Upcoming Sunday Services

10:30am

in-person in the Sanctuary

and on Zoom (link below)

May 12th, 2024

Opening the Door to Ancestral Healing

Guest Speaker Gina Tzizik



In May 2023, after 150 years, the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Oklahoma were allowed to view their tribal sacred items. Gina Tzizik was a guest and witness to families and tribal members reuniting with their sacred ritual artifacts. She will share pictures and stories from this two-day event.

Gina Tzizik is an Artist, educator, and early childhood teacher trainer. Gina’s art centers on spirituality, drawing inspiration from ancient texts, symbols, and rituals to convey timeless wisdom and sacredness. She holds a Master's Degree in Jewish education from Hebrew College, Newton, MA, and a Master's Degree in Montessori education from Endicott College, Beverly, MA, She holds an American Montessori Society Pre-Primary Certification and Torah Godly Play certification. She has extensive training in Reggio Emilia's educational philosophy and has lived and worked in Italy, Germany, and the United States.

May 19th

The Fight for Democracy

Caro Barschow, Minister

In their 2017 book Daring Democracy, co-authors Frances M. Lappé and Adam Eichen describe democracy movements around the world and anti-democratic economic and social forces. They highlight our political needs for personal agency, a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose in our community. These are spiritual needs, too. In today’s worship, we seek to understand: how does political life in today’s democracy meet—or not meet—our spiritual needs? 

May 26th, 2024

From Heart to Hand: Creative Collage

Religious Services Committee

Art communicates with us at a deep level. Humans are makers, and making art is a part of us!  Join us in the sanctuary or online to answer that creative impulse by making your own paper collage project. 

Instruction and all materials will be supplied for those in the sanctuary; for those joining the service from home, you may want to have some creative materials at hand (paper, scissors, glue, magazine pages, journal, or any other creative project you would like to work on).

To attend services via Zoom,

please go to the Northshore Church website nsuu.org

& click on "Join Service."

 Religious Services Notes

June 2 - Treveni Dance Company

Triveni School of Dance is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and performance of Indian Classical dance, social awareness, and the celebration of cultural diversity. It was founded in 1971 by Neena Gulati, an accomplished dancer from New Delhi, India. The curriculum includes three forms of dance: Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Attendees will also get to see the elaborate costuming and makeup that is integrated into the performance. Ms. Gulati will present dancers from the various companies that perform in the community.

Church Announcements

Scam Alert

What is going on?

Several members of the church have notified the Church Office about receiving questionable text messages or emails this week. Like previous instances, these messages claim to be from Rev. Caro and ask the recipient to purchase gift cards for a charitable cause. Rev. Caro will never solicit donations or purchases via email or text messages.

Why is this happening?

Unfortunately, scams have become more sophisticated in the past few years. Other churches are dealing with scammers like this, too. Scammers find material on the web and social media that links your name to a church and then find your contact info. They learn the minister’s full name using the church’s website. Then, the scammers use fake phone numbers or email addresses to contact you and impersonate the minister. The “real Rev. Caro” will never email or text you to ask for help or for a donation. If you receive a message like this, it is a scam.

What you can do:

Right now, the Church Office is collaborating with the Communications Committee to tackle this problem. In the meantime, we're encouraging everyone to stay cautious when receiving any suspicious messages. If you come across these messages, flag them as spam or junk and then proceed to delete them. If you ever feel unsure about a message, you can always reach out to the Church Office for verification at 978-774-7582 or email at nsuu@verizon.net.

From the Pledge Drive Committee

The Pledge Campaign Team wishes to thank everyone who promised their support of our church. We are all stewards of NSUU, growing together.

General Assembly is June 20-23

Each June, Unitarian Universalist Association holds a national conference called General Assembly. This year, the conference will take place exclusively online . Registration and program schedule available now.

Article II Workshops

Rev. Caro will present two informational workshops at NSUU prior to General Assembly. These workshops will review the proposed changes to the UUA Bylaws Article II and provide time to dialogue about the changes as a congregational community. Learn more from the Article II Study Commission. 

