Sermon Topic: Where Do UUs Find Spiritual Grounding?

Sermon Topic: This Sunday Rev. Cindy Frado will be asking us to consider where Unitarian Universalists “Find Their Spiritual Grounding.”

With so many diverse theological perspectives in the faith, where is the spiritual grounding? Is it the same for everyone? Can you walk with Jesus in the morning and have dinner with Nietzsche at night? Can you pray to God unashamedly while your neighbor prefers to confront life with reason only?

This is an important Sunday to warm a pew in the sanctuary.

Valentine’s Day Bags: If you haven’t yet signed up to bring in hygiene items for our annual service project to help those in need, please do so this Sunday in the chapel.

Being a UU Parent: Join our Religious Education director, Janet Davis, this Sunday from noon-2:30 p.m. to chat about “Developing Respect and Responsibility” in our UU youth.

Whether you’re a newcomer or long-time attendee, have toddlers or teens, this is a great opportunity for parents to share and learn from each other as we discuss chores, allowance, tolerance, diversity and community service.

Lunch will be served and childcare will be available. Please register with Janet, mjljdavis@aol.com.

Annual Canvass Campaign, Starts Feb. 5: Every Pledge Counts

We will kick off our annual pledge drive on February 5 on “Canvass Sunday.” Pledge cards for the 2012/2013 operating budget will be available so you can help us keep our community strong, healthy and vital. During the service we will be asking everyone to take a pledge form, fill it out and submit it that morning.

Why make a pledge to the church?

Each year the Board of Trustees meets in the spring to develop the next fiscal year’s budget. Based on the money we anticipate receiving from our pledges, as well as from regular revenue sources (like rental income), we allocate funds for operating expenses, programs and staff. Depending on our pledge totals, we can sometimes add a line item to cover services that have been covered by volunteers.

For example, in past years, we’ve had parishioner volunteer to mow the lawn and care for the grounds, including our rental property, 3 School Street. This year, we’ll be allocating approximately $1,300 to cover the cost of paying a service to do this. Additionally, we’re trying to put aside funds for a new heating system and to become full-share members of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

What does this mean to you?

Every pledge counts. Often people tell us they make their contributions by putting money into the collection plate each week. However we cannot develop a budget based on the amount of money that may or may not be in the collection plates from week to week. We need to estimate how much money we can anticipate receiving so we can formulate a solid budget.

So many of you give generously of your time in the Religious Education classes, other programs and in other areas of our church life, but we need a financial commitment as well to keep our organization operational. RE supplies, trash removal from waste generated at Coffee Hour, the costs of heating the sanctuary on a Sunday morning, all things big and small cost money.

Together we can make a big difference.

If every membership household pledged $1,500 for the 2012/2013 fiscal year, we would be able to cover our operating expenses for the year. Some people cannot give that much. Some people give more to cover the difference for those who cannot.

Every pledge counts.

Looking for Blu-Ray DVD Player

Can you donate a Blu-Ray DVD player to the church?

We’d like to start a film series at church with the beautiful big screen TV that Sally Jeffrey donated to us.

We need a Blu-Ray DVD player to show all sorts of great movies for viewing and discussion.

It’s a tax deductible donation. Contact the church office if you can help.

Sermon Topic: Start Where You Are

Sunday Sermon: The Rev. Cindy Frado, who is back from a brief sabbatical, this Sunday will be drawing from the writings of Buddhist nun Pema Chodron and discuss the challenge of new beginnings, when we must start from where we are in our lives. It is one thing to be young and innocent, and quite another to be “seasoned” and a bit worn around the edges.

How can we learn to widen our hearts and be compassionate toward ourselves? Come inside from the chills of winter and join us for a thought-provoking morning in church.

Teacher Team Meeting: Before our Sunday services, the Religious Education teachers for Block 2 will be meeting in the chapel at 9 a.m. The curricula will be distributed and schedules created. Please bring a photo ID to fill out CORI forms.

Valentine’s Bags: Don’t forget to sign up to bring in hygiene items for our annual service project.

