Unitarian Universalist Congregational

Society of Westborough

Share the Plate organization for May -

Pastoral Counseling Center of Westborough

The Pastoral Counseling Centers of Massachusetts provide counseling to all persons seeking wholeness and renewal, honoring their race, ethnicity, religion, cultural background, gender identity and sexual orientation. We know that mental health care is of profound importance and can be very difficult to access, so we include the Pastoral Counseling Center as one of our share the plate organizations every year. Donations like ours make it possible for the PCC to provide mental health services to as many people as possible, regardless of their insurance coverage or income.

A Letter from Rev. Laurel

Dear UUCSW,

What a whirlwind of a couple weeks! First off, I want to say thank you to all of you for your well-wishes on my new position and to the Search Team for all your work to get the ball rolling on finding the next minister. I have great faith in the Search Team and high hopes for UUCSW’s next minister.

There are a few questions that I’ve been hearing repeatedly that I thought it would be helpful to answer here. Click here to read full letter.

Annual Meeting

It's that time of year again! Our Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, June 9 after worship, and the annual report will be sent out to the congregation in the week before. If you are the head of a committee that submits a report, please send your report to the office by Sunday, May 26. Please contact the office with any questions. Thank you!

UUCSW Art Show

Thank you to everyone who donated or created art to be shown at our Art Show during Sunday Fun-day! There were so many beautiful things to look at! Thanks especially to Jane Gates, who brought in many pieces of her art, and provided invaluable help with the setup of the show.

Most pieces are still on display, so if you were not at the service on Sunday, please take a look this week!

Pledge

Thanks for helping us Grow and Share Together!

Vote Forward - Update

The Racial Justice Committee has a goal to send out 1000 letters to folks targeted by Vote Forward as "Social" . These are people in underserved parts of the country who are being encouraged to vote. This is not about party affiliation or candidacy.  

If you wish to participate, contact me and I will make a bundle for you. This bundle includes 20 letters, envelopes, and instructions. It takes about an hour tp write a short message on the letter and address the envelope for a bundle of 20 letters. 

We have already had almost 300 commitments to write letters by 6 of our members and friends. When the bundle is completed, it will be returned to me so I can record them as "prepared" and save them for mailing on October 1.

Contact me if you have any questions or concerns or wish to participate. Sheila McPharlin, sheilamcp@gmail.com 860.304.4668.

SMOC Food and Clothing Drives

SMOC food and clothing donations may be dropped off in the box in the Sanctuary every Sunday. Bologna may be stored in the upstairs refrigerator in the parlor. Other requested items are chewy granola bars and juice boxes.

May's SMOC collections will be delivered to the Worcester shelter on Friday May 24th. Donations may also be dropped off on the Thursday evening before, on May 23rd. (Ruggles Street door from 4:30 - 5:45) If you need alternate arrangements for drop-off, please contact Pauline Sciarappa at psciarappa@gmail.com.  Thanks to all who help UUCSW support SMOC, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Book Group

Our next book group meeting will be tomorrow - Fri, May 10 at 7pm at Central One Bank, 40 South Street, Westborough. The book this month is Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt.

Summary: an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

Please contact Susie Wells with any questions: susie48winnip@gmail.com.

All are welcome!

Options for Assistive Listening during Worship Services

If you are in need of Assistive Listening Devices during worship service, please know that we have several options.

• We have assistive listening devices available in the front of the sanctuary in the tech area
• You may log into Zoom from the sanctuary and sync with hearing aids
• There is Closed Captioning on the big screen at the front of the sanctuary. If you sit on the right side of the church, you will have a clear view of the text

If you need anything other than the options above, please contact the office at office@uucsw.org and we will work with you to accommodate your needs.

The End of Life Options Act

From UU Mass Action

We UUs have supported Medical Aid in Dying since Right to Die with Dignity was passed in 1988 as a General Resolution. yet 36 years later, we residents of Massachusetts still don’t have the right of choice if we are terminally ill and suffering. 

The End of Life Options Act has been introduced in the legislature many times, and had finally been voted forward out of two committees and it is now before the Senate Way and Means Committee. Time is short before the end of this session and if you believe that this is a right that we should have, please contact your legislators and ask that they support H.2246 and S.1331, and ask them to urge leadership to more this bill forward. This is a link to find your representatives and senators and their contact information.

https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

Please also share this with friends and family who might also be supportive of this issue.

The End of Life Options Act would legalize medical aid in dying which would allow a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request from their doctor a prescription for medication they can decide to self-ingest to die peacefully in their sleep. For more information please go to https://www.compassionandchoices.org/in-your-state/massachusetts/bill-summary#:~:text=The