In these midst of global pandemic, rising authoritarianism, and uprising, lives hang in the balance and the future of democracy is on the line. In response, Unitarian Universalists are answering the call of our faith, building powerful partnerships to mobilize our communities to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate in the 2020 elections. Join UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray, the UU the Vote team, and a lineup of powerful, prophetic UU voices as we explore the intersections of faith, justice, and democracy in this collective virtual service.

To join online, go to zoom.us/j/89214621289

The UUCSW membership committee is planning a socially distanced hike up Wachusett Mountain via the wide paved road for fall leaf peeping. Please see the photo for the spot to meet. (If you put in your navigation app: 67 Westminster Road, Princeton you are nearly there! Just beyond it.) There are a few roads that converge on this area which can accommodate a couple dozen cars with no fee for parking.

The “leaders” of the hike will be Ann Maloney, Pauline Sciarappa and Kris Medinger. Please bring a mask and water bottle. It will probably be two hours round trip to the lookout tower. An alternative hike to Echo Lake would be one hour round trip; folks may prefer that, as it is not as steep. It will be nice to get some hiking in before the weather turns!

We wanted to report on the results of the UUCSW letter writing campaign. All told, we wrote about 1,200 letters – and the trigger date for mailing them is this weekend. Thanks to all of you who wrote letters – we had 24 people who wrote these, encouraging people who aren’t consistent voters to get out and vote this time. Pictured are 550 letters. These are going to voters in Michigan (we were able to get these to someone in Michigan who will mail them so they will have a Michigan postmark.) When you look at this picture, you see lots of envelopes of all shapes and varieties. What we saw also was the many hours of caring and dedication. Yes, it’s many envelopes but look at any one of them and you see love. (Jerry teared up at this!) Thanks again for the hard work. – Jerry and Marge

Please consider participating in a congregational food drive to benefit the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) which provides meals for homeless people in Worcester. At this time they are especially in need of: 6-8 oz juice boxes/pouches; fresh fruit especially apples, oranges/clementines, pears; 16 oz packages of bologna, thick slice pre-packaged; boxes of chewy/soft granola bars.

There will be a collection for these items on Thursday, October 29th from 4:30 to 5:45 pm at the Ruggles Street door of UUCSW. Please reach out to Pauline at psciarappa@gmail.com ahead of time if there's a better time for you. Food will be delivered to SMOC on October 30th. Hopefully we can continue to do this regularly to help SMOC provide for their homeless families. Thank you for help with this. – Your friends on the Social Action Committee

To make it easier for congregants to schedule personal meetings, Rev. Laurel has set up virtual office hours scheduling through Calendly! Just click the link below to view her availability and request a meeting time. You will have the option to choose either a 30 minute or 60 minute meeting, and to talk with Rev. Laurel either by Zoom or by phone call.

(Please note that, as always, if you have a pastoral emergency and need to speak with Rev. Laurel immediately, you may reach her at any time by texting or calling her cell at 401-932-7855.)

Starting this fall, UUCSW is offering a monthly series of spiritual resource packets, developed by Soul Matters, that you are welcome to use however fills your spirit. Please click the links below to download the resource packets for the month of October.

Our seventh principle calls us to respect the interdependent web of life, so this week I made a donation to Nickerson State Park when I reserved my campsite, and got a membership to the Mass Audubon Society. Both are organizations working to protect and celebrate the environment. What's your small act? - Rev. Laurel