We hope you can all help Eisley with their Project 351 Cradles to Crayons – young children’s clothing drive.  This Sunday, April 5th is the final day to donate.  

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Young Children’s Clothing Drive – Sunday, April 5 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Sunday April 5th Easter Sunday 10:00am!  Please bring a basket and join us for our Annual Egg Hunt! All families begin in the sanctuary and children are dismissed following the change for change collection.  We gather all children together in the Fellowship Hall before we go outside for the hunt! There will be spring craft activities in fellowship hall following the hunt!

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Please join us for Religious Exploration on Sunday, March 29th at 10am. Following up on our AMAZING Youth Group Sunday Service (applause!!!), we’ll be talking about paying attention to growth and change and will be creating art to “change” our RE Bulletin Board.

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, March 29, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Hello my friends,

We are continuing to explore “The Way of the Bodhisattva”, a vivid description of the journey towards a particular flavor of enlightenment, a popular choice for Mahayana Buddhists. Which choice? Why, to embark on this “Enlightened Being Way”, to pursue this path, to explore the means of moving, more or less, circuitously, maybe on a bit of a switchback ascent, towards the ideal of being of aid to all sentient beings.

In the first installment, we considered Shantideva’s explanation of his own desire to live towards the Bodhisattva ideal. In the second installment, we considered some of the challenges that arise, feelings of attraction to what we desire, and aversion to what we dislike, ignorance, and other states of mind that close our hearts to other people. Pema spoke in particular of Shantideva’s enthusiasm for continuing over and over to resist the call of ignorance and seek clarity.

Inspired to explore Shantideva and the Bodhicharyavatara for himself, a friend found an unattributed gloss published by Sapientia Mundi Press, called simply “The Wisdom of Shanti Deva.” This little gem of a book brings a fresh perspective to the ancient text.

The monk’s commentary, which seems contemporary, dedicates a chapter to Shantideva’s appreciation for the necessity of failure. Shantideva says that enlightenment isn’t for the special people who never experience failure. It’s for all the rest of us, who fail again and again.

One of the most insidious – or perhaps the most insidious – aspect of failure is the second arrow. Not the failure itself (the first arrow) but the insistence that the person who failed is “bad.” That there needs to be shame. That others are judging, that others are doing this better, that maybe it would be wiser to simply give up the battle. This self-punishment is the second arrow, and always, always, it hurts worse than the first. Shantideva encourages us to accept that failure is not just part of the practice, but an essential element of the practice. That failure is how we do it. That failure is what we’re going to be confronting, again and again. He encourages us to accept this so that we do not indulge in that self-punishment known as the second arrow.

The anonymous commentator writes:

Repetition, in this sense, is not stagnation. It is how learning occurs in embodied systems. The mind does not change because it has been convinced once. It changes because it has been shown, repeatedly, that certain patterns lead to suffering and others do not. This showing is experiential. No argument can replace it. Failure provides the data from which understanding deepens.

Shantideva’s insistence on repetition also reframes patience. Patience is not only for enduring external harm. It is required to endure oneself. The frustration that arises when old tendencies resurface is often more corrosive than the tendencies themselves. One becomes impatient with one’s impatience, angry at one’s anger, proud of one’s humility. Shantideva exposes these secondary reactions as additional layers of self-clinging. To practice patience here is to allow the process to unfold without demanding that it look different.

I believe it was Pema Chodron who wrote, “Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better.” But there’s a trick to it – not all failure is created equal. Read on:

Continuing from “The Wisdom of Shantideva”: “This allowance does not excuse negligence. Shantideva is unsparing in his warnings against complacency. Repetition can be either training or stagnation depending on orientation. The difference lies in attention. One repeats unconsciously, reinforcing habit, or one repeats consciously, loosening it. Failure becomes instructive only when it is met with awareness rather than justification or despair.”

This last paragraph lit the light bulb that flickers somewhat unsteadily in my inner Buddhist temple. I am familiar with BOTH flavors of failure. Both the endless circling of the hamster wheel of recursive thinking, and the failure that says – oh wait, that’s not what I was aiming at. Of course we are all familiar with the deadening repetition that is not accompanied by that moment of awareness. That sort of failure does not nudge us out of our bad habits. We need that moment of waking up, of noticing, of jolting out of comfort, of saying – but wait – that’s not what I meant! Rather than greeting those realizations with shame, we need to celebrate those particular failures. They are our teachers, as Pema is always saying. Each one is a step, halting or spiral or even a mere soft-shoe shuffle, towards a calmer mind and wiser choices.

