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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!

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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.

Summer News

Summer 2016 Worship Schedule

Sunday, June 26 - Sunday September 4

Summer Services at UUCW are a unique opportunity to worship and share in an informal environment. Beginning on June 26 through September 4, folks will gather at 10:00 am in our air conditioned lounge for a service conducted by a member or friend of the congregation. While there is no child care or Religious Exploration Program for children during the summer, these services are family friendly and people of all ages are welcome. Please see below for a list of services this summer.

July 31 - The Music in My Life with Chuck Innis

I have played around with the guitar and autoharp since I was a teen and gotten much personal pleasure from them, with a fair amount of spirituality. My sons had a friend record me professionally several years ago. I have also been playing at open mike nights and at jams at our library with favorable feedback. I would also encourage those who have had similar experience to come with their instruments - we can play together or take turns.

August 7 - Being the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are with Debbie Merrill

What are your goals to be a better you? How do you reach those goals when life gets busy or when your old self goes on autopilot? Please join us for a discussion on how we can get beyond our comfort zones and be our best selves.

August 14 - Jane Hirshfield and the Tao Te Ching with Laura Secor

Jane Hirshfield is the author of six books of poetry, most recently After (HarperCollins, 2006), which was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, and Given Sugar, Given Salt (2001), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award among many other honors. We'll explore her poetry in light of the eastern traditions that are illumined by her work.

August 21 - Grace with Jim McGrath

What is Grace? Is it a state of being, an act of kindness or forgiving? Is it just a religious phenomenon? Let's talk about it.

August 28- Lessons from the Road: Travel and Spirituality with Matthew Johnsen

Having returned from a sabbatical that took him to 20 countries this winter/spring, Matt will explore this experience with us and the lessons and insight he gained along the way.

September 4 - What's on Your Mind? With Joan Webster

On this holiday weekend, we'll gather for a conversation potpourri.

Rev. Aaron Payson

Summer Office Information

A few housekeeping notes before summer:

Summer office hours, starting July 5, will generally be on Tuesday from 9 am - 1 pm. I will not be here, however, on August 2 & August 16, as I will be doing a bit of traveling this summer (and therefore working from the road), so I suggest calling 508-853-1942 before you come if you will need something from the office, or even scheduling an appointment by email or phone. Phone messages will be checked daily, email more frequently. Regular office hours will resume on September 6.

Message News: The mid-Summer Message will go out (if we have anything to share) on July 26. The deadline for articles for it is 9 am that morning!

Have a safe and happy summer everyone!

Jennifer Landry, Office Administrator

Upcoming Events at UUCW

UUCW Summer Camping Events -

August 26/27 & 27/28

Separate FATHER/DAUGHTER AND FATHER/SON CAMPING EVENTS are scheduled for August 26/27 (daughters/girls) and August 27/28 (sons/boys). Activities include cooking on a campfire with games and story-telling. The event is open to those identifying as men, and any young people that they know well and would like to bring. All ages are welcome, but children under 13 should be accompanied by an adult. The event will be held at Trout Brook Reservation in Holden. Do not let a lack of camping experience or equipment stop you, as many involved have extra experience _and_ equipment! The cost for the site for each night ($100 total) will be split among the participating men. Please let us know if you plan to attend so that we can properly plan:

For Father/Daughter camping night: Craig Van Batenburg, 508 400 4657 or Craig@fixhybrid.com

For Father/Son camping night: Dave Schowalter, 508-688-7008, schowalter_david@hotmail.com

Dave Schowalter

Current News at UUCW

Visit Our New Improved Website!

If you haven't seen it already, please visit www.uucworcester.org to view the new and improved UUCW website. Thanks to a host of volunteer website junkies (Rachel Peckar, Cris Heffernan, Vickie Cox Lanyon, Betty Jenewin, Anna Bediako) working with our Office Administrator, Jennifer Landry and Aaron, we have launched and continue to develop our new website as a core component in our evolving strategic communications plan. Forthcoming upgrades will include a members-only section, interactive adult faith development opportunities, and weekly communications that are more integrated with web content. We welcome your feedback, which can be submitted through the "contact us" link on homepage.

