Northern Light July 2007

July 1 On the Nature of Man: Good, Evil, or Something Else Entirely? A lay service by Rebecca Morse.

July 8 Farmer’s Market. The local connection that we have lost to our sources of food might actually be but one sign of a larger spiritual problem.

July 15 Chris Jones Leavy leads a lay service this Sunday.

July 22 Question Box Sermon. Bring your questions—theological, personal, ethical, and just plain “need-to-know.”

July 29 101 Ways to Improve the World Without Really Trying. In a world where goodness seems to require sacrifice, some things we can do for the good of the world that are actually fun and self-satisfying.

August 5 Story Sunday. Kyle Yaggi leads a lay service of sharing--bring your favorite reading (be it a children's story, poem--yours, or someone else's-- or an excerpt for a favorite book).

Also in this issue
Page 2 Events & Activities. Find out what's happening in July!
Page 3 From the Committees and Board: President's Column, Religious Education news, Social Action News, and the Treasurer's Report.
Page 4 A Call to Action! See how you can support your congregation and your world!

It is my pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of the NUUC staff. Merrily Ritchie-DeGeorge took over her duties as Director of Puppet Ministries during the service on June 10. Merrily joins our team from Larson’s Toys and Gifts on Lane Avenue, where she worked as retail. Her duties will include assisting me in Intergenerational Worship, and leading songs with her name in them. Although, as a person of timeless beauty, she is always happy to make herself available to the congregation for any questions regarding gracious living. When Merrily is not doing her ministry, she enjoys karaoke and ballroom dance.

Merrily shared some of her spiritual journey with the congregation on June 10. She is drawn to church work as a part of self-exploration. Specifically, she doesn’t know what kind of animal she is, but she wishes to discover her species in her own fashion. As Merrily says, “In my old church they told me I was a hedgehog. I had to sing hedgehog songs and color in hedgehog pictures. I tried to be a hedgehog, but in my heart, I knew I was not a hedgehog.”

The children of the congregation told Merrily she would be welcome at North Unitarian Universalist Congregation no matter what kind of animal she turned out to be. Merrily was grateful for this kindness, even if she remains a little confused about our name. “I can hardly wait to learn more about what it is to be a Uni-Terrier Universalist,” she says.