The UUCW Message
December 20, 2016
In This Issue
Holiday News
 


Current News at UUCW



Office Notes and Flyers
 
 


Office Hours
(Sept 6, 2016 - 
June 29, 2017):
Mon, Tues, Wed: 
9 am - 3 pm
Thursday 9 am - 2 pm

REMINDER 
The Church Office is closed from December 23 - January 1. We will reopen on January 2. 
 
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.

Holiday News
HolidayGive
As the Holiday Season approaches, we are mindful that we have a history of offering a variety of ways to give and to gift here at UUCW. In an effort to invite participation in these efforts, without overwhelming each other, we are offering this list to you in hopes that you will participate in any of the ways that feel best to you and assist you in celebrating the holidays in ways that are most meaningful.  This list will grow over the next two weeks so watch for your favorite ways to give and gift!

Special Collection at Holiday Services 
During the special holiday services December 18 through January 1, members and friends of the congregation are invited to participate in our special offering project in support of the Minister's Discretionary, Emergency Fund.  This fund serves families both within our congregation and the community at large by providing needed resources such as heating oil, gas, clothing, medicine, partial rent, school supplies, etc. for those in need.  During 2016 over $1800.00 was distributed from this fund. Please consider your contribution to this important ministry.  Envelopes will be handed out with Orders of Service and extras will be available in the foyer.  Thank you in advance for your generosity and compassion.
 

Purchase Tickets Now! CLICK HERE.
Tickets will also be available for purchase on Sunday during Coffee Hour.

Reminders about Fundraising! Fundraising 

Book & Clothing Donation Bins
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!

Amazon Smile Holiday Shopping Reminder
Just a reminder as you begin your holiday shopping - if you shop on Amazon there is an opportunity to earn money for the church.  Just go to Amazon Smile and select the church as a place where Amazon will provide a contribution based on what you buy.  We get a percentage of your total purchase.  Even if you are using Amazon Prime it will still kick in but you have to go to Amazon Smile at the outset.  Thanks - every little bit helps!  
 
Photos of the Week WeeklyPhoto
People participate in the Candlelighting Ceremony during the Vespers Service on Sunday, December 18, 2016.


Children in their Christmas pageant costumes sit during the Vespers Service on Sunday, December 18, 2016.
 
Religious Exploration and Education at UUCW
RE News for December 20, 2016 RENews 

 
One Church, One Book All Church Read 2016/2017OneBook

This year the REC and I are excited to announce that our One Church- One Book , all church read will be the graphic novel "El Deafo" by Cece Bell. 
 
Graphic novel , you say??  Why yes, graphic novel!  Reading a graphic novel is an exciting way for folks of all ages to experience a story.  Please don't dismiss this as too juvenile for you, because we think you will really enjoy the ageless concepts in this beautiful story.
 
The themes in this book speak to children and adults alike .  Experience  Cece's life : a young girl who loses her hearing and grapples with experiences that we have all felt or may feel at one point or another during our own lifetime.  This is an honest book, with straight and informative talk about accessibility issues, friendship, acceptance , advocating for yourself , and how being authentic and practicing humor  can help with all of these life experiences.
 
For the next five weeks , we will free raffle a copy of 'El Deafo" during coffee hour.  On January  29th we will hold a multigenerational discussion with Betty Jenewin during a special "One Church -One Book" Coffee Hour in the lounge.  Our popular  multigenerational service will be held on Feb 5th- highlighting thoughts and readings and themes from this lovely book.  I hope you all reserve your copy at the library and/or try to win a copy  at the church up until Dec 18th.
 
Here's to happy reading  and realizing your own SUPERPOWERS!

Robin Mitzcavitch, Betty Jenewin and the REC
 
Current News at UUCW
Touchstone Monthly Theme
December Theme - Healing
January Theme - Courage
December 20 - January 2TchstnQuotes


  
December 20: "It's not forgetting that heals. It's remembering." ~ Amy Greene
 
December 21: "The soul is healed by being with children." ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
 
December 22: "Just like there's always time for pain, there's always time for healing." ~ Jennifer Brown
 
December 23: "We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy." ~ Pema Chödrön
 
December 24: "Hearts are breakable. ...And I think even when you heal, you're never what you were before." ~ Cassandra Clare
 
December 25: "It takes skill to be real. Time to heal each other." ~ Tupac Shakur
 
December 26: "The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it...." ~ Nicholas Sparks
 
December 27: "The truth is, in order to heal we need to tell our stories and have them witnessed.... The story itself becomes a vessel that holds us up, that sustains, that allows us to order our jumbled experiences into meaning. ...As I told my stories of fear, awakening, struggle, and transformation and had them received, heard, and validated..., I found healing." ~
Sue Monk Kidd
 
December 28: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~ John Muir
 
December 29: "I have found deep meaning in the Hebrew phrase Tikkun ha' olam, [which means] 'repair of the world,' for surely the world, wonderful as it is, is broken." ~ Richard Gilbert
 
December 30: "It is strange how often a heart must be broken before the years can make it wise." ~ Sara Teasdale
 
December 31:
"They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite." ~ Cassandra Clare

January 1: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." ~ Ambrose Redmoon
 
January 2: "People are made of flesh and blood and a miracle fiber called courage." ~ Mignon McLaughlin
 
  
Sunday News -
Please Click Here to visit our Sermon Archive! 
Weekly Worship WeeklyWrsp
Saturday, December 24, 2016 - 7 pm
 


Sunday, December 25, 2015 - 10 am Service at First Baptist Church, 111 Park Avenue, Worcester.


Sunday, January 1, 2017 - 10 am

To Serve and Expect
Guest Minister Rev. Jennifer Innis
 
The Reverend Jennifer Innis joins us from Plano, TX where she enjoys life with her spouse, the Reverend Patrick Price and their young children, Nate and Abby. Her current ministry is with First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Worth. She also is the Assistant Director for Spirit Play, a story-based program for young children in Unitarian Universalism. Rev. Innis is very happy to return to the UU Church of Worcester and offer the service at the church of her youth.
HosT Coffee Hour News HosT
 
The HosT coffee hour team thank all the many church teams, groups, and committees who have signed up to HosT coffee hour this year!   
 
At coffee hour we extend the hospitality we proclaim! Many people judge a congregation by its coffee hour hospitality - especially newcomers .  Please make it a point to speak to someone you don't know!
 
Date
Group on deck for hosting
Hospitality Team Contact
December 25 No Fellowship Hour  
January 1 Members & Friends of UUCW  
January 8 HosT and Soup w/ Kristen Payson Ruth Silver 

 
Ongoing Meetings Ongoing

Join us Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at Noon for our first Lunch with the Minister of the new year!  Bring a bag lunch and something to share if you desire. We'll have coffee and a place set for you in the lounge. All are welcome to enjoy conversation with Aaron and friends.  We often bring up a topic of interest.  The ...continue reading



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.
 

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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