Sunday Reflection with Rev. Aaron Payson @ The Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, MA

<p>We gather for this service of readings and carols to claim the spirit of Christmas through stories old and new, songs, soloists, and candlelight.</p><p>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 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.uucworcester.org">www.uucworcester.org</a> for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.</p>

<p>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.</p><p>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 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.uucworcester.org">www.uucworcester.org</a> for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.</p>

<p>The Buddhist teacher, Ajahn Jotipālo writes:</p><p><em>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.</em></p><p><em>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. </em>(<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.abhayagiri.org/reflections/692-turning-inward-with-patience">https://www.abhayagiri.org/reflections/692-turning-inward-with-patience</a>)</p><p>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.</p><p>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 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.uucworcester.org">www.uucworcester.org</a> for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.</p>

<p>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”.</p><p>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 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.uucworcester.org">www.uucworcester.org</a> for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.</p>

<p>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!</p><p>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 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.uucworcester.org">www.uucworcester.org</a> for future viewing. The music you hear is from "Song Without Words," written and performed by our Music Director, Matt Johnsen.</p>