The UUCW Message
October 13, 2015
In This Issue

Current News at UUCW 

Office Notes and Flyers



Office Hours
(Sept 1, 2015 - 
June 30, 2016):
Mon, Tues, Wed: 
9 am - 3 pm
Thursday 9 am - 2 pm
(Closed 2nd Wednesday
Oct - May)

Gmail Users - Please note that if you stop receiving the Message, Nugget, and Weekend Reminder, check your Promotions tab in Gmail. Often, you will find that church emails are in there! Please click  HERE for more information. Please share this information with your fellow congregants if they mention they aren't getting the Message!

PLEASE NOTE: Our trash and recycling is generally picked up once a month. Please be sure to break down all cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycling dumpster so it doesn't fill up too fast!

 

Congregational Mission Statement

"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
Joys & Sorrows for October 13, 2015JoysSorrows 

We were very saddened to learn of the death of Herbert "Herb" Adams, former stalwart member of this congregation for many years.  The absence of Herb's tireless efforts in support of Boy Scouts, Veteran's Affairs, and the continued beautification of our community, as well as his steadfast concern for the building and grounds of UUCW for many years, leaves a tremendous hole in our community.  Herb's wife Beverly is presently in hospice at the Rose Monahan Hospice House.  Plans for honoring Herb's life are still in the making.  Visit HERE to view Herb's Obituary in the Telegram & Gazette.
 

The New Jim Crow:
Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
 by Michelle Alexander
 
Book Discussion Series
"More African Americans are under the control of the criminal justice system today - in prison or jail, on probation or parole - than were enslaved in 1850. Discrimination in housing, education, employment, and voting rights, which many Americans thought was wiped out by the civil rights laws of the 1960s, is now perfectly legal against anyone labeled a "felon." And since many more people of color than whites are made felons by the entire system of mass incarceration, racial discrimination remains as powerful as it was under slavery or under the post-slavery era of Jim Crow segregation." 
 
Alexander explains how the criminal justice system functions as a new system of racial control by targeting black men through the "War on Drugs" and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. The author argues that nothing short of a major social movement can end the new caste system. And her call is being answered through the rise of a grassroots organization called "Jobs Not Jails."
 
Join us in reading The New Jim Crow*
  • Learn how the new racial caste system developed in the United States
  • Develop strategies to expose the injustice of mass incarceration
  • Advocate for legislative reform to end racial discrimination
*SPECAL GUESTS will include social activist, Benito Vega
 
7:00 - 9:00 PM
 
SESSION I   - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13   - Read Introduction and Chapter 1
SESSION II  - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20   - Chapters 2 and 3
SESSION III - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27   - Chapters 4 and 5
SESSION IV - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3  - Chapter 6
  
Sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester
90 Holden Street  Worcester, MA
508-853-1942

Please CLICK HERE to download a flyer.

 
Beau Rivers, Ministerial Intern

What can we do about racism today? It is clear to us that the struggle for racial equality and justice in our country continues. Especially if we identify as White people, we need more opportunities to understand racism and explore what steps we can take to become anti-racist allies.
 
This book and movie discussion will invite us to explore race and racism in America through novels, essays, feature films and documentaries. We will explore historical moments and our present realities. We will follow themes from work to work: What is beautiful? How are dark-skinned bodies treated in America? How can racial equality be pursued and achieved? What has changed since the Civil Rights Movement, and what work remains to be done? As people of faith, what can we do?
 
These discussions are for all members and friends of First Unitarian Church, of all racial identities. Feel free to bring your friends-no formal connection to the church is needed. They are open to adults and youth, although youth will need permission to watch R-rated movies. You can attend one or all of the discussions. Of course, the more sessions you attend, the fuller your experience will be.
 
We'll meet in the Landers Room. All discussions take place at 7 p.m. on Monday nights throughout the church year. Feature films will be screened the night before their discussion, on a Sunday night at 7 p.m. Feel free to attend the movie screening (popcorn and some themes to think about overnight will be provided) or to watch the movie on your own.
 
At the end of the year, we'll conclude with a worship service and an opportunity to think about next steps. I look forward to gathering with you for these important conversations.

All Gatherings begin at 7 PM in the Landers Room:

September 28     Book Discussion     The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

October 25          Movie Screening     Do the Right Thing (rated R) 
October 26          Movie Discussion   Do the Right Thing 

November 9        Book Discussion      Between the World and Me 
                                                                                 by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

December 6         Movie Screening     Slumdog Millionaire (rated R) 
 December 7         Movie Discussion    Slumdog Millionaire 

 December 14        Book Discussion     Faces in the Bottom of the Well 
                                                                                by Derek Bell 

 January 10            Movie Screening     West Side Story (Unrated) 
 January 11             Movie Discussion   West Side Story 

 January 25            Book Discussion     The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan 

 February 7           Movie Screening     Caesar Chavez (rated PG-13) 
 February 8           Movie Discussion    Caesar Chavez 

