A memorial service for Ida Mary Stone, mother of Margos Stone, will be held at the UUCW on Friday, April 24, at 11:00 a.m. All are invited to attend. Further information about Ida Stone can be found at www.ricefuneralhome.com.

Following up on the excellent reception of the video "The Wilderness Journey" about the challenges associated with the black empowerment movement within the Unitarian Universalist Association, UUCW will host the three-part PBS documentary series "Race: The Power of an Illusion"** that explores where the idea of "race" comes from.  Join us in this important series of videos and discussion with members and friends of UUCW and the wider community as we strive toward a more just society

The series will continue at the following times and dates:

 7:00 - 9:00 pm  April 15th - Episode 2: The Story We Tell - "uncovers the roots of the race concept, including the 19th-century science that legitimated it and the hold it has gained over our minds. It's an eye-opening tale of how America's need to defend slavery in the face of a radical new belief in freedom and equality led to a full-blown ideology of white supremacy. Noting the experience of Cherokee Indians, the U.S. war against Mexico and annexation of the Philippines, the film shows how definitions of race excluded from humanity not only Black people, but anyone who stood in the way of American expansion. The program traces the transformation of tentative suspicions about difference into a "common-sense" wisdom that people used to explain everything from individual behavior to the fate of whole societies, an idea of race that persists to this day."*

 7:00 - 9:00 pm  April 29th - Episode 3: The House We Live In -  "focuses not on individual behaviors and attitudes, but on how our institutions shape and create race, giving different groups vastly unequal life chances. Who defines race? In the early 20th century, the courts were called upon to determine who was white, employing contradictory logic to maintain the color line. After World War II, government policies and subsidies helped create segregated suburbs where Italians, Jews and other not-quite-white European ethnics were able to reap the full advantages of whiteness. The episode reveals some of the ordinary social institutions that quietly channel wealth and opportunity, so that white people benefit from a racist system without personally being racist. It concludes by looking at why we can't just get rid of race."*

This series is open to anyone interested in exploring the issue of race and racism in a safe environment in where diverse people and points of view are respected and where open-hearted and open-minded discussion of our differences is encouraged.

Light refreshments will be provided. For more information on this program please contact Beau Rivers (brivers@uucworcester.org) or Rev. Aaron Payson (minister@uucworcester.org). 

*From the discussion guide published with the video series. 

**Produced by California Newsreel, in association with the Independent Television Service (ITVS) 2003. Major funding was provided by the Ford Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Diversity Fund. Additional funding was provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the John D. and  Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lida and Alejandro Zaffaroni, Akonadi Foundation, the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, and Nu Lambda Trust.

Please CLICK HERE to download or print a flyer for this discussion series.

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. The day of our next gathering  has been changed to 4/10/15 and 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.

One of our biggest fundraisers of the year is fast approaching!  The annual yard sale will take place on Saturday, June 6.  So, please start now looking around your place for things that can be donated.  We take virtually anything, including large furniture if you can transport it (both ways if it doesn't sell).  Clothing, household items, sports equipment, electronics, books, etc., etc., etc.  It also takes many hands to pull this event off; please let me know if you are interested.  We work all day the Thursday and Friday beforehand and then most of the day on Saturday.  I know it's a bit of time away, but if you know you're interested and want to work any of the days, please let me know.

 

I hope you had a lovely Easter and Passover weekend.  We get back to class this Sunday April 12th.  There is also a Sprout Meeting this Sunday at 11:45.  If you are interested in attending and need childcare , please RSVP to Bill Derr.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, April 12

 

10am  All children begin in the sanctuary and will be dismissed to class according to the order of service and announcement.

 

COMING OF AGE-  Mentors and Teens- please meet in the front of the church by the main doors at 11:15 for the Boston History Tour Trip.  Don't forget lunch, permissions, and $15 check.

 

Youth Group-  6:8:30 Fellowship Hall-  Planning the rest of our year together.  Bring your ideas!

Robin Caracciolo, 

Director of Religious Education 

The Sprout Group will meet after church on Sunday April 12 - 11:45 am -1 pm.

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 , April 9 to williamderr@hotmail.com.    Thank You!  

Wednesday, April 8 at 7 pm

Sunday April 12 at 3:30 pm

We gather this week for the next two lectures on Islam "Islam at the Crossroads" and "Women & Change in Islam" by John L. Esposito, Ph.D., Professor, Religion and International Affairs, Islamic Studies, Georgetown University.  This course continues to be open to all interested in the study of world religions.  

For more information, please contact Aaron Payson.

Please come join us in the Lounge on April 18, May 16, and June 20 in this unique exercise program that is designed to help bring the body, mind and spirit into harmony. We will also be exploring nonverbal communication with others through movement. Please wear loose comfortable clothing.  Any questions call Joe Zawielski at 508 826 3194   

Let the children and the child in you dance and sing to the music of Chuck and Mud in Fellowship Hall on April 18th from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.  Chuck and Mud are one of Worcester's beloved folk duos. Tickets will be on sale in Fellowship Hall beginning Sunday, April 5th after the Service.  Advance tickets  $7.00 each with a family maximum of $20.00.  Tickets at the door $10.00 each with a family maximum of $30.00.

Refreshments will be available.  If anyone is available to bake contact:  Dianne Mann at djmann@charter.net

Invite your friends and their friends.  All proceeds will benefit the UUCW general funds.

UUCW is a barrier-free environment.  To request accommodations, contact:  djmann@charter.net

Click here to download this flyer!

 

Dianne Mann