The Northliner
June 28, 2024
Sunday Services
Sunday services are held at 10:00 am. Currently our services are held live at UCN and also streamed on Zoom. Coffee hour follows the service. If UCN closes due to weather or building issues, the closing will be reflected on our website, on our office voice mail, and a special email will be sent out, if possible.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/93364454692?pwd=U29yanFGZTUvOXAvcWM0UWQ1UFU0QT09
Meeting ID: 933 6445 4692
Password: 13800
Services begin promptly at 10 am. If you'd like to join in conversation before the service, you may join the Zoom meeting at 9:50 and wrap up your conversations shortly before 10.
June 30: "Getting to Peace: What Gets in Our Way," UWM Peace Professor, Rob Ricigliano
In June 2006 UCN dedicated our Peace Pole, a symbol of peace that is seen throughout the world. On each Pole are the words “May Peace Prevail” in more than one language. The languages on our Pole are English, Hebrew, Arabic, and a Native American language. Our speaker for the service will be Robert Ricigliano. Ricigliano has taught peace and conflict strategies at UWM and throughout the world. Join us as we all continue to seek peace. The service will be indoors but the rededication of the Peace Pole will take place outdoors after the service. It is located next to the driveway on the north side of the church building.
Rob Ricigliano is a Systems & Complexity coach with The Omidyar Group. In that role he supports social change organizations and initiatives. Rob constantly explores how to use systems and complexity thinking in accessible and practical ways. Prior to joining The Omidyar Group, Rob worked on peacebuilding in complex environments and violent conflict zones around the world - from Iraq and Afghanistan to Cambodia, Colombia, and South Africa, among others. In that role he worked with leaders of governments, non-governmental organizations, armed groups, and political parties. He co-founded the Alliance for Peacebuilding and the Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He also serves as an Emeritus Board Member on the Alliance for Peacebuilding. He wrote, Making Peace Last: a toolbox for sustainable peacebuilding (2012).
July 7: "The Only Book Some Will Ever Read," Rev. Tony Larsen
Tony's sermon will explore the wisdom behind a saying he once came upon: "You are the only Bible some people will ever read." The idea was that you can preach all you want out of the Bible (or whatever scripture you deem holy), but your actions always speak louder than your words.
What might this mean in terms of how we present our UU faith to others? We can talk all we want about how wonderful our UU principles are, but what will that mean to others if we are not actually living them? (Another way to say that might be: If you were arrested for being a Unitarian Universalist, would there be enough evidence to convict you?)
Tony Larsen was our minister here at Unitarian Church North for 4 years (2019-1023), having served before that at Olympia Brown UU in Racine for 40+ years. He was raised Catholic, and studied to be a Catholic priest for 10 years before being ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. He received his B.A. in philosophy from Maryknoll College in 1971, his M.A. in theology from Maryknoll School of Theology in 1973, and his D.Min from Meadville/Lombard Theological School in 1975.
From Rev. Scott
Interested in what happened at the UUA's General Assembly in June?
This year's UUA General Assembly was a noteworthy one, with the adoption of a new "Article 2" by-law statement about what lies at the center of Unitarian Universalism. This new statement articulates how we describe ourselves both within our movement and beyond, and will frame-in our work in the world for decades to come. There were also other important business items voted on at this GA that we can explain and discuss Please join your GA delegates: Helen Michels, Dana Lusk and Rev. Alexander (UCN's fourth delegate Leigh Hotliezer will be away) on Sunday, July 14, at 11:15 in the Emerson Room for coffee and conversation about these important UU matters.
Rev. Alexander's Summer Schedule and Availability
Dear Members and Friends of UCN,
This summer, I will be spending time both at my home in the Adirondacks of New York, and my home in Sheboygan, and traveling to the West Coast to visit family.
The good news is that the Worship Committee and I have planned a full summer schedule of excellent and interesting Sunday services…every Sunday at 10 AM there will be a meaningful service “at the barn” you will not want to miss! Also, I will be here in Mid-July to conduct the service on Sunday July 14th. In addition, I will be attending UCN meetings as appropriate and needed, and will remain available to you (at least by phone or zoom) in case of pastoral emergencies or other needs. The best way to reach me in case of need is to call or text my cell phone 772 359 0602, which I check regularly.
May these summer months treat all of us gently and well, and please don’t forget to include UCN in your summer weekend plans!
Religious Education
This Week in RE
For RE this Sunday will explore the idea of PEACE, how we can be peaceful in our everyday interactions with one another in simple and sweet ways. Our Message for All Ages is the book "Peace Is" by Baptiste Paul & Miranda Paul illustrates this point beautifully. During class we will share our favorite acts of kindness and get in some outside time before meeting up with the rest of the congregation at the Peace Pole for the dedication. Our previous RE plan was an Animal Homes theme with Jessy, and this will happen in August. We could not pass up the opportunity to include the children in the Peace theme and participate in our Peace Pole Dedication.