 February 22          Book Discussion          TBA 

 March 13              Movie Screening           TBA 
 March 14              Movie Discussion          TBA 

 April 11                 Documentary Screening and Discussion   TBA 
 April 25                Documentary Screening and Discussion   TBA 
 May 9                   Documentary Screening and Discussion   TBA 

 May 23                 Closing Worship Service


Rev. Sarah C. Stewart, Minister, First Unitarian
Save The Date! Crop Walk 2015!CropWalk 

Save the date for this year's CROP Walk!  Sunday, October 18, 2015
 
Join the UU Church of Worcester team and  put on our walking shoes with other congregations in the fight against hunger in our communities and the world.  Our own Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry along with the Wachusett Food Pantry will be the benefactors of 25% of the funds raised from the Walk.  Last year, Loaves & Fishes received $1,900!  The best year yet!
 
Sign up in Fellowship Hall this Sunday.  We need walkers, bakers, and a kitchen attendant.  You can also CLICK HERE to make a donation on the UU Church of Worcester team page. 
 
Please contact sueneaz@townisp.com for more information.
 
Touchstone Monthly Theme - 
Reason
October 13 - 20 TchstnQuotes

Oct 13: "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein

Oct 14: "I had to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith." ~ Immanuel Kant 

Oct 15: "In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." ~ Galileo Galilei

Oct 16: "You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into." ~  Ben Goldacre

Oct 17: "I hope you weren't looking to me to be the voice of reason. I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." ~  Leigh Bardugo

Oct 18: "It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them - and then they leap."  ~ Yann Martel

Oct 19: "One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests." ~ Thomas Paine

 

One of the exciting parts of the new Touchstones Ministry Themes program is the launching of Touchstones Small Group Ministry Groups.  These groups will meet regularly throughout the year to discuss the monthly themes published in the Touchstones Journal.  If you are interested in being part of a Touchstones Group, and/or becoming a leader/co-leader of one of our groups, please take a moment to fill out our short survey HERE.  We'll collect responses for the next month and hope to launch these groups in October 2015.
 
Introducing SimpleGive!SimpleGive 

UUCW's New Online / Digital Giving Platform
 
For those of you who do your bill paying and giving online, now you can add UUCW to your list of online donations!
 
SimpleGive is an online giving platform that gives donors a variety of options to financially support the church.  Give one time or schedule giving throughout the year.  Become a registered user or give a quick donation without registering.
 
Now you can give right from your smartphone (iPhone click HERE, Android click HERE) or computer.
 
To reach the UUCW SimpleGive page click HERE.
 
Reminder about Fundraising! Fundraising 

Please keep in mind that one of our fundraising programs is the two bins across the street in our parking lot for books and clothing.  We actually make very good money from this endeavor!  So, as you're doing your fall cleaning or whatever, please take a minute to fill the bins as well as you can!

Religious Education News
RE News For October 18, 2015RENews 

Dear Families

Thanks for your involvement in our One Room event this past Sunday with Vickie Cox Lanyon and Jenny DelGizzi.  " Be Kind and Fair".   This week, classes resume.  I hope you can join in after church for the CROP Walk .  See Sue Neaz in Fellowship Hall for details.
 
Congrats to our team of fantastic youth group members and adult chaperones for a wonderful 4-day mission trip experience at Deep Roots in Earleville Maryland.  Again, you've made us proud to be with you as you work hard with your hands and heart to care for the the homeless  families at the Clairvaux Farm Shelter.





  
Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Education
Sunday News
   

Sign Up To Be Part of a Sunday Morning Worship TeamSMWT
     
Worship at UUCW is the product of many voices, hands and hearts.  Each Sunday we look forward to hearing from each other about the important happenings in our lives and the world, and our worship experience is made rich and meaningful because of the variety of voices included in it.
 
We are looking for people to become part of one of our Sunday Morning Worship Teams as a Worship Associate (WA), Worship Reader (WR) or Chalice Lighter (CL) .  WAs work with the Worship Leader to help setting up the sanctuary prior to the service. WR work with the worship leader to  read the welcome, presenting the opening words, and sometimes introduce the offertory or assist with a ritual.  CL's work with the worship leader to provide the chalice lighting for the service. You do not have to have any previous training, we'll work with anyone willing to lend their presence to this program.
 
Congregation Leaders!  Do you have a special church program, project or group that you are promoting?  Becoming part of a Worship Team on the Sunday(s) before your activity gives you a moment to introduce the congregation to your activity.  
 
New to the congregation?  This is a wonderful way to become known and to have an opportunity to introduce yourself.
 
Willing to give it a try?!  Then please visit HERE to sign up on any upcoming Sunday morning.
 
Want more information or have questions? Please do not hesitate to contact our Minister. 

