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.

Holiday Deadline: The NSUU Office will be closed on Thursday, November 23 for the Thanksgiving holiday. There will be an early deadline for submissions for the Good Things Are Happening newsletter. Please send your items by Tuesday November 21 at 5:00pm to nsuu@verizon.net. 

Upcoming Sunday Services

10:30am

in-person in the Sanctuary

and on Zoom (link below)

 November 19 - Estuary Theology

Jud Wolfskill, Guest Speaker

Where a river meets the ocean is known as an estuary. An estuary, in other words, is not one thing or another; it's where two things meet. What if we cultivated an estuary theology--a theology of the in-between place? Could it help us build the Beloved Community?

Jud Wolfskill (he/him) is a candidate for ministry with the UUA and a graduate of Boston University School of Theology.

November 19 - Ryan Li, Guest Musician

Ryan Li is a junior, attending Dover Sherborn Regional High School. He started playing the piano when he was six, while living in Minnesota. When he was 11, his family moved to Dover, MA, and that is when he began his studies with Andrea Kaiser at the Wellesley Piano Studio. She remembers being so impressed by his early training with Rozauna Nuguid.  

This year, Ryan is tackling some very challenging pieces, including the "Waldstein" Piano Sonata Number 21 by Beethoven, Chopin's "Grande Waltz Brillante" Opus 18, "Suite Bergamasque" by Debussy, a Bach Toccata and Joe Hisaishi's "Summer". He will play the first part of the Waldstein, the Grande Waltz and Summer on November 19th, and then head to Andrea's to play the Toccata in her Fall Student Recital entitled "A Tribute to Bach" at 4:30 pm.

Ryan isn't quite sure what he wants to do in the future, but he is confident that music and the piano will always be a part of his life. That being said, Ryan's favorite subject in school is science, and he hopes to pursue something in that field in college. Besides playing piano, Ryan enjoys going to the gym, running, and eating good food. Ryan's younger brother, Aiden, is also a student of Andrea's, and he, too. is turning into a fine musician. He will turn pages for Ryan.

You can view several earlier performances of Ryan and Aiden on Andrea's website: www.pianolessonswellesley.com. Scroll down the homepage and click on the recent videos.

November 26 - Generosity: A Rose in Wintertime

How do you define generosity? Is it celebrating the success of others without envy or resentment? Simone Weil says, "attention is the rarest form of generosity". Or perhaps real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. During this service we will have opportunities to recall and share stories of generosity we have given and received. This service will be presented by members of the Religious Services Committee.

To attend the Sunday services via Zoom,

please go to the Northshore Church website nsuu.org

& click on "Join Service."

This Sunday

Please Show Support for the American Muslim Society

During coffee hour Sunday, there will be a letter for all to sign to members of the American Muslim Society of the North Shore who worship in NSUU's sanctuary on Fridays, as act of friendship and to demonstrate our care. 

Meeting Room Gallery

Sun Nov 19 from 12-1:30 pm



I Am More - a time for quiet reflection This time has been set aside for some quiet reflection of the stories behind Amy Kerr’s beautiful portraits that currently grace our sanctuary walls. The I Am More stories are quite powerful & if you haven’t had time to read them all fully you are invited to do so during this time.

NSUU Social Action Announcements

GRATITUDE FOR CLOTHING, GIFT CARDS AND FINANACIAL DONATIONS TO IMMIGRANT FAMILIES

The drive for clothing donations for immigrant families in Danvers has now ended. The drive was so successful that there is no further need for donations at this time. An enormous thank you to members of our congregation who donated so generously to this cause. Thanks too to the individuals who packed up their cars and delivered the clothing to the Danvers Town Hall. 

HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING TO REFUGEE FAMILIES

Carrying on our annual NSUU holiday tradition, the Social Action Committee plans to provide a $25 in cash gift to each family member of our refugee (now citizen) friends from the Congo and our immigrant friends from Ethiopia. Antoinette, from the Congo, tells me each time she sees me how much she appreciates the loving care we show her family. 

The Giving Tree will arrive on November 19, decked with tags containing the name of each friend. Please take a tag and return it with $25 to Gunilla Eriksson-Lopez by December 10. On December 10, the Social Action committee will provide a table with materials for wrapping the $25 gifts.

Thank you - Jean Koulack-Young

NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

November is celebrated to honor the remarkable Native Americans who have contributed so much to improve the character of the nation. Let us honor Native Americans by supporting the MA Indigenous Legislative Agenda. 

Go to: maindigenousagenda.org

Operation Troop Support - Donations Needed!

Operation Troop Support continues to need our help!

The following items are needed:

~White crew socks for men and women

~Small toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream in non-aerosol containers, razors, small Kleenex, cotton swabs, toothpaste, toothbrushes)

~Food items in individual servings such as cup of soup, mac and cheese, applesauce, cans of deviled ham, chicken salad, tuna salad

~Playing cards, puzzle books and snacks such as cookies, crackers nuts, beef jerky, pretzels

These items can be placed in the basket in fellowship hall. Barbara Haight will take these items to the Director of Operation Troop Support. 

