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This Week at NSUC

* These events are open to all! Join us!

^ To learn more about participating in these groups/activities, contact Lydia Linendoll.



Sunday, March 9

10 AM - In-person and virtual Worship Service: Intergenerational: Prayer, Rev. Lucas Hergert and Lydia Linendoll, leading*

10 AM - Worship Live Stream*

     Meeting ID: 890 0569 0250

You can access the Order of Service here.

11 AM - Fellowship Hour*

11:30 AM - Democracy Action Team Meeting (Bletzer)*

7 PM - Sunday Night Men's Group (Zoom)^

Thursday, March 13

7 PM - Parents & Guardians Support Group (Zoom)^

7:30 PM - Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)^

Saturday, March 15

10:30 AM - Book Group (Hearth Room)*

3 PM - Family Game Night (Fellowship Hall)*

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First Words - Lydia Linendoll

Upcoming Worship Services

March 9: Intergenerational: Prayer: How do Unitarian Universalists pray? How do you pray?

Rev. Lucas Hergert and Lydia Linendoll, leading

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME STARTS! SPRING FORWARD!

March 16: For Such a Time as This: What lessons does the Jewish holiday of Purim hold for our spiritual lives?

Rev. Lucas Hergert, preaching

March 23: High Intensity: How have people encountered the holy in intense experiences?

Rev. Lucas Hergert, preaching

March 30: A Transgender Theology: On this International Transgender Day of Visibility, we will celebrate the special gifts, lessons, and insights trans people offer to theology. 

Rev. Lucas Hergert preaching 

In case you missed it, here's last week's sermon:

To submit an item for consideration in future publications, click here.

We kindly ask that all submissions for next week's newsletter be made by next Tuesday. Thank you for your help.

All-Church DAT this Sunday

Join us in Bletzer at 11:30 this Sunday, March 9 for our monthly Democracy Action Team meeting. We will hear updates from our Action Teams: Immigrant, LGBTQ+, Environment, Media and Rapid Response.

Discussion topics include:

1) how do we act on important work that falls outside of our designated focus areas?

2) what local non-partisan actions should consider supporting? 

Listening Circles

It’s almost that time. You should have received an email yesterday with links to sign up for our Listening Circles. If you did not, please contact Lydia Linendoll at congregationallife@nsuc.org. We look forward to hearing from you. With warm wishes!

The NSUC Board of Trustees

Save the Dates: Pilgrimage to the Legacy Museum

October 10-13, 2025

NSUC will partner with First Presbyterian Church in Highland Park to travel to Birmingham Alabama to visit the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. NSUC will also visit the memorial sites to James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, two Unitarians killed in the struggle for Civil Rights. All members and high school youth are invited to attend. More details will be forthcoming, ask Rev. Lucas if you have questions. 

March NSUC Book Club Meeting

In March, the NSUC Book Club will be reading Stolen by Ann-Helen Laestadius a spellbinding Swedish novel that follows a young indigenous woman as she struggles to defend her family’s reindeer herd and culture amidst xenophobia, climate change, and a devious hunter.

On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, nine-year-old Elsa—daughter of Sámi reindeer herders—sees a man brutally kill her beloved reindeer calf and threaten her into silence. When her father takes her to report the crime, local police tell them that there is nothing they can do about these “stolen” animals. Killings like these are classified as theft in the reports that continue to pile up, uninvestigated. But reindeer are not just the Sámi’s livelihood, they also hold spiritual significance; attacking a reindeer is an attack on the culture itself.

Ten years later, hatred and threats against the Sámi keep escalating, and more reindeer are tortured and killed in Elsa’s community. Finally, she’s had enough and decides to push back on the apathetic police force. The hunter comes after her this time, leading to a catastrophic final confrontation.

Based on real events, Ann-Helén Laestadius’s award-winning novel Stolen is part coming-of-age story, part love song to a disappearing natural world, and part electrifying countdown to a dramatic resolution—a searing depiction of a forgotten part of Sweden.

We will meet on Saturday, March 15th, at 10:30 in the Hearth Room. Please join us. All are welcome! If you have any questions, contact Andrea Mills at andreamills912@gmail.com. 

TOUCHSTONES: Saturday, March 8

Touchstones gathers on March 8, 10:30 – 12:00 in the Bletzer Room at church. Anyone and Everyone is welcome.

