
Post Election Interfaith Gathering at UCW
Dear church,
I want to share with you a small portion of how I opened our interfaith post-election gathering, as we prepare to gather in community together this Sunday for worship and the congregational meeting.
“I do not know what every one of you is feeling; what I am certain of is that each one of us is feeling something different right now, has reacted differently this week based on each of our beliefs and faith, based on our fears and anxieties, based on our identities and priorities, based on our past experiences and hopes for the future. And yet, every single one of us has made the choice to be here tonight. To be in community, across those and many other differences. Made a choice to resist isolation and instead to strengthen ourselves, together. And I believe, informed by my faith, that this choice matters. That each time we reach out to one another, open ourselves up and listen deeply, it matters.
This election has made clearer than ever the deep division and isolation in our country and our society. There are ‘sides,’ and people on all sides feel themselves threatened by the future others dream of. Tonight, we hope to build a little sanctuary of space and time in which we can dream of a future where there are no sides, where all people can thrive, where, in the words of the prophet Amos, justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
It matters, too, that we will be in community together on Sunday. As members of the Body of Christ, we are stronger, more grounded in our faith, more filled with compassion and hope, when we connect with and support one another. Let us join together in a space and time of sanctuary on Sunday morning.
Peace,
Megan
Past Posts
- From Our PastorsRev. Megan Berkowitz
June 6, 2025 It’s very fitting that our Annual Meeting falls on Pentecost this year. As we remember the Holy Spirit filling the early church and moving them into meaningful action, following in the Way of Jesus, we, too, experience the movement of the Spirit in our own church community. Learn More - From Our Pastors : May 30, 2025Rev. Clark Feldman
May 30, 2025 The Psalmist wrote so many centuries ago (or maybe just yesterday), “As the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” It’s such a vivid image – this poor deer panting in thirst and exhaustion. How far has it run over dry and scorched land? What a relief to dip its head towards a cool stream; its thirst quenched. Learn More - From Our PastorsRev. Megan Berkowitz
May 23, 2025 We’re heading into a season of joy, celebration, community, and preparation for the future over the next several weeks, and I wanted to be sure to lay it all out in one place so you can plan and save the dates. This weekend, we’ll celebrate and dedicate our new accessible pews in worship and have the second meeting of the spring New Members class immediately following. Learn More - From Our Pastors: May 16, 2025Rev. Amy Clark Feldman
May 16, 2025 As some of you know, I was away for part of this week at a program for clergy and spiritual directors. Each morning began at 7:45 a.m. with worship; and ended around 9:00 p.m. with worship. Spiritual leaders from around the country each led one of the first five services; with each service focusing on one of the five senses – taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight – knowing that Jesus engaged and experienced all the senses in his very human, embodied, incarnate ministry. Learn More - From Our Pastors: May 9, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 9, 2025 I had a lot of interest in the prayer structure I shared during last Sunday’s worship, so I wanted to write it out for you here. If you’re feeling like you’re not sure how to pray or what to say, sometimes a little scaffolding can help get you started. Don’t think that this is the ‘right’ way to pray though — any way to pray that leads you to open your heart to God is the right way! Learn More - From Our Pastors: May 2, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 2, 2025 There is very little in the Gospels that tells of Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension. This period gets 5 weeks in the liturgical calendar, but only one or two stories in each Gospel at most. As Pastor Amy shared in her sermon last Sunday, after the Resurrection, Jesus spends some time eating with his disciples, even sharing a grilled fish breakfast on the beach with them one morning. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 25, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 25, 2025 On Easter morning, we sang the hymn “Now the Green Blade Rises,” with its refrain: “Love is come again like wheat that rises green.” While it raises questions for me every year about how much pronunciation has changed in the last hundred years (did been/green and again/lain really rhyme?), it so beautifully captures the confluence of Easter and the coming of Spring in the Northern hemisphere. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 18, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 18, 2025 Throughout Lent, we have been Making Space: for compassion, humility, discernment, generosity, and prayer. As we move from yesterday evening’s Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service, sharing around the table and recognizing the coming darkness, to Sunday morning’s joyful worship, we are given one last, sacred opportunity to reflect in this year’s Lenten season. Learn More