Anya Bassett has been a member of the Union Church in Waban since 2014. She and her husband, Jon, are parents to Ben (24) and Sarah (21) and people to Maggie the cockapoo (8). Outside of church, she is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies in Social Studies, an undergraduate concentration (major) at Harvard College.

Anya started her faith journey in the Episcopal Church. She dabbled in Unitarianism for a while before choosing, with Jon, to make a home in the United Church of Christ. 

I am a 47 year resident of Waban where I continue to live with my wife, Edith. I am retired after a long career in consulting With Arthur D. Little, PwC, Standard & Poors and other firms. Post retirement I have volunteered my time as a Board member and Treasurer with the Mass Bible Society, the UU Urban Ministry in Roxbury and several others because working with people with whom I can have a positive impact on our society has always been very important to me.

I connected with Union Church initially at Summer worship and liked the community so much that I became a member shortly thereafter. I have been active in the Book Group, Java Gents and the Worship Team and have enjoyed very much being a mentor for our Exploring the Faith Program.

We have been members of the church for 10 years. I’m mom to two great children and happily married to Rob. I transitioned from the business world to community service about 20 years ago. I work for the Natick Housing Authority helping low-income residents. Housing is my soft spot.

We love the church’s connection with outreach locally as well as near and far outside the church community. We’ve felt at home at the church from the first time we visited. The warmth and openness of the congregation to the spiritual leadership continually calls us.

I have been a member of the Union Church for about 15 years, and was drawn to this special place because of its warmth and inclusivity. I have taught Sunday School for many of those 15 years and love helping with Christmas pageants, Children's Sunday, curriculum planning, and all other aspects of Christian Education. 

Outside of church, I work at Lasell University in the Counseling Center where I connect students with mental health services on campus and in the Newton area. I also work part time as a consulting editor for Teen Ink, a literary/art magazine for middle and high school students. I'm the lucky mom to Emily (18) and Jenny (16), who both loved playing in the nursery at UCW when we began our journey here.

My name is Jaap van Reijendam, 54, born and raised in the Netherlands, but living in Boston since 1997 where I met my wife Kathy Malone. I work at Road Scholar, helping them with their analytics and reporting needs.

Together with our two children, Elisabeth (16) and Luke (19), we joined UCW in 2010 when Kathy became the director of Youth and Children's Ministries. Over the years I have been involved with the Teaching Parish Commission, Mission, and lately with technology.

I am a person who feels gratitude for the blessings in my life, and compassion for those who are oppressed, disenfranchised, or confronting seemingly insurmountable obstacles. My work with mission over the last few years has allowed me the privilege of gaining a better understanding of existing inequities in the world, their underlying causes, and the landscape of intervention possibilities.

The welcoming atmosphere at the Union Church of Waban provided respite for me during a difficult time and I am continuously humbled by the compassion, generosity, and sense of community present here. 

I was introduced to UCW back in 2006 and it is the first church in my life to which I feel truly connected spiritually, emotionally, and socially. As many of you know, I am married to Karen OBeirne, who was responsible for my UCW introduction. We have two wonderful boys, Wil Bedford (21) and Aden OBeirne (19) who are also active (most of the time) in the church and have joined us for many Nicaragua trips and grew up as UCW youth with all its’ benefits. We are officially empty nesters with Wil in his Junior Year at Connecticut College and Aden in his Sophomore Year at Penn State. 

Karen and I were married by Stacy in 2010 and I was baptized by her right before she left. We have enjoyed the social aspect meeting so many friends through UCW, traveled to Nicaragua a number of times and have taken place in many church activities. One of my favorite has been our UCW Men’s Group, JAVA Gents, which I have been coordinating with Jay OBeirne for 10 years now. I look forward to the Search Committee journey.  

I grew up in Towson, Maryland, near Baltimore, and came to faith in Christ while in high school. A lifelong Presbyterian, I pastored the First United Presbyterian Church in Cambridge for 25 years (1982-2007), and served two other churches as Interim Pastor during my retirement.

My wife Priscilla, a winsome college professor, and I were married for 52 years, and traveled to the Philippines, her home country, numerous times, for work and pleasure. She and I came to love this church, its Pastor and its members, when we were seeking a church home, and found it to be a "fit," a family of faith, with whom we could continue to grow and serve.

I have been at UCW since 2000 and over the years have been able to participate in the life of the Church. As a youth, I attended Sunday school, was baptized and confirmed, and was a youth voice and co-leader of the Nica Task Force. I have a strong interest in mission and social justice. Today, I am grateful to be part of the Youth Ministry Task Force and an EOF mentor. 

Currently, I am the Assistant Director at the Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service at Northeastern University, working with the interfaith community of faculty, staff, and students. This was an opportunity developed through networking at the Union Church and the UCC community. 

I'm Elisabeth van Reijendam, I'm 16, and I have been attending this church since I was 4 years old. Over the last 12 years, I have spent a lot of time at the church, from playing dodge ball and dumping glitter all over the floor, to ringing bells and participating in worship. This past year, I served on the Music Director Search Committee.

This church and the people in it have had an immense impact on me as I’ve grown up, giving it a special place in my heart.