Summer Garden Tours 2014 - Part 2

Summer 2014 Garden Tours
July through August

Summer Sunday tours of church members' and friends' gardens are back! Join us any Sunday afternoon (except June 8) from 1:30 to 3:30 to relax in a beautiful setting in good company.  If rain threatens, we cross our fingers and hope it will clear at the critical time. Questions? Call Kris Johnson at 508-796-5969.

  

Sunday, July 6 - Jim Dolan, 769 Grove St., Worcester. From church take Harvard St. past the Art Museum, turn left briefly on Salisbury St. and then first right onto Grove. It winds around past Indian Lake and becomes Rt. 122A.  769 is almost in Holden directly in front of the St. Peter's-Marian High School.

Sunday, July 13 - Barbara Engwall, 22 Vincent Ave., Worcester.  From church take Highland St. and turn left onto Park Ave. by Price Chopper. Near Webster Square turn right by Commerce bank onto Lovell St.. Pass school and turn left onto Columbus. At hilltop make 3 immediate turns:right, left, right onto Vincent Ave.

Sunday, July 20 - The Gustavsons, 82 Uncatena Ave., Worcester. From church take Lincoln St. under 290 uphill and bear left onto Burncoat St. where they fork. Cross 290, straight past Burncoat schools to light by convenience store: turn right. Uncatena will be a left a little way downhill by the very tall hedge. #82 is on left just after you turn.

Sunday, July 27 - The Keatings, 983 Pleasant St., Worcester.  From church take Highland St. to Newton Square rotary: more or less straight through, still on Pleasant. Watch for 983 on right before Tatnuck Sq.

Sunday, Aug. 3 - Red Barn, Shrewsbury St., Holden. From church take Grove St. out of Worcester past Indian Lake and stay straight/bearing left.  It becomes 122A.  At lights and shopping plaza near Holden Ctr. turn right onto Shrewsbury St. and watch for Red Barn sign on left.

Sunday,  Aug. 10 - The Riggs, 337 Salisbury St., Holden. From church take Salisbury St. towards Holden, past Salisbury Green on right. Approx. 2 miles late see #337 on left.

Sunday, Aug. 17 - The Miricks,160 Mirick Rd. Princeton. From church get to Lincoln Sq. and take 290 East briefly to 190 North. Take exit 5 and turn left onto Rt. 140. Follow winding country road to blinking light and turn left onto Rt. 62 and later right into Rt. 130 (before Princeton Ctr.)  Go past Merriam Rd. to 2nd left onto Mirick. Go approx. 1.5 miles, past Beaman Rd. and uphill to house with big red barn on left. Park by barn.

Sunday, Aug. 24 - The Triple Crown on Crown Hill! (3 gorgeous gardens) 7, 5, and 2 Congress St.,Worcester. LIMITED ON-STREET PARKING - CARPOOLS ENCOURAGED.  From church take Highland St. to left onto Harvard/Lynden up and downhill to lights by All Saints Church: turn right onto Pleasant. Turn left onto Crown at hilltop and immediate right onto Congress.

Ferry Beach Registration Form

Ferry Beach Registration Form

September 12th -14th 2014

(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON)

You are invited to attend our Ferry Beach 2014 weekend, a getaway for our UU church community to the beautiful sandy shore of Saco, Maine.  We are looking forward to a wonderful weekend of relaxation, laughter, good conversation and great food.  Come enjoy the fun, play games, walk the beach, take a hike, or simply sit on the porch by the beach with a good book or a good friend.  

Ferry Beach is a UU camp and conference center located on the beach in Saco, Maine.  It offers dorm-style rooms with bunks in the buildings and camping for tents or campers in Hersey Grove.  Delicious meals are catered and include a variety of foods to suite every dietary need.  