Wednesday, May 22 

7-8:30pm

Zoom only 

Sunday, June 9 

Noon-1:30p

in the Sanctuary and on Zoom

Office Notes

We are currently in a transitional phase for our pledges, as we continue to collect payments for the current year while also initiating the process for the new pledge year. To ensure clarity and smooth processing, I kindly request that individuals sending in their pledge payments via check specify in the memo:

1. That it's intended for a pledge payment, and
2. Which pledge year the payment corresponds to.

Example: Pledge 2024-25, or Pledge 2023-24



Providing this information in the memo facilitates accurate depositing of payments into the correct account. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Ariana, Church Administrator

From the Board of Directors

SAVE THE DATE

NORTHSHORE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HEREBY PROVIDES

 NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

Sunday, May 19, 2024

In the sanctuary

at 11:45 am

in person and via zoom

Your vote is important.

Please plan to attend!  

Budgets and Brownies

Please join us to discuss the proposed '24-'25 church budget May 12 at noon. You, as a member of the Congregation, will be voting on this budget at the Annual Meeting. We would like everyone to be an informed voter. And......... who can resist brownies, I want to know?

See you there!

Susan Haas

Nominating Committee

Congratulations to our Nominating Committee! Audrey Merkle, Cindy Salloway and Elaine Van de Bogert did a splendid job of filling all the positions for next year's Board. And to those who said "Yes", to one of these committee members, we thank YOU!

Thanks to our Green Sanctuary Team!

In our "greener" kitchen we now have a filtered water system for fresh water for our new carafes. In addition to being very attractive, the carafes will replace the use of single use plastic water bottles in our kitchen. Nicely done Green Sanctuary Team!

from the Congregation

Church Sexton Retirement

For the past seven years, Jeff Liacos had been a dedicated NSUU staff member. As the Church Sexton, his responsibilities included regular building maintenance. Jeff gave notice recently that he was ready to retire from this role. His last day as Sexton was on May 1. We are happy for Jeff and will miss him very much! We are grateful for his many years of faithful service.

Minutes from April 17, 2024

Board of Directors Meeting -

click link below

From the Social Action Committee

SAVE THE DATE

Danvers Pride Flag Raising and Festival is on Saturday, June 1^st from 12 to 3:30 pm. The Social Action Committee will have a table at this event on the library lawn. Please come and help us show our support to the LGBTQ+ community and show that we are a welcoming church.

North Shore Pride Parade and Festival is Saturday, June 22, 2024.  NSUU has participated in this event for many years carrying our banner. The assembly of the parade starts at noon. Join us if you can. 

UU Mass Action Meetings

Explore; Get Involved! We are partners with UU MA Action Immigrant Justice Team Meeting: Tues, 5/14 from 12-1 pm UU MA Action Climate Team: 5/15 from 5-6 pm UU MA Justice Church Meeting: 5/14 from 6-7:30 pm Information and sign up for zoom meetings at uumassaction.org

Danvers Food Pantry and Operation Troop Support

We continue to collect items for these important causes. Place your donations in the baskets located in fellowship hall. Thanks for your on-going support.

 Share the Plate

Share the Plate Sunday, May 19th: Pentucket Workshop Preschool, Georgetown, MA. This month’s share the plate is being made In memory of Rev Helen M. Murgida, chaplain of the First Religious Society in Newburyport who passed away at the age of 80 in February this year. She and a good friend opened the non-profit and inclusionary preschool, named Pentucket Workshop, Inc. in Georgetown in 1972. 

From Rev Helen’s obituary in the Boston Globe: “This remarkable school - ahead of its time - broke barriers and championed equal education for all children, irrespective of their physical, financial, or cognitive differences.” Their educators are dedicated Early Childhood Professionals with many years of teaching experience. They are a 501c3 non-profit corporation licensed by the MA Dept of Early Education and Care. They believe children learn and grow with each new experience. Their program of activities is designed to expose children to a variety of developmentally appropriate experiences. Each child approaches the activities in an individual way based on their personality and level of maturity. In doing so, they build the skills they need to be productive learners and successful human beings.

Your check can be made out to: Pentucket Workshop Inc. and collected for the offering on May 19^th or sent to NSUU, 323 Locust St, Danvers, MA 01923.

From the Green Sanctuary

(L to R) Rachel Williams, Iain Goddard, Rep. Kassner, Cheryl Ferris

Action is the Antidote to Despair

Or speaker last Sunday, Rep. Kristin Kassner, is part of a new generation of elected officials. They work for us and want to know what we need and care about. Democracy is not a spectator sport! Don't let the news get you down! There is always something you can do.

Click here to find out what.

