The UUCW Message
November 3, 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

It's Thanksgiving time and we are asking for you to help donate so our clients' can share in the feast as well.  We have two ways for you to help this year:
 
  • The children in Religious Education will be collecting food and making special Thanksgiving bags for our clients.  We are asking for the following items:  instant mashed potatoes, gravy (or gravy mixes), canned veggies and supplies for making dessert.  These items could be flour, sugar, Crisco, cooking oil, quick bread mix and pie fillings.
  • We also give our clients $10.00 gift cards to a local grocery store to help in purchasing a turkey.  I will be in Fellowship Hall on Nov. 8th with our "Tom Turkey" requesting gift cards from PriceRite, Price Chopper and/or Shaw's.
 
Please be as generous as possible.  If you have any questions, contact:  Dianne Mann, djmann@charter.net or (508) 963-0183.  Thank you.
 
News From The Interfaith Hospitality NetworkIHNNews 
 
The Interfaith Hospitality Network house at 91 June Street is preparing for a couple of open houses in November and December. Part of the "Building a Stronger Foundation Together" capital campaign is to provide funds for major renovations in the house, however help is needed with some house repairs. If you or someone you know can help, the following are areas that need immediate repair:
  • First floor kitchen ceiling tiles replaced
  • First floor bedroom wall/ceiling cracks need repair and blinds replaced
  • Second floor bathroom needs towel rack tile fixed
  • Second floor bedroom needs blinds and knobs on doors and closets
  • Third floor wall needs support to attach child gate
  • Third floor room needs holes in walls repaired and carpet replaced.
  • Back stairway electrical fixture needs repair
Please contact me at sueneaz@townisp.com or call/text 508-769-6150 or Joanne at jalley@ihnworcester.org  or 508-755-2212 to help.
 

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 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
Hey everyone!   Game night and potluck is coming up this Friday!  We have a good number of folks signed up - including children.  It's not to late for you to join in!!  Many are opting for pizza.   We hope for the first fun, free evening to be a success.  This is for everyone!

So we know how many games, seats, pizzas, and if childcare is needed...please click on the link below and fill out the google form.   
 
 
You can buy a slice or two of pizza and a drink or bring a potluck item to share.  What we really want is for this to be a relaxed evening for you and a way for you to connect with others and get your game on!!

If you have any question...contact Robin Mitzcavitch 

A Community Conversation On Mental Health - November 15, 1 - 3 pm, Fellowship HallAccessCommConv 

The Accessibility and Inclusion Working Group is convening a "Community Conversation about Mental Health" on Sunday, Nov. 15th, in the Sanctuary from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.  We are pleased to host representatives from Alternatives, Inc. which is a local mental health organization serving our area.  People living with mental health conditions will be there to present and we promise a lively conversation about reducing the stigma around mental health issues, and asking for and getting help as well as resources in our Community.  All are invited to attend.  Please contact:  Dianne Mann, djmann@charter.net  or (508) 963-0183 with any questions.

Please click HERE to print or download a a flyer for this event. 
 

Dear Friends,

 
To make this a successful fund raiser for UUCW- we need your help in these fun ways:
  • Sign on to bake cookies for our cookie tin table!! We are looking for lots of delicious cookies for our customers to fill a cookie tin with! Click here to participate.
  • Help us fill baskets for the basket raffle!   RE Classes will be assigned a basket.  What can you think of to contribute?  Maybe make up your own or join a committee to make one. Click here to participate.
  • Help us set up, work at or breakdown the fair.
  •  PLEASE CLICK HERE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT  with anything listed above.  We really appreciate your involvement!!
 
Robin Mitzcavitch and the Craft Fair Team
Touchstone Monthly Theme - 
Spirituality
November 3 - 9 TchstnQuotes
 

Nov 3: "Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ....Get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. To be spiritual is to be amazed." ~  Abraham Joshua Heschel

Nov 4: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Nov 5: "I have lived with several Zen masters-all of them cats." ~  Eckhart Tolle

Nov 6: "The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it." ~  Henri J.M. Nouwen 

Nov 7: "Being spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness." ~  Eckhart Tolle

Nov 8: "The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."  ~ Richard J. Foster 

Nov 9: "And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch ... by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home." ~  Wendell Berry

Religious Education News
RE News For November 8, 2015RENews 

Dear Families

We had a wonderful meet- and- greet turn out for new families this past Sunday!  Thanks to one and all for taking the time to welcome our new peeps!

 
This week - We are asking all church folks to bring in a Thanksgiving non perishable  item for our Loaves and Fishes Thanksgiving Distribution . During our food distribution we give a Thanksgiving "Fixin'" bag that our children will put together this coming Sunday Nov 8th.  
 
Here is a list of things that we need:
  •  Instant mashed potatoes
  • Gravy mix or gravy
  • Canned veggies
  • Dessert baking goods:  flour, sugar, Crisco, cooking oil, pie filling, quick bread mixes, etc.
We will have a excellent discussion with the children about how our Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry works, and children will get a hands on experience on collecting food up and down the aisles (please bring your donated food to the pew with you!!), bringing it to fellowship hall to sort, tally and bag, and hear a story about a food pantry.

