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Worship 10am

Lent I: Unplugged 🔌 Stress

Mark 1:9-15

Rev. Dr. Mary Lou Gifford

🏈Touchdown for Compassion: Soup-er Bowl Drive Delivers

This "Soup-er Sunday" wasn't just about touchdowns on the field, but touchdowns for compassion at UCC Norwell! Partnering with Wellspring for 8 years, we've been throwing spirals of hope with our annual "Soup-er Bowl" collection.

Just like any good play, it takes teamwork to tackle hunger. And thanks to every generous donor, we intercepted poverty and ran it straight back for a touchdown! It was such a blitz of kindness, Jean Holley's trunk almost got flagged for holding (too much soup)!

A couple hundred warm meals might not look like a winning score on the scoreboard, but in the fight against hunger, it's a game-changer for those in need. Huge thanks to all who donated!

Cooking for a Cause: TONIGHT, 4:30-6:30pm for ALL AGES

One Friday a month, we gather to do a cooking project for L Street, Rehoboth House or other folks in need. We are broadening our invite to include anyone in the congregation who wants to be part of the fun! This month we are decorating heart shaped cookies for L Street! How much fun is that? Please RSVP as we also feed our help - pizza for everyone! 

Lenten Musical Meditations | Starts February 21, Wednesdays 12:30-1pm

In 30-minute programs for piano or organ, Minister of Music Karen Harvey will offer beautiful and tranquil arrangements of seasonal music designed to encourage contemplation and prayer. Free and open to the public. The program runs every Wednesday through March 27.

Sacred Conversations: A Lenten Study | Feb 26-April 8 | 7:00-8:30pm | Church Library 

Gwen Morgan will facilitate this 7-week small group study using the Lumunos resource “Sacred Conversations,” during which we’ll share our stories and reflections about faith in the workplace. The conversations are intended to provide a community of support and accountability as we live into the challenges of being faithful within the context of our daily work, which can occupy a significant percentage of our time and energy – whether we’re paid, volunteer, parent, partner, caretaker, or a combination of all. The study includes a Lumunos-developed workbook for a $10 fee. Group will be limited to 8 attendees. To register or if you have questions, please contact Gwen Morgan or at 781-718-6195.

Blanket Month: No sewing skills? No problem!

In church school this month, we are looking at a few of the healing stories of Jesus. To complement that learning, we are making blankets for Project Linus, a group who distributes homemade blankets to children in the hospital or facing other traumatic situations. Wanna get in on the fun? Here are a few ways you could do that:

• If you knit or crochet or sew, make a blanket at home to contribute.
• Donate a yard of fleece or a package of cotton quilt batting.
• Sign up to help in church school (below)
• Grab a piece of fleece from jenny to prep for the next Sunday (no sewing experience needed, just need to be able to use a pair of scissors!)

Reach out to jenny for more information!

Concert at UCC Norwell | Saturday, March 2, 7:00pm 

David Won and Timothy Steele will present You Raise Me Up, a program of sacred music by composer Mark Hayes. A freewill offering will be taken for the benefit of Ukrainian charities.

🎨Cards on a mission | Created by artists in our congregation

"All Occasion Cards" Easter cards will be available on March 3. The suggested donation is $5 per card. All proceeds go to mission organizations that our church supports.

Prayerful Stitches meeting | Thursday, March 7, 2:00-4:00pm

Our Prayerful Stitches Ministry Team will meet in our church library on March 7 and April 4. All are welcome to attend. Questions? Please email Gwen Morgan or call 781-718-6195 or email Ann Finnie or call 781-545-2663.

Save the date | Meal packing with the Outreach Program

Please join M+ O on May 4 for a volunteer day with the Outreach Program to help pack nutritious meals for food pantries on the South Shore. We have 20 spots available and this is a great activity for families with young children - all ages are welcome! This opportunity is funded through the generous bequest of June Breckenridge. Click on the button below for more information and to sign up today! If all the spots fill, please email Alison Demong to be placed on a waitlist.  

