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General Membership Info
What's Happening
As we have the last few years, after a slightly shorter worship service (which also happens to be Youth Sunday) all members of the United Parish are asked to stay for our annual meeting to celebrate the ministry we’ve shared over the last year, what God has accomplished through us, and to plan for the year ahead. Annual meeting will take place immediately after the close of worship, Sunday, January 29, at approximately 10:30 am. As we did last year, our focus will be on testimony – not reports – giving witness to where we’ve seen God at work through our committees and programs. We’ll tell the story of our stewardship and our mission through a year-in-review slide show and our “narrative budget.” This year we have the benefit of having our new Central Massachusetts District (New England Conference of the United Methodist Church) District Superintendent, the Rev. Rene Perez with us for worship and our meeting.
Prologue: at the beginning of the year, begin again!
Again come the turn of the calendar page to a new year, Rev. Jan will be offering a small group titled Prologue. Prologue is an opportunity for new and current church participants to reconnect with their faith, their community and themselves.
- Prologue is participatory and discussion-based. We’ll read a little, talk more, and reflect and pray both at home and in group, asking the question, “Where is God pointing me to now?”
- Prologue focuses on these six themes taken from our church Vision Statement:
- Christ
- Community
- Compassion
- Charisms [gifts]
- Call
- Continual Growth
- Prologue will meet six times on Monday nights January 9, 16, 23, 30 and February 6, 13 from 7:30 – 9:00pm.
- Prologue helps those newer to the church to feel more a part of the faith community and helps those already part of the church find greater relevance between their faith and their life.
- Prologue will deepen our friendships with God, with others and with our own spirits.
If you would like to sign up for Prologue or have questions please call Rev. Jan at (508) 529-9819 or email revjangc@yahoo.com.
Save the Dates:
The next Scrapbooking Night Out will be held on Friday, February 3rd, 2012, 5:00-11:00.
Gather in the vestry with other “scrapbookers” to enjoy the time and space to get those
photos out of the shoebox and into books. Experienced and novice “scrapbookers”
invited. For more information, contact Lorrie Loeper at 508-529-4489.
Men’s Breakfast:
The next Men’s Breakfast will be held on
Saturday, February 4th,
8:00am at the
Willowbrook Restaurant in Mendon. All men of
the United Parish interested in a time of
conversation, friendship and spiritual support are
heartily invited to join.
Please give Jeff Curl a
heads up if you are
planning to attend so
he can arrange for
seating. Jeff can be
reached at 508-529-4922 or
via email at jeffcurl@yahoo.com.
Annual Leaders’ Retreat
Annual United Parish Leaders’ Gathering
Saturday, March 3
9 am – 4 pm
Edwards House
1 Badger Road, Framingham
(the MACUCC Center)
This year’s Leaders’ Gathering will again be a time to reconnect with God, with each other and with the vision and purpose of our church. It will be a chance for each participant to deepen their understanding of who they are as a leader. We will borrow from the best of S.H.A.P.E. materials used last Lent and explore our own unique and authentic leadership styles. We will leave this gathering with a deeper sense of connection to one another, to God and to our own ministries.
All-Church Retreat
Friday, October 5-Sunday, October 7, 2012
Craigville Retreat Center
Cape Cod
Spend time with family and friends experiencing jubilee: rest, renewal, celebration of creation. Walk on the beach. Read in an Adirondack chair overlooking the salt marsh. Play tennis or golf or Frisbee. Two-nights’ accommodation and fresh, healthy meals provided! Reconnect with your spouse, your children, your friends, your God! An affordable get-away together as a family of faith. Housing for singles, couples, and families of all sizes available in separate rooms.
On-Going Events
Called to Care: a team of volunteer care givers/visitors who pay calls are elderly, ill and those with limited mobility to bring friendship, companionship and connection. Contact Rev. Jan for more information.
Community Garden: The United Parish has been given two raised beds at the community garden on Mechanic Street. The last two summers a small ministry team has overseen cultivating, planting, weeding/watering, and harvesting fresh, organic produce that is then donated to our Tuesday morning food pantry, providing a wonderful complement to the canned and dry goods available there. Contact the church office for more information.
Faith in Action Sunday: for one Sunday in the spring we cancel church and move out into the community to provide hands on service to our town and its residents. Planting and improving in the community garden, yard work and painting for elders, street trash pick-up, and more. We leave the church to be the church!
Food Pantry: church and community volunteers staff our community food pantry, open Tuesday mornings, 9:30 - 11:00.
Helping Hands Network: a ministry network coordinated by the Member Care Committee that is on call to provide meals, rides, errand help or other temporary practical assistance in times of illness or transition. Contact the church office for more information.
Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN): our congregation is a member of the 30 member network of religious congregations in Worcester County and have joined together to offer shelter, advocacy and outreach to homeless families with children. A substantial mission commitment of our church, the Interfaith Hospitality Network houses families with children without regard to background, income and family make-up. Visit www.ihnworcester.org for more information on the IHN of Greater Worcester. Contact the church office for more information on how you can help.
Prayer Network: Close to 100 people currently belong to our prayer chain network and pray regularly for the needs of the wider United Parish community and their concerns. Prayer concerns are sent to Janet Keeler (hoha@charter.net) and she distributes them to prayer network members. To become a member of the prayer network (your one commitment is to pray in a way that suits you when the email prayer requests come to your inbox) call the church office or email Janet. To request prayers, email Janet and your request will be distributed to all members as soon as possible.
Prayer Shawl Ministry: Due to recent low participation, prayer shawl will not plan to meet in the fall of 2011, with the hopes of possibly forming a group again sometime in the future. If you or someone you know is interested in forming a prayer shawl group with others, or if you have questions about prayer shawl, please contact Heather O'Toole at heatheratchurch@charter.net Although we will not be meeting to knit, we do have completed shawls available at this time for those in need.
Scrip Cards: Don’t forget to purchase your Scrip cards each week. GL Scrip offers cards to several grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and many more retailers. Plan to use Scrip for all your holiday shopping needs and help the church raise money for our programs. A complete list of participating retailers can be found at the church or at www.glscrip.com. Orders can be placed on Sunday mornings with one of our Scrip representatives or contact the church office at unitedparishoffice@yahoo.com or 508-529-3192. Place your order by Tuesday morning and your cards will be delivered to the church by Thursday.
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