by Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration
Let’s be the welcome we crave—
open hearts, arms outstretched.
Let’s embody radical welcome,
unquestioning love.
Let’s be the welcome we crave,
deeply hearing voices and hearts.
Let’s be the welcome we crave—
Enriching, understanding.
Let us embody the community we crave.
Together.
~ Rev. Dr. David Breeden
One day, Fox invites Stork, Bear, Wolf, and Monkey to dinner. Fox spends all day cooking a wonderful soup that is served in wide bowls. Most of them eat until they are full, thanking Fox for the fine meal. But when Stork tries to eat, they cannot get any of the soup out of the dish, and they go away frustrated and hungry.
Stork then invites Fox, Woodpecker, Monkey, and Pigeon to dinner and cooks a wonderful stew, which they serve in tall, fluted glasses. When Fox tries to lap up the food, all they can do is lick the top of the glass, meaning they go away frustrated and hungry after watching the others eat.
Monkey watches the two dinners and decides to have their own dinner party, inviting each person to bring their favorite plate, bowl, or cup to eat from. When the guests arrive, Monkey fills each person’s dish, and every person gets to eat and enjoy the company of their friends.
BE LIKE THE MONKEY
Come join in with your community in a shared evening of food and conversation on Saturday March 29th @ 5:30pm Sign up in Fellowship Hall or http://bit.ly/3YHNGGs
In an atmosphere of division, we are now in a wonderful place to stand together and decide how we want to support a welcoming world. UUCW is made up of determined individuals who strive to make things inclusive for folks who find themselves on the margins more often than not.
What can we do, as a beloved community, to support, to include, and to be the welcome we all crave? I believe the first thing we can do is to come together and get to know each other better. Next to each other, we can feel the energy of a positive hope. The actions we take, even as a small yet connected community, can impact lives.
The Cool Beans Coffee House is a fantastic collaboration of charitable community members. We have musical acts which will entertain and inspire you, all volunteering their time and talent to raise money for the operating costs of the In the Hour of Need Family Shelter, located at 91 June Street in Worcester.
Like many non-profit organizations, IHN is fearful about the cuts in local and federal funding. At this time, they strive to maintain their work to support unhoused families and assist to find affordable housing. Please purchase a $7 ticket and join the cause. Tickets are available in Fellowship Hall and online here: https://bit.ly/CoolBeans2025
In addition, we hope you can take part in the Heart Quilt Raffle- The money raised from this point on will go 100% to IHN. https://bit.ly/IHNQUILT . Earlier, we donated the money raised to support UUCW and its outreach involvement in the Worcester community and beyond..
Thank you all for your continued attention to the efforts of UUCW, the grassroots ideas, mobilization of community members, and especially to those concerns which you hold deeply in your heart and put your energy toward..
As we say at the end of our Religious Exploration class:
We are Unitarian Universalists (open arms wide toward each other)
Who put love at the center of our lives. (hands on heart)
And as we go out into the world,
Let us remember to include others (make a come here gesture with hands) and
break down (make a breaking gesture with hands) the barriers that keep people out.
With Compassion,
Robin