The 2015 Auction is not quite finished! Do to time constraints the Art Auction in the Chapel did not close on Sunday. Bidding will remain open until 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, April 26th when the winners will be announced after Sunday service. Thank you to all who participated in the general Auction on Sunday and helped to make it a great success. If you are bidding on the Art Auction we look forward to seeing you this Sunday for the closing. If you are unable to be there this Sunday we will be happy to hold a proxy bid for you; contact Madeline (avlis@aol.com) or Mary (maryalmc@gmail.com).

Click here for more auction photos

Volunteer opportunities

1.  Setting up the church on Saturday, May 2 at 9 AM. - 3 slots filled - more available

2.  Cleaning up after the service and reception ends, around 6:30 PM on
Sunday, May 3. - 2 slots filled more available

3.  Preparing the following finger foods.  People can bring their food contributions to church on Sunday morning, May 3 and leave them in the kitchen marked for the Installation Service or leave them in the kitchen prior to the 4 PM service.

Hors D'Oeuvres

A.  Filled

B.  Filled

C.  Shrimp:  2 people@20 pieces each and cocktail sauce

D.  Frozen hors d'oeuvres:  2 people@25 pieces each

E.  Veggies and dip:  1 person @50 pieces each

F.  Filled

G.  Pita and artichoke dip: 1 person @40 pieces 

H.  Filled

Desserts

A.  Filled

B.  Brownies:  2 people@ 1 dozen each

C.  Lemon bars:  2 people@ 1 dozen each

D.  Filled

There will also be cake.

4.  Decorating

A.  We need volunteers to help arrange plants in the Bancroft Room on Saturday, May 2 at 10 AM.  We want to decorate the room to look like a spring garden.  We ask for people to loan us green plants, either large house plants or shrubs or perennials in pots; flats of pansies or other spring flowers that can be put in baskets; pots of flowering plants like tulips or daffodils; and branches of flowering shrubs.  Plant material can be brought to the Bancroft Room either Friday, May 1 between 10 AM and 4 PM, or on Saturday, May 2 between 9 AM and 10 AM.  There will be plastic sheets spread on the floor where you can put your plants.

B.  We need volunteers to make flower arrangements for the buffet tables.  Time can be determined at the convenience of the arrangers.

We welcome your contributions and thank you for your assistance.

Click here to sign up online.

Additional help urgently needed for the Installation

For the installation service and reception on May 3 we need taller plants or trees to serve as focal points in our plant groupings in the garden we want to create in the Bancroft Room. We could also use for this purpose taller garden ornaments, a small garden bench or garden chairs, stands from which we could hang hanging plants, or other interesting garden items. These all would be enormously helpful in our design. Could you email me if you could loan us any of these items so they could be incorporated in our plans?  plevinemd@aol.com. They can be brought to the Bancroft Room on Friday, May 1 between 10 AM and 4 PM, or Saturday, May 2 between 9 AM and 10 AM.  We are most grateful for your help.

This Friday at 7PM you'll have the unusual opportunity to hear Beethoven and other symphonic composers played on the 1st U King of Instruments.

Jonathan Wessler (of Boston, with degrees from Oberlin and Eastman) will perform a phenomenal program of orchestral transcriptions and

works that aren't normally heard played on a pipe organ in this free concert.

Jonathan has prepared an innovative and diverse program of rare gems for this his Worcester debut.

Click here for more details.

The JHH Open Mic has exceeded the dream I envisioned. With Lydia Fortune as our vibrant hostess, the open mic has consistently grown. Lydia and I are supported by  Phil Nigro, Sten Gustavson,  Sue Shaw and Bob Shaw.  We couldn't have it every 2nd and 4th Friday without their faithful assistance. 

This Friday, April 24th, we celebrate two years with a  steady following of  talented performers.  We are considered the best listening room in Central MA and welcome seasoned, "first-time", and anyone -in -between performers.  Performers learn to develop their talents in a friendly environment. Join our vibrant hostess, Lydia and the rest of the JHH Open Mic regulars this Friday to celebrate!

Wiogora School of Wonder and Wisdom, First Unitarian's own Harry Potter inspired summer program running July 27th to August 7th continues to accept registrations for students and applications for adult staff and volunteers. For more information, and to register or apply, go to  http://www.wiogora.org/. See Alison Barrows Ronn or Seth Popinchalk for more information. 

WELCOME SPRING!!  It's time to begin the fun process of actively beautifying our church grounds again.

OUR BEAUTIFUL CHURCH GARDENS AND EXTERIOR:  This is an especially important year, with the up-coming installation celebration for Reverend Sarah Stewart on May 3.  Please join the Friends of the Gardens for some fun and fellowship on the 2 Saturday mornings before the Installation, April 25th and/or May 2nd, 8 am to noon--to tidy up and beautify our gardens so we can really celebrate in style (rain or shine!!) Ideas??  Banners, ribbons, flowers....

PLANT EXCHANGE:  Then our spring Plant Exchange will be on Sunday May 10 (Mothers' Day) and Sunday May 17th this year.  For those new to the church, this is a long-standing tradition: people bring potted plants (annuals, perennials, herbs, house plants) from their own garden to donate to the church on those days, and then we sell them after church at $5 per pot, as a fun exchange, AND a fund-raiser for the church and our gardens.  This year we are working toward building funds for projects like an expanded shade garden in the front, and a labyrinth around our Peace Pole.  As the snow melts from your garden beds, please be planning what you might divide and contribute!  We have plenty of large empty plastic pots in the church garden storage shed if you need one. 

NEXT MEETING: All who have ideas or are able to help work on the garden and foyer clean up and prep for Installation, or the Plant Exchange, please stop by our next meeting Sunday April 26th at 11:45 am.  THANKS!!

Questions?  Please contact co-chairs Kate O'Dell at odellkk@gmail.com or Mary Mcalister at maryalmc@gmail.com

The Escalating Inequality Sessions are a 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 three remaining workshops are from the dynamic curriculum put out by the UUA and contain large and small group discussions, videos and personal inventories.

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

Joan McGinn, Chair, Escalating Inequality Task Force