple cinnamon, plus seasonal specialties of pumpkin spice and gingerbread spice.  After interviewing Aaron Spence the committee was unanimous and enthusiastic in our wanting to support A-Butter.  We are confident that he will not only repay  his loan, so we can pay it forward to another, but that he is providing a service to his community.  In addition he is  a delightful human being, an enterprising and smart business person with whom Union Church in Waban can build a relationship  We look forward to you meeting him virtually or in person in the near future.  

In the meantime please read the Boston Globe article published on Wednesday in the Food Section of the Boston Globe.  We hope you will order some Almond Butter for Christmas gifts and stockings to support our loan recipient.  Just go to www.abutterbyaaron.com!!!  Let Aaron know you are from Union Church.  


IK Task Force
Alan Cody, Alison Mc Carthy, Frank Laski, Soo Laski, Nancy Zollers, Kevin Johnson and Brita Gill-Austern, chair.  


A-Butter Almond Butters, a healthy spread that's
spreading the word
Aaron Spencer of Roxbury first started whipping up almond butter for himself as a nutritious source of protein when he chose a vegan diet, hoping to lower his risk for the health problems prevalent in his family
By Ann Trieger Kurland Globe Correspondent,Updated December 1, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
                              .............continue reading the full Boston Globe article HERE

Be Part of our On-going Common Cathedral Team
Our friends at Common Cathedral need our support more than ever with the winter cold and growing Covid numbers.  We'll continue to go downtown with sandwiches, coffee, and granola bars every Thursday.  You can help by holding the Common Cathedral community in your prayers, and by signing up through the link below.  

For More Details and Ways You Can Help: GO HERE
ScriptureSignup
Scripture Reader Sign-up
Please look at the Sign Up Genius HERE, and sign up to read Scripture. Youth are greatly encouraged to sign up, too! (The link is also always available on the ucw.org
 homepage)

Thanks you, UCW Deacons
                                                
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, 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.


From The Wider Community 

Mario Purser's Nature Art
Now Available Online
Realistic, Expressive and Vibrant Drawings
by Mario Purser.


Cards and calendars are available on his website at REviofineart.com.
We are happy to drop off calendars rather than mail them.

Visit Mario's Website  HERE
 
Thank you for your interest and support in Mario's art.