Thanks to all who gathered to mark the beginning of a new Lenten season with fellowship around a fire in the garden.

On Saturday, February 6th we invited four children and their families to join us in the Welcome Garden for a very special outdoor, in-person event where we gifted new bibles to Miriam Brown, Maya Figueiredo, Sophie Allison, and Benjamin Andrus. This is a beloved WCUC tradition that we were happy to be able to continue this year with some creative twists! A special thanks to our snow shovelers (Mark Garvey and the Sedlock and Schummers families), photographer (David Swain), and families who made this day possible. Enjoy the pictures!

Here’s a reflection from February 7th from Jessica and our Children’s Ministry.

To celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., WCUC was invited to join an at-home sign making project hosted by the Concord-Carlisle Human Rights Council in collaboration with COAR (Communities Organizing Against Racism). We offered the opportunity to participate to our children, our youth, and the wider congregation, and the pictures we received of the created signs are amazing! Take a look at how WCUC is honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and illustrating our dreams for our communities.

The youth group took advantage of the sunshine and snow last weekend with a gathering for some outdoor fun. We enjoyed some sledding (and a few friendly snowball fights) and then warmed up by the fire with hot cocoa and s’mores. We might have to make this an annual tradition!

The youth returned to their kitchens this past weekend for more baking – apart and together. With Christmas songs and conversation on Zoom, we got to work on our favorite cookie recipes….everything from hershey kiss blossoms, to chocolate chip and decorated sugar cookies. The youth, along with a few special guests (parents, siblings, and two younger aspiring youth group members) enjoyed some holiday cheer during a challenging advent season.

Every year the WCUC youth look forward to one of their favorite traditions – baking pies during worship with Ann Schummers on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Usually, they meet in the church kitchen to make the pies and while they’re baking, the youth write notes to members of our church community, and then the pies are distributed after the worship service. This year, however, we needed to make this happen in new ways. The youth met via zoom from our own kitchens to make the pies and the write notes “together”. We also relied on Congregational Care members for help to fulfill all of the orders and to make some of the deliveries. It was a great team effort and by all accounts, a fun way to make an old thing new. A huge thanks to everyone who participated!

In trying to take advantage of the gorgeous weather this fall, the youth have enjoyed once a month outings out in nature. After kayaking in September on the Concord river, the group ventured to Acton in October to explore the Nashoba Brook trails. https://trails.actonma.gov/nashoba-brook/

Our next destination was going to be Walden Pond, but too many others had the same thought on that sunny day in November, so we quickly made a Plan B and ended up in the nearby Hapgood Wright Town Forest. https://www.concordma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2090/Hapgood-Wright-Town-Forest-Trail-Guide

Soon we discovered that sometimes Plan B turns out to be better than Plan A! Walking along the trails we enjoyed several art exhibits, “fairyland pond”, and eventually the “reflection circle” – a beautiful sanctuary of stone benches with carved words of wisdom from various spiritual teachers. It was the perfect place to gather, rest, and reflect before heading home.

One year ago, Sunday Fellowship and Children’s Ministries partnered with the Village Art room to create a communal icon of depicting Jesus, the Disabled God, with the saints of the disability rights movement. Little did we know that one of our favorite disability saints, Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, would see her image on our icon and want to connect with us.

After weeks of careful preparation, representatives from Sunday Fellowship and Children’s Ministries interviewed Keelan-Chaffins and her mother. It was fascinating to hear Keelan-Chaffins talk about becoming “a master of talking with the media by the time [she] was six and half” and explaining the social model of disability. Highlight clips from the 37 minute interview are posted below. The entire interview can be viewed here.

Sunday Fellowship is also making T shirts with the image of Jesus as the Disabled God on the front and Rebekah Anderson’s powerful meditation “The Body of God” on the back. The cost is $25 per shirt (add $8 with shipping) but financial assistance is available. To order a T shirt, use this link.

Thanks be to God for Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins and all the saints of the disability rights movement!

Jessica and Children’s Ministry offered these reflections on the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:43-49).