"The members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester covenant to be a congregation of love, hope and justice inspiring people to take on the challenges of a changing world."

Welcoming Church

Mission Statement

The LGBTQI and Allies of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester strives to further the affirmation and celebration of LGBTQI individuals in all aspects of the church community. We also seek to increase the visibility of UUCW as a Welcoming Congregation within the greater community.

UUCW Covenant

In consonance with the principles and purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association, we the members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester covenant to sustain and support a courageous and caring community by:

* Bringing our best selves to form a welcoming, loving, and inclusive community of faith;

* Creating an atmosphere of celebration and worship in a safe environment;

* Providing opportunities where diverse people and points of view are respected and where open-hearted and open-minded discussion of our differences is encouraged;

* Treating each other with kindness and respect;

* Approaching conflicts with a spirit of humility and with the respectful intent for peaceful resolution;

* Engaging in and encouraging spiritual and intellectual growth across the lifespan;

* Fostering social justice and positive transformation in our community and in the world at large;

* Growing and maintaining the resources necessary to support the missions and ministries of this congregation;

* Fostering fellowship and enjoying each other and the unique gifts that each person brings to our community.

Current News at UUCW

Escalating Inequality Workshops and Movie

There will be an upcoming series of 5 workshops and a movie discussion about the problem of escalating inequality in this country. At General Assembly in Providence last summer, delegates to the UUA voted escalating inequality as the most pressing issue of our time.

In an historic first step, our church and the downtown UU church are co-sponsoring a series of workshops to discuss the vexing problems created by increasing disparities of income and access in our society. Please read more about these workshops in an upcoming article, but mark down the dates and places they will be held. Three events will be held at First Unitarian (90 Main Street) and four here at UUCW. This may be the first time some of us have ventured to go into the "other church", so we are excited about this partnership and its promise for the future!

We will kickoff the workshop series by hosting Richard Wilkinson's short documentary "How Economic Inequality Harms Society", which talks about the ravages this recession has foisted on poor, working and middle class people. It not only shows statistical information about rising poverty and joblessness, but it puts a human face on the psychosocial effects these decisions have wrought. A facilitated discussion group follows.

And you have two chances to see it! The first will be held at the downtown church on Tuesday March 3rd at 7-8:30 pm. The second showing will be at our church at 4-5:30 pm on Sat. March 7th. The Wilkinson film is a must-see for those interested in social justice!

The five following workshops are from the dynamic curriculum put out by the UUA and contain large and small group discussions, videos and personal inventories.

RACISM and CLASSISM: Sunday March 15th at UUCW from 12:30-2:30
HOW INJUSTICE DRIVES INEQUALITY: Tuesday March 31 First U 7-9pm
HOW DID WE GET HERE AND WHAT WE CAN DO: Tuesday April 21 at UUCW from 7-9p
THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY IN UUism: Sunday May 3 at UUCW from 12:30-2:30
ENGAGING SOLUTIONS FOR UUism: Sunday May 17 First U 12:30-2:30

Look for more information (including the Nugget for February 25), but hope to see you soon at the movies!!

Escalating Inequality Task Force: Joan McGinn, Chair; Paul Ropp, Randy Ingham, Mara Pentlarge, Joe Delgizzi

Joan McGinn, Chair, Escalating Inequality Task Force

Open Stitch Day - Saturday March 7, 9 am - 3 pm

Don't forget to register, the sooner the better!

REGISTER HERE!! - March 1 deadline!

OPEN STITCH DAY!

Church Fundraiser - Saturday March 7. 9-3 pm. Free Will Donation (suggested min. donation $10)

Please join in the fun, creativity, and fellowship. Learn a quilt project with Robin Caracciolo or bring your own!

This time we will work on a table runner/wall hanging. It will involve learning 3 blocks, and playing with color! Bring your machine and supplies. There will be fabric kits available for sale (approx. $25).

You can also bring your knitting/ crochet/ cross-stitch/ crewel to work on. There are sure to be folks here that can help you if you get stuck with your project.

Bring a lunch!! or...there will be soup and salad for sale ($6)!

PLEASE RSVP HERE BY March 1- especially if you would like the quilt materials list for project, or a fabric kit to purchase.

Space is limited for setting up machines...so sign up soon!!