Request for RE Teachers & Assistants
This coming school year for RE we are going from one class to three classes! Our classes will be K-3, 4-6th and 7th -9th (OWL). With the addition of these classes, we are in need of a few more RE teachers and assistants for each grade level. RE teachers and assistants typically teach about once a month with a curriculum that is already established. Please consider joining our growing RE program at UCN. You'll learn as much from them as they do from you.
Children's Choir
UCN is starting a Children's Choir! Our first rehearsal will be THIS COMING Sunday, June 30th. Dana Lusk & Callie Thurow will be working with our young singers. We hope to have the Children's Choir perform at our upcoming Intergenerational Services and participate in our Holiday Pageant. Please reach out to Dana Lusk with any questions at danalusk04@gmail.com.
RE Office Hours this Summer
Jessy is off the month of July. RE office hours will resume in August, Wednesdays 10am-3pm.
Green Team Hikes
- July 13th, Mequon Nature Preserve: 8200 W County Line Rd., Mequon, WI 53097
We will hike to the tower. I’m going to see if Kristin Gies (their amazing Executive Director) can join us. Also they have an award winning outdoor play area for kids and their building is very much dedicated to education and is fun to check out. - August 10th, Doctors Park: 1870 E Fox Lane, Fox Point, WI 53217
We will hike from Doctors Park to Schlitz Audubon north end and then back. We will search for beach treasures and create a heart mosaic in the sand with them. There are bathrooms at this location. Hope to see you there. Please contact Jessy Knox with questions at 414-840-5377.
Summer Religious Education
For RE this summer we will be exploring, learning and enjoying the natural world around us, by investigating our UCN outdoor acres together.
Check out our Summer RE class offerings below. Remember to dress for the outdoors each week. We will have indoor activities in case of inclement weather.
July 7th: FIREBUILDING & MARSHMALLOWS with Todd Zumach
July 14th: YOGA with Cecile Duhnke & her yoga instructor friend
July 21st: Scavenger Hunt with Brian Bunzel around UCN
July 28th: Lean-To Construction with Jim DeLillo
August 4th: Intergenerational Service LUGHNASA with Dana Lusk
August 11th: PONDING with Jessy Knox
August 18th: YTD
August 25th: CULTURE HISTORY & MYSTERY with Katie Egan-Bruhy
Sept 1st: WATER & BUBBLE FUN. This is our last Summer Class for RE
We start the UCN RE 2024-2025 school year on Sept 15th due to the intergenerational service on September 8th.
Sept 8th: Intergenerational Service IN-GATHERING
Sept 15th: First RE class of the 2024-2025 UCN RE school year.
More information forthcoming!
* Social and Racial Justice
Recognizing Redemption: Pathways to Rehabilitation and Parole
Friday, June 28, 2024 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CT
Hybrid (Zoom and In-Person), 2620 W Center St, Milwaukee, WI 53206
Join us to learn about how old law and commutations in Wisconsin impacts people today and what it’s all about. This is a hybrid event which you can attend in-person (Wisconsin Black Historical Society at 2620 W. Center St. Milwaukee, WI 53206) or on Zoom. Once you register (https://wisdomwisconsin.org/recognizing-redemption), you will receive the Zoom information in a separate email.
Speakers include:
- Kristina Lucero - Former Montana Parole Board Member
- Shar-Ron Buie - Associate Director of JustDane, Madison
- Emily Curtis - Loved one is currently incarcerated
- Attorney Craig Mastantuono - Criminal Defense Attorney
- Dante Cottingham-Juvenile lifer/Prison Reform Advocate
This event is free to attend. For questions, email Mark Rice at ricermark@gmail.com.
Get Your Tickets Now!!
MICAH (Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope) is sponsoring a Rally for Democracy as part of their "We All Belong" Campaign.
Sunday, July 14th, 2024
Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
2419 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53211
Doors open at 1:00 p.m.. Rally runs from 2 - 6 p.m.
Tickets: Cost per ticket is $5 and can be ordered through the QR code in the attached flyer,
or through UCN members, Lucy Friedrichs or Leigh Hoftiezer.
Speakers: Well-known national and local speakers.
Please do attend. See the flyer below for more helpful details, the QR code, and the link for purchasing tickets if you do not want to use the QR code.
* Announcements
Northliner Deadline
The office will be closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday, so the Northliner will be sent out on Wednesday, July 3. Please submit your articles by very early Wednesday morning. Thanks!
