NUUC Looking to Hire a Pianist

NUUC friends, please forward this job announcement to anyone you believe might be interested! Thank you.

The North Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lewis Center, Ohio, a small progressive church with a big love of live music, is looking to fill the position of Church Pianist/Accompanist. During the regular church year (second week of September through the end of May), the pianist will rehearse with the choir once a week and accompany the choir during worship. During worship the Pianist will also accompany the congregation in singing hymns and play music of their choosing for the prelude, offertory, and occasional musical interlude. Choir rehearsal is 9:00 AM-10:10AM on Sunday mornings, with Worship 10:30-11:30AM Sunday mornings. No presence outside of Sunday morning required except for Christmas Evening worship, 7:00PM Dec. 24. During the summer (June-the first week of September) the Pianist will play during worship, accompanying hymns, and performing a prelude, interlude, and offertory. The pianist will receive compensation of $7,280/year with up to five (5) Sundays per year as vacation with pay. The congregation is currently worshipping in a temporary location while our building is undergoing expansion, at the Barn at Stratford, 2690 Stratford Road, Delaware. In mid-autumn we return to our building located at 1574 Franklin Street, Lewis Center, OH. The pianist must have an electronic keyboard of their own to use until we return to the beautiful baby grand in our home building. We welcome applications from musicians of all levels of experience with specialties in any genre of music. Experience accompanying a strong plus. Apply with resume and cover letter to Rev. Dr. Susan Ritchie at minister@nuuc.org by June 15, 2023. Position to begin July 1, 2023.

Join NUUC at the Delaware Pride Festival!

Volunteers Still Needed

10 a.m. – 5 p.m. June 3, 2023

Fellow UUs, we are happy to announce that NUUC will participate in the Delaware Ohio Pride Festival on Saturday June 3rd, 2023 at the Boardman Arts Park on West William St. in Delaware. 

We’ll need volunteers to set up, person (people, populate?), and strike our booth! It would be wonderful to have two-three people there at all times to allow for companionship and liquid leveling breaks. If you’re interested in coming out, please call or email us above. If we have enough people, we can probably keep the shifts mercifully short, and give you time to wander the festival.

We have a TENT! Last year, Patricia and Bruce Reed generously donated a collapsible canopy for our use! Probably because they suffered through being unsheltered in 2021! It was a huge success for 2022!

Margo and I live about 2 blocks west on William St, and can provide parking for 5 or 6 cars for volunteers, should that be a concern. Questions? Contact us:

Margo Hicks 832-465-3167, hicksurbanfarms@gmail.com, or 

Ted Hicks 832-465-4207, tedhicks54@gmail.com 

Sign up to help by clicking here

Moving Into the Future

Announcing NUUC’s Annual Pledge Drive

May 15-June 15, 2023

We have been so busy working on the building expansion now in the active construction phase, it is now time to turn our attention to the other infrastructures that will support our dreams and mission.  We depend on those who have signed the membership book as well as friends of the congregation to make pledges that cover our operational costs. All contributions needed and appreciated!

Our Pledge Drive is Now Officially Underway!

If you have participated in the worship services, religious exploration materials and classes, social and service opportunities, please pledge! Doing so will allow us to continue offer these same benefits to the people in our congregation, community, and beyond.

I am a Unitarian Universalist with 50 years of experience and several churches in my background. When I found NUUC, I felt almost immediately that this was the church for me. The openness, diversity, friendliness and spirituality resonated with me. There are so many opportunities that one could not do all of them. I enjoy being on the building committee and being a part of the excitement as we expand and improve our facility. --Donna Laidlaw

We need NUUC as a welcoming space in which to celebrate, strengthen and share our spiritual selves with one another. In turn, this inspires us to be more thoughtful, present and responsible citizens in our homes, communities, and the world. --Leah McCoy

