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Weekly Update
Friday, August 29, 2025
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Please note: There will be no Sunday worship service This Sunday, 8/31 (Labor Day Weekend). Next Sunday (9/7) we will worship in the sanctuary led by Jaap van Reijendam.
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Welcome Back Sunday,
Sunday, September 14!
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Please mark your calendars for our Welcome Back Sunday on Sunday, September 14th! Keep an eye out for more plans in the coming week, and feel free to invite friends and neighbors to share in our joyful return to worship and community together.
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I want to direct your attention to the Prayers for Liberty announcement, below. Many of you heard me speak about the earlier version of this march, when I joined with other clergy from across Massachusetts to raise our voices regarding upholding the constitution and the rule of law in our country, and our moral imperative to love our neighbors.
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This upcoming event, on the Labor Day holiday on Monday, is open not just to clergy but to faithful people from congregations throughout the commonwealth. You can join for the whole march or any given segment or prayer stops along the way. Find more information about the Labor Day walk HERE.
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I encourage you to join me at this event in any way you can. I found the May event to be extremely inspiring and hopeful in the midst of the many disheartening and challenging events throughout our country right now. If you have any questions about what to expect, please reach out to me. I hope to see some of you there!
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Dear Massachusetts Residents of All Faiths:
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We are writing to you with an invitation to pray with your feet and march with us from Lexington to Boston this Labor Day - Monday, September 1st, 9:00-5:00 - to sound the alarm for American democracy and to demand a more just and humane democracy that honors our shared sacred values.
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On Friday, May 30th, hundreds of us marched this same route from Lexington to Boston, reversing Paul Revere’s ride for liberty 250 years ago to sound the alarm for democracy, as the actions of our current presidential administration regularly violate our shared sacred values and our constitutional rights. We stopped in Lexington, Arlington, Cambridge, and Boston to pray to God for the merciful and just rule of law from our federal administration, as well as the protection and preservation of our sacred values and democratic principles. We also brought a letter signed by over 300 Massachusetts clergy, addressed to members of our Congressional Delegation .
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To join any portion of the march and prayers on September 1, please register HERE .
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Loving God, hear the prayers
of your people gathered in this community.
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- This Labor Day weekend, we pray for the workers of the world, particularly those who live and work in places where they do not have rights and laws to protect them. God, protect those who do the work that many of us in privilege shy away from seeing the realities of. Help us to recognize the value and dignity of all labor with our words and our actions. Empower us to be advocates and voices for justice.
- We pray for Mijin and Robert as they begin to prepare to leave UCW and as Mijin prepares for her new call, and for the UCW community as we say goodbye.
- We pray for the Bassett family and for all who are remembering and missing Anya in this season. May Anya's light continue to shine in and through us, and may your peace and comfort be with all who grieve.
- Prayers for all in our community who are traveling throughout the summer. May your living Spirit connect us while we are apart.
- For all in our UCW community who are ill, or who are caring for loved ones. For all who grieve, God, we ask for the comfort of your presence, especially in this tender season.
- We pray for peace for your people all throughout the world. Teach us to beat our swords into plowshares, O God, and to sow wisdom and reap peace, justice, and joy.
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We pray to you, grateful for your accompaniment with us in all things. Amen.
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If you have other prayers of concern or celebration you
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would like lifted up in community, please email
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A Note From Our Treasurer
I hope that everyone has enjoyed a great summer. As we resume our regular church activities, we also need to turn our attention to the financial aspects that make our church possible. So if you have not turned in your pledge, or if you are not sure whether we received it, please come see me on any Sunday in September after worship. I will have my laptop with me and I can help you confirm your pledge or get it entered into our systems.
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Also, if you are interested in putting your pledge-payments on a schedule, I will be happy to talk to you about that and discuss various options!
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Jaap van Reijendam (treasurer)
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Please Be Alert: On-going Email Scam
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Please be alert to an ongoing email scam. We have heard from a number of you that you received an email purporting to be from Pastor Megan asking "to discuss something with you" followed by a request for for assistance. When you click on the sender, it reveals a fake, non-ucw.org address, using Pastor Megan's name.
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As a reminder, with any email you receive it is always good to confirm the correct sending address. As a reminder, Pastor Megan will NEVER send you a vague request for immediate attention, or ask for gift cards or money. An email like that should always look suspicious to you.
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Thank you to those who brought this to our attention! As it is not a "hack" there is no way for us to stop these emails from the back end. If you receive one, please report it as spam to your email client and block the sender.
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Puerto Rico Mission Trip
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Earlier this month, we shared a wonderful evening with the travelers, families, and the wider community who supported our Youth Mission work in Puerto Rico in June. Thank you! To see a presentation with photos please CLICK HERE.
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Pastoral Care Connections
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Please don't hesitate to reach out to Senior Pastor, Rev. Megan Berkowitz for prayer or pastoral support.
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and her office phone is 617-965-3893
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Most weeks, Friday is a day of Sabbath for Pastor Megan. With a pastoral emergency, please don't hesitate to reach out.
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Live the Love & Justice Jesus Taught
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If you’re seeking ways to live out God’s love and justice at this moment in history, I invite you to look through the Southern New England Conference of the UCC’s new “Take Action” page on their website.
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Making Space - Stewardship Campaign
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This year’s Stewardship theme is Making Space. Read the full letter from Chair Kent Wittler and the Stewardship Committee here .
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Submit Your Pledge HERE - Thank You!
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We, the members of The Union Church in Waban, true to our founding principle of being an inclusive church, covenant together to nourish and to sustain in our common life and practice a fully welcoming and affirming church for all persons. Welcoming all persons who seek to join with us in a commitment to love God and our neighbors, affirming the inclusive love of Jesus, we are open to all, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, nationality, ability or economic circumstance. We invite all to full participation in our worship, membership, leadership and life of this church.
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