Rev. Megan
Berkowitz
Rev. Amy
Clark Feldman
Pastor Amy
April 19, 2024
This past week, I traveled to Valley Forge, PA for a 3-day conference entitled “Space for Grace: Engaging Intergenerational Faith.” The conference was hosted by the same organization that is organizing our mission trip to Puerto Rico, the American Baptist Home Mission Society. ABHMS is strongly aligned with the mission and legacy of ABC pastor, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The keynote preachers and speakers brought a wide diversity of experiences and perspectives, which I look forward to sharing with all of you. We learned about what would mean to be a truly inclusive church of people with disabilities; about the role of joy and celebration in binding communities together; about what it means to create safe and resilient individuals and communities; and how trauma can show up through the generations. We thought and prayed about what it means to stand with the teachings of Jesus in a time when Christian nationalism is on the rise, and our world is seeing increasing violence and division.
In this Eastertide, we at the Union Church in Waban are thinking about what it means to Share from the Heart. The Space for Grace conference made me think about this in new ways. So often when engaging all ages of our intergenerational church, we have rightly focused on the importance of intergenerational relationships in terms of those relationships impact us as individuals of faith. We think about what it means for elders to experience connection and joy in the presence of our children and teens. We recognize the importance of relationships with elders and adults for our teenagers as they become more resilient and form their faith in face of the challenges of life. Throughout this conference, however, speakers focused not so much on individual faith, resilience, and well-being, as on building healthy, faithful, and resilient communities in which all people can thrive. It is one thing to support the spiritual well-being of an individual who uses a wheelchair, and another to make sure all people with disabilities have full and comfortable spaces within our pews and at our pulpit. It is one thing to deepen the resilience and faith of a child, and another to make sure that the home, school, and community they live in is free from violence and full of love. Beloved, as we explore what it means to share from the heart, I look forward to sharing more of my learnings, and inviting all of us to consider even more deeply what it means for our inclusive, welcoming, intergenerational, and mission-minded church to truly be a Space for Grace for all people, and to create a world where all can thrive.
Peace
Amy
Past Posts
- From Our Pastors
Pastor Megan
April 26, 2024 This week, I am on a professional development trip to Chicago, studying congregation vitality and spending time with other pastors from throughout the country. We are learning from non-traditional church settings, but the lessons these settings teach are ones that all communities can benefit from: how vital congregations remain focused on their “why,” rooted deeply in their shared faith. Learn More - From Our Pastors – April 19, 2024Pastor Amy
April 19, 2024 This past week, I traveled to Valley Forge, PA for a 3-day conference entitled “Space for Grace: Engaging Intergenerational Faith.” The conference was hosted by the same organization that is organizing our mission trip to Puerto Rico, the American Baptist Home Mission Society. ABHMS is strongly aligned with the mission and legacy of ABC pastor, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The keynote preachers and speakers brought a wide diversity of experiences and perspectives, which I look forward to sharing with all of you. Learn More - From Our Pastors – April 12Pastor Megan
April 12, 2024 Exodus tells us that when it came time to build the Tent of Meeting according to the instructions Moses received at Sinai, God didn’t demand a tribute from the people. The Tent of Meeting and the Tabernacle inside of it were constructed of gifts from people with willing hearts and spirits. Learn More - From Our Pastors – April 7Pastor Megan
April 7, 2024 Christ is risen indeed! At Union Church, we welcomed resurrection day with great joy: from sunrise worship to the last egg of the egg hunt (re-hidden by some of the Junior Youth Group members who gave up their own goodies to help a very young latecomer still have an exciting Easter), it was a day of great celebration. Learn More - From Our PastorsPastor Megan
March 29, 2024 We’ve been following the Gospel of Mark throughout this year, hearing the stories of Jesus’ ministry, miracles, and, this week, trials in Jerusalem. At the end of Mark’s version of the Passion narrative, at about the time you will receive this email on Good Friday, the Gospel recounts Jesus’ final words from the cross: Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Learn More - From Our PastorsPastor Amy
March 22, 2024 In this holiest of weeks, we invite you to dwell even more fully in the story that is at the very sacred heart of our faith. Dwell with your community of faith, your church, as we enter Jerusalem with Jesus this Sunday (Palm Sunday), and remember how Jesus overturned tables of injustice and oppression and imparted final words of teaching and healing to his followers. Learn More - From Our Pastors – March 15 2024Pastor Megan
March 15, 2024 This Saturday evening (March 16), I am delighted to join with faith communities across Newton for this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) Interfaith Service, to be held at St. Ignatius in Chestnut Hill at 6:00 p.m. Learn More - From Our Pastors – March 8Pastor Megan
March 8, 2024 It was indeed good and pleasant to dwell together in unity with our siblings from the Boston Taiwanese Christian Church this past Sunday! We feasted together around the table twice – once during communion, and again during the reception they very lovingly prepared for us all to share. Learn More