The word “respect” comes from a Latin root meaning “to look back, to

regard.” Does that mean that after we have made judgements about others

we should look at them again, with softer eyes, respectfully, to see them

beneath the superficialities – to see them differently, wholly? Join us on

March 8 for a lively discussion.

Readings for this topic are here.

MidAmerica Regional UUA looking for Delegates

The 2025 MidAmerica Regional Annual Business Meeting will be held online on April 24th, 2025 at 6pm CT / 7pm ET. Credentialing as a Delegate is required to vote on the business before the Business Meeting. The Agenda for the 2025 Annual Business Meeting will include the election of leaders and a significant bylaws revision.  

If you are interested in participating, please email Lydia Linendoll at congregationallife@nsuc.org for more information.

Lay leader opening at UU Military Ministry Great Lakes

The Military Ministry is looking for a man or woman to lead UU services for Navy boot camp recruits. One Sunday morning a month, each lay leader conducts a traditional UU service for up to thirty recruits who have chosen to attend our service from among the many simultaneously available in the chapel. Military experience is not needed, but experience with young adults is highly desirable. Close help is provided to get you started. This rare opportunity gives lay leaders the personal satisfaction of serving Unitarian Universalism, the recruits at the most challenging time in their lives, and our country. For further information, contact Roger Baron at rbbaron@comcast.net or click on this link: www.uummgl.org

UUA General Assembly 2025

Calling all volunteers! This year, as in every year, UU’s from around the country will be gathering. This year’s theme, most appropriately is “Meet the Moment.” The dates are June 18 – 22. Those wishing to participate can do so in person or virtually via Zoom. You can simply participate as an observer or NSUC is able to send up to six official delegates, which empowers the ability to vote on measures. If you are interested in becoming a delegate, please notify Jocelyn. Click on this link to learn more.

LGBTQ+ Action Team Meeting

The LGBTQ+ Action team will have its first meeting after service on 3/30 in the Hearth Room at 11:30. We will be discussing the recent efforts to restrict the rights of LGBTQ individuals and how our congregation would like to respond. Anyone interested in these issues is encouraged to please attend! Contact Joey Mello jmello7@gmail.com for more information. 

Family Game Night!

It's time for Family Game Night, and you're invited! Join us on March 15th from 3-6PM in Fellowship Hall for an afternoon of games, snacks, and community. All are invited, feel free to bring friends from your own communities as well. Please RSVP here.

78 Acts of Liberation

A Class on the Tarot with Rev. Lucas Hergert

Saturdays, March 1, 8, 22, 29; 1-3 PM

This class will explore tarot as a tool for personal growth and social change. It is perfect for people who have never read the cards before, are curious about using tarot as a tool for spiritual practice, or who want to deepen their personal commitment to love and justice. Please purchase a Rider Waite deck and 78 Acts of Liberation by Lane Smith. 

Click Here to Register. If you already registered for Rev. Lucas' tarot class last year, you are already registered for this event. $25 for NSUC members, $40 for non-members.

Hello RE Families!

Here's our RE Schedule for March:

March 2: Age Group Classes

March 9: Intergenerational Service

March 16: All Ages project

March 23: Age Group Classes

March 30: Age Group Classes

This last month, we started our two curriculums on Bluey and Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as working on a Social Justice Vision Board for our All Ages project.

Here is the handout we worked on for our Social Justice Vision Board, provided by the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. We talked about what it looks like to be an Upstander in our community, and what projects we would want to do to be Upstanders ourselves. We are hoping to plan a student-lead service in the next few months, where they can talk about issues that they are passionate about with our NSUC community.

In our Bluey curriculum with our 4K-1st graders, we talked about Inclusivity and Perseverance. In our Inclusivity lesson, we watched the episode Featherwand, played our own game of Featherwand, and talked about inviting everyone into our community with open arms, no matter who they are and what their ability levels are. In our Perseverance lesson, we watched the episode Squash, played some games that challenged us to work together and not give up, and talked about how if we keep trying and learning from our mistakes, we can overcome obstacles.

