Sunday Reflection with Rev. Aaron Payson @ The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, MA

We pause on this Sunday to reflect on the legacy and unfinished work of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., asking what it is that we might continue to commit ourselves to so that we realize more justice in our country and world, and honor the humanity of all people?

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our services are live-streamed on ... ...

This week, we will explore the notion of “sabbath economics” as a critique of the current economic disparities in our country and world. What would it mean to commit our resources so that we paid our social debts and placed the common good at the heart of our combined efforts? Join us for this important reflection.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massach...

This week, we return to our annual tradition of a “Ask the Minister” Sunday, when the reflection will be made up of answers to questions asked by members and friends of the congregation. Aaron will also have a few questions of his own. Join us for this fun venture, a favorite of many!

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our services are live...

The biblical flood story by Noah has been inspirational for millennia. More recently, science has uncovered facts about a flood unprecedented in human history, from a time and place that indicate it was the source of the Great Flood experiences and stories. Can this flood story by science be at least as inspirational as Noahʼs story? More inspirational? Perhaps a closer look will provide an answer.

Four years of Catholic seminary h...

We gather for this service of readings and carols to claim the spirit of Christmas through stories old and new, songs, soloists, and candlelight.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our services are live-streamed on ... at 10 am every Sunday and stored on our website www.uucworcester.org for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song Wit...

We honor the Jewish holiday of Hannukah, remembering the ancient story and asking what lessons from this period of national discord and return apply to us today.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our services are live-streamed on ... at 10 am every Sunday and stored on our website www.uucworcester.org for future viewing. The music you hear i...

The Buddhist teacher, Ajahn Jotipālo writes:

Ajahn Sucitto once said that we often think of patience as waiting for change. I will endure this situation, gritting my teeth, until it changes. Certainly, we might want a painful situation to change, but with true patience, according to Ajahn Sucitto, it’s more like thinking, I will be with this situation, period. In other words, there’s no expectation that the situation will change or ...

As we enter another season of Advent, we pause to consider the spiritual challenges of “waiting”. In their book, Discernment, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Michael J. Christensen, Rebecca J. Laird write, “Our spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, expecting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination or prediction. This, indeed, is a very radical stance toward lif...

Join us this Sunday as we celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday by exploring the role of origin stories and how the one popularized in our country about Thanksgiving might better be understood. What shall we offer in thanksgiving this year? How shall we remember our history? What does our faith tradition offer us as we seek to create a more just and peaceful world? Join us and find out!

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Wor...

Writing for Religionnews.com last August, Phyllis Zagano quipped, “As several mainline faith leaders and the U.S. Catholic bishops have pointed out, the derisive oppression of poor immigrants by members of the current administration is sickening. That some administration officials continue to publicly espouse Christian ethics is mind-boggling.”

Unitarian Universalism has a long history of arguing for a return to the essential nature...

Sometimes, we feel as though we are fully authentic, entirely ourselves. Sometimes we feel just the opposite—lost, confused, as if we do not know who we are. Today, Rev. Michael F. Hall returns to UUCW to talk about the trouble we sometimes have reconciling the experience of Being with the notion of Self.

Rev. Michael F. Hall has been an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister since 2012. After a 12-year settlement at his first chu...

Rev. Dr. David Breeden, in a piece entitled “Compassion Needs Weather,” writes, “Compassion loves rough soil, the stones, weeds, the cracks between our best intentions.” This Sunday, we explore the place of intention and how, sometimes, intention can get in the way of healing, compassion, and progress toward peace. Join us for this important exploration!

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, ...

In his song “Holy Now,” UU Musician Peter Mayer sings, “It used to be a world half there, Heaven’s second-rate hand me down, Now I’m walking with a reverent air, ‘Cause ev’rything is holy now.” We pause this morning to consider what it might mean to give up the sacred/profane binary that has been the mark of many religions and ponder how our presence in it might shift if we lived as though we were part of a holy whole. Join us for ...

Eileen Workman writes:

You are not weak for trembling in the face of cruelty.

You are not naïve for hoping when the sky darkens.

You are not failing because you cannot fix it all.

You are part of something ancient and emergent:

a slow, deep evolution of consciousness

that transcends the need for violent revolution.

You are part of the sacred turning.

This Sunday, we consider how this “sacred turning” is revolutionary. In the face of all th...

Join us this Sunday as we explore the complexities of history and memory and the ongoing impact that the creation of our origin story as a nation has on all of us. As we honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we strive to face the legacy of our founding with humility and courage.

During this service, we also honored Domestic Violence Month with an exhibit on the chancel from the YWCA of Central MA entitled "Empty Places at the Table" that f...

We honor the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur this week as we explore the essential nature of Tikkun "repair" in Hebrew. What might we learn about the current state of the world and our place in it by honoring this ancient Jewish time of turning inward and outward toward others, and the Master of the Universe, to discover how we might be in this moment of trial and tribulation in our world.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Wor...

This week we continue exploring the parables of Jesus, asking if the message is about despising wealth or the obligations we have toward each other.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our services are live-streamed on ... at 10 am every Sunday and stored on our website www.uucworcester.org for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song ...

The reflection this Sunday takes up one of the most difficult and misunderstood parables of Jesus, which asks us to consider if the story is about despising wealth, or choosing compassion.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Worcester, the heart of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our services are live-streamed on ... at 10 am every Sunday and stored on our website www.uucworcester.org for future vi...

We return this Sunday to a favorite story, Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Only we discover that the newest edition of the book contains an additional 4th section, which addresses the evolution of the flock in the afterlife of Jonathan. What does this addition to the original story tell us about ourselves, religion, and the world in which we live?

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (UUCW) is located in Wor...