Tools for Audacious Living: Church Service
The UCW Nominating team asks everyone in our church community to prayerfully discern how you will give your time to our beloved church as we move forward this spring and to act upon our visioning priorities.
This week, three church leaders have agreed to tell their stories about how church service has deeply connected them with our wonderful UCW community and nourished their faith and commitment to our shared covenant.
David Burgess
Serving on a committee at church has been more than just a responsibility, by David Burgess – it has been a meaningful pathway to deeper connection and spiritual growth. What began as a simple way to contribute gradually became a space where relationships formed naturally. Working alongside others toward a shared purpose created a sense of belonging that extended beyond Sunday services. Conversations during meetings, collaborations, and even small acts of service has built genuine community. Such ministry work has also nourished my faith in subtle ways. Being part of the building committee has helped me see the church not just as a place I attend, but as a living body that I can actually help sustain. It has made my faith more participatory. It has shown me that faith grows not only in quiet reflection, but also in shared effort, mutual support, and the willingness to serve something greater than myself.
Alan Cody
Thank you for giving me the chance to serve our congregation, by Alan Cody. As I complete my first year as Co-Moderator, serving Union Church in Waban, I am sincerely grateful that you have called me to deepen my fellowship with all of you through service to our community. Our congregation thrives on its volunteers and I am proud to be one. I have learned with you in the Book Group, joined with my fellow Worship Team members to help make our worship services meaningful to as many as possible and served on our Transition and Governance Teams. With our Council, I have learned valuable perspectives from every fellow member of Council as we serve you in working toward realizing our Mission and Covenant. Retired for many years now, I am so fortunate to be able to continue to learn, contribute and serve with you. That has meant so much to me!
Molly Owen-Kiristy
Inclusive and Welcoming, by Molly Owen-Kiristy. UCW’s covenant is exemplified through Lunch Bunch, a monthly gathering of folks that has been a constant at UCW for more than 15 years. Bev Hadley, Janet Holly, Jean and Dick Husher, and so many others gathered around the table each month sharing good food and thought provoking conversation. Although we have sadly lost some friends, and been interrupted by Covid, we have resumed our monthly Lunch Bunch gathering with old and new members. It has gained momentum and offered important elements of community for participants, including myself. Helping to organize and attend Lunch Bunch has brought me many blessings. The sense of community within this group nourishes me and I see UCW living out its covenant of being a place that is inclusive, welcoming and intergenerational in its offerings. A highlight of my month!!
Nominating team members Susan Gedrick, Brita Gill-Austern, Frank Laski, Karen O’Beirne, and Pastor Megan would love to hear from you!
Please reach out to one of us if you feel called to take on a leadership role at UCW.At this Sunday’s May 3rd Congregational Meeting, we will post and circulate open leadership roles. New nominations for church leadership will be presented to the congregation for approval at our Annual Meeting on June 14th.
Past Posts
- From Your Stewardship ChairTools 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 MeganRev. 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, 2026Rev. 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. 2026Rev. 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, 2026Rev. 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 - Living with LossNew 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. Learn More
- From Pastor Megan: February 13, 2026Rev. Megan Berkowitz
February 13, 2025 Have you been following the Olympics? This year, a dear friend of mine is in Milan covering the Games as a journalist for the Associated Press, so I’ve been following the news and also her reports from being present there. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to go see the Olympics in person and having a close friend there is almost (almost…) as good. Learn More