BASKET RAFFLE 
We are asking each RE class to help us fill a basket for our Nov 28 Craft Fair Basket Raffle.  This week, please see the containers to put your basket donations in fellowship hall.
  • Nursery-  Baby Toy Basket
  • Spirit Play (pre-k and k)- Dress-up Basket
  • Wonderful Welcome (grades 1 and 2)- Cat Lover's Basket
  • Connections (grades 3-5)- Dog Lover's Basket
  • Popcorn Theology (grades 6 and 7) Family Movie Night Basket
  • Youth Group- Chocolate Lover's Basket
  • Other baskets:  Fair Trade, Game, "Zen", Wine Lover's, Spa Day, and Kitchen Gadget.
 
Questions?  Talk to Vickie Cox-Lanyon vcoxlanyon@gmail.com  or please sign up HERE first.

Finally, there will be a GAME NIGHT on Friday Nov 6, 6:30-8:30pm including a potluck or pizza... if you're interested in signing up your family for this free event (especially if you would like childcare) , please click HERE.
 
Sunday November 8 - This month's Church-Wide Theme is Spirituality
  • 10 am - 
    All children will begin in the sanctuary and will be dismissed following the Thanksgiving Food Collection.  Children will return to fellowship hall before the benediction with news of how much food they collected for the Thanksgiving "Fixin'" bags.
  • 3 - 6 pm Teen OWL - Guest Panel
  • 6 - 8 pm Youth Group
  
Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Education
New Family Meet-Up: Nov 1 at 11:15 am - Meeting Room 3NewFamMeetUp 

Are you a new family here at UUCW?  Would you like an opportunity to sit with Robin, the Religious Education Committee, and other families for coffee hour? 
 
Come to classroom 3 (the classroom closest to Fellowship Hall)  after you gather your children and goodies from coffee hour.  We will have tables and chairs and a quieter space for conversation and for your kids to play as well.
 
Questions??  Contact Robin 

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!   
 
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:
November 8
Afternoon & Evening Book Groups and Hooks and Needles Group
November 15
Wonderful Welcome Class
November 22Nursery & Spirit Play Classes
November 29Members & Friends of UUCW
December 6Soup Sunday with Hospitality Team

Ongoing Event News 
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. 

OR. . .Nancy Hancock will provide roast turkey breast and pumpkin pie for $3.00 a person.  Please RSVP Nancy (win@wshancock.com) if you want turkey and pie!

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.
 
Update: We are swapping our November & December reads to give everyone a better chance to read each book. New schedule:
Nov 4: First Impressions by Charlie Lovett  (Nancy) 
Dec 2: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Audrey)
Jan 6: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (Kim)
 
Read a book and join our discussion group!


Evening Book Club - November 11, 7 - 9 pm, Lounge  EveBookGrp

November's selection is The Lady in Gold, by Anne Marie O'Connor. Contributor to the Washington Post Anne-Marie O'Connor brilliantly regales us with the galvanizing story of Gustav Klimt's 1907 masterpiece-the breathtaking portrait of a Viennese Jewish socialite, Adele Bloch-Bauer. The celebrated painting, stolen by Nazis during World War II, subsequently became the subject of a decade-long dispute between her heirs and the Austrian government.

When the U.S. Supreme Court became involved in the case, its decision had profound ramifications in the art world. Expertly researched, masterfully told, The Lady in Gold is at once a stunning depiction of fin-de siècle Vienna, a riveting tale of Nazi war crimes, and a fascinating glimpse into the high-stakes workings of the contemporary art world.
One of the Best Books of the Year: The Huffington Post, The Christian Science Monitor.  

Winner of the Marfield National Award for Arts Writing. Winner of a California Book Award. 

Join us this November 11th at 7:00 in the lounge for UUCW's Evening Book Club.

Evening Book Club Reading List:
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)


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.


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:

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

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.
 
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!

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.
 
Community News and Classifieds CommNews 

Greater Worcester Humanists - November 10, 7 pm, Fellowship Hall-  Linda Miller, Co-Chair, GWH
The next meeting of Greater Worcester Humanists will be on Tuesday, November 10th at 7:00 P.M. in Fellowship Hall of the church.  Doors open for socializing at 6:30. All are welcome. See program description below.

The Second Wave:  A New Strategy in the Battle to Change Perceptions and Beliefs About Atheism 
The "New Atheists" attacked the injustices of organized religion and helped to unify atheists as a marginalized class.  Despite some significant victories, their vision of the world in which atheism has conquered religion may not be as attainable as they believe, but a new approach could lead to significant short-term progress.  Instead of fighting the old battle of atheism versus religion, the second wave will fight a battle against religious intolerance of atheism.  In this talk, author Geoffrey Lee Hodge will examine the philosophy and psychology of belief, the progress of social movements, and some new ideas to enlist support for the atheist cause.

Geoffrey Lee Hodge is a career scientist in the field of biotechnology, in which he has served in a number of executive level roles, cofounded a technology company and is inventor on multiple patents.  He is a humanist celebrant and author of the philosophical novel "Between the Shadow and the Flame" as well as print and on line articles on the topics of science, philosophy, and religion.

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Contact Information

Phone:

508-853-1942

Email:

office@uucworcester.org

 

 

Website:

www.uucworcester.org

 

Emergency Phone:

800-859-6404

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