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THE UNITARIAN
May 17, 2015
Join Us For Worship This Week
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First Unitarian Church of Worcester, MA
90 Main Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01608
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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, May 17, 2015
"God as a Metaphor"
The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart preaching. One of the things that distinguishes religious liberals is our metaphorical approach to religious truth. We know that words capture only imperfectly our deepest experiences of ultimate reality. Nonetheless, we and our religious forebears have had to figure out what words about that ultimate reality--words like "God"--mean to us and our communities.
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Before and After Worship This Week
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9:00 a.m.
9:15 a.m.
10:15 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
12:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
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FDM Team Meeting in the Chapel.
Wiogora Meeting in the Morgan Classroom.
OWL for 5-6 grades in Mirick Room 1.
Nursery Care in Classroom 4.
Worship Service in the Sanctuary.
Sunday School following dismissal from worship.
Fellowship Hour in the Bancroft/Dining Rooms. All are invited.
Green Exchange Plant Sale in the garden.
LLPC & Prudential Com. combined meeting in the Landers Room and RE classrooms.
Escalating Inequality Workshop in the Chapel.
Seven Hills Symphony Rehearsal in Unity Hall.
YRU2 Meeting in the Youth Lounge.
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Rev. Sarah Stewart will be out-of-town for a funeral, returning on Wednesday, May 20, and will answer emails and phone calls at that time.
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5 K Walk for Homeless
May 17th at 2:00pm starting at Elm Park
Join us in supporting the 30th Annual Walk/Run for Homeless!
Everyone who contributes to the Walk makes a difference.
Whether by walking, running, or making a donation
every contribution helps
to create a stronger, more sustainable, thriving community.
Visit the information table in the Bancroft Room for more information
Or speak with Lesa McWalters for details
To donate online or to join Team First Unitarian Church:
http://www.firstgiving.com/team/289558
All proceeds raised stay in Worcester County and helps crucial programs continue their work to eradicate family homelessness in our community.
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Faith Development News
Our children and youth need you!
It's May--time to look ahead at faith development opportunities for the fall. Our children's program is growing by leaps and bounds and we need volunteers. Please consider donating your time to our children and/or youth programs for 2015-16. We are looking for adults, with or without children in our programs, to help in these ways:
- Teaching on a Teaching Team (pre-school - 8th grade)
- Being a Safety Monitor/Family Greeter (once a month)
- Being member of the Children's Chapel Team (3 times/yr.)
- Being a Youth Advisor (ongoing) or a Coming of Age Mentor (Jan-June '16)
Feel free to speak to Deborah Levering or Abby Hannaford-Ricardi if you have questions. There is a display board in the Bancroft room with more information and signup spaces. If you are interested or curious about the Youth Advisor or Coming of Age Mentor positions, please contact me directly at dlevering@firstunitarian.com.
No classes on Memorial Day weekend
There are no Children or Youth classes/programs on Sunday, May 24th. There will be childcare for children 5 and under.
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Escalating Inequality Workshops - Final Workshop May 17
There are upcoming workshops 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.
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
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Green Exchange Continues - Keep Those Plants Coming
 The "friends of the Garden" annual Green Exchange plant sale got of to a very good start on Sunday. We would like to thank everyone who brought plants to sell and everyone who stopped to look and buy. We sold a lot of plants and need your help replenishing our selection for this Sunday, May 17. Please take a look at your garden for plants that need dividing, thinning out or a new locale and bring them to the church garden during the week or before service on Sunday. If you need pots there is a stack of them in the garden. We will also be signing up "garden friends" to water, weed and look after the garden through the summer. The commitment is one visit of 2 or 3 hours during the summer week you sign up for to look over the plantings and see what needs to be done. We are trying to be conservation minded, so watering is done only when necessary.
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Tastings! UU Sisterhood Potluck & Program Tonight
On Friday May 15th join the women of the UU Sisterhood, for our customary, delicious, abundant monthly Potluck. Please bring a dish and a drink to share. People start arriving by 6:00 and dinner is served by 6:30. All women of the church are welcome
After dinner and cleanup you will be invited to sample some of our Sister's favorite cheeses.
If you would like, please bring a wedge of your favorite cheese (grocery store or artisan) to share and we'll pair it with a selected wine. If you have a cheese in mind that you would like to contribute, send Madeline a note at Avlis@aol.com by Thursday May 14th.
In addition, we'll have a surprise tasting table where you can try to identify foods, familiar and foreign, and see how exacting your taste buds are!
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Giving Time and Talent: Welcoming and Hospitality
Sunday Greeters  When someone catches your eyes with a smile, a connection is made. You are changed almost without being aware of it. This small, light act is deeply affirming and inclusive. When someone reaches out to you with a warm greeting, it is a connection so basic, so human, that we give little thought to it. We just know that it leaves us feeling recognized. Call it being welcomed, call it being valued. This is hospitality at its most basic level. It is a spiritual gift. It touches and changes us.What do I value in my work with welcoming and hospitality? An easy answer. I enjoy the connection I have with others. I enjoy introducing new and 'been around' people to others and to the life of the church. I know that I've been around a long time and still much is continually new. How does the church and the congregation benefit from the work of the Welcoming and Hospitality team? Maybe we benefit more because we enjoy what we do. Maybe in that enjoyment and commitment to the church we are able to offer a smile and a reaching hand. Maybe we can help others discover the gifts of this church. --Lee Reid & Team, Sue Shaw, Linda Carney, Fran Morrier, Bonnie Prescott UU Sisterhood
What I have valued in my leadership role and participation with the Sisterhood has been the opportunity to help facilitate the spiritual lives of sisters through reinstituting annual retreats and various other activities, such as caroling to nursing homes. It has been great fun to have our monthly gatherings and potlucks with themes which have fostered creativity, getting to know one another better and emotional intimacy which leads to awareness of the needs of others in our midst. The entire community benefits from the increased connectivity of the women which then deepens our church family ties. --Gini Johnson
 The original intention of the Sisterhood was to have fun with other women of the church; doing things together to create bonds of shared experience and joy. That happened for me and continues as I and others strengthen the ties of friendship and caring. The Sisterhood welcomes all adult women who are willing to share in this communal experience. At the monthly Sisterhood gatherings we find supportive, caring, accepting women with individual and interesting personalities and lives.
-Madeline Silva
Ushers
 As an usher, I enjoy greeting people as they arrive on Sunday morning and I also enjoy participating in the services though the offertory. Our team of head ushers (me, Bob Ritchie, David Blodgett, and Jay Lavelle) recruit volunteers each week. It's a nice way to allow church members who don't have an opportunity to help in other ways to participate in a small, but important part of the service.
Being the procrastinator that I am, I'm often recruiting ushers at the last moment, but it's very rare that someone say "no" to my request for help. Sometimes there's a hint of trepidation, but once they're done, they realize how easy it is. For those of us who can't sing, it's a good chance to participate in the service. I'm always fascinated by the many small things that make our church function. There's a role for anyone and everyone that wants to help. The ushers are one small piece of a wonderfully functioning church and I'm happy to be part of it. --Ken Mandile
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Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
-teachings of Jesus
Coffee Hour Hospitality - NEW SIGN UP ONLINE
Providing refreshments 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, click here to see if others are contributing that Sunday and to sign up or you can just bring a food offering and put it on the dining room table. Invite a friend to join you in this offering.
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.
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
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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.
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Important First U Links
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| Contact Us
First Unitarian Church of Worcester, MA
90 Main Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01608
508-757-2708
508-753-9332 (fax)
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Preaching
This Week
The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart
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