What is "Adult Faith Development"?

What is "adult faith development?" "Is it more than attending Sunday Worship?" Good questions!

Are you currently involved with any adult faith development activities at church? Would you like to know more about what is possible for adult faith development at First Unitarian? Would you like to be part of creating the vision for the future of adult faith development programming?

Please come to a sharing session hosted by your Lay Leadership Council on Monday, May 16th at 7:00pm following the Monday Night at Church dinner!

The purpose of the meeting is to continue creating a shared vision for Adult Faith Development at First U, building upon the vision set forth by the Religious Education Faith Development Director Search Team and the Faith Development Team regarding "Adult Faith Development/Adult Ministries." 

In the past our assistant minister had involvement with programming as well as dedicated individuals at First U. With Rev. Merritt's departure, we now have a single minister.  Additionally, we will welcome a new Director of Faith Development in September. We're moving in the direction of having the new DFD work closely with the faith development team and current/future lay leaders to facilitate adult faith development opportunities at First Unitarian.

The session is open to anyone who wishes to attend. Additionally, we specifically invite current lay leaders who implement adult faith development activities at First Unitarian to attend and share their experience.

If you are unable to attend but have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to a member of the Lay Leadership Council or the RE FDD Search Team.

See you on Monday the 16th!
Joonu Coste
co-chair of Lay Leadership Council

The Power of a Peaceful Mind

The Power of a Peaceful Mind

With Guru Jiwan Singh

KRIYAS* AND MEDITATION

This course is based on the science of Kundalini Yoga

as taught by Yogi Bhajan

8 week Course: every Friday May 6^th through June 24

7 - 8:30 PM

Unity Hall at the First Unitarian Church,90 Main St, Worcester, MA

Park in the upper State Street lot and enter there

Mastering Kriyas will bring you the sense of grace, the power and the ability to complete things. You will act both timelessly and timely. In the central power of your

Thought and the projected ability of your mind, there is a stillness within you where

You do not react; this stillness often calms the flow of the mind and creates a quiet space in the center of the storm. In your Prayers, you talk to God, in your deepest

Meditation, God is talking to you.

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and as we journey through a very challenging transition period, the old ways are breaking, to make way for the new age.

“The time has come for You to be You a beautiful – bountiful and blissful human.”  YOGI BHAJAN

Guru Jiwan Singh became student of Yogi Bhajan in 1975 .He has been teaching and practicing Kundalini Yoga and Meditation for 35 years in the USA and Europe.

He currently lives in Millis, Ma and teaches Meditation at the Baba Siri Chand Yoga Center in Millis. For any questions you can call at 
508 259 9982 or 508 753 1797

And e–mail at gjskhalsa@comcast.net or dmpinge@gmail.com

$15 per class or $90 for the course;

seniors & students $ 10 or $70

http://kundaliniyogaforall.com

* a kriya is the action of the body and the breath, via the ancient technology of yoga, which prepares the mind for meditation

Care For Our Church Gardens

Care of our Church Gardens:

Annual Tasks  

Contacts:
Marcia Leonard: (508) 832-8131                                  
Nancy  Wilson (508) 839-4765

1. Communicating with the Parish:

Writing occasional messages for the newsletter, making announcements on Sunday mornings about Garden matters

2. Application of lime, fertilizer, Crab Grass Pre-Emergence chemical

Using spreader, apply anti-crab chemical to lawn surrounding the Main St. garden and to grass beneath the crab apple trees, before the end of April.    Time: 1 hour.   (Consult N. Wilson)  Lime and fertilize gardens occasional.

3. Fundraising projects

Such as the Green Exchange or holiday season pecan sales.    (Consult N. Wilson, H. Carter, L. Bona,  M. Densmore).

4. Garden hose care

Bring hoses out of storage in spring, make sure all are in operating order.   Repair or replace when necessary.  Make sure hoses are returned to storage in the fall.

5. Labeling of our plants

This helps our garden teach visitors, and us.   We shall find and provide optimum labeling material and help with names of plants

6. Log Book of Garden activity

We have record book with linen cover and archival paper, in which to record for the future, various contributions, memorial donations initiatives and events of our landscaping.   Would work best if entries were hand-written onto the acid-free paper.

7. Mulching

A springtime task which reduces weeds, retains moisture, improves the appearance.    Mulch cost covered in church budget.   Order mulch and gather some volunteers to help spread it on a Saturday a.m.

8. Garden Programs

There would very likely be a good audience in the parish for occasional programs or workshops on horticulture in general, or our plants in our own gardens. E.G. Sustainable Gardening.

9. Small Tree Pruning  (Crabapples and dogwood)

We have done this on our crab trees ‘most every year.   Needed: a step ladder, long handled pruning cutters, hand clippers, a couple of volunteers, a pick-up truck and a couple of hours on a Saturday a.m. in early spring.

10. Rhododendrons and Azaleas

These long-lived shrubs which anchor the four corners of the Memorial Garden need annual feeding, late spring deadheading,  and occasional pruning with a pruning saw or clippers.

11. Roses

Our four white roses in the Memorial Garden should have serious spring pruning, annual feeding, regular deadheading, and mulch against the winter cold.  Consult Helen Carter.

