Upcoming Sunday Services

10:30am

in-person in the Sanctuary

and on Zoom (link below)

December 10 10:30a - The Gift of Mystery & Greens Workshop -

Rev. Caro Barschow and Tracee Kneeland 

The Northshore Ukulele Players, Musical Guest

We’ll kick off the holiday season by uncovering ways to seek and learn from life’s mystery, in joy and reverence. After an abbreviated service, we’ll spill out into the Fellowship Hall for festivities including swag-making, more music and plenty of opportunity for good fellowship.

December 17 10:30a - Music Sunday - Ethan Hackett, Music Director and NSUU Singing Group

Ukulele Fusion Winter Concert

Raising our voices in joy, in the spirit of the season. Enjoy and participate in a program featuring the diverse and generous musical talents of NSUU’s congregation.  

Ukulele Fusion, a local instrumental ukulele ensemble, will give a Christmas music concert on Sunday December 17, 2023 @ 2:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 323 Locust Street, Danvers, MA. Tickets are $7.00 at the door. Refreshments will be served. All proceeds benefit the Church.  

December 24 10:30a - No Service

See below for Christmas Eve service details.

December 31 10:30a - Thank Outside the Box - Edith Fenton

Special Services

December 21 6:30pm - Solstice Service - Rev. Caro Barschow and Ethan Hackett, Music Director

December 24 6:30pm

 - Candlelight Christmas Eve - Rev. Caro Barschow

To attend the Sunday services via Zoom,

please go to the Northshore Church website nsuu.org

& click on "Join Service."

Church Activities

Sunday Meet and Greet with Ariana

Meet NSUU’s new office administrator during worship and fellowship hour on December 17. Ariana LaMey-Colón joined the staff in mid-October. You can find her in the office most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9am-3pm. Ariana is looking forward to meeting more members of the congregation. 



New to UU Workshop - Two Dates

(In-person)

January 21, 2023

11:45a-1p Library

(Zoom)

Monday February 5, 2023

7-8:15p Via Zoom

If you are new or newer to Unitarian Universalism and/or NSUU this workshop will provide you with an orientation to help you find your own path within the larger community. You’ll learn more about who we are and what we believe by sharing your story through the lens of Unitarian Universalist tradition and heritage. You’ll also have an opportunity to hear from members of the congregation about what brought them to Unitarian Universalism and what keeps them here. Great for visitors and members who have joined the last few years. Led by Rev. Caro, please RSVP to rev.barschow@gmail.com. 

UU Common Read - On Repentance and Repair

Start Reading Now!

Discussion Series in February

 A UU Common Read creates a community for learning and reflection, whether we gather in person or online. A UU Common Read can take us on a powerful journey into what it means to be human and accountable in a world filled with both pain and joy.

This year’s common read, On Repentance and Repair, is a highly readable collection of anecdotes and wisdom from Rabbi Danya Guttenburg. It offers a glimpse into one of our faith’s foundational sources, Judaism, by examining a framework for making amends by the 12th century Jewish physician and scholar, Maimonides.

NSUU readers are invited to take part in the UU Common Read and discuss the book. Rev. Caro Barschow will lead a two-part discussion series on Sunday, February 4th and 11th, in-person and online, from 11:45-1:30p. Light lunch will be served. NSUU will soon have 5 copies of the book available for loan. RSVP for the series and/or request a book loan by emailing rev.barschow@gmail.com.

NSUU Social Action Announcements

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!

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

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 October 12, 2023

Board of Directors Meeting -

click link below

Church Announcements

Scam Alert

 What is going on?

A few church members have alerted the Church Office that they have received suspicious text messages or emails this week. These messages claim to be from Rev. Caro and ask the recipient to purchase gift cards for a charitable cause. These messages are a scam. Rev. Caro will never email or text you to ask for a donation or to make a purchase.

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:

You can report these messages as spam or junk to your phone or email provider, then delete them. If you have any suspicion about a message you receive, you can contact the Church Office to verify it at 978-774-7582 or nsuu@verizon.net. 

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

Local Announcements

“The Essex Harmony”, the choral group who sang for you during NSUU’s summer service about American Spirituals, is presenting its annual December concert this coming Sunday, December 10, at 2:00. It will be at our new venue—the Maple St. Congregational Church in downtown Danvers. Jennifer Revill and Beth Blanchard would love to see you there!

A valued member of our congregation, Dr. Brian Orr, is presenting his play "Can My Baby Fly?" at Gloucester Stage on January 6th and 7th.

To purchase tickets please visit

Can My Baby Fly | The Gloucester Stage Company

The LeeVees, a band headed by Guster's Adam Gardner and The Zambonis Dave Schneider, will be playing original Hanukkah music and covers at 3:30 p.m. This event is co-sponsored by FBC and the Temple B’nai Abraham. Below is a link for additional information.

The First Baptist Church in Beverly Events | Eventbrite

To register, email Robert DeMarino at: Robert.F.DeMarino@pol.state.ma.us with your name, title/role, address, email, phone number and faith-based organization’s name or department name and city/town.

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 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 December week off is 12/25-12/31.

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

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