Don’t Let Covid Take One More Thing You Love

Giving to the annual operating budget has been down since the pandemic struck. We have been able to cover our operating expenses with the help of two Paycheck Protection Loans from the government. We did not have the advantage of those monies during this fiscal year, and our expenses are outpacing our donations. Our current budget anticipated $160K in pledges, and we are about $30K short of that number. To support our goal budget for this upcoming fiscal year, we need $180K in pledges. Most of our budget represents staff compensation and some overhead. We really need to do well in this pledge drive to continue to support our staff. If you have not pledged before, please pledge now. If you are already pledged, please consider increasing your pledge to the extent that you can afford it. To get us off to a good start, Rev. Susan Ritchie and Treasurer Lyn Savidge made pledges that are 150% greater than the ones they offered last year.   NUUC members and friends expect the congregation not only to provide worship and religious education for us and our families, but we also count on the congregation to be here for us in intensely personal ways: when we celebrate, when we grieve, when we work for justice. We want the congregation to thrive and to continue to be a vital resource not only for ourselves, but for our communities, the world, and the future. The Annual Pledge Drive is the time of year when we each consider what financial support we can offer the congregation so that it is here when it is needed most. 

We need NUUC because it provides a more connected UU experience. Each of us can make a difference, each of us counts, and each of us can be heard. --Neil Kirby

How Can I Pledge?

1. You may be contacted by a steward—a fellow member of the congregation who is helping us with our pledge drive. You can share your intentions with your steward or fill out a pledge card that your steward provides you.
2. You can fill out a pledge form online by clicking here
3. You can set up an automatically recurring donation by clicking here

What is a Pledge? Is it Binding?

A pledge is a commitment to donate a certain amount of money to the congregation during the fiscal year. It is a statement of intent. It is not a legally binding obligation. Do not hesitate to pledge because you are uncertain about your financial situation. Pledges can be adjusted in times of shifting resources. We depend upon your pledges for the continued health and wellbeing of our congregation. 

What is the Annual Pledge Drive?

Each spring the NUUC asks its members and friends to make a commitment of financial support (a pledge) for the coming fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). Our Annual Pledge Drive provides the funds that make the life of our congregation possible.  Finances are important during the Annual Pledge Drive, but we also want to give everyone an opportunity to reconnect with the congregation and to reflect on what we do together. 

Do I Have to Pledge?

Making and fulfilling an annual pledge deepens our faith and sustains the UUFC for the benefit of us all and the wider community we serve, but you are not required to make a pledge. Per current NUUC bylaws, you do not have to pledge to be a member, although you do need to make a financial contribution (of any size) at least once annually.

The congregation depends upon pledges to fund almost all our operating budget, so all are encouraged to make a pledge.

How Much Does It Cost to Run the Congregation?

Our budget is very basic, with three main categories of overhead expenses, direct support for programming, compensation for our staff and our Fair Share Contribution to the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Here’s a breakdown of last year’s budget categories and their associated expenses:

• Compensation (minister, director of religious education, music director, pianist, childcare/RE assistant, bookkeeper, administrative assistant, custodian): $156K
• Overhead (mortgage, utilities, repairs and maintenance, fire alarm, supplies): $39K
• Direct Programming Support: $10K
• Fair Share Contribution to the Unitarian Universalist Association: $11K

What Are My Payment Options?

1. Online: You can give online by clicking here.  If you use a credit card, please consider adding 3% to your pledge to cover fees.
2. Mail a Check: Checks can be made out to NUUC, please write the word “pledge” in the memo line of the check, and mail to NUUC, PO Box 541, Lewis Center, OH 43035
3. Required Minimum Distribution: for those who hold retirement accounts (401K, IRA, and some others) who are 72 or older (if you were born on or after July 1, 1949) or those 70.5 and older (if born before July 1, 1949), you can have your required minimum distribution (RMD) transferred directly to the NUUC. The advantage of this for you is that you then do not have to pay tax on these monies. Contact your retirement fund advisor or tax advisor for details. 