Your cost to lodge in a dorm for the weekend includes 4 delicious meals and is:

Adults and children 13 +        $100

Children 5-12                        $80

Children 2-4                        $50

Children under 2 are                 Free

Camping in Hersey Grove is $35 per site plus the cost of food

Adults and children 13+        $50

Children 5-12                        $30

Children under 5 eat                Free

Your registration form and complete payment must be received by June 15th.   Please make checks payable to: UU Church of Worcester.  Cancellations with full refunds are available on or before August 1, 2013.  Thereafter, you may only receive a refund if someone takes your place.  Please complete the attached Ferry Beach form as soon as possible and return it to us at church or mail to:

Maya Desai (from UUCW) c/o UUCW 90 Holden St. Worcester, MA 01606

Laura Kirshenbaum (from First U) 34 Cedar Rd. Holden, MA 01520

Any special requests must also be sent or emailed on our Ferry Beach form before June 15th so we can accommodate you.  If you have questions about the weekend, please contact our coordinators:

Maya Desai & Sean Divoll, UU Church of Worcester (Holden Street)

508-853-2422 divolls@verizon.net

Shannon & Laura Kirshenbaum, First Unitarian Church of Worcester (downtown) 508-210-0657 laurakirshenbaum@gmail.com

Ferry Beach Registration Form -- September 12th -14th 2014

(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON)

Family Name____________________________________________________________

Address_______________________________________________________________

Home Phone #:_________________________ Cell Phone #:_____________________

Email___________________________________________

List Names of participants and ages (if you wish to share, it helps with planning):

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Pricing:

Complete if staying in the DORM        or                   Complete if CAMPING

$100 x____ = ______(adults & 13+)                            Per site = $35.00/weekend

$80 x____ = ______        (5-12yr)                                                plus meals

$50 x ____ = ______ (2-4yr)         $50 x ____ =_____ (adults & 13+)

             Under 2 free                                                $30 x ____ =_____ (5-12yr)

                              Under 5 kids eat free

TOTAL      = $ _________

Please make checks payable to UU Church of Worcester with memo noting “Ferry Beach”.  The registration deadline is June 15th.

MEALS:         

Meal Category	# of adults	# of kids
Standard Meal
Vegetarian Meal
Vegan Meal
Gluten Free Meal

Other dietary needs:_____________________________________________________

Accommodation Requests:

Roommate request?_____________________________________________________

Do you have any special circumstances that require 1st floor accommodations or other special concerns?________________________________________________________

Activities:

____Yes, I would love to run/help with the music for the bonfire.

____Yes, I would love to run/help out with an activity with the kids.

____Yes, I would be interested in running an activity for adults.

PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM WITH YOUR CHECK BY JUNE 15th!!

Your check should be made out to UUCW with Ferry Beach in the memo.

DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton

DeWitt Clinton and 
Amos Eaton 

Geology and Power in Early New York                   

by David I. Spanagel

David I. Spanagel explores the origins of American geology and the culture that helped give it rise, focusing on Amos Eaton, the educator and amateur scientist who founded the Rensselaer School, and on DeWitt Clinton, the masterful politician who led the movement for the Erie Canal. DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton shows how a cluster of assumptions about the peculiar landscape and entrepreneurial spirit of New York came to define the Empire State.

Spanagel sheds light on a particularly innovative and fruitful period of interplay among science, politics, art, and literature in American history. New Yorkers' romantic views of natural majesty and ideas about improving the land influenced scientific ideas and other features of contemporary culture. The life of Amos Eaton provides a lens through which readers gain fresh awareness of scientific knowledge, economic planning, and cultural values during the first half of the nineteenth century. Scientists of the time were fascinated by questions such as: How old is the earth? When did time begin? How might the passage of time have shaped and reshaped the original landscape?

In the United States, New Yorkers of the mid-1820s mounted the most concerted effort to find answers to these large questions of natural history. Both geographic conditions and historical forces led Amos Eaton and his wealthy patron Stephen Van Rensselaer to open the Rensselaer School at Troy, New York, in 1826. Eaton thus gave America its first generation of professional scientists, many of whom formed professional organizations and standards of practice still active today.

David I. Spanagel teaches history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014

288 pp., 7 halftones, 3 line drawings

Hardcover book, list price $54.95

All Circles Lunch After Worship - Sunday, March 30

What are the Caring Circles?