In our Avatar: The Last Airbender curriculum with our Middle and High School groups, we watched the first two episodes of the animated series. With our first episode, we talked about Faith and Trust. This brought us discussions about what we believe in, why we believe in it, and what people and systems can do to gain or lose our trust. In the second episode, we talked about Loyalty and Commitment, bringing on discussions about where we hold our loyalty, who our family and found family is, and why and/or how we choose to stand up for those we are loyal to.

In this next month, I hope to have us start back up our plant tower in Bletzer, continuing our relationship with John Lewis Middle School to support our local community and learn about cultivating our own plants. We will also continue our TV show curriculums. We also have our Family Game Night coming up March 15th! Please RSVP and bring some friends. We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions or would like more ideas on how to support further learning at home, please feel free to email me at congregationallife@nsuc.org.

Blessings,

Lydia Linendoll (she/her)

Congregational Life and Educational Coordinator

Parents and Guardians Check-in: Thursdays at 7 PM

This weekly gathering gives parents a chance to connect, encourage and support one another in raising kids with our UU values. Please contact Lydia for details.

Your 2024 -2025 Board of Trustees

Joe Small, President

Rob Malench, Vice President

Vicki Jenkins, Treasurer

Glenn Mills, Secretary

Emily Mace, Susan Barker and Christina Fraley, Members at Large

A Message from the Board President - 3/4/25

“In March winter is holding back and spring is pulling forward. Something holds and something pulls inside of us too.”—Jean Hersey

March is the month of spring, that wonderful time of year when the chill of winter fades and flowers begin to stir. 

March is also an auspicious month. The name March comes from the Roman god Mars, aptly named because it marked the time their soldiers went to war—the weather apparently being more civilized for fighting, if such a word as “civilized” can be used for combat. It is also the time of the March Hare from Lewis Carroll’s magnificent story, Alice in Wonderland. The idea for the “Mad March Hare” comes from the odd behaviors hares exhibit during breeding season. This take on March seems particularly appropriate for today’s times (check the news for confirmation).

March also indicates the beginning of a very active part of the church year. Our pledge drive is fast reaching its climax and is currently on track to reach our 2025/2026 fiscal target. This relies on everyone completing their pledges. If you have not already done so, we kindly ask that you move quickly. It does take all of us together to shine the NSUC beacon and fuel this sacred place of sanctuary and community.  

Meanwhile, our new Democracy in Action Team has been hard at work in this challenging time. They have organized a four-person team to vet action items through the lens of their focus areas—Immigration, LGBTQ+ and Environmental. These teams will meet separately to define the work of monitoring local organizations and media to determine when to send requests to a Rapid Response Team. In an incredibly short period of time a strong structure and a focused, motivated team have been developed to ameliorate the hurt and suffering of the vulnerable. Thank you Janell Cleland for your updates on activities and to all who are participating in this worthy endeavor.

With the onset of March a group of questioners and seekers has joined our good Reverend Lucas to learn of the practice, mysteries and benefits of Tarot, both for individual and societal betterment. What other church would provide such an opportunity? Ours is truly a unique and fortunate community.

Finally, we will soon be moving into Music Sunday, the Flower Ceremony Service and our Congregational Assembly. It is all coming, but don’t forget to enjoy the beauty and promise of spring along the way. In this month of March, let us march forward with hope in our hearts, peace in our souls and goodness in our works.

With every good wish!

Joseph Small

Board of Trustees

President

Upcoming Board Meetings

Board meetings are at 7:00 PM and are open to members.

Our next meeting will be: Wednesday, March 19th

Rev. Lucas' Office Hours



Do you want to chat with Rev. Lucas? Please fill out this form to request a meeting with him.

BLUU Resources

North Shore Unitarian Church supports Black Lives Matter. For information and resources about Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, please click here: blacklivesuu.org.

Legislative Advocacy Team Opt-in 

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actions you can take will be sent as needed when the Illinois General Assembly is meeting.

Staff Office Hours & Contacts

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Dropping by NSUC? Give us a call.

We ask that all members and friends make an appointment with the church office before coming to the church. Please email Jocelyn or call 847-235-1957.

Copy Machine Update

This is a friendly reminder that you should contact Jocelyn if you need to make copies for an NSUC group or program. We ask that you provide one week's notice to coordinate your copy job.

Help Keep Our Church Safe

Please make sure to secure all church doors before leaving the building. This includes pulling doors completely shut and making sure that they latch. Thank you for your continued support in making our church a safe space for all!