THE UNITARIAN
March 22, 2015

Vol. 69, No. 32

 

Join Us For Worship This Week

 

FirstU photo graphic
First Unitarian Church of Worcester, MA
90 Main Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01608

 Worship at First Unitarian 
       

On Sunday childcare will be available

    during worship beginning at 10:15 a.m.  

Sunday Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary 

  


Sunday, March 22, 2015
 "Changing Everything" 
 
Preaching: The Rev. Barbara Merritt

"The earth I tread on is not a dead, inert mass. It is a body, has a spirit, is organic, and fluid to the influence of its spirit, and to whatever particle of that spirit is in me."  H.D. Thoreau

 
As we navigate a constantly changing world, all of us need to develop the  spiritual "muscles" that will allow us to" wake up", and make wise choices for ourselves, the planet and the generations to come. On this Sunday when we officially enter a new spring season, what are the values and actions we can take that will be  sustaining? The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart will be our liturgist this morning.
The Festival Choir will sing.

 

Sunday, March 29, 2015
Palm Sunday
 "Hope Is the Thing" 
 
Preaching: The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart
 
Someone said that hope is not justified by the facts; yet hope springs eternal in our hearts and in our communities. Jesus and his disciples felt hope as he brought his ministry to Jerusalem, even though he suspected his own life might soon end. Hope is the promise that our values will be carried on even after our lives have ended. The Festival Choir will sing and palms will be distributed.

 

Thursday, April 2, 2015
Maundy Thursday Communion Service
 Join Rev. Sarah C. Stewart in the Chapel at 7:30 p.m. for a Maundy Thursday communion service. We will have the opportunity to share our prayers with one another, reflect on the story of Jesus' last supper with his disciples, and break bread together. The elements will be grape juice and gluten-free bread. People of all ages are invited to attend.


 

Sunday, April 5, 2015
Easter Sunrise Service
  Join the Rev. Sarah C. Stewart at Bancroft Tower in Worcester at 6:00 a.m. for our traditional sunrise service of readings, reflection and music.


 

Sunday, April 5, 2015
Easter Sunday Service
"A Glimpse and a Promise"
Preaching: The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart 
 The Easter story gives us a glimpse of the peaceable way and a promise of what it means to live in covenant with each other and the earth. A glimpse is all we get; but a glimpse can be enough to light joy in our hearts. The children will participate in our annual Easter egg hunt. 
The Festival choir will sing.

 

Before and After Worship This Week

 9:00 a.m.

 9:15 a.m.
10:15 a.m.
10:30 a.m.








11:30 a.m.

12:00 p.m.
  6:00 p.m.

New UU Series in the Morgan Classroom. Session 2 - UU History.
FDM Team in RE classroom.
OWL for 5/6 grades in Mirick Room 1. 
Nursery Care in Classroom 4.
Worship Service in the Sanctuary.
50/50 Collection to benefit the Regional Environmental Council.
It's Spring! The 50/50 offering will support Worcester's Regional Environmental Council.  With the melting of the snow, the impact of the REC will be seen all over the city. REC projects include:  Earth Day cleanups, trashy empty lots converted to community gardens, Farmers' Markets (including the mobile market), employing and mentoring inner-city young people in YouthGrow gardens.  Please give generously on Sunday!
Baked Potato Buffet Lunch Fundraiser for the Youth Mission Trip in the Bancroft Room and Dining Room after worship.

Sundays@Noon Lecture Series in Unity Hall. See Below.

YRU2 Meeting in the Youth Lounge.

Easter Tulips for Sanctuary

 

Each year at this time, members and friends of the church are invited to contribute a pot of flowers for the sanctuary on Easter Sunday. This year we will are offering a 6" pot of tulips (5-6 bulbs per pot.) You may give a tulip in your own name, in memory of someone, or anonymously. After the service, the plant is yours to take home, or, if you wish, donated to one of our homebound members. The donation is $20 per pot. (This is a small fundraiser for the church.) Click here to order a pot of tulips.

 
UU Sisterhood Potluck and Program --- TONIGHT
Friday, March 20 at 6:00 p.m. 

UU Sisterhood Potluck in the Bancroft/Dining Rooms. Join the women of the UU Sisterhood at our next meeting on Friday, March 20th for an evening of food, wine, conversation and laughter. We gather at 6:00 in the Dining Room with a potluck dinner starting shortly thereafter. All women of the church are welcome. Please bring a dish and a beverage to share. After dinner and cleanup please plan to stay for the program.


 

Our sister Nancy Riggs will present our program. We know her as friendly, gracious, bright and cheerful. But a talent of hers we will now enjoy is Nancy the storyteller. She will be in character as she provides a glimpse into the lives of two women whose actions influenced history. Nancy writes, "About 15 years ago, I began portraying Elizabeth Blackwell, first female physician, as part of the Women's History Day Celebration at the school where I teach ninth grade English. This eventually led to the creation of "Cameos in Time, Bright and Shining Moments in the Lives of Remarkable Women". For our gathering, she will present two of her favorite women from history: Nellie Bly, first female investigative reporter, and Hut the Pilot (Nancy's cousin) who was a WASP in WW.

