The Union Church in Waban |
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Palm Sunday
March 28 at 10:00 a.m. Online Worship
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Walk-Through Holy Week
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A Special Message from Pastor Stacy
We will begin our Palm Sunday service with a very special offering led by our UCW children and youth. The children will share their art, music, dance, moments of illumination, and tell the story of Holy Week, beginning with the waving of palms through Holy Saturday's waiting at the tomb.
After the children and youth have taken us through the story of Holy Week, Pastor Stacy will continue our worship with a special message for our beloved community.
Directly after worship, we will share in brief time of reception as we express our gratitude of having the children and youth lead us in worship before moving into a time of conversation to more deeply explore with Pastor Stacy her message for us.
We hope you'll join us for this beginning to our Holy Week and walk to Easter.
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To join worship on Zoom:
Meeting ID: 832 2059 8969
Passcode: 458322
Dial in only: 1 646 558 8656
Find a Copy of the Bulletin HERE
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Pick Up Your Palms!
There is still time to pick up your palms for Palm Sunday! The palms are ready for you on the bench in front of the elevator lobby outside the front of the church. Please feel free to pick them up for you and your family as we prepare to wave them high as we shout Hosanna this Sunday!
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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.
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Lenten Bible Study
Sunday Mornings at 8:00 a.m. (zoom)
Please join us for a walk through the Gospel of Mark. All are welcome to explore this text with us and to encounter the Risen Christ within it. No biblical study or experience is needed. If you have any questions, please reach out to Pastor Stacy.
Meeting ID: 885 0724 0203
Passcode: 584285
Dial in: 1 646 558 8656
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Easter Blooms Now Available to Order |
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If you wish to participate in our Easter celebration with the donation of an “Easter Bloom,” please submit your order by Wednesday, March 31st.
We will be decorating our Sanctuary with live plants, and your dedication details will included in our online Easter bulletin and service.
Each donation of $15.00 will be used to purchase the plant of your choosing.
You may order and submit your dedication
details at the link below.
Thank You!
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Celebrating Holy Week at
The Union Church in Waban
The Union Church in Waban invites the community to join it in celebrating the Easter season.
Due to public safety concerns and pandemic restrictions, services will be held outdoors and online.
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Palm Sunday: March 28th
10:00 AM: Online Virtual Service
During this online service, our children and youth lead us in telling the story of Holy Week. Pastor Stacy will share a special message and we will gather with her after the service for a time of conversation.
To join worship on Zoom:
Meeting ID: 832 2059 8969
Passcode: 458322
Dial in only: 1 646 558 8656
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Maundy Thursday: April 1st
6:30 p.m. Virtual Service (Online)
Gather online in the main zoom room for welcome and grace before breaking out into small groups for dinner and conversation.
7:00 p.m. Celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Online)
Gather back in main room for the sharing of the Lord’s Supper and the Tenebrae Service. As we gather, please bring a cup and bread so that we may partake of the Lord's Supper together. As we move into the Tenebrae portion of the service, you will be invited to light a candle as the night falls, so please gather a candle (if you have one) with you as well.
To Join Worship Online
Meeting ID: 857 9579 5708
Passcode: 372922
Dial in only: 1 646 558 8656
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Good Friday : April 2nd
5:00 -7:00 PM: Open Sanctuary
Station of the Cross
Come into the quiet of the sanctuary to pray and walk through the Passion of Holy Week. Go here to sign up for a time to visit the sanctuary. A virtual Stations of the Cross is available here.
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Easter Sunday: April 4th
Easter Sunrise Service (In Person)
Time & Location TBD, stay tuned!
10:00 a.m. Easter Service (Online)
This joyful, multi-generation online service will incorporate prayer flags, and alleluias, and will be led from the Sanctuary, which will be decorated with the Easter Blooms. The service will include trumpet and special music as well as a visual compilation of the dedicates from the Easter Blooms. We will celebrate communion on Easter so please bring a cup and bread.
To join worship on Zoom:
Meeting ID: 832 2059 8969
Passcode: 458322
Dial in only: 1 646 558 8656
12:30 p.m. An Encounter in the Garden (in-Person)
You are invited to come in your Easter finest complete with bonnets! We will have interactive stations. For those who have donated Easter Blooms you can pick up your plants (which will be moved to the front lawn to turn our outside yard into a garden!). Children will enjoy a safe egg hunt, and all will be invited to take a bulb home to spread the garden out through the community as signs of the good news of the power and presence of the Christ, alive in the world. Please go HERE to RSVP
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Easter Special Collection
In line with our theme this spring around Criminal Justice, The Mission Committee would like to lift up the Partakers program for our Easter offering this year. Some of you may remember Mark Smith’s Lenten reflection on his experience with this program.