12. Summer volunteer garden schedule

We have awesome record of 46-year history of volunteer care of the gardens from May until September!    Each volunteer has been asked to come for one morning or afternoon of maintenance and deadheading during the summer.    Circulate sign-up sheet during the spring, and send reminder letter to those who have volunteered.   We have on file letter of volunteer summer instruction which can be reused or altered.  Consult N. Wilson.

13. Summer Watering

We have tried to establish a xeriscape garden which can tolerate the dry summers of recent years. And costs to our church of watering are high.   However, there are periods of drought where we need to do some watering with our soaker hoses.   For those times, we need individual who will turn on faucets in the Memorial Garden in the a.m. and make sure that they are turned off in the p.m.

14.Trimming the Yew Hedge

A one-shot task in midsummer requiring several hours using clippers to even the evergreen hedge surrounding the Memorial Garden.   Consult Lee Bona.

15. Management of an individual area or garden bed

A corner you could consider your own!   All our beds could benefit from some rethinking and removing and replanting as well as frequent deadheading of spent flowers.    Here are some:

16. Bird Bath Bed                         

17. Bed along the south wall of the church

18. Main Street Garden                

19. Upper Slope (our latest project) Consult Brenna Ewing who has made a design for this area.    We seek trouble-free plants native to New England.   We may apply for Wheeler grant for plant materials.   Need to figure how to get water to this area.

Living with Vitality and Peace

 

A program for persons who have faced cancer,
to attend with a loved one.

This is a program of gentle movement, breath and meditation using the powerful tools of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. Any body type can participate and no prior yoga experience is needed. It can be modified to a chair as needed. The goal will be to rebuild stamina, vitality, and inner peace after the initial battle one has faced with a cancer diagnosis. Please bring your partner, friend, or loved one to class with you. The class will serve you both.

We will meet for 8 consecutive Sunday evenings from 5pm to 6:30 pm
April 3rd through May 22
at the First Unitarian Church
90 Main Street Worcester Ma 01608
in the upstairs Chapel
Please park in the upper State Street lot and enter there.
Requested donation is $65 per person, for the 8 weeks paid within the first 2 sessions, or $10 per person per week; however no one is turned away based on inability to pay.

Class size is limited. To register please call Diane 774-287-2233 or email dmpinge@gmail.com Please also feel free to call with questions.

Diane Pingeton, MD, also known as Hari Kirin Kaur, started in health care as a nurse's aide in 1976. She worked as a registered nurse for 7 years prior to attending medical school. She is currently a practicing board certified gynecologist who also serves as a local Kundalini Yoga Teacher since 2007. She is certified by the Kundalini Research Institute, Yoga Alliance, and she has taken specialized training in bringing Kundalini Yoga and Meditation to persons with health challenges.

"Human love is for one thing only; to love your soul."

- Yogi Bhajan


Why Yoga?
Yoga and meditation provide a technology: the movement of the body and the breath which enable the mind to become quiet. It is in this quiet inner environment that one can connect to the universal self, deeply relax and find peace.
For more information about Kundalini yoga please visit the website

www.kundaliniyogaforall.com

Winter Fun Afternoon

The 2011 Lenten Series

Lenten Series

Beginning March 14th at 7:30

  

Lent is a time in which we are called to "give up" something to allow room for something else to emerge in our lives. 

Taking our cue from William Ellery Channing's "I Call That Mind Free" (#592 in the gray hymnal), the Lenten series will propose that we consider giving up three obstacles to the free mind, and see what kind of thinking emerges in their place. The series will involve some readings, personal and small group reflections, journaling and prayer. 

March 14: I call that mind free...which does not content itself with a passive or hereditary faith...(Outworn and merely conventional opinions)

March 28: I call that mind free... which is not framed by outward circumstances.... (the blinders caused by social status or position)

April 4: I call that mind free...which resists the bondage of habit.... (mental compulsions, distortions and misperceptions.)

Group Sadhana at First Unitarian Church

Sunday January 30th

Group Sadhana at the First Unitarian Church
90 Main Street, Upper State Street Lot
Upstairs in the Chapel
5:30am-7:30 am
(p.s. It is okay to wander in late if you need to!)

What is Group Sadhana?
Individual sadhana is one's daily practice on the spiritual path of yoga and meditation. Group sadhana adds group energy to the practice, uplifting all!

What will we be doing?
We will have an hour of yoga, a brief rest, and an hour of chanting the Aquarian Sadhana. These are mantra given specifically for us to usher in the Aquarian Age. It is very beautiful! (Please note that it can be adapted to chair yoga very easily) Prior yoga experience is not necessary!

What should we bring?
Please bring a mat, a water bottle, a sitting pillow and a blanket. If you use a meditation tool such as a special shawl or a mala you may want to bring it if you wish. A donation to the church for use of the space/ac/heat (suggested, $5-10, but any amount welcome, even a dollar) would be greatly appreciated as well. (Money exchange is not required as it is for class, as the teacher participates.)
Questions: please call Diane/Hari Kirin 508-753-1797 cell 774-287-2233 ; dmpinge@gmail.com or visit kundaliniyogaforall.com