Rev. Megan
Berkowitz
Rev. Amy
Clark Feldman
Pastor Megan
March 28 2025
Dear Church,
We’re drawing to the close of our Stewardship season for this year, and we’ll mark Stewardship Sunday in worship this week with a testimony and a focus in scripture and sermon on generosity. Stewardship season is always a call to discern what generosity looks like for each of us in this time, this place, this community; yet it’s also a time to celebrate generosity. Each one of us in the community builds our church out of our generosity, and enjoys the gifts of generosity from not just the others around us but also the many past generations whose faith, tradition, and gifts we have inherited in the church in so many ways.
We live it out every day, in every aspect of our shared lives. The children and youth learn from Sunday school and Youth Group to be generous with their time for others who are in need, and generous in their listening to and learning from each other. Bible study shares generously of ideas and questions; Deacons help us to share generously of our care and concern for all among us who are in need (and opening ourselves to such care can be a generous act, as well!); Wellspring and Java Gents share generously in food and faith and laughter. I’m sure you can offer more examples from your experiences, as well.
So, this Sunday in worship, we can celebrate that we’ve come this far by faith, and that in faith we can make space for ourselves and future generations to live in the gift of that generosity. As we close this season, I encourage you to read the Stewardship letter [here] from Chair Kent Wittler and the rest of the Stewardship Committee; to discern on your own or with your family how you can be generous this year; and to fill out the pledge card [here] and the gifts and talents inventory [here], if you haven’t already. Finally, I encourage you to come to church on Sunday so we can celebrate a community built on generosity, together.
With Lenten Peace,
Pastor Megan
Past Posts
- From Pastor Megan
Rev. 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.
Learn More - From Pastor Megan: June 12, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
June 12, 2026 My goodness, it has been a busy year at UCW! I hope you take some time to sit with and read the annual report for 2025-2026. Come to the Annual Meeting ready to discuss the budget and nominating slate, yes, but also to thank our committee chairs and members, to connect with someone over something you didn’t even know had happened at church this year, or to learn more about how you can get involved in different projects and programs. Learn More - From Pastor Megan: June 5, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
June 5, 2026 Though it turned out to be quite a hot night, it was a joy to join with Katie, members of the congregation, and our siblings from other affirming faith communities in Newton at the annual Newton Pride flag raising celebration and resource fair this past week. In a season in our country when the rights of LGBTQ+ people are under attack and public support for our rights is waning rather than increasing for the first time in decades, we gathered to remind ourselves and the world that LGBTQ+ people are deeply and beautifully woven into the fabric of our community. Learn More - From Pastor Megan: May 29, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 29, 2026 Things remain busy at UCW in these last few weeks of the church year! We are in the final contract negotiation stage with our new settled music director (so keep an eye out for an official announcement and bio soon!), continuing Visioning work with more to be presented at Annual Meeting, and of course preparing the annual budget review, nominating slate, and other Annual Meeting business. Learn More - From Your Stewardship ChairTools for Audacious Living: Church Service The UCW Nominating team asks everyone in our church Learn More
- From Pastor MeganRev. Megan Berkowitz
April 24, 2026 I hope you’ve had a chance to read the results of the first phase of our vision process, which were sent out just before and after Easter. If you haven’t, please do; there are links to all four documents below. After worship this Sunday, 4/26, the Vision Team will lead a conversation about your responses to the vision process and we will begin to form a sense of our strategic priorities moving forward. Learn More