Robin Caracciolo

Wild - UUCW Evening Book Group - March 11, 7 pm

Have you already seen the movie? Now it's time to read the book and come talk with others about one woman's extraordinary journey on the Pacific Coast Trail. Join the Evening Book Group at 7 pm in the lounge on March 11 for great conversation and personal insights.

We welcome new readers-our discussions are interesting, lively, and very friendly. For more information, contact Deb Selkow debselkow@gmail.com

Book Group Reading Schedule 2014-2015

March--Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
April--The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) by Donna Tartt
May--The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord by Ray Raphael
June-- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel by Rachel Joyce
July--The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel
August--Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Deb Selkow

Religious Education News

RE News for March 1

Dear Families,

March 1st! Finally , February has wrapped up and hopefully with it the tough weather!

Classes will continue to meet this Sunday. Thanks to all who came out last Sunday! It was great to have you here!

Mystery Pals will party after church! Can't wait for you all to come together for the Big Reveal! Thank you for you patience in waiting for the big day!

Sunday, March 1

10 am - All Children begin in the sanctuary and will be dismissed to class following the children's coin and food collection.

11:45 am -1 pm Grade 5 & 6 OWL in Classroom 2

11:45 am -1 pm COA

6 - 8:30 pm: Soulful Sundown & Youth Group

Robin Caracciolo,

Director of Religious Education

Mystery Pals - March 1...The Reveal Party!

Come find out who your Mystery Pal is!!

Directly after the service, we will have special events set up for you with the big reveal!

See us in Fellowship Hall---behind the green divider!

Robin Caracciolo & Jenny Delgizzi

What's Going on in the Teenage Brain?

Sunday March 8, 11:45 am - 1 pm, Lounge

Come and hear about the what the latest research has revealed about the fascinating brain development taking place during adolescence.

Learn about the incredible opportunities , and some possible challenges as youth learn how to grow into adults.

Our own Lynsey Heffernan will present information, video clips and discussion. Designed for parents, aunts, uncles, mentors, grandparents, or friends of teens!

Lynsey Heffernan is the JDAI Detention Reform Specialist for the Department of Youth Services. In this position she coordinates a state-wide reform agenda with the goal of reducing the number of children in Massachusetts in secure confinement through collaboration with juvenile justice stakeholders and through the implementation data-informed Alternatives to Detention. Immediately prior to this role, Lynsey was a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services for nearly seven years in both the juvenile and adult courts

Robin Caracciolo

SPROUT Parent's Group - Sunday, March 22

The Sprout Group will meet after church on Sunday March 22 - 11:45 am -1 pm. (Please note date change from last week's article)

Please join other parents or caregivers for interesting and meaningful discussions facilitated by Bill Derr. Free childcare will be provided. In order to provide childcare , we need RSVP's. Please RSVP by Thursday , March 19 to williamderr@hotmail.com Thank You!

We need your feedback on how to make this group better accessible to all families . If you could take a minute to answer our survey, it would assist us! Please click HERE for short survey!

Bill Derr

Adult Faith Development

World Religions Course

Sunday, March 1, 3:30 pm

Wednesday, March 4, 7 pm

We continue our study of Islam with lectures, "The Muslim Community - Faith and Politics" and "Pathways to God - Islamic Law and Mysticism", by John L. Esposito, Ph.D. Professor, Religion and International Affairs, Islamic Studies, Georgetown University. This course continues to be open to anyone interested in the study of World Religions. Please contact Aaron Payson (arpayson@charter.net) for more information.

Rev. Aaron Payson

Sunday News

Soulful Sundown Vespers

Sunday, March 1, 6:00 PM

"Turning Toward The Future & The Ides of March"

Readings for the season

Candlelight Meditation

Contemporary Music

International Women's Day - March 8 Worship Service & 50/50 Collection

Once again, we will honor women at our March 8th International Women's Day celebration. This year we will focus on Abby's House, the largest and most comprehensive agency for homeless and battered women and their children in central Massachusetts. This is the 39th year of Abby's House services, and recently they have hired a new executive director, Stephanie Page, who will speak to us about her vision for Abby's in the future. Her topic is "Passing the Torch: New Leadership at Abby's House". The founding mothers and guardians, Annette Rafferty, Tess Sneesby and Elaine Lamereaux are excited about this new direction for
Abby's and may join Stephanie and us at our March 8th service.

