In This Issue

Parents' Luncheon and more!

Holy Week at Union Church

From Council

Worship Service

Coffee with the Moderators

>>CE This Sunday<<

Easter Eggs Needed

>>Outreach Opportunities<<

> UPCOMING <

Lunch Bunch

CE Team Mtg.

Prayer Group

Coffee with Stacy

Wellspring

Waban Health Worship

Java Gents

Our Lenten Journey

Holy Week at

The Union Church

in Waban

Palm Sunday, March 29th, 10:00 a.m. worship. With palms and song, we will mark Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Special music will include an anthem by the children's choir.

Maundy Thursday, April 2nd, 6:15 - 7:30 p.m. in the Vestry. The service begins with a simple meal of bread, soup and salad, and communion, as we remember Jesus' last meal with his disciples on the night that he was betrayed. After supper, the service then moves into Tenebrae worship, which is Latin for "shadows" or "darkening." As scripture and song leads us through the unfolding of events from that last supper through Jesus' death on the cross, the light will grow dimmer and dimmer, until we depart at the end of the service in darkness and silence. Child care will be available. Suggested donation to help cover the cost of the meal is $5/person with no more than $20/family. Sign up for this service is in the Crocker Chapel or please rsvp to the office ucw@ucw.org so that we can plan for sufficient food and child care coverage.

Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 4th, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Traditionally, on the Saturday before Easter, newly-baptized Christians would keep an all-night vigil waiting with great expectation for the dawning of Easter's joy. Our service, however, is only an hour long, but we embrace this same journey from darkness into light. We start the service in darkness. Then the Christ candle that was walked out of our Maundy Thursday service is brought into the sanctuary. Through communion and the reaffirmation of our baptism, the light rises and so do our hearts as we give thanks for the joy of Easter morn that is coming. Child care will be provided.

Easter Worship, Sunday, April 5th, 10:00 a.m. Our Easter Service will include communion, a bell introit by the children's bell ringers, and as our offertory anthem, a piece entitled "Easter Rejoicing" by Jonathan Willcocks for the choir and trumpet. Children are invited to remain in the service for the entire service to share in this joyful worship. If, however, parents do need to step out with their children, the vestry will be set up with some activities/crafts. The nursery will be available for infants and toddlers. After worship, all children are invited to participate in an Easter egg hunt. After the service, please be sure to pick up your Easter blooms so that you can enjoy them at home.    

Council 

The Council is the governing body of the church and is elected at the annual meeting which is the first Sunday in June.  Council meets on the first Wednesday of the month beginning with dinner at 6:00 p.m. and then business from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.  Council meetings are open to the congregation so please do stop in and join us if you are interested. 

Votes from the February Council meeting include:

• Pastor Stacy will be on Sabbatical from August 25 to November 17th.  Council voted to hire an ordained minister to provide sabbatical coverage for 20 hr/week during this time.  
• Deacons recommended and Council approved that we extend our Sunday morning worship through the month of June.  (In years past the last Sunday of the year was Father's Day weekend.) Deacons also recommended and Council approved that we have summer Sunday services at 5:00 p.m. throughout the month of July with no servies in August. (In years past, we had one Sunday afternoon service in July and one Sunday afternoon service in August,) 
• The minutes are attached here.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Pastor Stacy or to our moderators, Alicia Collins and Annie Gatewood.  

NEWS from the PEWS

Help Needed

One of Anya Bassett's former students needs help caring for her father, who has just been diagnosed with cancer.  He lives in Concord, MA, and the family would like to hire a part-time non-medical person to help him around the house and to drive him to some of his chemotherapy sessions in Boston.  If you know someone who would be interested, please email Anya at anyabassett@gmail.com.

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CALENDAR

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Our Lenten Journey:

companion on the path.

In our "go it alone - pull yourself up by your bootstraps" secular culture, it is good to remember that as people of faith our life is a life lived together.  We are members of the body of Christ, beloved to God and beloved to each other.  

During Lent, the worship team invites you deeper into this reality by taking up an intentional practice of praying for another person or praying the prayer of another person within our community. 

Here is how it will work.  You will find in the pews a basket with cards in it.  Take a moment to write down a prayer that you have for yourself, someone you love or for the world.  For example you could write "Please pray for me -- your name"  or "Please pray that I may have greater insights as to where my career is to go -- your name"  or "please pray for the end to childhood hunger --  your name".  Whatever prayer is on your heart write it down and then place it in the offering plates as they pass.  You can include your name or leave  your prayer anonymous.  Whatever feels right.

The deacons will then take the prayers and place them in a basket in the front of the church by the prayer station.  On your way out of the sanctuary you are invited to take a prayer from the basket.  This will be the prayer you commit to praying  throughout the Lenten season.  You are free to take one or many.  But please pray these prayers intentionally through the season.  As a sign of your prayer, please light a candle and place it as an offering in the prayer station. As the season progresses so too will the light of our prayers. 

These offering of prayer will not replace our spoken prayer time during the service but will provide an opportunity to deepen our prayer over a sustained period of time as we hold each other and the concerns of our hearts very intentionally and personally for each other. 

In the words of Lord, Alfred Tennyson "More is wrought by prayer that this world dreams of."  May it be so!

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