From the Art Committee

We are asking for your help in finding artists who may be interested in showing their work in our sanctuary. You can find a “Call for Artists” invitation on the social action table. Also, we are assembling an art show comprised of our own members’ art work for Oct/Nov 2024. If you have some of your own work that you would like to share with us contact : Cheryl Ferris cbferris@gmail.com 

Current Art Exhibit is brought to us by Susan Oleksiw, a writer and photographer. One wall of the exhibit includes a series of photographs related to the harvest festival, Pongal, celebrated by the Tamil community of southern India (a center of traditional Hinduism) to thank Mother Nature.

Local Announcements

Andrea Kaiser has been able to secure 30 tickets to Sol Y Canto's 30th anniversary concert at Shalin Liu Theater in Rockport on Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 5 pm. These are prime center orchestra seats in Rows E, F, G and H and discounted from $26 to $20. We need to confirm early. Please feel free to invite friends. Later we will decide if we want add a lunch somewhere. We will help arrange rides for those unable to drive. Contact Andrea directly to reserve seats. Ccstpg@verizon.net or 781 789 4841. 

Community Events

ECCO Statewide Housing Action with Sen. Tarr

Tuesday, May 28th, 6:30 PM

Rockport Library, Brenner Room (17 School Street)

Join us for our next community action to demand that the state create real access to affordable housing for all who live here! This will be a great opportunity to hold our state officials accountable, especially for Sen. Tarr's constituents in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Hamilton, Wenham, and Ipswich; but all community members are encouraged to attend.

ECCO (Essex County Community Organization) is a multifaith network of 59 congregations and the North Shore Labor Council that works to create a world where everyone belongs, where we all can thrive, and where we all have a say in the decisions that shape our lives. 

If you'd like to be involved in the process of selecting our issues, recruiting storytellers, or arranging logistics, please reach out to Allen Lipton at allen@eccoaction.org.

Getting The Medical Aid in Dying Legalized in MA

We UUs have supported Medical Aid in Dying since Right to Die with Dignity was passed in 1988 as a General Resolution. yet 36 years later, we residents of Massachusetts still don’t have the right of choice if we are terminally ill and suffering. 

The End of Life Options Act has been introduced in the legislature many times, and had finally been voted forward out of two committees and it is now before the Senate Way and Means Committee. Time is short before the end of this session and if you believe that this is a right that we should have, please contact your legislators and ask that they support H.2246 and S.1331, and ask them to urge leadership to more this bill forward. Please also share this with friends and family who might also be supportive of this issue. This is a link to find your representatives and senators and their contact information: Find my Legislator

The End of Life Options Act would legalize medical aid in dying which would allow a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request from their doctor a prescription for medication they can decide to self-ingest to die peacefully in their sleep. For more information please go to Massachusetts Bill Summary. The Legislation allows, if their suffering becomes unbearable.

Minister’s Schedule

Rev. Caro Barschow weekly schedule:

Sunday-Thursday and occasional Saturdays

Monday is a writing/study day

Friday is a Sabbath day 

Minister’s Office Hours:

Tuesdays and Thursdays, by appointment (in-person or Zoom) 

Please call or email Rev. Caro directly to make an appointment.

Rev. Caro’s April Week off Sunday 5/25- Saturday 6/01

Rev. Caro works full-time 3 weeks a month and takes 1 week off, to fulfill NSUU’s 3/4 time contract. During this time, Rev. Caro is available for pastoral emergencies - please call them directly by cell phone.

How to be in touch:

Email: rev.barschow@gmail.com

Cell phone: 978-473-7980

Church Administrator’s Schedule

Ariana LaMey-Colon works in the office Tuesday through Thursday from 8am to 2pm. Please call or email to schedule a meeting beforehand as office hours can vary from time to time.

How to be in touch

Email: nsuu@verizon.net

Office phone: 978-774-7582

Online Calendar

The NSUU website features an up-to-date calendar of church activities. Follow the link to view the calendar. On the calendar page, hover your mouse over the title of the event to find out the time and location.

Good Things Are Happening

Please contribute announcements by Wednesday at noon for NSUU's weekly e-newsletter "Good Things Are Happening." You can do so by sending an email with the announcement to nsuu@verizon.net. Please put in the subject line "For Good Things Are Happening." Please indicate how long you would like the announcement to appear and a contact email or phone number for readers to get more information.

Deadline: Wednesday at noon