UUs Out to Lunch
Join us for our next UUs Out to Lunch at Crave Restaurant (10401 N. Port Washington Rd in Mequon; corner of Donges Bay & Port Washington Rds) at 11:30 AM on Wed, July 3rd. So far eight people have RSVP'd. If others would care to come, please call Pat Mumm-Lovely at 414-426-9833.
Adopt-a-Room
The aesthetics committee is excited about the potential for UCN to create intentional and meaningful spaces where our memories can shine through and new memories can continue to be made. Becoming involved in Adopting a Room would allow you to be directly involved in the renewal of our interior. You might adopt a room on your own or adopt jointly with other individuals or families.
Our rooms need 3 things:
- Decluttering. Clean up and clean out.
- Underwriting. A financial donation earmarked for a specific room.
- Renewal. Direct involvement in the renewal of the room which may include painting, wall or window décor, perhaps even furniture.
There will, of course, be guidelines for the redecoration of each space. And in consideration of the primary purpose of the room, we’ll coordinate with those most involved in the ongoing use of those rooms. There are a wealth of artifacts and resources already here in our church home. Maybe they just need to dusted and moved to best show them off.
Please reach out to a member of this sub-committee – Cindy Kotecki, Judy DeLillo, Poul Sandersen, Todd Zumach, or Brian Bunzel with questions or to share your interest in participating.
Events at UCN
- "Qi Gong and Tai Chi" will resume in September on Saturdays at 11 am in the Fellowship Hall. Call Diane at 307-763-0903 for dates and details. First class is free for UCN members.
- Al-Anon meetings, offering recovery for families and friends of alcoholics and drug addicts, are held every Tuesday morning at 8:30 am in the Clara Barton room and online.
Thank you for supporting the groups that use our facilities.
* Calendar
Calendar through July 14
Meetings are held via Zoom, unless stated.
- Sunday, June 30, during the service: Peace Pole Rededication
- Monday, July 1, 7:00 pm: Building Committee (Brian Bunzel)
- Wednesday, July 3: UUs Out to Lunch (Brenda Berg)
- Thursday and Friday, July 4-5: Office closed for the holiday
- Monday, July 8, 1-6 pm: Blood Drive - Fellowship Hall (Sheri Mounts)
- Thursday, July 11, 6:30 pm: Sunday Services (Julie Konik)
- Saturday, July 13, 9:30 am: Hike at Mequon Nature Preserve (Jessy Knox)
- Sunday, July 14, 11:15 am: Coffee and Conversation about GA - Emerson
The monthly calendar for UCN events, not including rentals, can be seen on our website at: https://ucnorth.org/calendar/
Please remember to contact Lyn, info@ucnorth.org, to reserve rooms for your meetings, rehearsals, ceremonies, etc. To hold an event or ceremony at UCN, contact Lyn for date availability, facilities use forms, and answers to your questions.
All church committee meetings are open; visitors are welcome. Contact the committee chair (listed on the calendar above) for details or to receive the zoom info for a meeting. For information on classes and groups that meet at UCN, as well as future meeting and event dates, please see the website, www.ucnorth.org, or call the office, 262-375-3890.
* Reminders
Service and UUA Information
Service Assistants are needed for Sunday Services. Please contact Julie Konik (julie.konik@gmail.com) if you can help.
The Sunday Services Zoom Team is looking "for a few good zoom hosts." Please contact Gerry Schmitz or Dan Lusk if interested.
Sunday Announcements: If you would like to have an announcement read at the service, please prepare it using the Spoken Announcement Guidelines, and send it to Joy Schroeder (peacenow@charter.net) or Julie Konik (julie.konik@gmail.com) or that Sunday's Service Assistant by the FRIDAY BEFORE the service, and they will relay it to the worship assistant.
- Reserving the Projector: If you will need the projector for a given date, please remember to sign the “Projector Reservation Signup List” on the clipboard on the table outside the office in the north lobby.
- UU Women's Connection offers retreats, newsletters and resources for women: https://www.uuwomensconnection.org/
- You are encouraged to subscribe to MidAmerica Region's newsletter, News page. More information at uua.org/midamerica .
- The UU 2024-25 Common Read is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families (Skinner House, 2023). The Common Read builds community in our congregations and our movement by giving diverse people a shared platform for reflection and a shared focus for action. Authentic Selves invites us to explore the nature of living authentically and the ways connections among us help us thrive. Visit uua.org/read for more information.
General Information
Becoming a Member of UCN is very easy. Simply make a pledge of record, sign our Membership Book, and provide contact information for our records. We also provide New to UU and UCN Classes in the Spring and Fall. It is not necessary to attend the classes, however they are very informative, providing information about Unitarian Universalism and our church (its history and how it operates). For more information, you can contact Dan Lusk (262-234-9406).
