Sunday Fellowship recently read the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman from Mark 7 in which Jesus is accosted by a desperate mother seeking healing for her daughter. This story is remarkable because it’s the only time we hear Jesus refusing to heal someone. Jesus refuses the woman because she is not Jewish, saying, “No, first I must help my own family. It is not right to throw the children’s food to the dogs.” But the woman refuses to take “no” for an answer and continues to advocate for the needs of her daughter and herself (as so many parents of sick or disabled children are often forced to do). She shoots back “That’s true, sir, but even the puppies under the table are given scraps.” Jesus cannot help but be impressed by this woman’s strength and faith. He relents and heals her daughter. She, not Jesus, is the hero of this story.

As people with disabilities, we can all relate to this story of determined advocacy. Like the Syro-Phoenician woman, many of us have had to learn how not to take “no” for an answer and how to becomes the heroes of our own stories. Norah McShane, a Minute Man Arc self-advocate, shared her own story of advocacy when she had to fight hard for the job she wanted. Then the whole group took photo with self-advocacy posters. Read on for Norah’s story:

Hi, I’m Nora McShane. I have worked at Roche Brothers for 29 years. Since 1995, I was working in the front end. I didn’t like it because I wasn’t getting respect from a coworker. I also didn’t like going outside all the time and pushing the heavy carts. So I asked to move to the bakery. 

First, I asked my boss. I had a friend in the bakery who spoke to the manager and helped me advocate. Next, I went to the bakery boss, saying I would like to permanently work at the bakery department. Then I had to go to the store manager and make my case to her. I started asking for this in 2012. 

At first, they had me working 4 days a week: 2 days in the front and 2 days in the bakery. I kept asking to switch to the bakery full time at my ISP and to my boss. I was getting really tired of asking. Finally, in 2015, after years of sticking up for myself, I became full time at the bakery. 

I really like working in the bakery. I started with packaging and now I do labeling. I’m not as bored and I feel like I’m getting more done. They listen to my opinions. They let me ask questions and they are patient with me. I feel my time is valued. It’s important to use your voice to speak up for what you really want to do in your own life. 

For the second year, Sunday Fellowship gathered at the Butterfly Place for an end of the year celebration. Attendance was as high as the temperatures. Good thing we had lots of watermelon and cold drinks to cool us off. To top it off Nan kept us singing! Check out these AMAZING pics!

Last Sunday, Sunday Fellowship joyfully celebrated LGBTQIA+ identity and being part of an “Open and Affirming” church for twenty-five years.

During our tribal land acknowledgement, we learned about Geo Soctomah Nepune, an Indigenous Passamaquoddy master basket weaver, drag performer, and model in Maine who identifies as a “two-spirit” person. To learn more about the indigenous concept of gender known as “two-spirits” watch this video.

Geo Soctomah Neptune is an Indigenous Passamaquoddy master basket weaver, drag performer, and model. As a Two-Spirit creator, Neptune works with Passamaquoddy and other Wabanaki youth to preserve cultural arts practices by teaching basket weaving across Maine. In addition to their art, Neptune’s work has extended into the political sphere, after becoming the first openly Two-Spirit person to be elected into public office in Maine in 2020. They continue to spread awareness about political and social issues impacting Indigenous people through their activism.

To show our support for LGBTQIA+ people, many of whom have been harmed by the Church, we wore rainbow clothing and painted rainbows on our hands. We sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow and True Colors by Cyndi Lauper and talked about each letter of the LGBTQIA acronym. Bekah Maren Anderson and Allison Connelly-Vetter, two queer women with disabilities, shared aspects of their personal journeys with us through a prepared interview. You can watch the interview with subtitles here. Then we used a social story to learn more about the many ways people define and express their gender identity.

We wanted to make sure people would know West Concord Union Church is a safe place for LGBTQIA+ people. We made kindness rocks with rainbow crosses to put outside, some of us added pronouns to our nametags and many of us signed the Open and Affirming Covenant adopted by WCUC in 1999. It was an awesome day!

Sunday Fellowship started working with our Lenten theme, the Body Remembers, way back on February 11th. After sharing the story of Jesus’ temptation and 40 day fast in the wilderness, we recognized the tendency to think of Lent as a time to deny or punish the Body. What would happen if, instead of denying our bodies, we trusted that we could draw closer to God by focusing more on our bodies and how they impact our spirituality?

Each week, we explore different scriptures and different embodied practices. We explored Paul’s discussion of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, the Feeding of the 5,000 and the Story of Holy Week. We did chair yoga, hand reflexology, hand/foot washing and made enough snacks for all out of a small amount of ingredients. Naturally You, a local salon, donated aromatherapy oils for us to use in our practices. Check out our photos!

On December 3rd, Sunday Fellowship gathered to welcome Advent and reflect on the question “How does a weary world rejoice? (a line from O Holy Night).” We sang, prayed and created glow-in-the-dark “moon prayers” to express our weariness and deepest longings to God. The gathering concluded with a festive hot chocolate bar. Please enjoy the photos.

Families, friends and church members came together as Team WCUC raising over $1500 in support of the Minute Man Arc March. It was a great day for fellowship and community.

Minute Man Arc (MMArc) is a human services agency that supports people of all ages who have disabilities providing therapeutic services, day programs, and a variety of supported residential options. West Concord Union Church (WCUC) and MMArc first began to partner back in the 1980’s when the first group home opened on West Street. Since that time, WCUC has hosted Sunday Fellowship, a ministry of worship and friendship for people with disabilities. Minute Man Arc is WCUC’s largest mission partner.

To open the March, State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Simon Cataldo spoke warmly about their experiences with Minute Man Arc, especially the self-advocates who regularly meet with them. Cataldo shared his excitement about a bill he co-sponsored to increase pay rates for direct care workers employed by the Department of Developmental Services. As a whole, the March raised over $125k. Enjoy the photos!

It was good to be together as a community celebrating Advent. In the candlelit sanctuary, the members of Sunday Fellowship sang and prayed, shared the Annunciation story, made ornaments and enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies.

To remind us of God’s loving embrace when we are sad or afraid, we practiced wrapping baby dolls in blue swaddling clothes. Then we wrote our fears and sadnesses on blue and purple ribbons and put them inside ornaments. The outside of the ornaments were decorated with golden stars symbolizing God’s light surrounding us despite our fears. After losing several members of our community this fall, it felt especially important to acknowledge the bittersweet feelings this season can evoke. Enjoy the photos!

Enjoy these highlights of our worship on October 2nd, celebrating Sunday Fellowship’s 40th Anniversary!