Sunday Service

January 22, 2023

10:30 A.M.

Join us in the sanctuary or via Zoom

"The Heart of Small Group Ministry"

Marty Langlois and Jennifer Revill, Service Leaders

Small Group Ministry is a vital part of many Unitarian Universalist congregations, including ours. When intentional committed groups of people meet regularly to reflect on and discuss significant life topics, they create their own container for caring, honesty, and creativity. Participants build deep connections with one another and with the things they hold sacred.

Come learn some of the history of Small Group Ministries at Northshore Church, hear from several of us who have participated, and see if Small Group Ministry might be for you.

Service Zoom link

https://zoom.us/j/95156904873

News from the Ministerial Search Committee...

The Search Committee has been hard at work coordinating information and preparing for the next steps in the Search process. We are thankful for your thoughtful participation while taking the Congregational Survey. That document shares a multi-faceted picture of our congregation and is an important part of our NSUU record. At this point, we cannot share more specific details, but want you to know that we have heard from some applicants who are both qualified and interested in our church! Currently, we are setting up initial ZOOM interviews so that we can begin to meet them.

Again, thank you for all you are doing to support Northshore Church during this phase of the search. We are honored to work on your behalf.

From the Board...



Congregational Conversation

Sunday, January 29 following the Sunday Service

The Board wishes to notify the members that it will host a Congregational Conversation immediately after the church service on Sunday, January 29th This gathering will conclude by 1 pm, when the Board will participate in a winter retreat.

The agenda for the Congregational Conversation includes: to hear the findings of the Search Committee's survey and add further responses, to hear about a new opportunity for NSUU to raise annual revenue for the church (New Leaf Energy), to hear a report from Treasurer Bob Ferris as to the disposition of the 2022 deficit, and to affirm a new Congregational Covenant.

Please make every effort to attend either in person or via ZOOM so that your voices can be heard, as we move forward with our search for a settled minister and make decisions for our future that are supported by the membership.

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Treasurer’s Update

At our May Annual Meeting the congregation was informed of a $22,685 deficit in our FY 21-22 Budget. We voted in favor of the Board using endowment funds to cover that deficit, if necessary. I am sorry it took me so long to report back that we did not have to go into our endowments. The Board voted on using existing cash in our Eastern Bank account to cover that deficit.

I would also like to share with you that a total of $3,396 was donated through the Art in the Woods sale.

As many of you are aware, over a year ago, NSUU stopped receiving a percentage of all sales done through the Amazon Smiles program. The reason for this was that NSUU has operated as a religious charitable institution under the UUA’s 501(c)(3) and Amazon changed its requirements stating that charitable organization had to be independently qualified under IRS 5019(c)(3) to participate in the Smiles program. We initiated that process almost a year ago and were notified by the IRS on 12/6/2022 that NSUU is now an independently qualified 501(c)(3) organization.

There is still some work that needs to be done at Guide Star, the charitable organization clearinghouse, before we can once again participate in the Amazon program and I will let you know as soon as that is complete.

I want to be sure all members know that approved monthly budget reports are available along with monthly Board minutes on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.

If at any time you have questions about the church budget, please feel free to contact me at bobferris1949@gmail.com

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Board Meeting Minutes

Get the minutes of the December 14, 2022 Northshore Church Board meeting by clicking on the button below:

From the Investment and Trust Committee...

The Investment and Trust Committee is looking for some new members.

If anyone is interested, please see Jodi Smith.

From the Social Action Committee...

Transgender Inclusion in Congregations

Sunday, January 15 at noon after church

Join the Social Action Committee to hear about this six-session course titled “Transgender Inclusion in Congregations” in which we will explore the intersection of the trans-identity, spirituality and faith community to gain the grounding, context and skills to transform ourselves and our congregation.

The course itself will not actually start until late Jan/Feb. It will be presented on zoom. There will be a video to watch together or on your own and a zoom discussion over the six sessions.

We will need the commitment of at least 10 people to provide this program. Please consider signing up via the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall or on our website www.nsuu.org

For more information on the series go to:

https://www.transformingheartscollective.org/online-courses