The post The Way of the Bodhisattva – Part Three first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Sunday, March 22, 10am.  Please join in our Religious Exploration experiences as we continue with our theme of “Paying Attention.”  This week, with the focus on “paying attention to community”- grades 1 and up will attend the very special Youth Group Sunday Service.  It is inspirational to see how our young people have grown, and to pay attention to and support their message.  Pre-K and K will be attending their regular Spirit Play class.

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, March 22, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

I am jumping for joy because the temperatures are rising, the sun is out, and my finger is healing. Yes, I had a “sewing accident” and then 12 stitches in my finger two Fridays ago. I have never “run over” my finger with a rotary cutter in the 30 years that I’ve been rotary cutting fabric, but there’s a first time for everything, and a lesson to be learned.  Lesson: “Robin, pay attention, please!”

Some things I love to pay attention to are: people in photographs, mixed media and fiber art pieces, things in nature….especially flowers and birds, and the young folks in my life. Paying attention involves the art of looking at and appreciating the small details that are beautiful and wondrous. For me, attention means to step out of the whirling world and see what’s really happening in front of me.  For me also, that’s often a challenge.

With the kids this month during Religious Exploration classes, we are talking about… guess what? Yup, paying attention. We’re exploring ways to notice things that don’t seem equitable in this world. We’re learning to breathe deeply and take a moment to identify what we feel inside of our bodies. We are offering activities to highlight how we can pay attention to our earth and our interdependent web. We are acknowledging the ways that people are unique and what makes that so important and beautiful.

And I’ve been thinking (watch out!)….. about paying attention, that phrase, and how us grown-ups use it. 

I think we spend a lot of time telling kids to pay attention, especially when we’re trying to “teach them something.”  Imagine this scenario:  I’m in a class and I’m speaking and people don’t seem to be paying attention to what I’m saying (shock!) I sometimes sit back, observe, and “pay attention” to what the kids are paying attention to at that moment. Mostly, it seems, they’re paying attention to each other. They’re talking to each other about things that have happened during the weekend so far. They’re talking to each other about toys that they’re interested in, games they are playing, things that happened at school. Is this a bad way of them paying attention in class? In an actual school setting it could be disruptive in absorbing math skills; but in our community I feel like it is awesome. 

When kids are building community, they will remember those interactions far longer than they will remember a lesson about a famous UU person.  But I digress and want to highlight an important detail. I think the topics presented in our RE classes are substantial and relatable and important. I hope the kids do too. To ask a student to pay attention in our setting, is framed with the idea of respecting, honoring, and hearing one another. Paying attention is to have empathy, to understand that you too desire attention when trying to share with others. Our children and youth are very good at paying attention to messages delivered with authenticity, love, respect, and care.

And you have to know that with all the lessons that we try to share with our younger people, the fact is, us grown-ups also need these lessons too, and sometimes even more so.  Again, I remind myself to ”pay attention please, Robin!”

With Love for the Little Things,

Robin Mitzcavitch

The post Attention Please first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Please join us for Religious Exploration Classes on Sunday March 15th at 10am. We will be paying attention to our resources like water and plantlife.  Our UU 7th principle states that we respect the interdependence of all existence of which we are a part.  Our younger classes will be looking at water and our older class will be doing some indoor planting.

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, March 15, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Religious Exploration Classes are happening this Sunday March 8th 10am.  Help us honor International Women’s Day!  All classes meet! If you have a child in grades 5 and 6 we have a special class with Robin making t-shirts.  Please contact Robin with t-shirt size needed: uucwre@gmail.com

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, March 8, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

The new month brings a new theme:  PAYING ATTENTION. This is a beautiful phrase, because it’s not a reprimand but a reminder that every person and every connection we have on this planet is worthy of paying close attention to- to appreciate their magnificence. We will be celebrating “World Compliment Day.” We will have a way for all of our congregation to anonymously compliment another person who needs a “shout- out” for the unique way with which they compliment our community and world.  Look for the box in Fellowship Hall so you can leave your anonymous compliment.  We will make sure the person you compliment gets the message!  Thanks for participating (PS:  make sure to think about the unsung hero.)

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, March 1, 2026 – World Compliment Day! first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Join in for RE on Sunday March 1st at 10am.  The new month brings a new theme:  PAYING ATTENTION. This is a beautiful phrase, because it’s not a reprimand but a reminder that every person and every connection we have on this planet is worthy of paying close attention to- to appreciate their magnificence. We will be celebrating “World Compliment Day.” We will have a way for all of our congregation to anonymously compliment another person who needs a “shout- out” for the unique way with which they compliment our community and world.

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, March 1, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.