A roughly geographic way of connecting congregants with each other. We are then more able to help one another in a time of need, say a ride to church or to a doctors'a appointment, perhaps food after illness or a new baby.  

How do I participate?

Everyone who is active in the church, member and nonmembers, are invited to be in a circle. You may also invite a friend who is interested in the church to participate in your circle. No one is excluded. We meet socially to get to know one another.  

What is an all-circle lunch?

After worship we will sit together in our circles for a light potluck lunch.  We have recently merged from nine to six total circles, and we are now named by color.  You should have information from your circle leaders regarding your new color-name, and if you have moved to a different circle.  Circles 6 and 7 are now merged into other circles.  

Please refer to the circle leaders list below to help you know your new circle color, and feel free to dress in your circle color this Sunday.

Please bring potluck food to share if you are able.  If you are having a super busy weekend, just come, there is typically plenty of food!

Caring Circle Leaders List March 2014

Don Rawding , Caring Community Leader: Correspondence

drrursus@msn.com

(notify Don if you know of someone in need of a card from the church)

Circle 2 ==> now the Yellow Circle

Paul Kelly            508-792-9661       pkrlly@bancroftschool.org

David Blodgett    508-340-1041       blogettdavid@gmail.com

Circle 3===> now the Red Circle

Diane Mirick       978-464-2313       dkmirick@verizon.net

Joan Russo                                     thekeddygroup@msn.com

Circle 4====> now the Green Circle

Jean McInerney  508-753-2639       jemcinerney@verizon.net

Fran Nase           508-799-7607       frannase@charter.net

Sue Stanley          508-688-9722       Rodsue@att.global.net

Nancy Coppolino  508-517-0191     ncoppolino@verizon.net

Circle 5==> now the Purple Circle

Marjorie Connelly  508-277-0104    marjorieconnelly@gmail.com

Danna Peterson  508-842-0494       dannapeterson@townisp.com

Peter Gray          508-740-7968       grayp@bc.edu

Hari Kirin Kaur Khalsa 774-287-2233    dmpinge@gmail.com

(Circle 6 & Circle 7 are now merged into other circles.  If you are not sure what circle you are in, contact Hari Kirin, Vivian, Marjorie, or Rick)

Circle 8==>now the Blue Circle

Vivian Shortreed   508-799-9750     vhshortreed@gmail.com

Rick & Madeline Silva 508-799-9456   avlis@aol.com

Circle 9 + 10 =è now the Orange Circle

Lee Bona            508-353-0366       leebona@verizon.net

Ted Messier        508-852-8122       tamessier@charter.net

Liz Gustavson      508-852-0814       gustavsonliz@hotmailcom

Bernadette Nelson 508-853-8023    nelsonbmn2@gmail.com

How First U Helps Homeless Youth

How Did Our Church Help A Teenager Living in the Woods?

John ran away from his home in the Midwest when he was 17 years old and came to Worcester to meet a friend. With no job and no money, John lived “in the woods” in Worcester. A Stand Up For Kids-Worcester volunteer found John on the streets of Worcester and this began their relationship. John’s wish was to return to high school, but because he didn’t know where he was born, did not have his previous school records and did not have a local address, he was refused acceptance when he tried to enter school on his own. Stand Up For Kids-Worcester helped John get his birth certificate, located his previous school records, provided him meals, helped him find a place to live and he returned to school. A year later, John graduated from high school on the Dean’s list. John is 20 years old today, lives with his girlfriend and her mother in Worcester, and is currently attending college part time in a pre-med program.

How did First Unitarian help?

