The Union Church in Waban |
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Friday Updates, June 10, 2022 |
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Sunday Worship Service
June 12th at 10:00 a.m. (Hybrid)
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Sunday Service: On this day we continue our Pentecost celebration of the Holy Spirit, and God's presence and dreams for each of us and the church. We will also honor and bless our high school and other graduates* during worship and reception. We hope graduates and graduate-families will join us!
To join Sunday Worship at 10:00 a.m. on Zoom:
Meeting ID: 832 2059 8969
Passcode: 458322
Dial in only: 1 646 558 8656
The bulletin is available HERE
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*If you know of someone who is graduating or celebrating another milestone that
we should be sure to include, please reach out to Pastor Amy (amy@ucw.org).
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To connect to Sunday Worship or to any of our online offerings,
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Annual Meeting Follow Up
Last Sunday after church, we held the Annual Meeting, presided over by outgoing Co-Moderator Frank Laski. Meeting in the sanctuary and on Zoom, we elected new leadership including Jaap van Reijendam, as new Co-Moderator, serving with Jenny Weisz. Rob Purser, Treasurer, explained the wisdom and necessity of our deficit budget and asked members to consider increasing pledges in the coming year. After approving the budget, we heard Frank’s report on Riverside Children’s Center which is increasing rental space in the coming year. We especially thanked Karen Weisgerber and Kent Wittler for their many efforts in helping create needed space in our reception area so that Riverside can continue to be certified to provide childcare services in our church building. Our meeting concluded with many expressions of thanks for leaders and congregants who carried quite the load of ministry in the past year.
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Newly Elected Church Co-Moderator
Jaap van Reijendam
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My name is Jaap van Reijendam (pronounced as "Yahp") and I feel honored to serve the next two years as one of the co-moderators for this church. I was born in the Netherlands 54 years ago, and I grew up in a family with a mother and both grandfathers as pastors. So faith and church have been central in my life from an early age. Early in my career in IT, I decided to go work in the US for a few years. My 3rd Sunday in Boston I met Kathy Malone at a church in the Back Bay. So 25 years later I am finding myself still happily married here in Boston! We have two kids, Luke who is a rising junior to become a pilot at Purdue University, and Elisabeth who is a rising junior at Boston Latin School. |
We joined this church 12 years ago when Kathy became the director for youth and CE. During that time I helped out (of course) with Sunday School, but also join the Teaching Parish Committee. When Kathy left her position to become a full-time teacher, we considered switching to church closer to our home. But we realized that this church is in many ways our home. Over the years, I have been involved in worship, mission and most recently the tech-team, and I have come to deeply love this community. I look forward to serving in this new role.Li
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Updated Masking Guidelines at UCW begin this Sunday
The Union Church Council affirmed a shift on our masking policy in consultation with the Phase Forward Team. A change is being made not because the risk is low, but rather it acknowledges that different individuals have different needs and priorities with respect to decisions about masking. For those that are uncomfortable with a risk of exposure, wearing a high quality mask (such as an N95, KN95, or KF94) still offers strong protection.
Beginning June 12 we will move to a policy of “optional masking except for singing” at church gatherings, including worship. As an example, this means a person could enter the building unmasked, including the Sanctuary, but put on a mask in order to sing. It is always okay to choose a mask and we want to expand some flexibility of choice.
We have left unchanged the guidance about close exposure to someone with Covid and demonstrated symptoms of Covid. If you have had close exposure to someone but have tested negative, we still ask that you mask. If you are experiencing symptoms or test positive, we ask that you refrain from in-person attendance at gatherings.
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Upcoming Sundays & Gatherings |
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Sunday, June 19th - Join our Siblings of Boston Taiwanese Christian Church
Our morning worship will focus on the gift of partners in dreaming as we consider the story of Priscilla and Aquila who served alongside the apostle Paul as he started new churches. We will give prayerful attention to fathers of all kinds as well as the spirit of Juneteenth on this day.
The UCW congregation is invited to join in solidarity at a service of healing and remembrance with the congregation of Boston Taiwanese Christian Church at 1:00 p.m. Following the shooting in May at a Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in CA, our siblings in faith will gather to pray and seek healing in its aftermath.
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Sunday, June 26th - Commissioning Mission Trip Participants
On this day we will bless our youth and adult leaders who will be traveling to Maryland on a Mission Trip. We will also preview "Sundaes on Wednesdays" by serving ice cream at Reception.
