Arts & Soul Circle: Fragility as Strength
2025-09-26 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Arts Collaborative Medford, 162 Mystic Ave, Medford, MA, United States
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
What if fragility is not weakness, but strength? What if the cracks in us — and in our planet — are not flaws to be feared but openings where light and care break through?
In this Art & Soul Circle, we will gather among fragile works of art that could unravel or shatter with one wrong move. Together we will explore how the delicate can become enduring, how vulnerability can reveal unexpected beauty, and how the earth’s own fragility can call us — not to despair — but to a deeper tenderness and a fiercer care.
Through art, poetry, and circle conversation, we will reflect on the beauty of fragility and discover how tenderness may be the strongest force of all.
~~~
Led by Rev. Wendy Miller Olapade
Suggested donation $10-$20. Open to the Public – RSVP Appreciated: https://tinyurl.com/jfbapjax
Join us for Part I of II Art & Soul Circles, a facilitated conversation with artists from Boundaries & Beyond. This gathering invites participants to reflect on the creative process and the ways art can spark dialogue around climate justice. Together, we’ll explore the personal stories and collective vision behind the i3c artivists’ work.

Sunday Soul Circle
2025-09-28 08:30 - 09:30, 2025-10-19 08:30 - 09:30, 2025-10-26 08:30 - 09:30, 2025-11-09 08:30 - 09:30 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82882360638?pwd=[REDACTED]
Sanctuary UCC Sunday Spiritual Circle – for prayer, care, reflection, and connection.
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Wendy Miller Olapade – 617.592.5853 is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/82882360638?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 828 8236 0638Passcode: [REDACTED]
Dial by your location• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)• +1 305 224 1968 US
Meeting ID: 828 8236 0638Passcode: [REDACTED]
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc1XnzubHD
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Rev. Wendy Preaching - Shiloh Baptist Church
2025-09-28 11:30 - 13:00, 2025-10-19 11:30 - 13:00 | Shiloh Baptist Church, 1 Holton St, Medford, MA, United States
Join Rev. Wendy and the Shiloh Baptist Church community for worship and song.
All the details are here, including Zoom access to worship virtually
Topic to be determined.

Weekly Vigil: Peace & Justice for Immigrants
2025-09-30 16:45 - 17:45, 2025-10-07 16:45 - 17:45, 2025-10-14 16:45 - 17:45, 2025-10-21 16:45 - 17:45, 2025-10-28 16:45 - 17:45, 2025-11-04 16:45 - 17:45, 2025-11-11 16:45 - 17:45 | Unitarian Universalist Church, 147 High St, Medford, MA, United States
As we witness our neighbors in the United States accosted by masked government agents, incarcerated, and in many cases deported without due process, we believe that we must as people of conscience stand up
against this violation of human rights and United States law and the cruel upending of countless people’s lives.
Please join this standout in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford, 147 High St., each Tuesday, 4:45-5:45.
This is a silent, peaceful demonstration.
Please bring a sign if you wish.
For more information, contact Steve Schmidt lesapeuruu@gmail.com or Liz
Ammons elizabeth.ammons@tufts.edu

Peaceful Bystander Training (MMI Hosting)
2025-10-01 18:45 - 20:15 | Hillside Community Church, 148 North St, Medford, MA, United States
For full event details and to reserve a seat see our Mobilize listing: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/843742/
Support your neighbors and community by joining us in Medford for an educational training on how to be a peaceful bystander.Bystander Training for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encounter will empower individuals to understand their legal rights as bystanders and what they can do to support affected community members. Training participants will gain increased awareness and practical strategies for how to respond in such situations.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Come early to sign in, get a snack, and meet the event organizers and other attendees! Training starts at 7:00 p.m. Please bring a nonperishable food item as an entry donation to the event.
Developed and led by Somerville Indivisible’s Elaine Almquist and supported by MMI’s coalition partners.
Hosts:Courtney M • courtney.mysticmashup@gmail.com (primary)Elaine Almquist • elaine@almquistandassociates.comMeghan Searl • events.mysticmashupindivisible@gmail.com

Free, Fresh Veggie/Fruit Pop-Up Pantry
2025-10-03 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-10-10 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-10-17 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-10-24 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-10-31 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-11-07 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-11-14 17:00 - 18:00 | Shiloh Baptist Church, 1 Holton St, Medford, MA, United States
FREE FARM FRESH VEGGIES
@Shiloh Baptist Church, One Holton Street, Medford
Lower Level, entrance via parking lot
FRIDAYS (5—6 pm)
July 11 – Nov 21, 2025
First Come/First Served
BRING YOUR OWN BAGS

Reel Conversations: The Piano Lesson
2025-10-03 18:30 - 20:30 | Arts Collaborative Medford, 162 Mystic Ave, Medford, MA 02155
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
We encourage you to talk to your family and friends about this powerful film using the Viewer’s Guide below.