Our Church was one of the founders of Jericho Road-Worcester who, in turn, assisted Stand Up For Kids – Worcester.  Here’s how we were able to be a part of the help John received:

• Our Church was one of the founders of Jericho Road-Worcester who, in turn, assisted Stand Up For Kids – Worcester. Here’s how we were able to be a part of the help John received:
• First Unitarian, along with First Baptist and Unitarian Universalist Churches of Worcester are sponsors of Jericho Road-Worcester (JRW), an affiliate of the Jericho Road Project, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. JRW matches the professional skills of our volunteers with more than 30 nonprofit organizations in the greater Worcester community
• Stand Up For Kids-Worcester is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization and is run entirely by volunteers who find homeless and alone kids in the Worcester community and help them improve their lives. They needed some help.
• A member of our Church and JRW board member (Joan Russo), provided management coaching to Stand Up For Kids-Worcester’s Executive Director and helped create their first Executive Board.
• Our Church recently designated Stand Up For Kids-Worcester as one of our 50/50 plate collection recipients.  Our generous donations contributed over $1600 to the homeless children of Worcester.
• Inspired by both JRW and Stand Up For Kids-Worcester’s mission, another member of our church (Lisa Siciliano) designated Stand Up For Kids-Worcester as this year’s non-profit recipient of a portion of sales of her original artwork at Sparkreations.

If you are interested in being a volunteer with JRW or making a monetary contribution please contact Jolene Jennings, the JRW Director at jjennings@jerichoroadproject.org  or visit our webpage at www.jerichoroadproject.org/Worcester

If being a member of the JRW Board is of interest to you, please speak to Jeanine Beratta or Joan Russo.

Getting Ready

In September, we will be welcoming our new settled minister into our pulpit.  Calling a minister is a significant event for any Congregation.  For us, this will be only the 12^th time in 230 years that we have invited a new minister to join us.

If you invited a guest into your home – for a meal, for a weekend, or for a longer visit - you would pick things up, empty the wastebaskets, do a thorough cleaning, replace any burned out light bulbs, and maybe even fix that leaky toilet in the powder room and do a few of those other minor repairs that you knew had to be done, but that you just hadn’t had time to do.  And when everything was ready, you’d be pleased and proud and energized and ready to enjoy the visit.

That’s what we need to do as a Church to get ready for our new minister, to get ready for the next stage in our journey as a spiritual community, and to get ready for the growth of our Congregation.

As a Church, we support our Program through our annual pledges, and we support our building through the endowment created by those who came before us.  In recent years, we’ve been diverting endowment income to cover Program costs, with the result that there are any number of things that should be fixed.  The Finance Committee and the Prudential Committee have made developed a list of highly visible projects that benefit all of us.  Some of the parking lot work has already been done using a very generous $100,000 legacy from Dick Prouty, a long-time member of the Church who passed away in 2012, and who continued his support of the Church in his will.  Now the Congregation needs to raise $125,000 to complete the tasks on the list.

To kick off the “Getting Ready” campaign, the members of the Prudential Committee have collectively pledged 10% of what to raise.  It’s going to be a short and focused six week campaign, to be wrapped up before Candidating Week (April 26-May 4).   We’ll report the results to you every Sunday and in the newsletter.  If the rest of the Congregation responds with the same enthusiasm and commitment of the Prudential Committee, we will meet our goal, and possibly even have a little left over for other projects. 

Restrooms.  We are woefully short of restroom facilities that are needed for the level of activity in the Church.  And the two existing bathrooms on the main floor are in desperate need of renovation.  As anyone who has ever done an upgrade of a home bathroom is all too aware, these are expensive projects.  

First U member Bob Shaw has been developing plans to turn the old coatroom space on the Court Street side into new restrooms, and to renovate the existing handicapped accessible restroom on the State Street side.  His plans are posted in the dining room.  Bob and First U member Mike Keating are getting estimates for the work.

Ceilings.  There is cracking and other problems in the ceiling of the Bancroft Room, and the water damage to the ceiling on the south side of the Sanctuary.  Bob Shaw is organizing volunteers to repair these problems, but there are still some significant costs for materials and paint. 

Sound System.  We have all experienced the annoying popping and feedback squeals of the sound system in the Sanctuary – and the days when it simply hasn’t worked.  First U member Jesse Anderson is trying out different microphones and other components with the goal of finding the best combination of acoustical quality and price.  He is also developing an improved recording system so that we can provide quality CDs of services to members of the Church who miss a Sunday, but who don’t want to miss the service altogether.  We need to raise the funds for the new components.

