Rev. Megan
Berkowitz
Rev. Amy
Clark Feldman
Pastor Megan
September 12, 2025
Dear Church,
Friends and Members alike (really!): we want to hear your thoughts, visions, concerns, and aspirations for UCW. We do not know what the future holds, of course, but we know Who holds the future, and we trust that future is bright with promise. But how do we find our part?
The Congregational tradition is built on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, that God is in every living thing, and that we are called to listen for the “still, small voice” in order to hear the heart of God calling to us. At UCW, we are entering into a time of discernment, trusting in the Holy Spirit to inform our being-in-the-world here at UCW. We hope to answer the question, “Who are we called to be in this time and place, under the God we serve?” Finding those answers will take time, will take a deep dive, and will take each and every one of your voices.
The month of October will open up opportunities for all who wish to have a voice in our discernment process. Online and in-person listening sessions will be held throughout the month. These sessions will be facilitated by trained volunteers in groups of no more than six plus the facilitator, with each member of a family or partner taking part in their own session. The same questions will be asked in each group. The results will be anonymously compiled, question by question, and sorted to identify themes and the movement of the Spirit. Although all responses will be kept anonymous, the results will be made available to all participants in a variety of ways. Members of the wider community, community representatives and elected officials will also be invited to facilitated listening sessions.
Once everything has been compiled and distilled, we will use the findings and results to help guide us towards a future under God in ways we believe will help those who watch, collaborate and participate with us.
We want to hear from you. Without your voice, our discernment will be incomplete. Please join us for worship on 9/28, after which there will be a congregational gathering during which we can meet and greet our consultant for this process, the Rev. Dr. Claire W. Bamberg. She will have met with and provided training for the facilitators the day before. They will also be able to answer questions! Come one and come all!
Peace,
Pastor 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.
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