Rev. Aaron Payson

Touchstone Monthly Theme

July Theme - Journey

August Theme - Kindness

July 26 - August 31

July 26: "My dad used to say that life's a journey, but somebody screwed up and lost the map." ~ Rachel Caine

July 27: "All great literature is one of two stories; a ...person goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town." ~ Leo Tolstoy

July 28: "As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you're going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won't be able to re-fold it no matter how smart you are. So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can pull over and have a picnic with a pig." ~ Jim Henson

July 29: "In every journey comes a moment... one like no other. And in that moment, you must decide between who you are... and who you want to be." ~ J.C. Marino

July 30: "I guess that's the thing about a hero's journey. You might not start out a hero, and you might not even come back that way. But you change, which is the same as everything changing. The journey changes you, whether or not you know it, and whether or not you want it to." ~ Kami Garcia

July 31: "The journey is part of the experience-an expression of the seriousness of one's intent. One doesn't take the A train to Mecca." ~ Anthony Bourdain

August 1: "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." ~ Mother Teresa

August 2: "Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." ~ Mark Twain

August 3: "Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future." ~ David Mitchell

August 4: "Life is just a short walk from the cradle to the grave, and it sure behooves us to be kind to one another along the way." ~ Alice Childress

August 5: "Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed." ~ R.J. Palacio

August 6: "Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Its round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'" ~ Kurt Vonnegut

August 7: "But remember, boy, that a kind act can sometimes be as powerful as a sword." ~ Rick Riordan

August 8: "All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries." ~ Kathryn Stockett

August 9: "People shouldn't have to earn kindness. They should have to earn cruelty." ~ Maggie Stiefvater

August 10: "Consider it: every person you have ever met, every person will suffer the loss of his friends and family. All are going to lose everything they love in this world. Why would one want to be anything but kind to them in the meantime?" ~ Sam Harris

August 11: "The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love." ~ William Wordsworth

August 12: "Kindness connects to who you are, while niceness connects to how you want to be seen." ~ David Levithan

August 13: "Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." ~ Lao Tzu

August 14: "You can either practice being right or practice being kind." ~ Anne Lamott

August 15: "The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

August 16: "I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness." ~ Mother Teresa

August 17: "You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness." ~ Victor Hugo

August 18: "The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are." ~ Amy Poehler

August 19: "What I want is so simple I almost can't say it: elementary kindness." ~ Barbara Kingsolver

August 20: "The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention." ~ Kahlil Gibran

August 21: "Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness." ~ George Sand

August 22: "...if anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, your purposes are accomplished and nothing will be the same again." ~ William Paul Young

August 23: "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." ~ Dalai Lama XIV

August 24: "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." ~ Blanche DuBois/Tennessee Williams

August 25: "Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses." ~ Confucius

August 26: "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~ Leo Buscaglia

August 27: "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution." ~ Kahlil Gibran

August 28: "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." ~ Mother Teresa

August 29: "Love is doing a kindness for someone else, not expecting to receive anything in return." ~ Sylvain Reynard

August 30: "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

August 31: "Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there." ~ Suzanne Collins

Rev. Aaron Payson

Ongoing Meetings

Readers Unite Afternoon Book Club - September Selection - September 14, 1:30 pm, Lounge

Readers Unite Afternoon Book Club - September Selection Please join us after Lunch With The Minister on on the second Wednesday in September. Our next book selection is The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan with discussion on Sept 14.

Invitation to Join Touchstones Small Group Ministry Groups

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.

Rev. Aaron Payson

Reminder about 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!

Denise Darrigrand

Please Click Here to view the UUCW Google Calendar

Contact Information

Phone:

508-853-1942

Email:

office@uucworcester.org

Fax:

508-853-2065

Website:

www.uucworcester.org

Emergency Phone:

508-853-1942

ext. 108

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