“Some stories are carved in wood. Others are carved in blood. All of them ask to be heard.”
In The Piano Lesson, August Wilson crafts a ghost story rooted in history, inheritance, and the sacred power of storytelling. The piano at the heart of the Charles family is more than furniture — it’s a living archive of pain, survival, and artistry. Join us for Reel Conversations as we dive into this soulful film about memory, music, and what it costs to hold onto the past — or let it go. Do you sell the legacy to build the future? Or keep it to honor the ancestors? Come ready to discuss the ghosts we live with, the gifts we inherit, and the art that carries our names. We might even talk about Spiritual Reckonings!
🎥 Watch ahead of time. We’ll revisit a few scenes together and reflect on what it means to claim — or be claimed by — the stories we carry.
Use this Viewer’s Guide as you Watch
Open to the public | Hosted by Reverend Wendy Miller Olapade
Suggestion Donation $10-$20 | RSVP Appreciated
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📅 Before You Come

Watch The Piano Lesson ahead of time (available on Netflix or streaming platforms).
Reflect on the themes above. Take notes if you like, or just bring your spirit ready to engage.
Come open to witness, to grieve, and to celebrate what remains carved in the soul.

Join us onsite or online for a conversation about memory, music, the ghosts we live with – and the ones we live for.

World Communion Sunday Soul Circle
2025-10-05 08:30 - 09:30 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82882360638?pwd=[REDACTED]
One Bread, Many Tables
On World Communion Sunday, Christians across the globe break bread in kitchens, cathedrals, fields, and prison chapels—becoming one body in Christ’s love. Sanctuary’s Soul Circle will join this vast, holy feast, remembering that no distance or difference can divide the table of Christ. Bring bread and cup from your home, and be nourished by God’s presence that binds us together.
All are welcome.
Come with your bread and cup, your longing for connection, your ache for a world made whole. Come ready to see faces near and far, to taste the mystery that makes us one, to speak words of peace across difference, and to discover in this shared meal the holy gift of God’s wide, unbreakable love.
Sanctuary UCC Sunday Spiritual Circle – for prayer, care, reflection, and connection.
~~~~
Wendy Miller Olapade – 617.592.5853 is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82882360638?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 828 8236 0638
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Dial by your location
• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
• +1 305 224 1968 US
Meeting ID: 828 8236 0638
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc1XnzubHD
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Bread or Battle? Rev. Wendy Preaching - Shiloh Baptist Church
2025-10-05 11:30 - 13:00 | Shiloh Baptist Church, 1 Holton St, Medford, MA, United States
Sunday, October 04 (11:30 am)
World Communion Sunday
Would you Rather – Bread or Battle?
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Would you rather give up coffee or pizza?Would you rather live in a treehouse or a houseboat?Would you rather win the argument… or share the bread?
The game “Would You Rather?” makes us laugh, but it also makes us choose. Paul poses a version of the same question to young Timothy: Would you rather get caught up in endless arguments, or would you rather “rightly explain the word of truth” and trust God with the rest?
On World Communion Sunday, that question matters more than ever. Across the world, believers gather at Christ’s table — in different languages, with different breads and cups, shaped by different traditions. What unites us is not winning debates, but the grace we share in Christ. This Sunday at Shiloh, Rev. Wendy’s sermon reminds us that God doesn’t call us to be perfect or to win every debate — just to “do our best,” trust God’s grace, and share in the unity Christ has already made. So come – ready to play the game, wrestle with the question, and most of all — taste the unity that only Christ can give.
See the Shiloh Worship Page for Online Access to Worship.
Join Rev. Wendy and the Shiloh Baptist Church community for worship and song.

Special Congregational Meeting
2025-10-07 19:00 - 20:15 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82581670394?pwd=[REDACTED]
Special Congregational Meeting
Call to Meeting: https://medfordchurch.org/congregational-documents/2025-10-07-call-to-special-congregational-meeting/──────────Join Zoom MeetingMeeting ID: 825 8167 0394Passcode: [REDACTED]
Dial by your location: +1 309 205 3325 USMeeting ID: 825 8167 0394Passcode: [REDACTED] your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keFgMU7lKv──────────

Sunday Soul Circle: Spirituality of Surrender
2025-10-12 18:00 - 20:00 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82882360638?pwd=[REDACTED]
🌿 The Spirituality of Surrender
Sunday Soul Circle — Sept 12 | 6:30 pm- 8:00 pm | Sanctuary UCC
🕯️ A 75-minute circle of reflection, release, and hope.