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Summer Worship
Sundays and Sundaes!
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Sunday, July 3rd - Leading in a Liminal Season
For Sunday July 3rd, in lieu of hybrid worship, Pastors Amy and Wendy invite you to join the Council in watching this webinar, presented by UCW alum Rev. Dr. Sarah Drummond and Susan Beaumont. The presentation invites us to consider the liminal times in which we are living. A common language around this season of ministry will be helpful to us.
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Sunday, July 10th - Gathering in Memorial Chapel and on Zoom
Our Summer Services will begin on July 10th, gathering at 10:00 a.m. for hybrid worship. As we embrace the more relaxed pace of summer, we will gather in the Memorial Chapel and worship will be more informal, followed by time for fellowship (outside, weather permitting). We are organizing leaders and Call Stories that will shape our Sundays together.
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Save The Dates! Four Wednesdays This Summer
We are also excited to offer some additional times for joy, rest, prayer, togetherness, and ICE CREAM! Sundaes on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Come enjoy each other's company over a frozen treat on these Wednesdays dates
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Coming to your mailbox!
A Special Gift to Help Us Re-gather in the Fall!
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Are you traveling this summer? Whether you are traveling to faraway lands, the nearby coast, dipping a toe in Crystal Lake or staying home, we invite you to bring back a small container of water from your summer. In the Fall we will all bring the water we collected to be part of a ritual where we name the sources and bless our Water from Many Places. Then the water will be filtered and boiled to purify it, and it will be used in baptisms in the coming year. Watch your mailbox for a gift from the Deacons to help you collect water for our worship on September 11th.
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Adult Formation and Gatherings |
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Choir Seminar with Anne Watson Born
Thursday June 16th at 6:30 p.m.
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Our choir will host a seminar with guest presenter, Anne Watson Born in our Sanctuary on June 16th from 6:30-8:00 p.m. While this is geared towards choir, it is open to all members of the congregation.
Anne Watson Born is the board chair of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium and the community choirs repertoire and standards chair for the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. She is a UUA credentialed music leader and an active member of the UU Musicians Network. Watson Born is the music director of the Nashoba Valley Chorale, a 90-voice chorus based in Littleton, MA.xt Link
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She is also the director of music ministry at the First Unitarian Society in Newton, where she manages a music program that includes a 30-voice choir, an intergenerational orchestra, various chamber ensembles, a folk/rock band, a family choir, and whatever else happens to pop up. She has been a faculty member at Roxbury Community College and at Bristol Community College. At the latter she is also the composer and sound designer for the BCC Theatre Rep company, where she has designed for numerous shows including The Bacchae, King Stag, and Alice in Wonderland. In addition, she has served as the music director for performances of Threepenny Opera, Marat/Sade, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. |
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Children, Youth & Families |
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June Service Trip
Monday, June 27th- Friday, July 1st
Ending Homelessness One Family & One Child at a Time
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We are so excited for this wonderful upcoming trip! All are invited to join us for this five-day experience of meaningful service and relationship -building with the families experiencing homelessness and living at Deep Roots. We'll install rain barrels, assist with community gardens and trail maintenance, lead games and activities for the children, help with a number of other projects, and have a lot of time for fun and spiritual renewal!
Please be in touch with David Spertner (dspertner@gmail.com) or Pastor Amy (amy@ucw.org) for details. We'll bless our travelers in worship on June 26th.
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How You Can Help - Donations for Deep Roots Families
If you are unable to join us, but would like to support the work of Deep Roots, please consider an in-kind donation of items they need. Please see their Amazon Deep Roots Wish List here . From this list, they are especially in need of:
- Play Yard
- Diapers size 5 and 6
- Baby wipes
- Queen size mattresses with box springs (new or gently used)
- Pillows
- Baby monitors
If you would prefer to purchase (smaller) items for us to bring down, we'll also have a donation box in the Crocker Chapel -- Thank you!
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Greater Boston Interfaith Organization |
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GBIO Action
June 23rd (In-person & On Zoom!)
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The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization is having its first in-person member-wide action since launching its new issue platform last fall. Join us in person or on Zoom as we will:
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Complete and celebrate the Boston budget campaign on reentry, housing, and mental health
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Seek CONCRETE COMMITMENT to get IDs into every returning citizen's hands from key public safety officials
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Newton Freedge: Continued Need!
