The UUCW Nugget

December 2, 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.

Tis The Season!!

Rev. Aaron Payson

Once again we enter the season of gratitude, love and hope with a variety of opportunities to celebrate and serve. I hope that you will participate in any or all of the opportunities listed below! Most of all, I hope for you and those you - joy, which in its Latin root "gaudere" (to rejoice) reflects a feeling of pleasure and delight. I am mindful here of the words of the Renaissance pioneer, architect, engineer, antiquary, archaeologist, classical scholar, and Franciscan friar, Fra Giovanni Giocondo (c.1435-1515), "The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy! Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty . . . that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage then to claim it, that is all!"

Opportunities for Celebration

On Sunday, December 6, we will honor the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with a special 10 am service "The Tapers' Treasures."
On Sunday, December 6, we will celebrate the not-so-traditional side of the Holidays at our 6 pm Soulful Sundown Vespers Service, "A Bluesy Holiday" This Coffeehouse style service welcomes readings, songs, acts from members and friends of the congregation. To sign up to participate in this event, please visit HERE.
On Sunday, December 13, we will explore Santa Lucia with a special 10 am service about "Maidens, Martyrs and Mothers: Why Sex is Still a Spiritual Matter".
On Sunday, December 20, we honor the Winter Solstice during our 10 am service with a story for the season.
On Sunday, December 20 at 4 pm we will host our Annual Holiday Vespers Service with a special pageant "The Season's Reasons" followed by our Annual Holiday Tea!
On Thursday, December 24 we will gather for our Annual Christmas Eve Service, "The Journey of Love" at 7 PM (Please note the time change).
On Sunday, December 27, we welcome Rev. Jennifer Innis back to our sanctuary for our service at year's end.
On Sunday, January 3, we welcome the New Year at 10 am with our annual Question Box service (start thinking now of the questions you want to ask the Minister or Intern!)

Opportunities for Outreach

Giving Tree - Please take an envelope off the tree if you are interested in filling it with a $10 grocery gift card. (card should be returned to gray box outside of the office by December 18th.) Also we decorate our tree with hats, mitten and socks. We will donate these items to folks who visit our Food Pantry for the Christmas distribution on Dec 19th.
Holiday Shoe Box Drive - This year, UUCW will be doing holiday shoe boxes for the refugee children of Africa who are in our midst. They are called the "Acechildren" (African Community Education Program) who have an after-school program in the Fanning building in Worcester. It is always an enjoyable event shopping for a child. Please consider committing to filling a box and then wrapping it. Choose a boy or girl, choose an age, and fill the shoe box with appropriate gifts, such a mittens, gloves, a gift card, small toys, etc. Stay tuned for more announcements to come.
50/50 Collection - On Sunday, December 13, our 50/50 Collection will contribute to the ongoing efforts and this congregation's commitment to the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Central Massachusetts.

Opportunities to Contribute to UUCW

Holiday Poinsettia Sale - This year we want to do something a little different, you can purchase a flower with the understanding you will take it home after Christmas OR you can make a donation to the Flower Fund in memory of loved ones. Either way the names will be listed in the Vespers Order of Service. Orders will be taken through Sunday Dec 6th. Only Red Poinsettias this year. The price will be $30 for a Poinsettia and the suggested donation to the Flower Fund is $20. Again all names appear in the Vespers Order of Service, with the person's loved one and who is recognizing these individuals. To order, see Susan Crossley (scrossley930@gmail.com)
Amazon Smile - Our congregation is listed among eligible charities to receive 0.5% of the purchase price on eligible items through AmazonSmile. When ordering items through amazon, go to smile.amazon.com, sign into your account and in the "supporting" area under the search bar, search for Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester. Items that are eligible through the AmazonSmile program will list ""Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" in their product description. The church receives a quarterly check from AmazonSmile which becomes part of our fundraising total for the fiscal year.
Holiday Collection for the Emergency Fund - Beginning with the Winter Solstice Service through the service on December 27, we will be including special Holiday Collection envelopes with the Order of Service. The Holiday Collection receives money which goes to the Emergency Fund of the church to help those in our community who need a variety of types of assistance (rent help, clothing, medication, etc.). This annual drive along with the children's collection each Sunday allows us to continue this important ministry throughout the year.
Vespers Tea Teams - Our Annual Holiday Vespers Tea will be held on Sunday, December 20th following the 4:00 PM Vespers Service. We need folks to sign up to be part of the Set Up Team, Serving Team and Clean Up Team. We welcome the assistance of all ages! Please take a moment to sign up HERE. Instructions and guidelines for these teams will be communicated prior to December 20th. Please help us make this year's Vespers Tea the best ever!
End of the Year Donations - Please keep the church in mind as you make decisions about end of the year donations. Your continuing contributions to this congregation are vital to maintaining the quality of our programming, the ministries that assist those in need in our community, and the ongoing efforts here to make our world a more just and peaceful place. To assist in this effort, please consider using our new digital giving program - SIMPLEGIVE. 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.

