Lent Worship Series - February 21-March 28
Each of us is created a precious vessel of God’s love. Over the past year, our sense of wholeness has been shattered and so this Lent will be a “season of recovery.” We will witness Jesus' solidarity with those who suffer and seek healing practices for body, mind, and spirit both personal and communal, creating beauty from that which feels broken.

When pain comes and brokenness enters our lives, Jesus reaches out to touch and remind us of the treasure that we all are – worthy of new life in the midst of hopelessness. In a year when pandemic has wreaked havoc on our world, we begin by affirming our journey to physical health.

We will use beach glass as a symbol of the brokenness made beautiful. Ordinary pieces of beer or soda bottles flung into the ocean are transformed by years of tumbling until they become polished and rounded. Often found on a beach, it’s as if a miracle tossed beautiful glass on the sand. Ordinary fragments of silica that time and adversity have transformed into something beautiful.
February 28 Online Worship
Sunday Worship Online
Connect to online live worship service at https://colonialucc.online.church/ at 8:30 or 10:15 a.m. 
Or, you can watch our service anytime after 8:30 a.m. on Sundays via YouTube at https://bit.ly/CCYouTubeV 

Online Children's Sunday School. This week's Sunday School Bible story will go live on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. https://bit.ly/CCYouTubeVid 
If you know of kids who might enjoy taking part in our Sunday School, invite their parents to signup to be on the list to receive the weekly materials at https://bit.ly/CCSSOnline.

Online Coffee & Conversation. Grab your coffee, your tea, your beverage of choice and join your fellow Colonialites in our Coffee & Conversation Zoom Room. We will be connecting with each other between our worship services. Stop in for a quick minute to catch up with each other! You can connect at https://bit.ly/CCCoffeeCon
Sea Glass for You
Each week our lenten worship will include an action using beach glass so we have pieces available for you to pick up outside the church exterior office door.
Online Family Activities
February 28 
  • How many noses does a slug have?
  • What is the record for the number of hot dogs eaten in one sitting?
  • About how many stars are there in the solar system?

Join the Brasel family for a Family Trivia Night on Zoom.
Family Card-Making March 7
Join Marylee Battaglia on Zoom as she walks you through how easy and fun it is to make hand-crafted greeting cards on Sunday, March 7 at 1:00 p.m. This is a fun, kid-friendly activity using materials you have around your house. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/Colonial-cardmaking and you'll get information to get ready for the class.
Colonial Women Activities

Note: All Colonial Women activities are now virtual. You can attend through the Zoom links below. We need to connect now, more than ever! 

Colonial Women Book Group - 7:00 p.m. Friday, February 26 via Zoom. We will discuss "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83417614293?pwd=b1BCVC91R1BWZm1oSHVTZ20rTlJDUT09

Colonial Women Coffee - 9:30 a.m. on March 1 via Zoom

Colonial Women Blue Moose - 5:30 p.m. on March 9 via Zoom


One Great Hour of Sharing 2021 Special Offering

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare structural inequities that contribute to increased poverty and injustice. On full display is the plight of the working poor who have lost jobs, are on the brink of homelessness, and are waiting for hours in long lines at food pantries.

The 2021 One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering theme is “Let Love Flow.” When you share your gifts to OGHS, you Let Love Flow. Your generosity ensures that, even in the midst of uncertainty, the transforming power of love will continue to change the lives of those who are most vulnerable among us.
Click here to download and print the One Great Hour of Sharing calendar, which can help you save for your donation on March 21. You can donate at any time here. Choose One Great Hour of Sharing in the drop down menu.

Thank you for your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, as together we build a just world for all.
Upcoming Events

  • Sunday, February 28, 4:30-6:00 p.m. - Socially Distanced Bonfire with S-mores and Pizza in Lawrence.
  • Sunday, March 21, 4:00 p.m. - Youth play Among Us on Zoom
  • Sunday, March 28 - Youth driveway chalking

For more information, email or call Heather in the office.
Your Support Matters

Our work together matters - to each other and to the community. We are needed more than ever in this difficult time. 
 
Your pledges help Colonial to do its work. Counters are counting and we are making deposits. You may mail in your pledge checks or any other payments. An easier alternative is to make contributions online. You just fill in your banking information or provide a credit card and your name and email and what fund you are paying (Stewardship, food pantry, etc.) and the amount. Click the donate button below.

If you have any questions, you may email or call Heather in the office or Jayne Quimby, Financial Recorder.

Coffee with the Pastor
You can still chat with Pastor Aaron on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. but we are currently meeting via Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83732113798?pwd=N2ZXZW14OC90dWFidXJzYlZpWlVCdz09

In the News
Our custodian, Edson Palacios-Castrejon, was in the Kansas City Star during our recent cold spell.
Colonial Women Rummage Fundraiser
Because of concerns about COVID-19, Colonial Women is hosting a rummage collection rather than the usual sale. The goal is to raise $1,000, which means about 5,000 pounds of items! Savers will pay us by the pound for quality items. To reach that requires 250 13-gallon white trash bags of soft goods and 200 boxes of hard goods. We are also collecting boxes of books for a book sale. So far we have collected 123 bags of soft goods, 44 boxes of hard goods and 23 boxes of books.

Let Marylee Battaglia know how many bags or boxes you have collected so we can see progress toward the goal. Note nothing will be stored at the church.
Celebrations!
In this time of staying connected remotely, please remember these folks who are celebrating milestones.

Happy Birthday!
25 Sue Freeman
26 Evelyn Bowman
28 Nadine Colbert
March 2 Dan Diefenderfer, Bill Yohn

Happy Anniversary!
March 2 Adam & Stacey Algren


Calendar

Thursday, February 25
10:30 a.m.-Thursday Morning Study Group via Zoom

Friday, March 26
7:00 p.m.-Colonial Women Book Group via Zoom

Sunday, February 28           
8:30 a.m. Worship Online https://colonialucc.online.church/  
9:15 a.m. Coffee and Conversation https://bit.ly/CCCoffeeCon
9:30 a.m. Online Children's Sunday School. https://www.youtube.com/user/ColonialUCC/videos
10:15 a.m. Worship Online https://colonialucc.online.church/  
4:30 p.m.-Youth Bonfire and Pizza in Lawrence

Monday, March 1

Tuesday, March 2
9:30 a.m. Book Group via Zoom

Wednesday, March 3
9:30 a.m. Coffee with the Pastor via Zoom
 
Full calendar at Colonial Calendar.  


Colonial Staff

Senior Minister: Rev. Aaron Roberts
Bell Choir Director: Hayden Ferguson
Organist: Dr. Joseph Kern
Communications Manager: Sally Huggins
Building Maintenance: Edson Palacios-Castrejon
913-362-7735