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The Union Church in Waban is a Freedge partner responsible for helping connect with local businesses, stock, and monitor this needed local resource two Saturdays a month. We are in urgent need of volunteers in the coming weeks.
The work is easy and rewarding, with multiple slots throughout the day. Despite Newton’s image as an affluent suburb, too many of our neighbors struggle to put food on their tables. The Newton Freedge is one way we can help. A free, 24/7 outdoor refrigerator and pantry, the Freedge provides free food and personal supplies to anyone who needs them.
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Union Church Freedge Sign-up: HERE
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Advocates for Racial Justice |
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What is Zoning and Why Does It Matter?
Zoning is the term for rules that cities put in place to determine what kinds of buildings can be built where. It can be complex and technical, but it’s a force that shapes the places we live, and it often determines how a city grows and thrives — or doesn’t. Tight zoning can block the creation of sufficient housing, which leads to the skyrocketing prices we’ve seen in recent years. It can also create huge negative impacts for economic inequality, racial segregation, and the environment. That’s why Somerville YIMBY and other pro-housing groups have focused on it so closely.
Zoning and Segregation
Zoning laws can help cities guide their development in positive ways, and keep noxious industries away from homes and commerce, but the first zoning laws in the US were created to promote segregation. They achieved that mostly by keeping apartments and multifamily homes away from single-family homes. This worked because people of color were often shut out of mortgage lending, meaning that a neighborhood of owner-occupied houses was almost by definition entirely white. Federal lending policies that gave better ratings to all-white neighborhoods and restrictive covenants prohibiting future owners from selling to nonwhite people reinforced that segregation. To learn more about zoning’s role in creating and perpetuating segregation, read Richard Rothstein’s book The Color of Law.
Zoning and Economic Inequality
In the US, access to clean air, good schools and good jobs is closely tied to where you live, and wealthy communities that prohibit the creation of sufficient housing — and enough variety of housing types — are effectively pricing out lower-income families. Requiring big homes on big lots effectively requires building only the most-expensive housing types.
Zoning and the Environment
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To learn more about ARJ activities at the Union Church reach out to
Nancy Zollers (dr.nancy.zollers@gmail.com ) or
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Pastoral Care Connections
During this time of transition, please know that your church is here for you. Please don't hesitate to reach out to Revs. Wendy Vander Hart or Amy Clark Feldman for prayer or pastoral support:
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Pastor Amy's email is amy@ucw.org, and her cell phone for calls or texts is 617-938-8112.
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Pastor Wendy's email is seniorpastor@ucw.org and her office phone is 617-965-3893
Mondays are days off for both pastors. If you have a pastoral need, please reach out to Pastor Amy this week.
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Sunday Reception Sign-Up
Please follow the link below and review the available slots to sign up. As we slowly come back to "new normal" the numbers of those attending reception will fluctuate from 25-40. Thank you!
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Scripture Reader Sign-Up
If you are joining our Sunday worship, please consider signing up as a Scripture Reader for any of our upcoming services.
Scripture Reader Sign-up: HERE
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March for Our Lives - Boston
This Sunday! June 11th from 3-5:00 p.m.
Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park,
110 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02110
Join with others across Massachusetts, and in solidarity with marches across the country, against gun violence, and to demand change to gun laws in our country.
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The Bounty of the Season
A Wampanoag Dinner by Chef Pocknett
To Support Indigenous Peoples Day Newton
Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.
Eliot Church, 474 Center Street, Newton MA 02458
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Please join us for a delicious five-course dinner by Chef Sherry Pocknett featuring local Indigenous ingredients of the late spring and early summer seasons. Chef Sherry is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and daughter of Chief Sly Fox and Bernadine Hendricks-Pocknett. She is the Chef Owner of Sly Fox Den Catering, Sly Fox Den Too Restaurant in Charlestown RI, and the forthcoming Sly Fox Den Restaurant and Cultural Center in Preston CT. Her cookbook, The Bounty of the Season: A Good Reason to Give Thanks is forthcoming this winter 2022. Chef Sherry comes from a long line of culinarians and is excited to share her Indigenous foods and history with us. Learn more about Chef Sherry’s most recent project.
Suggested Donation, $150 per Individual, $250 per Couple
(There is a “pay what I can option” available)
Click here if you would like to attend the dinner.
Click here if you cannot join us on June 21st, but wish to support the Indigenous Peoples Day Newton event.
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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.
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