The UUCW Nugget
May 31, 2017

Office Hours
(Sept 6, 2016 - 
June 29, 2017):
Mon, Tues, Wed: 
9 am - 3 pm
Thur. 9 am - 2 pm
 
 
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.
On Our Prophetic Imperative



This month's Touchstone Ministry Theme is our "Prophetic Imperative."  Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland notes the following unifying theological principles for our liberal religious movement, from Unitarian Universalist minister and theologian Paul Rasor in his book, Reclaiming Prophetic Witness: Liberal Religion in the Public Square.
  1. The fundamental unity and interdependence of all existence: As Rasor writes, "There is no separation between us and them; we are us." This "us" includes all countries, all peoples, all species, and the planet itself. This assertion recalls Martin Luther King, Jr's term of "an inescapable network of mutuality." As King noted, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
  2. The transforming power of love: As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." The idea that love is a form of power is significant. The truth is you cannot change minds if you do not first change hearts.
  3.  The inherent worth and dignity of all persons: This is our first principle. It is not a platitude. It is a way of being in the world, the bedrock of right relationships.  Every person has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is at the core of the prophetic imperative.
  4. Freedom is not morally neutral: It can result in goodness or evil and everything in between. Freedom is the freedom to choose. It can be freedom from, but it is also freedom for. Let us stand on the side of love, knowing that standing is not enough. We must act.
  5. Rejection of moral dualism: We do not have a corner on moral superiority. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote, "...the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
  6. Commitment to social justice: The idea of letting justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream is to bring life giving water to the least among us that they may participate in the gifts and blessings of life, rather than being excluded.
  7. Cooperative power: It is power-with, not power-over; persuasion, not coercion. But it is power. As Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never did and it never will." The further reality is that it power must be organized to be effective. While Gandhi and King practiced non-violent resistance it was fundamentally a form of organized power.
  8. The church as a free covenanted fellowship: The free church is a powerful vehicle to live out the prophetic imperative. The covenant enumerates the promises that members of a free church make with each other. This is the internal covenant, but there is also an external covenant, which consists of the promises that the free church makes with the world.
  9. Principled theological openness: Unitarian Universalism has always understood truth to have a lowercase "t," not a capital "T." As James Luther Adams wrote, "revelation is continuous," which means that everything can be called into question. This theological openness is illustrated by the fact that our tradition draws from many sources.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF WORCESTER



Sunday, June 4, 2017, 11:15 am in the Sanctuary

Notice Pursuant to the by-laws of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, the Annual Meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) will take place at 11:15 am, Sunday, June 4, 2017 in the church sanctuary.
 
The meeting is open to all, however, voting is restricted to members of record of the UUCW. This is an important event in the ongoing business and life of our congregation and reflects the principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.
 
During this meeting we will vote on minutes of past congregational meetings, the slate of church leaders to be elected, the FY 2018 budget, extending the policy governance experiment and other items that may be posted in the Annual Report.
 
Submitted,
Dave Schowalter, Clerk
Board of Management, Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester
 

 Annual Church Picnic - Sunday, June 11   
 
Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for our ANNUAL ALL CHURCH PICNIC, Sunday, June 11 following the Sunday morning Worship Service.  Cost is $5 per adult and a dish (not dessert) to share if you can.  We will provide the entrée (burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, etc.) , lemonade, and watermelon. Please join us for this fun annual event! The picnic is on rain or shine-we'll eat in Fellowship Hall if necessary. Please be prepared to help with cleanup before you leave.
 
We need a people to help in four ways:
 
PREP TEAM: to help with set up, light food prep service-slicing tomatoes, making drinks,  We will start about 9:00 am and be finished prior to the service at 10:00 am.
GRILLING TEAM: to set grill and run entrée items to the serving table (to start about 10:30 am)
STAFFING TEAM: set out food and monitor serving line, replenish food items and clear serving area (11:00 AM)
CLEAN UP TEAM:  to clean up tables and area, store left overs, clean a few dishes, etc. (to start about 12:45).
 
If you are willing to serve on any of the teams above, please Sign Up Here or email Aaron Payson (arpayson@charter.net)
2017 Summer Services Ministry Team Forming 
 
Our series of 2017 Summer Sunday Services will begin on June 25 and run through September 3.  Services are at 10 am. This series of 11 services is typically lay-led and often followed by a roaming fellowship hour/lunch at a local restaurant.  Our Summer Services Ministry Team seeks Sunday Presenters, people to offer a Summer Service presentation on a topic of your own choosing; people to serve as Sunday Assistants who would work with the presenter of the week to set up the lounge space and to help present parts of the service as desired by the presenter, and Service Coordinators who would be responsible for opening and closing the building, taking attendance, submitting pew sheets and securing the offering for the day.  If you are interested in serving in any of these capacities, please
  
Contact Information

Phone:

508-853-1942

Email:

office@uucworcester.org

Fax:

508-853-2065

Website:

www.uucworcester.org

 

 

 

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