In addition, our 50/50 collection that day will go to the vital and ongoing work of Abby's House as it continues its almost 4 decades of work on behalf of their guests. They offer emergency services for battered and homeless women, short term and longer term housing and a day program. Their model is one of empowerment for women to build their lives stronger than before, and they have many successful graduates of the program. However, lack of affordable housing, diminished availability of good-paying jobs and wage discrimination against women persists, and complicates women's journey to get back on their feet again. I know that this congregation will be as generous as ever towards Abby's House as we take our 50/50 collection on March 8th.

Joan McGinn

HosT Coffee Hour News

The HosT coffee hour team thank all the many church teams, groups, and committees who have signed up to HosT coffee hour this year!

We are using Volunteer Spot to make it easier for people in your group to select a healthy food option to bring to coffee hour, and to sign up for the simple duties that are involved in running coffee hour.

HosT (Hospitality Task Force) will provide the fair trade coffee, tea, water and juice. (HosT depends on coffee hour donations to keep supplies in stock....your donations during any coffee hour are gladly accepted!)

Would you like to be involved with the HosT Team? Let us know!!

Groups on deck for HosT-ing:

March 1	SOUP Sunday
March 8	Futures Team
March 15	Coming of Age Class
March 22	Women's Sunday
March 29	To Be Announced

Nancy Hancock

Ongoing Event News

Lunch With The Minister - Wednesday, March 4 at noon!

We continue our monthly "Lunch with the Minister" on March 4 at Noon in the Lounge. Everyone is invited to attend this informal time of refreshment and conversation. Participants bring a bag lunch and something to share (if desired). We provide the coffee and the table settings. Join us!

Rev. Aaron Payson

Readers Unite Afternoon Book Group -

March 4 at 1:15 pm

Greetings book lovers!

On February 4 we had Our Readers Unite (UUCW Afternoon) Book Group with 12 people attending! We had read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. A rousing discussion followed.

Our next meeting is March 4th at 1 pm:
Where'd you go, Bernadette? A Novel by Maria Semple
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

For our April 1st meeting:
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.

Kim Napoleone

Men's Group Meeting - Friday, March 13

The Men's Group meets monthly to share a meal and conversation. The group's members strive to build trust and close friendship with one another. We will meet in Fellowship Hall at 7 pm. All who consider themselves male are welcome.

Food will be brought from a local restaurant and all those who wish to eat can split the cost of the meal. Please bring your favorite beverage to drink with dinner. Please R.S.V.P to willliamderr@hotmail.com or call the UUCW office at 508 853 1942. Please note whether or not you want food and any dietary restrictions.

Bill Derr

Women's Runaway Weekend -

**UUCW Women**

Save the Date!

Annual Runaway Weekend

in Rockport, MA

April 24-26, 2015

Every year a group of 25-30 UUCW women take the whole Linden Tree Inn in Rockport from Friday afternoon to Monday morning for a weekend of very fun female fellowship!

The Inn is in downtown Rockport, located a stone's throw from the beach as well as shopping area. Single and double rooms are available. Prices will be posted in the Message soon. Once prices are posted, spaces can be reserved by emailing Ruth Silver for payment details. For more information about the weekend feel free to email Claire Breyton at cbreyton@gmail.com.

Claire Breyton

Flu Season Is Upon Us

Please note that we have begun our Annual Flu Prevention Program at UUCW. The current precautions include:

The availability of waterless hand sanitizer at each entrance to the church and in each religious education classroom. We ask that all those entering and exiting our facility use this resource.
The posting of cautions for those experiencing flu-like symptoms. The cautions currently ask that if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms (a temperature above 99 degrees, and/or a persistent cough, headache, or intestinal discomfort) to please refrain from entering the church.

Please notify the church office (office@uucworcester.org

/ 508-853-1942) if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms so that we can help care for you personally. If you are eligible for and it is recommended that you have an annual flu vaccine, we strongly encourage you to get one. Thank you for helping protect those most vulnerable among us!

Rev. Aaron Payson

Please Click Here to view the UUCW Google Calendar

Contact Information

Phone:	508-853-1942	Email:	office@uucworcester.org
		Website:	www.uucworcester.org
Emergency Phone:	800-859-6404	UUCW Facebook	UUCW Twitter