An Uncommon Generosity

Beau Rivers

I remember attending a memorial service in support of a new co-worker whose best friend had died suddenly and unexpectedly of a pulmonary embolism. My partner knew the deceased professionally and came with me. We sat on either of my co-worker who was still in shock and need of comfort.

My co-worker first met the deceased as her dance movement instructor at the Kripalu Yoga Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was a transformative experience for my co-worker who was in her 50s at the time and married to the father of her five grown children. Dance movement liberated and empowered her to challenge preconceived notions about heterosexuality, marriage, selfhood, motherhood, and the Roman Catholic Church. As she learned to express herself in new ways through dance she slowly started to make changes in her life. She came out to herself as a lesbian, left her husband of 30 years, learned to manage her finances, purchase and repair her own car, and became a home owner. This remarkable woman, who also became an instructor, performed a dance tribute to her beloved friend at the end of the memorial service.

After the service my partner and I offered to spend the rest of the day with my co-worker. After dining at a fine restaurant she invited us to her magical home by the sea. She shared stories about her friend, showed us pictures of her family, and talked about whether to come out to her family. We listened, shared our stories, and gave her Reiki.

Just as we were about to leave she invited us to stay to play a game of Scrabble. Wanting to give back to us for all we had given her this day she scrounged around in the cupboards and squealed with delight when she came upon a nearly empty can of cashews and a half bottle of seltzer. My partner and I looked at each other with concern that we had suddenly become a burden to my beareft co-worker and silently agreed not to eat or drink our fill despite the fact it was approaching mealtime and we were hungry.

My co-worker joyfully poured the remaining cashews in a small dish and placed it on the table as if it were a sacred offering and then served us each small glass of seltzer with such remarkable hospitality, we were both stunned. How could this possibly be enough to last an entire game? How could anyone serve leftover food and beverage with such pride? How were we possibly going to resist gobbling-up less than a handful of salted cashews and 6 oz of seltzer in one gulp?

I can't explain what happened next... All I can say is, those were the best cashews either of us had ever eaten before or since and we had eaten our fill. By the end of the evening we had played two games of scrabble, there were three cashews left and a swallow of seltzer remaining in each of our glasses. It was like the story of the Loaves and Fishes in Christian Gospels!

We thanked her for her hospitality and on the drive home we were keenly aware we were no longer hungry. When I asked my partner if she held back on eating the cashews or drinking the seltzer (both a favorite of ours) she said with amazement, "No... Did you?" My reply to her was the same and followed by a declaration that I wanted to live my life that way.

I don't pretend to understand the mystery of such generosity. But I do know that whatever happened that night, led to my call to ministry. We may never know how deeply a gesture of generosity may touch another's life. Whether it is dance instruction or leftover cashews and seltzer, give it with all your heart... you may change someone's world forever!

Many Blessings On You and Your Loved Ones this Holiday Season!

One Church, One Book - Annual All-Church Read

Loree Griffin Burns

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN was inspired by the life of an actual silverback gorilla. The real Ivan was captured in Africa when he was a baby, transported to America, and kept in a small concrete room with a single glass wall looking out into a suburban shopping mall. He lived there for twenty-seven years. During that time, Ivan was alone, except for the humans who stopped by to look at him while they shopped. In Katherine Applegate's fictionalized account of his life, Ivan's backstory is the same. But by giving Ivan some friends (a wise old elephant, a homeless dog, and a caring girl) and a compelling reason to question his imprisonment (a baby elephant added to the mall menagerie), the author lets Ivan question his fate, and eventually change it.

One of the reasons the RE committee and I chose this novel for our Once Church read is that Katherine Applegate has also written a true account of Ivan's story. The picture book IVAN, THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, is an excellent companion to the novel and will allow our youngest readers to participate in our churchwide celebration of reading together.

Five copies of each book will be given away at coffee hour in the coming weeks, so be sure to get your name in the box each week. The raffle is free for anyone who wants to enter.

**A note of caution to parents: some aspects of Ivan's life are difficult to read about. Most especially, perhaps, is the story of how he was captured in the jungle. Ivan tells this story in the novel, and it might be hard for some readers to hear. If you're at all concerned, you can check out this short chapter on page 170 before sharing the book with your family. For more information on the books, their reading levels, their backstories, and the author & illustrator, check out this website: http://theoneandonlyivan.com/

Happy reading!

Contact Information

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