Partakers supports Massachusetts prison education by coordinating teams of volunteers who mentor incarcerated women and men as they pursue higher education through the Boston University Prison Education Program, the Tufts Prison Initiative, and the Emerson Prison Initiative.
Through its College Behind Bars mentoring program, incarcerated people enhance skills critical to completing a college degree, and build trusting personal relationships. Both activities significantly increase their chances for success when they return to the community.
Partakers’ College Behind Bars Program has proven to be extremely successful. Women and men in prison who have gone through the program show a 2% recidivism rate compared to the Massachusetts three year rate of 32%.* (MA Department of Corrections) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics study, national rates average 67.8% over 3 years. Partakers has an active, involved volunteer base of over 400 people participating as mentors to women and men in 5 prisons throughout Massachusetts.
Donate directly through their website: HERE
(or send a check to the church marked for “Easter Offering”)
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Advocates for Racial Justice |
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SAVE the DATE: Friday, April 9th, 8:00 p.m.
Zoned Out: Who Gets to Live in Suburbs of Boston
Union Church Advocates for Racial Justice .
April is Fair Housing Month. To mark the occasion, the UCW Advocates for Racial Justice are hosting a congregational conversation. Just what does fair housing mean? Have you ever thought about why you live where you do? Or about the unseen forces that led you there, or kept you from living somewhere else? What about the people you don’t see around you? These are the questions we’ll ponder in small groups on Friday, April 9, 8 to 9pm. Please come! Everyone and all ages are welcome.
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Massachusetts Chapter 40B (Comprehensive Permit Law) |
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Massachusetts Chapter 40B, titled “An Act providing for the construction of low or moderate income housing in cities and towns in which local restrictions hamper such construction,” was adopted in 1969, not long after the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act. In municipalities with little affordable housing (comprising less than 10% of year-round units, or occupying less than 1.5% of “buildable” land area), the law enables local Zoning Boards of Appeals (ZBAs) to approve housing developments under flexible rules, bypassing zoning restrictions, if at least 20 to 25% of the proposed units have long-term affordability restrictions.
Since its adoption, Chapter 40B has been responsible for the vast majority of affordable housing built outside Boston and a few “gateway” cities: in total, about 70,000 homes, of which more than 35,000 are restricted to households making less than 80% of the area median income (AMI). Most of these homes would probably not have been built without the law. Over the years, there have been efforts to blunt or repeal it in the name of “local control,” notably by statewide referendum, in 2010. Fortunately, “No on 2” prevailed, 58 to 42 percent, with Newton voters rejecting repeal by a margin of more than 2 to 1.
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But the cause of affordable housing in Newton has suffered some setbacks due to anti-40B efforts—particularly in Waban. You may know about the Engine 6 proposal (2013) to convert the defunct Waban firehouse into 10 studios for 9 formerly homeless individuals and a house manager. It failed when then-Mayor Setti Warren prematurely pulled City support and funding, in response to neighborhood opposition (thereby exposing Newton to a fair-housing complaint).
You may be less familiar with the cases of 1521 Beacon Street (2015, 48 units) and 1615 Beacon Street (2016, 24 units). Each of these mixed-income proposals failed because the City, under pressure from local anti-development groups, had revised its calculations and was insisting that Newton had reached the 1.5% land-area minimum for Chapter 40B. This enabled the ZBA to invoke “safe harbor” and deny the permits—despite rulings against it in 2015 by the state Housing Appeals Committee in two other cases (read “Closed doors,” CommonWealth, 1/12/16). After Ruthanne Fuller became mayor, the City relinquished its safe-harbor claim, but many potential multifamily and affordable homes within walking distance of Waban Square and the T station had already been lost forever.
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You are invited to register for Rev. Phiwa Langeni's free Yale Divinity School seminar on Wednesday, April 7th from 12- 1:30 p.m., and then join members of the Union Church In Waban on the following Sunday, April 11th for a discussion of the seminar, and how we may begin to live more fully into our Church Covenant which commits to inclusivity for all. The free seminar offers practical tips on language, pronouns and other queer-related issues and we will gain insights into ways we can create space for LGBTQ+ youth and others at UCW.
Register for the free April 7th seminar HERE
The UCW Community Discussion on Sunday, April 11th
will be on a Zoom breakout session following our Sunday Worship.
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Children, Youth and Families |
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Lent and Holy Week
Children & Family Gatherings
Palm Sunday: This Sunday! - 10:00 a.m. Worship
Youth-Led Service and Walk Through Holy Week
We're so grateful for all the amazing kids and youth who are contributing to this Sunday's service! Please plan to join us to share in this special day. There are still palms that you can pick up on the bench in front of the elevator lobby!