After all that Sanctuary has been through, our hearts are heavy. The decision to pursue the Legacy and Closure process carries both pain and deep meaning — and for those who’ve shared this Soul Circle space, the loss feels personal.
This week we’ll gather as companions on the journey — to name what hurts, to honor what was, and to open our hearts to what may yet be revealed when we surrender. Together, we’ll reflect on the spirituality of letting go — not as defeat, but as trust; not as absence, but as spaciousness for grace.
We’ll draw on words from Jesus and wisdom from modern spiritual teachers, and each of us will pull a card from The Power of Surrender Deck by Judith Orloff, M.D., as a personal guide for the days ahead.
🕯️ Plan for a 75-minute circle to allow time for reflection, story, and sacred pause.
All are welcome — come as you are, with whatever you’re holding.
And take heart: endings are never the whole story.
Even here, in the letting go, God is already stirring new life —
within us, among us, and beyond what we can yet see. 🌱
Sanctuary UCC Sunday Spiritual Circle – for prayer, care, reflection, and connection.
~~~~
Wendy Miller Olapade – 617.592.5853 is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82882360638?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 828 8236 0638
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Dial by your location
• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
• +1 305 224 1968 US
Meeting ID: 828 8236 0638
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc1XnzubHD
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Go to WOW
2025-11-05 13:30 - 14:30 | MA

Cancelled!! Reel Conversations: Wicked
2025-11-07 18:30 - 20:30 | Arts Collaborative Medford, 162 Mystic Ave, Medford, MA, United States
🧹 Witch, Please! Let’s Talk Power, Prejudice, and Defying Gravity. What if the “wicked” one wasn’t wicked at all? In Wicked, the misunderstood Elphaba doesn’t just ride a broomstick—she flips the whole script. She challenges the system, calls out propaganda, and still makes time for a show-stopping duet or two.
✨ She’s green. She’s gifted. She’s done playing nice with fascist wizards. And we’re here for it.
Join us for Reel Conversations*, a night of popcorn, powerful scenes, and meaningful discussion about Wicked, the story behind the story behind The Wizard of Oz. Together, we’ll explore what happens when someone dares to speak truth to power—even when it means standing alone.
We’ll talk about:

Who gets labeled “dangerous” and why
Why complicity is comfortable but costly
What it takes to defy gravity—and injustice

🎥 Watch the movie ahead of time (streaming info below), use this Viewers Guide to look for the themes we will discuss, then come ready to rewatch the big moments together, talk back to the narrative, and celebrate the courage it takes to be too much for the status quo. #TeamElphaba #NoWizardsAllowed #ReelConversations #DefyGravity
P.S. 👠 If you’ve ever been called too loud, too bold, too much, or just too green — this night is for you. Come as you are, bring your broom, and let’s fly into some Wicked good trouble together. 💚🖤🧹🔥
*Reel Conversations – the Circle previously known as Faith & Film!
Participant Instructions
🎥 WATCH BEFORE YOU COME USING THIS VIEWER’S GUIDE
Please watch Wicked ahead of our event. It’s currently available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and other streaming platforms. Included on HBO/Max.
📝 USE THE VIEWER’S GUIDE & TAKE NOTES!
As you watch, jot down a few thoughts in response to the Viewer’s Guide questions above—or anything that moves you. If you’ve already seen it, consider rewatching with these new lenses in mind.
📅 JOIN US IN PERSON
🗓 Friday, November 07
🕡 6:30–8:30 PM
📍 Arts Collaborative Medford, 162 Mystic Ave, Medford, MA

🍿 We’ll gather, watch a few powerful scenes together, and discuss the deeper truths, tensions, and hope that Wicked stirs in us.

Sanctuary UCC All Hands Meeting - W. Chris Mereschuk
2025-11-13 18:30 - 20:00 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82581670394?pwd=[REDACTED]
Committee of the Whole/Leadership Circle Meeting
All are welcome! Gather online!
Did you miss last month’s meeting? Here’s where you can find minutes from previous meetings. (https://medfordchurch.org/minutes/)
Agenda:

Recruit Note Taker
Meet with Chris Meruschuk, Director, SNEUCC Church Legacy Corp. to review Legacy and Closure Process Overview, clarify where we are, Q&A, & next steps.
Recruit Leadership Team for Legacy Process
Vote on proposal for Tuesday, Dec. 2 (All Hands Mtg) for Special Congregational Meeting to serve as 2025 Annual Meeting, delayed from June 2025. Review the Agenda for that Meeting.
Vote on Proposal for Upgrade to Electrical Work for Shiloh Rental Space, needed for safety of equipment and HVAC.

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Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 825 8167 0394
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Dial by your location: +1 309 205 3325 US
Meeting ID: 825 8167 0394
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keFgMU7lKv
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