YRU2 Fundraiser Event

March 22nd, after church

 

baked potato  

YRU2 Youth Group will host a

BAKED POTATO BUFFET

All your favorite toppings will be available

 A Free-will offering will be accepted

All funds will help defray the cost of our Mission Trip in April, 2015

Thank you for your support! 

Easter Egg Hunt

 

Our children will participate in an Egg hunt on Easter Sunday. Please consider participating by contributing a dozen filled eggs. Plastic eggs to be filled are available in the Bancroft room. As is our tradition, please fill the eggs with money - any amount from pennies to dollars. Our youth will hide the eggs and the children will hunt for a designated number. Instead of taking home candy, the kids will add their money together. All of the money collected will go to charity chosen by the children. This year the money will go to sponsor a NEADs  ("needs") dog. NEADS trains service and comfort dogs for the disabled and infirmed.  

 
Escalating Inequality Workshops 

 

There will be an upcoming series of 5 workshops and a movie discussion about the problem of escalating inequality in this country. At General Assembly in Providence last summer, delegates to the UUA voted escalating inequality as the most pressing issue of our time.

 

This is a joint project between First Unitarian Church and the UU Church of Worcester. Three events will be held here and four will be held at UUCW, 90 Holden Street, Worcester 01606. We are excited about this partnership.

 

The four following workshops are from the dynamic curriculum put out by the UUA and contain large and small group discussions, videos and personal inventories.

 

2. HOW INJUSTICE DRIVES INEQUALITY: Tuesday March 31 First U 7-9pm

3. HOW DID WE GET HERE AND WHAT WE CAN DO: Tuesday April 21 at UUCW from 7-9pm

4. THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY IN UUism: Sunday May 3 at UUCW from 12:30-2:30

5. ENGAGING SOLUTIONS FOR UUism: Sunday May 17 First U 12:30-2:30


 

Escalating Inequality Task Force: Joan McGinn, Chair; Paul Ropp, Randy Ingham, Mara Pentlarge, Joe Delgizzi

 

Joan McGinn, Chair, Escalating Inequality Task Force 


Annual Food Drive to support Carty Cupboard 

at Wesley United Methodist Church

Bring your donations to church now through April 12th

 

After the holidays, many food pantries are depleted of many essential items; today's challenging economy has caused an increase in the number of people needing food stability. Your help is needed NOW!


 

We will begin collecting non-perishable food items, toiletries and household items from March 8th - April 12th

 

Please bring in your donations each Sunday, and leave them at the donation location in the dining hall.  Items needed are:

 

Canned meat, soups, pasta, cereal, feminine products, baby food, rice, peanut butter, diapers, canned vegetables, canned fruit, spaghetti sauce

 

Thank you for your support!

BYKOTA

Lenten Series Continues - Final Session

 

Minister's Lenten Series
Reverend Sarah Stewart

 

Lenten Series 3: The City of Hope

March 24. Meet at Bancroft Tower in Salisbury Park off Massachusetts Avenue at 6 p.m. We'll share a lenten worship service focused on what we are struggling with in life, and where we find hope. We'll then move nearby (location TBA) for warming, fellowship and small group reflection. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Sarah Stewart at sstewart@firstunitarian.com.

 

Click here  to sign up to attend one or all of the Lenten Series evenings. (Note: you do not have to create a SignUpGenius account to use this online sign up sheet. If you do not want an account fill in the information required for the sign-up, but do not check off the create account block.)

 

Adult Faith Development Programs - Upcoming

Sundays @ Noon Lecture Series 

 

March 22 - THIS SUNDAY in Unity Hall.

Worcester Area Opioid Crisis

Sheriff Evangelidis has focused on education and prevention as the best way to keep our youth out of prison. He will talk about the rise in the use of opioid pain killers and heroin in Worcester County, a problem that has risen to crisis proportions. Heroin, once a drug only seen in poor urban neighborhoods, has moved dramatically into rural and suburban, middle class communities throughout Worcester County.

 

Lew Evangelidis was elected as Sheriff of Worcester County in 2010.  Prior to this, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 8 years, a member of the Holden Board of Selectmen, an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, a State Attorney in Dade County Florida and an assistant in the Dade County, Florida State Attorney's office.  

 


Faithful Practice: Opportunities to nurture your spirit

 

New UU -are you?

Led by Jesse Anderson

4 Sundays, March 8-29, 9-10am in the Chapel

Are you new to Unitarian Universalism or would you like to know more about the faith tradition? The New UU conversations are for you. All newcomers and new members are welcome. It is important to make a commitment to attend all four sessions.