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CAN YOU HELP THE EASTER BUNNY? Donations of (wrapped, nut-free) Easter Egg Candy Appreciated!
We're still working out the details of how to share our beloved Easter Egg Hunt safely this year, but the Easter Bunny has promised to come, and would be very grateful for donations of wrapped, nut-free candies, or small stickers/goodies that we can put in the eggs! You can leave them in the green bins on the bench outside the elevator lobby, or reach out to Pastor Amy, who will gladly pick them up! Thank you!!
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High School Youth Groups
Ninth Grade Youth Group - PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DATE
Good Friday - Meet at 5:00-6:00p.m.
Given the very rainy forecast this Sunday, we will postpone our 9th grade gathering to Good Friday. We'll spend some time thinking about what Holy Week means for us this year, and also help stuff some eggs, and catch up. We hope to see you! Location tbd based on weather.
For All High Schoolers
Seeking Illumination, Sharing Stories - Interviews with our Elders. Throughout Lent, teams of our high schoolers will gather with our elders to hear their stories of illumination. If you would like to participate as a high-schooler or elder, please reach out to Pastor Amy.
Weds., March 31st Preparing Sandwiches for BostonWarm for Maundy Thursday
High Schoolers are invited to join Pastor Amy to make sandwiches to deliver to our unhoused siblings at Common Cathedral. We'll meet (location TBD based on weather) from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Middle School Youth Groups
Middle School Youth Group -- PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE!
Good Friday, April 2nd - Meet at 4:00 -5:00 p.m.
Since we are looking at a very rainy day on Palm Sunday, we will gather on Good Friday instead. We'll think about Holy Week, catch up, and stuff Easter Eggs. We hope to see you there! Location tbd based on weather!
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Adult Education and Formation |
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Yoga Nidra
Monday, March 29th from 7:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Sleep is key to our physical and mental health. This year has caused many people to struggle with getting their recommended hours of sleep. Many people have also been reporting an increase in nightmares during this time. To help combat this, we will be hosting bi-weekly Yoga Nidra (aka Sleep Yoga). Yoga Nidra- known as yogic sleep—is a meditation and conscious relaxation practice that is intended to induce total physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. It is said that 30 minutes of this practice can equal up to three hours of sleep. Anyone can participate, all that is needed is a comfy spot to lay back and relax and access to Zoom. If you have any question please reach out to chanellobdell@gmail.com.
Meeting ID: 849 6504 0950
Passcode: 693039
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Book Group
This Tuesday, March 30th at 7:00 p.m. (zoom)
Please join us for our next book group on March 30th at 7:00 p.m. We will be reading "Sycamore Row" by John Grisham. You will find a zoom link and sign in information below. If you have any questions, please reach out to Alan Cody.
Please mark your calendar with our upcoming selections and dates:
-April 27th "A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope,
Justice and Freedom" by Brittany K. Barnett; and
-May 25th "Americanah" by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie.
Meeting ID: 832 4667 4155
Passcode: 431699
Dial in: 1 646 558 8656
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Tea Time Bible Study
Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m.
Please join us for a walk through the Book of Acts with Rev. Arlyne Grant and other friends. No biblical study or experience is needed. This will be a fun filled time of conversation and learning.
Meeting ID: 847 2838 1864
Passcode: 837512
Dial in: 1 646 558 8656
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Newton “Freedge” Volunteer Opportunity
Starting on March 23rd, Newton will have a new, free, supplemental food program that is available at all times and in all weather for anyone! The Newton “freedge” is an outdoor refrigerator and pantry and will be located in Nonantum, in parking lot space generously donated by Central Drapery and Dry Cleaning. Based on the operating principle of “take what you need, leave what you can”, our Church will be in charge of monitoring the fridge every other Saturday. This will include cleaning, picking up food from local businesses, and stocking the fridge.
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Book Buddy Program
Last March Josephine Bolling McCall visited our church and told us about the book she had written about her father who was lynched in Lowndes County, Alabama because he had become such a prosperous businessman.
Our church responded to her visit by 32 members volunteering to participate in a Book Buddy program that would pair volunteers with children in the Lowndes County elementary schools to encourage them to read.
To learn more or sign up to help with this ministry, please go HERE.
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Common Cathedral
Weekly Sandwich deliveries to BostonWarm Continue
We continue to deliver sandwiches, soft fruit, granola bars and more to our unhoused siblings in downtown Boston every Thursday. To learn more or sign up to help with this ministry, please CLICK HERE. Thank you!
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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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