• 20251224 A Holy Presence - Christmas Eve Homily
    Dec 25 2025

    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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    8 mins
  • 20251214 Wading Through The Rubble
    Dec 15 2025

    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 is from "Song Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    31 mins
  • 20251207 Don't Just Do Something, Sit There!
    Dec 7 2025

    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 get better.

    By learning to turn toward our suffering and simply be with it, we are staying at the level of feeling. We are not getting into the story, the proliferation, or creating a self around it. If someone says something to us and we become angry or feel uncomfortable, instead of going outward, as we typically do with mettā, we can go inward. (https://www.abhayagiri.org/reflections/692-turning-inward-with-patience)

    This Sunday, we pause to honor Bodhi Day, the Annual Day on which many Buddhists reflect on the Buddha’s gaining enlightenment. We will explore one of the essential dynamics of this process, which is our relationship to all that tries and challenges us as we seek to be our best selves in a world that is often bruised and hurting. Join us for this special service.

    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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    29 mins
  • 20251130 Thoughts on Waiting
    Dec 1 2025

    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 life in a world preoccupied with control.” Join us as we explore the spiritual discipline of “waiting”.

    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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    29 mins
  • 20251123 A New Narrative of Thanks
    Nov 23 2025

    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 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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    29 mins
  • 20251116 Taking Back Faith
    Nov 16 2025

    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 of religion, especially Christianity, during times of political, social, and religious upheaval. This Sunday, we will explore some of that history and ask what we are arguing for during this present era of turmoil.

    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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    29 mins
  • 20251109 Just Be Yourself with Rev. Michael Hall
    Nov 11 2025

    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 church, Michael now serves the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Franklin, NH. We are delighted that Michael served as our Guest Minister this Sunday.

    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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

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    20 mins
  • 20251102 The Unintended Consequences of Good Intentions
    Nov 2 2025

    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, 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 Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.

    Rev. Aaron Payson is in his 27th year as Minister of this congregation. He holds a BA in Psychology from Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA, and a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School, New Haven, CT. Rev. Payson is active in many community and denominational organizations and is an adjunct instructor in the Sociology Department at Worcester State University.

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    25 mins