Rev. Megan
Berkowitz
Rev. Amy
Clark Feldman
Pastor Megan
September 22, 2023
“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and God will say: Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
Isaiah 58:9-10
Dear church,
As this hits your inboxes, I am flying back from nearly a week in Memphis at the United Church of Christ’s Next Generation Leadership Initiative, or NGLI. I have been blessed to learn alongside a cohort of 13 other ministers in their 20s and 30s this week. We’ve spent time talking about ministry that accesses our whole brains (dreaming, planning, data-driven, and relationship-centered); we’ve shared wisdom from across the country and across different ministry settings; and we made a pilgrimage to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
We began our sacred conversations on race and racism with this scripture, and it grounded us into an experience of truth-telling, accountability, and trust-building. In reflecting on the museum as a whole and individual lives of leaders and activists whose experiences inspired us, facilitators led us through a journey of lament, confession, and hope for the future. We recognized the need for individual, communal, and spiritual transformation.
We were all incredibly moved by the experience, and I’m certain I’ll be bringing more reflections to you in the weeks to come. What’s more, I will spend two weeks a year with this cohort engaging in professional development for the next four years. I am grateful for the congregation’s and staff’s support for this vital learning time, and am excited to continue to learn, grow, and share with you all as I do so.
Peace,
Megan
Past Posts
- From Pastor Megan
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
July 24, 2026Big news from our partners at GBIO! The “Not with our money, Citizens!” Campaign has succeeded, and Citizens Bank has committed to severing ties with the private prison companies building and operating ICE detention facilities. Read more about it on the GBIO website: HERE
Learn More - From Pastor Megan: July 17, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
July 10, 2026
Introducing our Bridge Pastor I am delighted to share that Rev. Rick Chrisman will be joining UCW as the parental leave Bridge Pastor this fall, from September 1st until my planned return at the start of Advent. Rev. Rick’s bio is below, though some of you may know him from a period some years ago when he was a member of UCW while serving as an interim pastor elsewhere. Closest to home for UCW, Rev. Rick has twice served as interim at the Eliot Church in Newton. Learn More - From Pastor Megan: July 3, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
July 3, 2026 We had a lovely first summer service this past Sunday! Though we won’t meet this upcoming Sunday, 7/5, summer services resume the following week, 7/12 at 10:00 a.m. Worship Committee Chair Julie Heffernan will lead us in worship that morning. And though Katie Brown-Bright is off from her role as Bridge Associate for Children, Youth, and Families for the summer and there’s no Sunday school, she did put together an amazing activity cart for kids to participate in worship (crafts, streamers for some liturgical dancing, and more!). Learn More - From Pastor Megan: June 19, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
June 19, 2026I want to thank everyone who presented, contributed to, engaged in, and attended last Sunday’s Annual Meeting. You took seriously the invitation to let the Holy Spirit speak through you to others, and to you through others, and our church is better for it. For those who were not present, you can still engage with the Annual Meeting via the Annual Report, which we sent in this email last week, and by looking over the presentation from the Vision Team that was offered during the meeting: view HERE or click on image below.
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