  • Session 3 - UU history -denomination and our church - THIS SUNDAY
    Meeting in the Morgan Classroom. 
  • Session 4 - Church Ownership and Governance

Please RSVP by March 1 to dlevering@firstunitarian.com

  

Embracing a Life of Meaning

Led by Michelle Przekop and Liz Gustavson

5 Mondays, March 30-April 27, 7-9 PM in the Chapel

Embracing a Life of Meaning with best selling author Kathleen Norris on discovering what matters.  Each of the five DVD sessions begins with a 10-15 minute introduction video followed by a filmed group discussion on these topics: belief, bible, community, place and we matter. Then we will discuss these topics in a respectful, loving, and supportive environment during our group sessions. Click here to sign up for Embracing

 a Life of Meaning.

 

First Fridays

 

Evening for Families: Dessert & Coffee with Sarah and Deb
Friday, April 3, 7:00-8:30pm Bancroft Room
Families are warmly invited to a sweet evening of conversation with Reverend Sarah Stewart and Acting Director of Faith Development. Deborah Levering. Both are eager to know parents and families better and hear about your joys and challenges in raising children of faith. All ages welcome. Childcare is not available for this gathering. Please RSVP by March 31st to dlevering@firstunitarian.com
 

  
March 28th is Auction Sponsored "Let's Create Day"

Let's us gather at the church for a day of fun and creativity from 10am to 4pm, drop in or stay the day. Using the church and its neighborhood as inspiration, bring your artistic eye and talent to create something wonderful to donate for our Multimedia Art Sale. For example, the gorgeous chandelier may inspire a jewelry maker or a potter; the corbels may light a spark for carver or a pencil sketcher; the organ pipes for a collage or a fiber artist. Plus we have all the wonderful nooks and crannies, garden areas and soaring spaces for photographers, painters, printmakers, sculptures... All ages and level of talent welcome.

Worcester Threshold Singers

 

A small group of dedicated threshold singers has continued singing and learning, under Nan Gibbon's faithful leadership, through the fierce winter.  Of course, a couple of Tuesdays were missed due to severe weather and inability to travel but behind the scenes work continued.

 

Now, spring is springing - yes it is - in spite of lingering blasts of winter.  We need folks to join the group who want to sing and prepare to serve Worcester's aging population who are struggling to live and die with dignity.  A great voice is not required!  A great heart is!!

 

Please come and sing with us in the Bancroft Room the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month from 6:30-8:30 and learn more about this mission and what it could mean in your life 

 

HOSPITALITY
Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
-teachings of Jesus
Sunday Greeters

Being on the receiving end of a warm smile and a "good to see you" or a "good morning" is to be offered a welcoming gift. It is a gift that you can give on a Sunday morning. Reaching out in greeting affirms the one entering and the one greeting.
If you would like to be a Sunday morning greeter, please stop by the Welcome Table or speak to one of us. We will sign you up for a date and give you the information you will need.
Coffee Hour
Refreshment after worship is a gift of service to the church. The food you bring need not be elaborate. If you would like to provide this hospitality, please stop by the Welcome Table after worship and sign up for a date. Invite a friend to join you in this offering.
Name Tags & Newsletter
If you need a name tag or would like to receive the church newsletter, please stop by the Welcome Table.
Lee Reid
Sue Shaw
Linda Carney

Sermon

  

"Sin and Forgiveness" by the Rev. Sarah Stewart
the sermon of February 22, 2015 

Our Church Family Online Directory

  

Reminder

Don't forget to sign on to use the new online directory! Click here to sign on now or go to www.firstunitarian.com and click on "OurChurchFamily Directory" at the top of the page. 

Important First U Links
Join a blog...catch up on First U news... 
offer a comment

 

Stewardship Team News:
 UUSisterhood News & Events:

http://firstuusisterhood.blogspot.com/

 
Archive: Newsletter & Minister's Memo:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs072/1102662658575/archive/1102698304450.html 

 
Faith Development Ministries News and Events 

http://lifespanfaithdevelopment.blogspot.com/


 
Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/FirstUnitarianWorcester 

 

Worship This Week: http://www.firstunitarian.com 

Details about this week's service and more

 

Church Calendar: http://www.firstunitarian.com/calendar.cfm 

Details about this week's and upcoming events
  
Contact Us

 

First Unitarian Church of Worcester, MA
90 Main Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01608

508-757-2708
508-753-9332 (fax)
Preaching This Week
Rev. Barbara Merritt

The Rev. Barbara Merritt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EASTER WEEK

palm

communion
sunrise

Easter Egg Hunt First U


























 

 

 

 


 


 
 


 

UU Sisterhood
Meets Nellie Bly 


 


 


 

 



 


 



 

 


 


 


 
 


 
 


 


 

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 BYKOTA FOOD DRIVE 2

Bring your donations to church now through April 12th 
 


 

 




 


 


 


 


 


 

 

 

 

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 Bancroft Tower


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 
  

 


 


 

 

 

 

 

 



 


 


 


 

 


 


 


 


 


 


 



 


 


 

 

 


 

 


 


 


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