The UUCW Nugget

November 4, 2015

Office Hours

(Sept 1, 2015 -

June 30, 2016):

Mon, Tues, Wed:

9 am - 3 pm

Thur. 9 am - 2 pm

(Closed 2nd Wed.

Oct - May)

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.

Adventures of the Spirit

Beau Rivers, Ministerial Intern

As the wheel of the year turns, leaves fall, temperatures cool, and daylight shortens. It seems as if nature invites us to enter a natural time of reflection when the light turns within. How appropriate for us to consider the Touchstones topic of Spirituality as we begin the month of November!

But what is spirituality? Denis Waitley identifies spiritual experience as "living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." A spiritual practice might then be defined as anything we do with great love and attention. In so doing, we learn what is essential is not the activity itself, rather what we bring to it. The sustenance of this state of being in our daily lives is the goal of every spiritual discipline. As Henri Nouwen puts it, "The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it."

James Fowler provides us with an opportunity to explore and develop our spirituality through a set of 8 questions. Each designed to help us examine the structures of values, the patterns of love and action, the shapes of fear and dread, and the directions of hope and friendship in our lives. How we answer each question raises our level of spiritual awareness and has the potential to generate new direction toward more wholeness, peace, contentment, and true happiness.

For what do you spend and are you spent?
To what do you give your best time and best energy?
For what causes, dreams, goals, or institutions do you pour out your life?
What power or powers in your life do you fear or dread?
What power or powers in your life do you trust or rely upon?
To what or whom are you committed in life? In death?
With whom (individual or group) do you share your most sacred and private hopes for your life and for the lives of those you love?
What are the most sacred hopes, compelling goals, and purposes for your life?"

During this time of year that invites us to reflect on what is of greatest importance in our lives and as we enter this holiday season, I wish you peace, wholeness, contentment, and true happiness!

Many Blessings,

Beau

All That Light and We Can Not See

Rev. Aaron Payson

October 31, 2015

Setting up for Halloween,

my daughter's last year at home,

there was an intensity, an urging,

that we make it right;

that this had to happen

or we'd somehow miss something spectacular.

Was it about it being a last time?

Was it because no one else on the street

had bothered to decorate,

(though our neighbor pulled it off at the last minute)?

I wasn't certain about the energy

behind her need to go all out.

I think her childhood was about to fly away

and she tethered it for an evening

to the front steps with an electrical cord

connecting the blow up jack-o-lanterns

to the fat black cat, whose moving head

surprised toddling dragons and superheros;

while, with a wave of her hand,

the cartoon witch mocked the

grey styrofoam tombstones

and the red-eyed ghoul that

grasped his own beating heart.

Then I heard the princess squeal

and the pirate yell "Dad! Look!"

and I knew what she wanted.

Surprise and delight have their own electricity.

And we are never too old to bask in that glow.

Contact Information

Phone:	508-853-1942	Email:	office@uucworcester.org
Fax:	508-853-2065	Website:	www.uucworcester.org
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