Rev. Scott will never ask you to buy a gift card for him. Please don't fall for these scams.
Our photo directory of members and pledging friends is sent out a few times each year. If you would prefer a printed color copy, we can print them for $5. Just tell Lyn if you want one.
- Caring Circle: a group of people who may be willing to bring meals, help with transportation, make visits, pick up groceries, etc. for members and friends of UCN in temporary need. Sign up at church or virtually: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A44ACA82BA75-caring
First Aid Kits are located near the elevators on each level. Each kit is in a white box and mounted on the wall. AED Machines are near the first aid kits. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Bunzel, Building Committee Chair, at (262) 573-0045 or brianbuzel@yahoo.com.
Are you or someone you know in need of help with basic food supplies? The Family Sharing food pantry is here when you need us. Our Mobile Pantry travels to locations in northern and southern Ozaukee. We also offer in-person shopping and deliver groceries to senior living complexes. Call us for more information. 262-377-0634 x125.
UCN is now able to accept donations via PayPal.
Food Barrel: Don’t forget to grab a food item out of your pantry for the food barrel as you leave for church. Donations go to the Ozaukee Food Alliance.
Scrip Fundraiser: Scrip Cards are still a great way to support UCN. Use cards for carryout or online purchase with ScripNow!. There are 3 ways to buy or reload your cards: ScripNow! (Pay online, use online or in person), PrestoPay (buy or reload cards) or at UCN. If you have a special request or questions about Scrip, contact Mark Muellenbach. To sign up, use the code for UCN: 1F3EE5A9248LL
If you order from Quill.com and tell them UCN recommended them, UCN will earn a $50 gift card.
Support Black-Owned businesses: "MKE Black" offers a list of Black-owned businesses you can reference: https://mkeblack.org/
If you would like to donate directly to Family Promise, the only shelter for homeless people in Ozaukee County, please send your donation to them, with “UCN Member” written in the memo line. This will give UCN credit for the donation. Their address is: Family Promise of Ozaukee County, 136 W. Grand Ave., Port Washington, WI 53074.
The Social Justice Committee has an OPT-IN email list for anyone who would like to be notified on short notice to provide a physical presence at social justice activities. Please contact Sherryl Andrus, sherryla70@gmail.com, to be added to the list.
Monthly Fellowship Gatherings
UUsOutToLunch meets on the first Wednesday of every month at noon, and sometimes at suppertime during daylight savings time. Couples, singles, men & women are all welcome, long-term commitment or not. Each month, a different member of the group takes the responsibility of choosing a restaurant at which to meet and eat, and emails the rest of the group with the particulars as to what and where, requesting yay or nay from the emailed recipient, so that reservations can be made if required. Join us! Email brendaberg@spectrum.net
First Sunday Lunch: Join us after the service in the Fellowship Hall for lunch and fellowship on the first Sunday of the month, November through June.
UUs Coffee & Conversation (Ladies' Lunch & Levity) meets on the third Monday of every month at Mequon Fiddleheads, 10530 Port Washington Rd. Stop in anytime between 12:00 and 1:30 for something to eat, a good cuppa, and chewy conversation. We meet in the back room.
* Submitting Content for our Publications
Please submit articles for the Northliner to info@ucnorth.org. To keep the Northliner from becoming cumbersome to read, you are encouraged to keep these articles short, and to run them only twice. The deadline for submitting articles is every Thursday at noon. Items submitted later might not be proofed for errors or published.
Please contact Todd Zumach (zumacht@gmail.com) to submit articles for our website.
* Contact Information and Links
Minister, Rev. Scott Alexander: cell phone (preferred): 772-359-0602. Office phone: 262-375-4748. Email: UURevScott@gmail.com . Rev. Scott will generally be in the pulpit the first three Sundays of the month and in his office the first two weeks of the month.
Jessy Knox, RE Coordinator
Jessy can be contacted at REFPC@ucnorth.org or at 414-840-5377.
Wednesdays 10 am-3 pm: Office hours
Saturdays 10 am-1 pm: RE Prep (some of this time will be remote)
Sundays 8:30 am-12:30 pm: RE Sunday Time
UCN Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 9 am to 2:30 pm. Contact Lyn at 262-375-3890 or info@ucnorth.org. The office is closed for holidays and bad weather. Please do not reply to the Northliner; we do not receive messages sent to lyngust@mailgun.smore.com, but if you are having trouble receiving the Northliner, please add that address to your contact list.
Links
Information on our Share the Plate Recipient
For more information about UCN, see our website www.ucnorth.org or call the office at
262-375-3890.
Unitarian Church North
Email: info@ucnorth.org
Website: www.ucnorth.org
Location: 13800 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, WI, 53097 USA
Phone: 262-375-3890
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitarianChurchNorth/