Sunday Worship Services
Join us every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in our classic New England sanctuary for worship services. Our services engage the mind, body and spirit with beautiful music, spiritual themes, stories for all ages, and time for contemplation and prayer. Children begin in the sanctuary with their families and then are excused for faith development programs which run concurrently. Nursery care is available for the youngest, and babies and children are always welcome to remain in the service with their caregivers.
You can also join us live online, or view any of our past services on our YouTube channel.
Worship Online
During our service, we share prayers from our community. During the summer months, prayer requests may be sent to our Office Administrator Lesa McWalters at , who will share them with the lay preacher for the upcoming Sunday. Unless you note otherwise, prayer requests will be shared aloud during our Sunday service.
Worship theme: Cultivating compassion
One thing we hope our religious community helps us do is cultivate compassion. We strive to do justice, love mercy and compassion, and walk humbly with our God and each other. For ourselves and all beings, we pray for compassion and peace.
Sunday mornings 10:30AM
View past services, music, and children's stories on our YouTube channel
Sunday, October 12, 2025 YouTube Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/RlMotKpUAYk?feature=share
Beyond Welcome
Our guest speaker, Rabbinical Student Joanna Lubkin, will share some spiritual practices of radical welcome and inclusion. We'll honor the Jewish custom of welcoming guests into a Sukkah, a temporary outdoor hut built for the eight-day holiday of Sukkot. And we'll delve into how we as individuals and in communities can practice ever deeper, wider welcome.
Joanna Lubkin is a rabbinical student whose path included ten years of service in UU congregations, college chaplaincy, a lifetime of Jewish education, a passion for songleading, and training as a community organizer. She is called to cultivate radically welcoming communities, where people can feel like they wholeheartedly belong. An alum of Clark University (BA '07, MPA '08), Joanna is delighted to come west and spend the day in Worcester. She is accompanied by service dog Sully.
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Shared Ministry
Our Minister Emerita and our Minister will share the pulpit to preach on their tenures in the ministry. Following the example set by our first minister, Aaron Bancroft, and many Unitarian Universalist ministers since, the Rev. Dr. Barbara Merritt will reflect on her 50 years of ordination. The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart will reflect on the wisdom she gained from the churches she has served, and the future of First Unitarian Church.
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Judging the Past
Cities deciding whether to take down statues; institutions wrestling with their histories; even choosing which composers and writers to highlight in our services: our society is struggling with its judgments of the past. Yet we can also question what limits our vision today, and how we can build a better future. The Rev. Sarah C. Stewart preaching.