Living with Loss

Rev. Megan
Berkowitz

Pastor Megan
February 13, 2026

New Supportive Group for Adults beginning at UCW this Spring

All of us live with loss in our lives in so many ways: the death of spouses, children, parents, and other loved ones; the loss of our own or loved ones’ capacity due to illness and aging; the loss of work or other roles that give us a sense of meaning and purpose; and so many more losses. If you are in a season of living with loss and would like to be in supportive spiritual community with others, please join us.

This group will gather and discuss personal experiences of past, present, and ongoing loss. Important themes will be woven throughout sessions as we share in silence and meditation, prayer, ritual, music, art, scripture, other readings, poetry, podcasts, and more as helpful tools through which we come to understand, process, and live with our loss. This group will not be focused on fixing or solving anything, but rather with understanding loss as a companion in our lives and with being companions to one another in our journeys.

We will begin meeting monthly in late March through June, take a break with just one Zoom meeting over the summer, and then resume in September. Meetings will last 90 minutes and will take place in person at church. We ask those who are interested to commit to the group (not necessarily every single session, but an intention to attend most months for continuity of community). If you are interested, please let us know your preference for days and times: Sundays 11:30-1pm, weekdays during the day, or weekday evenings.

This group will be led by Pastor Megan, Brita Gill-Austern, and Molly Owen-Kiritsy; Megan and Molly will begin the group this spring, and then Brita will join Molly in leading during Pastor Megan’s parental leave this fall. If you are interested, please send Pastor Megan ([email protected]) an email to let us know.

Peace,
Megan

Past Posts

From Pastor Megan
Rev. 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, 2026
Rev. 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 Chair
Tools for Audacious Living: Church Service The UCW Nominating team asks everyone in our church Learn More
From Pastor Megan
Rev. 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
From Pastor Megan
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 10, 2026
I hope you’ve had a chance to read the results of the first phase of our vision process, which have been sent out over the last week and a half or so. If you haven’t, please do; there are links to all four documents below. After worship this Sunday, 4/12, and 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. Please join us at 11:30 a.m. in Littlehale! Learn More
From Pastor Megan: April 3, 2026
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 3, 2026
Holy Week blessings to you all! We have a very special service planned for Sunday morning, with guest musicians, an abundance communion table, and, of course, Easter Egg Hunt to follow (including rain plans!). It is such a joy to gather together for Easter each year: to remember the gifts of our faith, the triumph of new life in God over violence and death, the accompaniment of Christ through our greatest sorrows and greatest joys. I hope you will join us, and bring family or friends who could use a little Good News this week. Learn More
From Pastor Megan: Marce 27. 2026
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
March 27, 2026
It’s fitting that the next round of No Kings protests is happening tomorrow, with Palm Sunday following just after; Palm Sunday, after all, was a protest against the ways of Roman kings and a triumphal presentation of another way of leading the community, in the path of God’s promise. Learn More
From Pastor Megan: March 6, 2026
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
March 6, 2026
Alongside its themes of wilderness journeys, Lent is traditionally a season of repentance – of turning from harms and returning to God and to God’s call on our lives. As winter (finally, hopefully) turns into spring, so too are we given a chance for renewal, for new growth, for new life. Learn More