UU Men’s Group: The next UU Men’s Group is Monday, January 23 from 7:15-9:15 p.m. in the chapel. The topic for discussion: What are the major choices that you made last year? All men are welcome, especially those who have been thinking to themselves that checking out the men’s group would be a good idea for 2012.

Sermon Topic: Welcome Drew Moeller

Sunday’s Sermon: On Sunday we will welcome to the pulpit Andrew (Drew) Moeller, ministerial intern in Northborough. Moeller, a lifetime UUer who grew up in Grosse Pointe, MI, was a Youth Specialist for the UUA back in his college days, and has spent the last 10 years as a parishioner at the UU church in Manchester, CT. Moeller is a student at Meadville-Lombard Theological School in Chicago.

Sign up for Jan. 29 “Being a UU Parent” session: This parent support group will be meeting on January 29 from noon until 2:30 p.m. to discuss developing respect and responsibility in our children and youth. Whether you are a newcomer or long-time attendee, have toddlers or teens, come join with other parents to share the joys and struggles of raising children.

Lunch will be served and childcare will be offered. You must register ahead of time with Janet Davis, the director of Religious Education. E-mail her at mjljdavis@aol.com.

Valentine’s Day Bags: Donations of hygiene items are needed for our annual service project. The sign-up sheet to volunteer to donate goods is in the chapel. The food pantry would like us to focus on single seniors this year as there are many programs available for families. We are hoping to put together 26 bags for women and 12 for men.

Guest At Your Table Final Tally: Our congregation donated $262.88 to the UU’s Guest at Your Table program this year. Thank you to everyone who donated.

UU Cookbook: We’re Really Cooking in 2012

Amy MacDougall would like to create a UU Westborough cookbook but she needs your help. “This will potentially be a fundraiser as well as a fun social event,” Amy said. What does she need to get started?

1. Recipes: Have you ever made something about which people raved and begged you for the recipe? Now’s your chance to spread the wealth. Submit your favorite appetizer, soup, breakfast, lunch, main course, sandwich, casserole, beverage and/or dessert recipe.

2. Layout: We need someone who’s able to do layout and who will assemble the recipes into book form.

3. Photography/Illustrator: We need someone who could either photograph food or create illustrations to accompany some of the recipes.

4. Event Organizers: A couple of people could organize the cookbook’s kick-off evening event (called “A Taste of UU,” or something like that) where people could prepare one or more of their recipes and bring it in for folks to sample. The cookbook would be on sale at the event.

5. Title Suggestions: Has anyone got any creative ideas for the title of our culinary masterpiece?

6. General Ideas: Do you have any other ideas on what would make our cookbook shine? We can add historic information about our church, quotes from famous UUs . . . any suggestions would be welcome.

Please contact Amy (ASL4162@verizon.net) to let her know what you’d like to do, even if it’s not on this list. She estimates that she’ll probably need at least two other people to get this started.

Image credit: RedRoom.

Money Matters: Your Pledges Keep the Lights & Heat On

As we kick off 2012, the Board of Trustees has decided to revisit its “Money Matters” campaign to educate our congregation on where pledge money goes and why it’s vital to our organization. Their focus this week is on operating expenses.

Our total 2011/2012 budget for operating expenses is nearly $44,000. Aside from the obvious — lights ($3,566) and heat ($13,000) — we pay $1,546 for trash removal, $6,900 for insurance, $500 for water/sewer bills and $50 for Vista newsletter production.

We’ve had a delightfully mild winter thus far, so our oil costs, as of December 1, have only totaled $663.98. The amount spent on oil will, of course, increase as the winter continues, but we’re in great shape with this particular bill.

Why this matters: We had about 75 pledges last year which accounted for more than three-quarters of our operating income. This means almost $600 of every pledge goes to pay for heat, light and office expenses.

When people wonder about how much they should pledge or if their pledge really matters, this is why: We need to have money that we can count on, in the bank, in order to pay the oil, water and electricity bills when they arrive. Your pledge dollars make it possible for our building to stay bright and warm on Sunday mornings as well as throughout the week for our support staff and renting tenants.