HosT Coffee Hour NewsHOST
     
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:

October 18Youth Group including
 Youth Group Bake Sale
October 25Religious Education Committee
November 1Hospitality Team
November 8Afternoon Book Group & Hooks and Needles Group
November 15Wonderful Welcome Class


Ongoing Event News 
Evening Book Club - October 14, 7 - 9 pm, Lounge  EveBookGrp

Join us this October 14th at 7:00 in the lounge for UUCW's Evening Book Club. This month's selection is Gardenias by Faith Sullivan:  

A month after the United States enters World War II, the country is in upheaval - and so is the Erhardt family. Nine-year-old Lark, her mother Arlene, and Aunt Betty are heading for San Diego, far away from Harvester, Minnesota and Arlene's shiftless husband. In the booming wartime economy, Arlene and Betty are soon at work, leaving Lark alone to explore their new neighborhood, a wartime housing project full of others with similarly uprooted lives. Away from prying eyes and small town expectations, the two women begin to forge new lives and new dreams - dreams that Lark isn't always comfortable with. This richly detailed novel, told through Lark's observant eyes, reflects the era's tumultuous events in the everyday dramas of its memorable, finely nuanced characters.  4 1/2 stars on Amazon

Evening Book Club Reading List:
Gardenias, by Faith Sullivan (Debbie Merrill)
The Lady in Gold, by Anne Marie O'Connor (Judith)
Broken For You, by Stephanie Kallos (Cristina Heffernan)
The Innovators, by Walter Isaacson (Cristina Heffernan)
Girl in Transition, by Jean Kwok (Nancy Hancock)
Trapped Under the Sea, by Neil Swidey (Dianne Mann)
In the Heart of the Canyon, by Elisabeth Hyde (Nancy Hancock)
The Secret Daughter by Shilpi Gowda (Nancy Hancock)


Lunch With The Minister - 
Wednesday, November 4 at noon!  LunchwMinister

Join us Wednesday, November 4 at Noon for Lunch with the Minister.  Bring a bag lunch and something to share if you desire. We'll have coffee and a place set for you in the lounge.  Come join the conversation and camaraderie!  No reservation necessary.


Readers Unite Afternoon Book Club - November 4!  AftBookClub

Our selections and meeting dates for the Readers Unite Book Group
on the first Wednesday of the month at 1pm, following Lunch with the Minister.
 
Nov 4: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Audrey)
Dec 2: First Impressions by Charlie Lovett  (Nancy)
Jan 6: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (Kim)
 
Read a book and join our discussion group!


Men's Group Meeting,
November 13, 7 - 9 pm, in the Lounge MensGroup 

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. Our next gathering will be in Fellowship Hall on Friday, 11/13/15 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.

All-Church Photo - April 10, 2016 ChurchPhoto 

The photo representing the 2015-16 church community is scheduled for Sunday, April 10, 2016, immediately after service.   This is the photo that we've often taken in the fall; this church year we will be taking it in the spring.  We invite everyone to be present for this important photo.

Community News and Classifieds CommNews

Greater Worcester Humanists - Linda Miller, Co-Chair, Greater Worcester Humanists
The next Greater Worcester Humanists meeting will be Tuesday, October 13th at 7:00 P.M. in Fellowship Hall.  Social Time at 6:30.  Matthew Stewart, author of Nature's God will be our speaker.  See below for description of his subject and his background.

"Slavery and the Church: Or, How Atheism Freed the Slaves
Why has the enslavement of the mind throughout history been so closely associated with the enslavement of the body? According to a story that many Americans like to tell themselves, supernatural religion inspired and drove the movement toward the emancipation of the slaves. Yet many of the keenest observers of the time insisted that religion was one of the central pillars of the "peculiar institution." Leading thinkers and activists such as Frederick Douglass, the former enslaved person and ardent abolitionist, his friend Theodore Parker, the ex-Unitarian who helped fund the raid on Harper's Ferry, and Abraham Lincoln, a great admirer of Parker, were in fact part of an international movement that rejected revealed religion and drew much more heavily than is widely understood on the humanistic and atheistic thought of the radical Enlightenment. Meanwhile, southern clerics-the ancestors of today's religious right-along with many northern clerics adamantly justified the enslavement of African Americans with appeals to the Bible and sought to link the anti-slavery movement with religious infidelity, atheism, freethinking, and modern philosophy. In this talk, Matthew Stewart will discuss the complex role of religion and radical philosophy in the struggle over slavery. He will then draw lessons from this defining moment in American history for the relevance and importance of the humanist movement today.

Matthew Stewart is an independent scholar and writer living in the Boston area. His most recent book, Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic, was longlisted for the 2014 National Book Award. He is also the author of The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World (a New York Times Notable Book), The Management Myth: Debunking the Philosophy of Business, and The Truth About Everything: An Irreverent History of Philosophy, with Illustrations. He is currently at work on book on the role of philosophy and religion in the struggle over slavery in the United States, and he needs all the help he can get."
Contact Information

Phone:

508-853-1942

Email:

office@uucworcester.org

 

 

Website:

www.uucworcester.org

 

Emergency Phone:

800-859-6404

UUCW Facebook

UUCW Twitter