NUUC fulfills my need for inspiration and spiritual growth largely through the strong ministerial presence of Susan, but also the ancillary support of other ministers, lay and otherwise, who surround and complement her missions. And the MUSIC! NUUC fuels my joy to sing in a group once again, harmonizing and balancing voices with other singers. Our music program is wonderfully robust for such a small church. NUUC seems to me the perfect sized congregation: large enough to be thriving and self-supporting, but not so large as to be impersonal and aloof. --Ted Hicks

How Much Should I Pledge?

Our Unitarian Universalist Association has developed a Fair Share Giving Guide (below). This is simply a guide – some of our members pledge at higher levels and others at lower levels, based on their capability. Everyone’s circumstances are different. We recognize and deeply embrace the financial diversity of our congregation. To make this a congregation for all, we ask those who are able to carry a greater financial commitment to our beloved community.

Roger's Johnson's Reflections on Participation in Church Life

Roger shared these thoughts at the worship service on April 16, reprinted here by popular demand!

Good morning. Roger Johnson here. Our Leadership Development Committee, a.k.a., the Nominating Committee, has asked me, as part of an on-going series from our leaders, to share my congregational experiences, motivations, and rewards. 

My involvement in our congregation has been a valuable experience, allowing me to grow personally, to make a positive impact on the community, deepen my spiritual practice, and build meaningful relationships with others.

Like many of our members, I am a veteran of the military service. The military is all about teamwork, commitment, and initiative. So, when I moved back home to Ohio and joined our North UU Congregation, I had a reflexive impulse to get involved with the NUUC team, and to serve the congregation.

I remember my first volunteer experience was more than ten years ago helping with a rummage sale. With Bob Keith leading the charge, along with Roger Orwick, and others, we spent long hours gathering furniture donations from our various members’ homes and cramming them into a U-Haul, and not finishing until well after midnight. Collecting the items affording me the opportunity to meet many of our members at their homes. And, experiencing this arduous task together with my fellow rummage teammates, relationship bonds were created that have lasted to this day.

Not long after the rummage sale, there was a Service Auction, again led by Bob (and Marty) Keith. Judy, my spouse, and I found that this relatively modest participation reaped great rewards. Offering dinners and euchre games, and winning dinner bids from other members, we developed deeper fellowship than can occur through just Sunday morning coffee hours.

Also, I learned about our members various hobbies and increased my own skill set through winning service bids on bee keeping, juggling, woodworking, wood sculpture, voice, and musical instruments.

This fledgling involvement led to other congregational experiences to include occasional help with grass mowing, coffee hour, greeter, choir, and the capital campaign. These many experiences helped me to realize the warm accepting fellowship of our congregation, encouraging me to even try my hand at giving a sermon just last year.

My biggest involvement has been with our Building Expansion committee. Like the midnight rummage team, this effort-intensive task has strengthened lasting bonds with my committee mates Lyn Savage, Donna Laidlaw, Susan Ritchie, and again, Bob Keith.. . . Bob . . . you should up here doing this! 

Besides the stronger personal ties, the building expansion work has strengthened my humility. The previous building group established for us a strong foundation (pun intended). They explored and codified how a new facility would complement and enrich our mission to the community, and provided several options for us to consider. But, we exhausted them after more than two years of work. So, when the follow-on Building Expansion team formed up, I decided to join, and my military mind thought, “It’s not going to take any two years! Well, I was right. What has it been. Three, four years now, until we break dirt next month. So I am humbled, and have much empathy for those who came before us to include Allison Fagen, John Rodenheffer, Dick Levy, and others.

So, overall, taking a leadership role in our UU congregation has been a valuable experience that allowed me to grow personally, make a positive impact on the community, deepen my spiritual practice, and build meaningful relationships with others.

I leave you with this final thought: Volunteers are not paid - not because they are worthless - but because that are priceless. . . and I’m thinking of you Bob Keith.

Thank you.