The Kitchen.  We all benefit from the kitchen, whether we are working to prepare a meal or simply enjoying the feast that is set before us.  A true commercial kitchen would be wonderful, but the cost and compliance with Code requirements are prohibitive.  But we can do a lot with a second stove, a second dishwasher, a large freezer, and a more efficient layout.  Bob Shaw’s plans are posted in the dining room for everyone to look at.  We need to raise the money to turn his plans into reality. 

Parking Lots.  The parking lots on the State Street side were in deplorable shape.  Some of you may not know that the parking lots were created in the 1950s when the Church purchased and tore down several houses, and filled in and paved over the cellar holes.  Over the following half century, there has been settling, as well as the ordinary wear and tear that happens to every parking lot.  We had this on our list for attention, and thanks to the generous Prouty legacy and some excellent negotiation by Mike Keating, we were able to coordinate our parking lot repairs and resurfacing with other work in the area being done by the contractor.  The final finish work will be done in the spring, which should put us in good shape for the next half century. 

There should be something in the “Getting Ready” campaign that will appeal to everyone!  We have a strong beginning with the contributions from the members of the Prudential Committee, but we need everyone to follow their lead so the “Getting Ready” campaign will be a success and we can truly get ready for our new minister, get ready for the next stage in our journey as a spiritual community, and get ready for the growth of our Congregation.

John O. Mirick

Finance Committee Chair

Faith in Action: Prison Policy Reform Now!

Faith in Action:  PRISON POLICY REFORM NOW!

This is it!!  Come Sunday, February 9, at 12:15pm, to hear directly from area leaders about prison-related policy reform efforts now underway in Massachusetts.  This is an essential social justice issue, and UU churches across the Commonwealth are involved!

Who will be coming this week to help us understand this issue?

• EPOCA (Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement)

EPOCA’s mission:  Working together to create resources and opportunities for those who have paid their debt to society. 

• North First Parish Social Action Committee on Prison Reform: find out why other UU churches are involved and what they are doing to help.

Other up-coming opportunities to get involved with this effort:

• Saturday, February 8, 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington

Taking Action to End Mass Incarceration:  An Organizing Workshop

630 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA  (Arlington Center)

This workshop will help you build practical skills for bringing your congregation and community into the Jobs Not Jails Campaign and the broader movement against mass incarceration.  Jobs Not Jails is a statewide coalition that intends to stop the proposed spending of $2 billion of taxpayer money to build new prison cells and redirect those funds to our communities.  We are collecting signatures on petitions and planning a rally on the Boston Common on April 26.  The suggested donation for lunch will be $10, but don’t stay away if that is a difficulty.  Parking is across Massachusetts Avenue in municipal lots.  This event is sponsored by UU Mass Action and the Mass Incarceration Working Group of First Parish Arlington.

 Please pre-register by emailing end-mass-incarceration@firstparish.info. 

•  Contact Kate O’Dell to ride-share. (508 792 9661 or odellkk@gmail.com

AND:

• April 26, 2014 State House Rally:  JOBS NOT JAILS

Jobs NOT Jails is the newest EPOCA campaign. If current criminal justice policies are not changed dramatically, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will spend $2 billion to build 10,000 new prison units by 2020. Our state has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world - on par with French Guiana and Belarus. There are so few resources, and so many barriers to successful re-entry, that most prisoners released from DYS, county jails, and prison are incarcerated again within 3 years – at a recidivism rate over 60%.  In addition to destroying lives, families, and neighborhoods, prison expansion is crowding out funding for every state service that serves to lift people up. EPOCA is working to effect policy to transition tax dollars to community building, by providing jobs and training as a concrete alternative to poverty, hopelessness and crime.

EPOCA and its allies are building a grassroots groundswell against more prison spending and for reforms that will make such spending unnecessary.   Actions for change include: (1) freezing prison construction, (2) passing wide-ranging criminal justice reforms, (3) re-directing savings into a jobs program targeting low-income, high-crime neighborhoods.  The rally in April is an opportunity to present a Jobs Not Jails petition of 50,000 signatures.