If you are new to our church and have not yet made a pledge, please consider doing so. Pledge envelopes can be found in the pews or in the office.

Home for the Holidays: Come Share Christmas Eve with Us

The Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregational Church of Westborough will offer carols, candlelight, readings and beautiful music. The service starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be led by The Rev. Cindy Frado.

Our readers will include young adults who grew up in the church and who are literally coming back from all over the world to be home for the holidays.

And there will be music. Lots of it:

Luanne Crosby, local singer/songwriter and long-time church member, will be performing her annual, much-loved rendition of “OH, Holy Night.” Crosby has written many original compositions specifically for our congregation.

Barry and Beth Hall – along with their daughter Avery — will perform Medieval, Renaissance and Celtic music that celebrates the winter season and its related holidays. They’ll be singing and playing a variety of traditional instruments including the fiddle, flute, bouzouki, viola, mandolin and bodhran. The duo has performed on their own as well as with ensembles throughout the concert halls of North America and the cathedrals of Europe. Their musical performances have been featured on National Public Radio (“All Things Considered” and “The World”), PBS television, BBC television and at the Smithsonian Institution.

Zlatomir Fung is also slated to perform. Fung, 12 years old, started playing the cello at the age of 3. He now plays with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and studies cello, music theory and composition at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Fung has won multiple national and statewide awards and was recently featured on National Public Radio’s “From the Top.” In January, he will be making his second appearance at Carnegie Hall. He is the son of Drs. Francis and Maria Fung of Westborough.

Caleigh Snyder – an accomplished ballerina who has performed with the Boston Ballet Company and has played the role of Clara in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite – is scheduled to dance during the service. A sixth grade student at Shrewsbury’s Sherwood Middle School, Snyder is the daughter of Justine Snyder and the late John Snyder.

Cameron Flory, a Westborough High School freshman, will be playing the trumpet. A member of the school’s marching and concert bands, Flory has been playing the trumpet since the fourth grade. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Craig and Noreen Flory.

Our choir, under the direction of Warren Olsen will round out our musical offerings during this very special service.

UU Men’s Group to Discuss ‘Creativity’ on Dec. 19

The UU Men’s group will meet on Monday, December 19 at 7 p.m. in the chapel to discuss “Creativity: Is There an Inner Artist in You?”

We will discuss how we see creativity in our lives and the ways in which we express it . . . as an artist, writer, musician or with any other activity. If you have made something that is a reflection of your creativity (a poem, a picture, an object) and would like to bring it with you to share, by all means do so, although that is not mandatory. It’s the exploration of ideas that counts. Many of us pursue artistry in different ways and rarely talk about them.

All the men in the congregation are welcomed and encouraged to participate in this final group discussion of 2011.

Internationally Acclaimed Musician to Play This Sunday

Special Musical Performance: Jim Scott –an exciting acoustic guitarist, singer and composer of powerful music which furthers the ideals of ecology, justice and peace — is slated to perform during our 10:30 a.m. service this Sunday, on December 18.

One of the rare musicians who has transcended stylistic boundaries, Scott has recorded and shared the stage with luminaries from the jazz, classical and folk music worlds. From Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival with the Paul Winter Consort, to a concert at the end of the Great Peace March with folk legends Pete Seeger and Peter Yarrow, Scott’s travels have taken him around the world. He’s been on a European tour with the Griffith Singers performing his choral music, has recorded in the gardens of Findhorn, Scotland with jazz flautist Paul Horn, toured Nicaragua with Holly Near and performed in Australia for colleges and the Institute for Earth Education International Conference.

For more information about Jim Scott’s music, visit his website.

Sermon Topic: Rev. Cindy Frado’s sermon this week is about “A Festival of Lights.” Drawing from the religious holidays that intersect in this season of light and joy, we will hear stories and sing songs from Christian, Jewish and Pagan traditions.

Image credit: Jim Scott.