The Unitarian
March 20, 2016
Vol. 70, No 26
Join Us for Worship This Week 

Worship With Us This Week
       
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
 
  March 20, 2016
Palm Sunday
"Caesar's Week and God's World"
Preaching: The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart
Jesus said to his followers, "The kingdom of God is among you." Yet people ignore the reign of equality and justice among them and continue to oppress and abuse each other. Liberation is not taking one side or the other, but reaching beyond a system of oppression and injustice to a way of being together grounded in peace and mutuality. A Palm Sunday service to begin the holy week leading to Easter. 

Go to www.firstunitarian.com for a complete listing of March worship services.
Before and After Worship
 
10:15 a.m.Nursery Care in Classroom 4.
10:30 a.m.Worship Service in the Sanctuary
Sunday School after dismissal from the worship service
12:00 p.m.LLPC Meeting in Mirick Room 1.
  3:00 p.m.Worcester Music Academy Event in Unity Hall.
  6:30 p.m.
Seven Hills Symphony Rehearsal in Unity Hall.
YRU2 Meeting in the Youth Lounge.

Lenten Series
Rev. Sarah Stewart
This Lenten season, join Rev. Sarah for Friday luncheons and a study of the Gospel of Mark. We'll gather from noon to 2 p.m. on Fridays from Fri. Feb. 19 through Good Friday, March 25. The gospel of Mark is the oldest of the four gospels and presents a rich picture of the life and ministry of Jesus. Our discussion will consider the context of the gospel, the stories it tells, and the spiritual meanings they convey for our lives today. Bring a brown bag lunch and join us for this series of six discussions.
 
Please bring a Bible with you (any translation is fine). Rev. Sarah will be using the book Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Mark by Marcus J. Borg to guide the discussions. You may get a copy of this book if you wish, but it's not necessary to participate in the study group.
 
Please sign up for one or all of these Lenten Friday Luncheons with Rev. Stewart here.
Easter Plants - Orders Taken Thru March 23
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.
The Story of an Asylum Seeker
This Sunday's  50/50 offertory will benefit the  LGBT Asylum Task Force.  This agency helps LGBT asylum seekers who have fled their home countries because of threats of violence and death based on their sexual orientation or sexual identity.  All donations will go to providing housing, food, and spending money for asylum seekers in Worcester. 
 
Lasr Sunday, we heard from an LGBT asylum seeker from Uganda.  Because his friends and family in Uganda could be at risk if his name appeared online, we are using his alias, "John"
 
Read John's story here.
Readers Needed for Easter Sunrise Service
sunrise
Join us for an Easter Sunrise service at Bancroft Tower at 6:00 a.m. on March 27. Jesus' ministry shared a message of liberation and love. We will share that message with each other through poetry, prose, silence, and the glory of the sunrise. Led by the Rev. Sarah Stewart.

Readers are needed for this service. If you would like to participate in the service as one of the readers please sign up below. Rev. Stewart will contact you with your assigned reading.

Click here to sign up

Easter Egg Hunt provides funding support
for local charities
Easter Egg Hunt First U
Our Easter Egg Hunt will take place on Easter Sunday, March 27 after the worship service. As is our new tradition, we ask folks to help us out by taking a bag or box of plastic eggs from the table in the Bancroft room and return them filled with money (coins or bills). NO candy, please. The eggs are hidden, then found, and the money is collected and sent to local organizations doing great things for children. Our children are given a small gift when they turn in the found eggs.
 
This year the money will be divided between organizations that directly benefit three of our church families. These are the organizations:
  • It's My Heart, NE Chapter, provides support, awareness, education & advocacy for those affected by Congenital Heart Defects in the New England area.
  • The Lipka Family Fund providing needed financial support Christi, Sam, and Lily Lipka after the untimely death of dad and husband, Mitch Lipka.
  • Diamond Is the Sky, a charitable organization founded by church family Sean and Jennifer Daly to honor Skylar (a.k.a. "Sky"), their daughter diagnosed with autism. 

Click here for more information about these charities.

New UU - are you?
4 Sundays, April 3-24 from 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 1 Your religious journey
* Session 2 UU (you) theologies
* Session 3 UU History denomination and our church
* Session 4 Church Ownership and Governance.

Questions? Check in at the Welcome Table on Sunday morning.
Please RSVP by March 30 to [email protected]
New Faith Development Collaborative
Sunday, April 3rd - 9am to 10am in the Mirick Room
On Sunday, April 3rd, we will hold our first 1st-Sunday-of-the-month open meeting of parents, teachers, and congregants for the purpose of sharing joys, challenges, and the work of providing spirited and meaningful faith development opportunities for children, youth, and families. You are invited to work with us on some of the nitty-gritty details of planning, designing, recruiting for, and implementing our deep desires for Children and Youth Faith Development and Family ministry. All are welcome to attend.
 
At this meeting, we will consider--
  • Curriculum and recruitment planning for 2016-17
  • Ways to welcome and support new families
  • Special events like First Friday Fun Nights 
Childcare will be available with advance notice. RSVP and childcare signups here
Escalating Inequality and Climate Change 
Tuesday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m.
First Unitarian Church in the Chapel
Escalating Inequality and Climate Change with Erica Saunders of 350.org. This is the final session of this season's Escalating Inequality workshop, on an urgent topic. Please come!
Concert Celebrating Youth
Men's Group Next Meeting April 3 
men's group
Our next meeting will be Sunday, April 3, at 6 PM, in the Mirick Room. We will be viewing and discussing a TED Talk.  We'll order pizza for dinner.  Please bring your own refreshments.  Hope to see you there!
 
For more information about the men's group, please contact Rick Silva at  [email protected], or Ken Mandile at [email protected].
Coffee Hour Hospitality
Everyone heads to the dining room after worship happily looking to see
coffee & cookies
what edibles might be on the table.  One person said..."it's either feast or famine" about what we may find.  Sometimes we enjoy a bounteous spread and other times a few bits and pieces.  Always we appreciate that others have thought of us and brought delicious edibles.  Providing refreshments for your church friends is a lovely and much appreciated service.  Why don't you ask others to share a date to help provide food with you?  It doesn't have to be fancy.  The Caring Circles have already signed up for dates.  Please use this online sign-up calendar so that others will know available dates to bring goodies.  We all enjoy something to eat after worship and we can all contribute to the offering at some time.

Sermons
 from the Worship Service of September 27, 2015

"Bringing Creation Toward Perfection" by Ken Mandile
 from the Worship Service of August 23, 2015
Important First U Links -
First Unitarian Church | 508.757.2708 | 508.753.9332
[email protected]  |  www.firstunitarian.com

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