First Unitarian Stewardship

The First Unitarian church is my church family, with all the joys and sorrows that relationships bring. I continue to be so impressed with the skills, knowledge and thoughtfulness I feel from all the members and friends.   Wendy Innis First Unitarian makes me a better person. When I sit in the pew and listened to a thoughtful and inspiring sermon I think about what else can I be doing in my life to make the world better - How can I relate to people so that we all get along better? What else can I do for someone I am struggling with to smooth our relationship. How can I be a better person? How can we in this wonderful church family grow and share this safe and comfortable space? I need to talk further about being in a safe place. This is the only place in my life where I am free to be myself as an out lesbian. I am very out in much of my life but here I know my church family loves me for who I am as a person. It is not part of the equation to define me as a lesbian or not. I am

There are many diverse perspectives, opinions, political views and experiences within our community.  I value the opportunity to engage with new ideas and I appreciate the trust and acceptance we share that allows us to speak honestly about our convictions.  Seth Popinchalk    I feel very fortunate to be part of the First Unitarian Church community.  Sue and I joined the church in 2009 after we registered Kate and Lauren for the Religious Education program.  Both Sue and I grew up going to church, and I think we were looking for a place where our children could gain the valuable experience of having a faith community. At First U, I feel we share intentionality in our relationships with each other that we don't always find in the rest of our life. I see an emphasis on living the covenant that defines our UU faith.  Specifically the first three principles: We affirm and promote: The inherent worth and dignity of every person; Justice, equity and compassion in human relatio

Draw the circle. Draw the circle wide. No one stands alone. We'll stand side by side. Draw the circle.  Draw the circle wide. ~  Draw the circle wide. Draw it wider still. Let this be our song. No one stands alone standing side by side. Draw the circle. Draw the circle wide. ( from Mark Miller )  Lee Bona I first heard that song in a worship service this past June during the UUA General Assembly in Providence, RI. I saw optimism, faith, hope and strength in that song. I saw us in the words of that song and I saw what First U means to me. A couple of years ago, I would not have been able to say that. But here I am, and here we are. Twenty-four of us showing up and waving our banner at a city-wide Vigil for Unity...forty-six more signing a Unity Proclamation...standing on our steps with our minister, 30 strong, to support the glbt community...being vocal in meetings because we're believing our voices should be heard – need to be heard...showing up at worship and events t

If 70% of the world’s population will be in cities by 2050, then I’m hoping  vibrant centers of liberal religion , like our church, can continue to thrive in the heart of the commonwealth, downtown  Worcester --a strong religious home for us as we work together for a better community.    Kate O'Dell A sigh of relief : Around 1980, flipping though magazines in a waiting room, I saw an ad for a humanist conference in Pittsburgh …“without supernatural beliefs, affirming our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives that aspire to the greater good.”  It turned out to be in a Unitarian church, at exactly the time that we needed an affirming opportunity for faith development that would allow us and our early grade-school age children to explore our convictions, without threats of damnation and “infallible rule-books.” A reliable, intimate community:  We experimented with intentional communities, and had embraced the idea of working together with other people “in solidar

" The faith community at First Unitarian is the wellspring of my hopes for my children and grandchildren, that they inherit a world rooted in UU principles. This is a vision of the future worth working for. "   Steve Knox Your 2014 stewardship team recently held a day long retreat in NH.  Many exciting events and activities will be coming your way, including events related to re-visiting our mission as a faith community.  As part of our pre-work, we asked ourselves the question “What difference does First Unitarian make in my life?”  The author of this blog entry, Steve Knox, offers the following: My involvement with and deep commitment to First Unitarian has altered and enriched my understanding of who I am.  I came to First Unitarian as a lapsed catholic, and have found my spiritual home in a faith community of mainstream Eastern and Western religious traditions, agnostics and atheists, worshiping together, each according to our conscience and needs, living to