“When two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

At 4:55 pm there were just shy of a half dozen of us and we concluded that without a doubt, we'd happily consume the mac and cheese and chocolate pudding, play some games together and enjoy the evening, all numbers aside.

Then they started to trickle in, family after family, couples and even over a dozen Scouts from a local troop, probably 30-40 of us in the end. Other than a sung grace and a few instructions, it was a free form evening during which, the pudding and can of whipped cream were discovered with some delight, a pack of energetic folks headed out to the basket ball hoop, a collection of brave people gathered to learn how to play Pit and a group that combined Scouts and church school did a funny skit! 

Wherever two or more are gathered in God's name, God is there among them. And sure enough, from the quiet of the initial five to the chaotic joy of the many voices, God was with us, in us, working through us to build a community here on earth as it is in heaven. One card, Parcheesi token, Game of Life car, knight, bean bag, basketball at a time; we basked in the glow of being God's beloved community.

Open Arms, Open Hearts: Introducing our church blog

Open arms, open hearts is a new church-wide blog expressing love and ministry through our words, pictures, song, and more.

"Little hands, big hearts. They could hardly wait to get started making these blankets amidst questions and concerns about how the blankets get distributed? Do you have to order one? What if the hospital runs out?

First, the story, I say."

Enjoy our first blog post from our Children + Families Minister jenny Healy.

Friendship Home Volunteer Opportunity

Camp is the highlight of the year for a great many of the participants. It is a chance to stay away from home with friends and have fun in the great outdoors. There are fun water activities, crafts, a talent show, and hoe down with a live band among other fun things. Volunteers are needed for at least one or more of these days (10am-4pm): Mon.-Wed., August 26-28; located at Camp Hayward in Sandwich, MA. 

Responsibilities include:

• Waterfront support of staff/lifeguards
• Spending time and engaging with members
• Assisting with arts and crafts
• Clean up
• Guiding members to activities
• Team building
• Camp-wide games

Please contact Kimm Ball at with questions or for more information.

Public Meditations, Praise, + Prayer Wall

Add your meditation, praise, or prayer for the Lenten season.

Church Hill United Methodist’s Coffeehouse | Friday, February 16 at 7:30pm

Enjoy the music of Kelsey Gilbert and Paul Doolittle. Coffee, drinks, homemade pies and desserts available for purchase. Admission charge. Questions? Call 781-826-4763 or 781-582-7784.

"Rosa Parks" by Nikki Giovanni

In honor of Black History Month we invite you to meditate on the poetry of Nikki Giovanni with her poem "Rosa Parks." Source: Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea (HaperCollins Publishers, 2002)

Pictures for Lent | What does it mean to be "Unplugged?"

Emily, our Communications Coordinator (and the person in charge of the Weekly Update 👋🏻) is collecting pictures from our congregation for Lent to be shared through our social media channels. This year's sermon series theme is "Lent: Unplugged." What does it mean for you to be "unplugged?" Some ideas include: stillness, prayer, reflection, listening, memory, blessings, learning, and much more!

If you'd like to share a picture for Lent, please share it in one of the following ways:

• TEXT to uccnorwellsoundroom@gmail.com (no emails, please)
• UPLOAD to this Google Drive folder
• REPLY to this email with your pictures

🚨Be smart about replying or clicking on emails🚨

👍🏻👍🏽👍🏿63% of people read Google reviews before visiting

UCC Norwell Public Calendar

Find all of our "save the date" events and more on our public activities and events calendar!

Activities & Events include:

• Choir rehearsals
• Handbell rehearsals
• Bible study (Sunday Zoom link, Wednesday Zoom link)
• Church School (Sunday)
• "Not" Church School (Sunday)
• Youth Group (Sunday)
• Confirmation (Sunday)
• The Memory Lane Singers (23/24 Schedule)
• ...and more!

Prayers, Birthdays, + Anniversaries

In order to keep your information private while spreading word of the work we do, we’ve removed prayer requests, birthdays, and anniversaries from the digital Weekly Update. Instead, check your email each weekend a “private” weekly email dedicated to those important elements of caring for one another. Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve how we communicate with you, our congregation, and the greater community.