Hearing the Call: Your Stewardship Committee

The UUA handbook defines Stewardship as fundamentally spiritual. The act of giving, whether time, talent or treasure, is, in itself, a form of worship. Those of us on the Stewardship committee have been fortunate to be inspired by the many stories of those who have responded to the call of service in the programs which make up the life of our community. You know many of these people, for they are present week after week, year upon year, mentoring our youth, singing in the choir, providing pastoral care, and doing all the small but essential things which enrich our Sunday worship experience.

In the next few weeks we want to share some of these stories with you, that you might also be inspired when you understand the deeper meaning which results from all acts of giving. And we also hope that in being inspired, you might find yourself hearing the call for a deeper commitment to our community, and that in responding to that call you are both a gracious giver and receiver of the way of life we share at First Unitarian.

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An Outstanding Day One for the Annual Pledge Drive

" It is rare indeed that people give. Most people guard and keep. " If this observation from James Baldwin, one of our contry's most respected philosophers and novelists, is true, then the opening Sunday of our Annual Stewardship Pledge Drive was a rare one indeed. Consider these day one statistics : Total amound pledged: $96,628 (32% of our $300,000 goal !) Number of pledges: 62 (6 of these were first time pledges !) A whopping 56% increased their pledge over last year ! Let us keep the momentum going! If you have not yet sent in your pledge, do so today. This is truly a wonderful beginning, and it was made even more special by our interim minister's homily. If you missed Tracey's message, what follows are a few of her memorable and moving insights. We come through these doors in search, in need, in hope, in prayer. We come looking for something to make our lives better; to make the lives of our family, our fr...

This Community Surrounds My Life

I am always inspired and touched by the efforts to build a better world. Seth Popinchalk, Vice-Moderator Last week Scott Hayman told me about a 5K road race to benefit Abby’s house. Abby’s House is a family shelter for women and children and provides them with “a safe place to stay, regroup, and rebuild.” I am in fair shape, so when I woke up Saturday morning I laced up my shoes and drove out to West Boylston to find the starting line. I found Scott and Maddie at the registration area. I also ran into a handful of other familiar First U members wearing race bibs and supporting the event. There was no plan among members to connect with our First Unitarian community this Saturday morning, but we found each other among the crowd of about 300. I was reminded that I am surrounded by our special community. What brings us together? We are a community because we choose to be one. We find a connection with something the church offers: the Sunday services, the sermons, the holi...

What difference does First Unitarian make in your life?

We are loved and accepted for who we are. Our struggles and our passions are recognized and shared. We do good things together. We are drawn together by love and hope. Scott Hayman Long before I attended a First Unitarian Church service, or even set foot in the church, I was drawn, without knowing, to its community and its tradition, its people and its abundance. This was around 1990. I was working in the trenches running a program called the Donations Clearinghouse, a program created by the Worcester Committee on Homelessness and Housing, which is now known as the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. The Donations Clearinghouse still operates with the simple mission of collecting donations of furniture and household goods and redistributing them to homeless families making a fresh start in their own apartment. So around 1990, Will Sherwood, our Music Director, whose day job was at Digital Equipment Corporation, called me up and sa...

First Unitarian Stewardship

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