Any questions: Call Barbara at: 978-729-5422.

From the Board of Directors

COVID MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

As we enter the winter months and face increasing incidence of Covid and other respiratory infections, the NSUU Board has reviewed church related safety policies and will continue to do so periodically. The Board is currently exploring options for air purifying equipment in the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall as a mitigation measure to improve air flow and quality. We also urge anyone who is not feeling well in general to avoid in-person meetings or services and join in via Zoom if possible.



If you have tested positive for Covid or been exposed to someone who has, please consider following the current public health guidelines (click here to see more) which recommend a minimum of 5 days of isolation followed by 5 days of mask wearing if you test positive and 10 days of mask wearing if you've been exposed. Masks will continue to be available at the welcome desk. Please be respectful of varying levels of comfort regarding masking, touching, hugging and social distancing. Let us all do our part to keep each other safe. We wish good health to our members, staff and friends.

The NSUU Board of Directors

Minutes from September 13, 2023

Board of Directors Meeting -

click link below

Green Sanctuary

"PUT GAS IN THE PAST"

From our friends at UU Mass Action

We’d love to invite you to a Lobby Day coming up on December 5th! We’ll be meeting with our legislators to talk about various priority climate bills this year, including the legislation that would put a halt to new gas infrastructure. You don’t need to have any lobbying experience to join us - we’ll support you with everything you need to know.

If you’d like to join us on Dec. 5th RSVP here and we’ll send you more information. 

If you have questions about the lobby day email jess.nahigian@sierraclub.org.

You can also ask Iain Goddard, Bob Gamer, or Cheryl Ferris, all of whom have done one of the Lobby Days.

Church Announcements

Meet Your Committee on Ministry

What is a Committee on Ministry you may ask?

The Committee on Ministry (COM) is a group of NSUU members appointed by and directly accountable to the Board of Directors. The COM’s main purposes are to provide:   

Ministerial Support and Advisement



The Committee serves as a “sounding board” for developments in the ministry, allowing the minister to receive feedback from a team of lay leaders on ideas before they go to the congregation. The committee can provide reflections upon the ministry that can allow the minister to see more than their own perspective. As such the committee also serves as a conduit for feedback from the congregation. In addition, the Committee provides support and assistance in solving issues of concern presented by the minister, clarifying roles and in encouraging attention to self-care while meeting the many demands of the position.

  Professional Development of the Minister

Ensure the minister receives appropriate, healthy and necessary Professional Development Support to maintain Fellowship with the UU Ministers Association and UUA.

We convened our first meeting with Rev. Caro on October 17^th in person at NSUU and will continue to meet on a monthly basis. We will provide some updates and more information about the specifics of our work to all of you in the coming months.

The members of your COM are:

Jeri Kroll, Chairperson

Bo Batty

Beth Blanchard

Bob Ferris

Terri Hansen

Feel free to talk with any one of us about the Committee on Ministry and/or to express your thoughts, ideas and feedback.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Ad-Hoc Outreach Team for publicizing NSUU Social Action and other events that would hopefully include the wider community, please contact Hal Morse at halmorse7@msn.com

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Ad-Hoc Bathroom Team for investigating and then proposing bathroom renovations, please contact Hal Morse at halmorse7@msn.com

Sunday Hospitality Sign Up

We need to fill the sign-up sheet between now and the New Year, and we have many openings! Here’s how to get onto the “Hospitality Sign-up” on the Webpage. Go to NSUU, hit Connecting then Sunday Volunteers and then Hospitality Sign-up. The calendar will pop up and you can sign up for as many Sundays as you can. You may also use the paper sign-up sheet which is posted in the kitchen. Make sure to make a note to yourself on your own calendar about the dates you signed up for. If you are not able to come to church on that day, please find a friend to take your place.

Many thanks! - Susan Haas.

Local Announcements

Minister’s Schedule

Rev. Caro typically works Sunday-Thursday and occasional Saturdays, with Monday as a writing day.

Rev. Caro is available for office hours (in-person or zoom call) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please call or email Rev. Caro directly to make an appointment.

Rev. Caro's November week off is scheduled for 11/19-11/25

Rev. Caro serves as minister on a ¾ time contract at NSUU. To fulfill this part-time schedule, Rev. Caro works full-time 3 weeks a month and takes 1 week off. During this time, Rev. Caro is available for pastoral emergencies - please call them directly by cell phone.

Rev. Caro’s Study Leave is scheduled for 11/13-11/16

Rev. Caro will be attending a minister’s retreat in mid-November.

How to be in touch - Email: rev.barschow@gmail.com Cell phone: 978-473-7980

Church Administrator’s Schedule

Ariana will typically be in the office Tuesday through Thursday from 9am to 3pm. 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