The Northliner
Oct. 30, 2026
Set your clocks back one hour this weekend!
Ask the Minister
Ask the Minister - Responses XII
Because of time constraints, many of the excellent questions submitted during service on August 2nd were left unanswered. Over the next several months, I will be responding to those we didn’t get to and others that have been submitted since in our newsletters and regular mailings. If you have other questions you’d like me to consider, please write me at reverik@ucnorth.org.
Question: What is to be done with people who pit us against one another to profit from war/division? How can I keep hope alive when so much is going wrong? How do we come together for the well-being of the majority?
Response: All of these questions were submitted during service in August and all speak to a growing frustration we might be feeling regarding the state of the country, politics and what is clearly a reactionary shift in our communal values. After nearly a decade of the Obama administration, in which time several forever wars were ended, same-sex marriage became the law of the land and healthcare became available to millions of folks who could not have otherwise afforded it, it is not surprising (but no less disappointing) that there has been a backlash from the Right.
Bolstered by a specific (and inaccurate) reading of Christianity, the Right has successfully appealed to people’s lowest impulses, stoking fear in order to better control the narrative.
So-called “culture wars” around transgender young people, affirmative action and access to reproductive health care have been effective in dividing a populace against itself, further obscuring the disastrous effects of unchecked capitalism and wealth inequality that is increasing at an alarming rate.
Given the tenor of political and personal discourse these days, what with our elected leaders openly spreading lies and doubling down on inappropriate, inaccurate remarks, it might be easy to despair. It is, in fact, easier to shut down, turn away and tune out, hoping that eventually everyone will regain their senses (and moral convictions).
However, those who are in power and wish to remain in power are banking on this very tendency. This is what was meant by “muzzle velocity” as popularized in the pages of Project 2025, arguing that bombarding the public with many different crises at once will lead to fatigue and disengagement, making it all the easier for a minority to continue to rule with only its own best interests in mind. And it has worked, to a point.
But as Unitarian Universalists, we have an opportunity to make a choice, every hour of every day: the choice between Love and fear. In this case, choosing love means refusing to bend to the narrative that everything is already broken and cannot be saved. Love means refusing to demonize the other, even if their voting record is partially responsible for the mess in which we find ourselves. Love means advocating for rural farmers with the same gusto and conviction as we would for those suffering from poverty in the inner city. Love means talking to our neighbors and helping them even when we disagree with them. And Love compels us to refuse to believe that we are more different than alike, and that those systems that oppress one do not affect everyone else.
Unfortunately, though Love is a simple answer, it is no easy path. But it is places like Unitarian Church North where we get to engage in this love-creating mindset, replete with others who are struggling with these same issues and who hold common values. Hope comes from being able to engage, first in safety with those with whom we agree, and then in the vulnerable space between dialogue and true relationship with others. The less we can blame folks for their votes and more we can sympathize with how they may have internalized lies from people whom they should be able to trust (their elected officials, their pastors, law enforcement, etc.), the more quickly we might cease seeing other people as the problem and lay the blame squarely where it belongs: those whose wealth amplifies their influence and interests to the detriment of the rest of us.
Be sure to vote next week, and if you are in need of hope in these difficult times, please come to church.
Yours in Faith,
Rev. Erik
Announcements
Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers!
World Series Champions!
Membership Directory
Please tell Lyn in the office (info@ucnorth.org) if anything in the Membership Directory needs to be corrected. An updated version will be sent out around Thanksgiving.
First Sunday Lunch on Day of the Dead!
What could be better?! Sunday, November 1 will be serving up Comfort Food – the best accompaniment to such a day. The ladies of FSL are working on a cozy, comforting buffet menu that will include some of our favorites.
Please join your fellow UCN members/friends in Fellowship Hall after the morning service on November 1 for a scrumptious meal of food to warm your soul, plus desserts and beverages. Suggested donation $4/adult; $10/family limit.
If your last name as listed in the membership directory falls within the last names Fugenschuh to McEwan, you are cordially invited to provide a dish that serves 10-12 people for the Nov 1 Lunch. Dishes can be dropped off in the kitchen before the service. There will be someone there as early as 9am to receive them. Thank you in advance for your contributions! November FSL coordinator, Judy DeLillo has sent out email requests and will be communicating with volunteers throughout the next couple of weeks for planning and coordinating. Contact Judy at judelillo2@gmail.com to convey your contribution choice ASAP.
The Barn Table is Returning
As in the past, the Barn Table will again be available during First Sunday Lunch, starting this Sunday. Donated craft items and baked goods will be available for sale, with the proceeds going to UCN. Please stop by and check it out, and also consider donating craft or baked items to be sold at the Barn Table.
For more information or to donate, please contact Judy O'Connell at 262 707-6534 or email at gardener.judy@yahoo.com
UCN Cookbooks
Christmas is coming! Time to think about gifts for those you love. What better way to let them know than with a copy of the UCN Cookbook. We'll have them for sale at the First Sunday Lunch in November & December & any other time you'd like one or more copies. They're only $10 each & they contain wonderful recipes from your friends at UCN. See Linda Sandersen.
Ukulele classes
Classes resume on 11/15, 11/22 and 12/20 for the year. We meet in the Sanctuary at 11:30 after the service.
All Soul's Cafe'
Calling all singers, musicians, dancers, poets, etc! Magicians are welcome, too...
Anyone who would like to perform at the All Soul's Cafe' on Sunday, January 3, 2027, is asked to sign up by the deadline of December 18. I have spoken with several performers already who are seriously considering it again. Your act should take about 5 minutes.
Thank you. We all look forward to the show.
Linda Sandersen, Lindasandersen60@gmail.com
Events at UCN
Chair Yoga is held Tuesdays at 10 am, in the Clara Barton Room. Contact Anna Rychner at Shaktiwaves@ameritech.net for more details.
The next Wisconsin Singer Songwriter Series concerts will be held Saturday, Nov. 14.
UCN members are offered $15 tickets at the door for all concerts, with identification. Go to wsss.org for details.- 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 Fellowship Hall and online. On voting days, meetings are held in the Sanctuary, upper level.
Thank you for supporting the groups that use our facilities.
Donating to UCN
Use this convenient QR code to donate!
The link to the giving page, for the less tech savvy, is: https://ucnorth.breezechms.com/give/online
Unitarian Church North
Email: info@ucnorth.org
Website: www.ucnorth.org
Location: 13800 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, WI, 53097
Phone: 262-375-3890
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/UnitarianChurchNorthMequonWI/