PACC Men

March 6, 2018

Bedford Police Detective Lieutenant Scott Jones was the featured speaker when the PACC-Men met in PACC’s Fellowship Room on Tuesday, March 6 at 6:30 pm.

Women’s Guild

February 2018

We will meet on Thursday, February 15, at 11:30am for Pizza, so no need to pack a brown bag. Lunch will be followed by an exchange of book recommendations. If you have read something you’ve enjoyed, recently, or have the name of a favorite author to share or just want to come for fellowship, please join us.

Sarah’s Circle

February 2018

We will meet on Saturday, February 10, 10:00am-12:00pm in the Fellowship Room. Those who wish to meditate may come at 9:30am. We have chosen to read, in honor of Black History Month, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Mission and Justice

Feburary 2018

Soup for Syria: Saturday, February 3, 6pm

Come in from the winter cold for an evening of warmth, community and support for

the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)! Admission is free, and all donations go to SAMS and their crucial ongoing work with refugees of the Syrian civil war. SAMS will share the life-saving story of how they have delivered over 5 million medical services during the last year alone. We’ll also enjoy delicious homemade soup with Syrian bread and raffle off two copies of “Soup for Syria,” a beautifully photographed cookbook with recipes from world-renowned chefs ($5 a ticket for a $30 value!).

For more information about SAMS, go to: www.sams-usa.net

One Great Hour of Sharing® (OGHS) “MORE THAN WE CAN IMAGINE”

OGHS is the Lenten Offering of the United Church of Christ that supports disaster, refugee, and development activities. Talk to Jill Lewis or Mike Rich if you are willing to be our campaign coordinator this year or to present a Mission Moment on a Sunday leading up to the collection on March 11. For much more information including about Matching Gift programs, donating to a specific natural disaster or refugee emergency, staying updated, go to www.ucc.org/oghs.

Local

Arlington Food Pantry

Bring non-perishable food items and household goods to church by Sunday, February 4. Find high-need items here:

www.town.arlington.ma.us/departments/health-human-services/food-pantry/food-donation

NEAT (Neighbors Eating All Together)

The next NEAT dinner at St. John’s Church (74 Pleasant St) is Saturday, February 17. These dinners are open and free to all. If you’d like to volunteer to help set up, serve, plate food, or clean up, please speak to Kate Lindheim or watch for an email to Chat.

Birthday bags for Youth Villages/Germaine Lawrence

Each month we send a birthday party in a bag to a dorm at Youth Villages. Birthdays can be a hard reminder that the girls are not at home with friends and family. If you’d like to donate, bring in any of the following: cake mix, cake frosting, cupcake liners, birthday candles, festive paper plates/napkins in sets of 20, or large gift bags. There’s a blue bucket under the table in the narthex where you can drop off items anytime. Thank you!

Somerville Homeless Coalition’s Community Supper

PACC provides a meal for about 25 people on the fourth Monday of every month. Look for an email to CHAT or speak to Kate Lindheim if you’d like to help set up, plate food, serve food, or clean up. Thank you!

Queer Mystic

See January news and events in February and beyond in the Mystic LGBTQ+ Youth Support Network’s January Newsletter, here https://tinyurl.com/ybauzmmm.

Wider Church

Super Saturday

March 17, 2018 – 8:00 A.M. to 3:45 P.M.

Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham, MA

A day of stellar workshops and UCC community featuring the dynamic Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis as keynote speaker. Dr. Lewis extends a profound, moving, even funny invitation to join her in working for racial equality. Workshops focus on everything from living into our LGBTQ welcome to growing a vibrant church to learning about the Sanctuary movement. Past attendees have come back excited and equipped to do new things here at PACC! Register at www.macucc.org/eventdetail/super-saturday-march-2018-9985355 , deadline March 3. Talk to Mike Rich to register as a group at a discounted rate.

The Poor People’s Campaign

The Massachusetts Conference of the UCC invites you to learn about this national movement building on Dr. King’s dream of a more just future for our nation’s poor and marginalized. Visit www.macucc.org/poorpeoplescampaign for sermons, blog posts, and events that help us understand how injustice to any is harmful to all and how we can begin to dismantle it.

UCC Christmas Fund

THANK YOU for your generous contributions to the UCC Christmas Fund – over $800! Your gifts aid retired clergy and lay employees with income supplementation for basic needs such as food, utilities, and medical expenses and assist active clergy and lay employees facing unexpected financial needs due to crises in their lives.

New Member Class

March 4, 2018

On Sunday March 4 after church we’ll be having a new member class/brunch for anyone interested in learning more about PACC and perhaps thinking about membership. The meeting is open to anyone at any stage of exploring membership; it is an opportunity to ask questions, share stories, and learn about the history of PACC and the membership process and covenant. Details on time and location will be forthcoming as we get closer to the date. If you are interested, please RSVP to Cindy Manson (cynthia.manson@gmail.com) or Betty Rich (bgr642@gmail.com) so that we can plan the all-important menu!

Lenten Study Series

Wednesdays at 7:30-9pm, Feb. 14 – March 28, 2018 – Fellowship room

Give your spiritual life a jumpstart! Over the six weeks of Lent we’ll read Martha Grace Reese’s Unbinding Your Heart and work through the accompanying reflections. Built on the premise that we can’t grow the church without first attending to our own relationship with God, Unbinding Your Heart will help us grow closer to God and each other while learning how to talk about our faith. Leave your preconceptions at the door and join us on a surprising journey to a deeper faith and a more vibrant church!

Copies can be bought through the church for $15 thanks to a group discount from the Book Rack. To reserve your copy, email the church office or sign the sheet in the narthex. Payment will be due and books available for pick up on Sunday Feb. 11.

Christian Education

February 2018

Sunday school

We’ll have one multi age class on February 18. Our story for that day is Food for all, based on Mark 6:30-44. We’ll also talk about Lent and share some ways to observe Lent at home.

We’ll have Music with Andy on February 12 and Art with Gwen on February 26.

Youth Group

We’ll meet on Sunday, February 25 from 6-8 in Parish Hall to make dinner for the Somerville Homeless Coalition’s community dinner on February 26. We’ll have pizza first and then we’ll make the community dinner meal!

Lent

Materials for observing Lent at home will be available at the Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner and in the narthex starting on Ash Wednesday.

Greetings from our Pastor!

February 2018

Call me a church nerd, but Lent is my favorite season of the liturgical year. I treat this 40-day period of reflection and renewal leading up to Easter as an invitation to dig deeper into my spiritual life – to put aside distractions and marinate on God’s presence in us and all around us. This year I want to extend that invitation to PACC as a church – and to you as an individual – in a couple of ways:

First, PACC’s Lenten study series will give your spiritual life a jumpstart. Together we’ll read Unbinding Your Heart by Martha Grace Reese. Built on the premise that we can’t grow the church without first attending to our own relationship with God, Unbinding Your Heart will help us grow closer to God and each other while learning how to talk about our faith. Leave your preconceptions at the door and join us on a surprising journey to a deeper faith and a more vibrant church! Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Feb. 14 – March 28.

Second, our Lenten sermon series will focus on Finding Our Why. Simon Sinek’s TED Talk “Start with Why” highlights how an organization’s “Why” is much more critical than its “What” or even its “How.” Through scripture and story, we’ll drill down to PACC’s “Why,” building a purpose and a vision for 2018 and beyond. Join us in discerning how God is inviting us to be part of something bigger than ourselves! Sundays at 10am, Feb. 18 – March 25.

Kick it all off on February 14, Ash Wednesday. Stop by the church during your morning commute or just before our study series in the evening for a blessing, a prayer, and if you so desire, the imposition of ashes – an ancient Christian tradition reminding us of our mortality.

• Ashes to Go: Sanctuary Porch, 7am-8:30am
• Ashes in the Evening: Sanctuary, 6-7:30pm

Church nerd I may be, but I can’t tell you how excited I am for this meaningful season at PACC. Come, join us this Lent as we discover together where God is leading us!

Blessings,
Leah

Sermons now online

December 2017

Now you can find PACC sermons online! Go to www.pacc-ucc.org/sermons and click on the title of the sermon to read it, or the word “audio” to listen. Thanks to Nick Dokos and Tim Durning for recording and processing the audio!

You can also find the sermons by going to the website home page, clicking on “Programs” at the top, and clicking on “Sermons” in the drop down menu. New sermons will be added each week.

CD’s of audio recordings of the sermons (or a collection of sermons in MP3 format) can also be made available by request to the church office

Knitting Group

December 2017

Join the Knitting Group. Bring your handcrafts and join us on Tuesday, December 5, from 7:30-9pm in the Fellowship room.