SOCIAL ACTION
Our church is engaged in many activities in the wider community. We welcome you to join us as we seek to do good works and help our neighbors. To learn more or to get involved, come to the social action monthly meeting. All are welcome. You can also sign up for our Newsletter to receive information about upcoming events. Here are some of the ways our church gets involved:
Racial Justice Team – The Racial Justice Team is an action-oriented Team focused on providing opportunities for members to become involved in racial justice work. Our current work is focused on building relationships with local organizations created and led by people of color. We, also, offer educational events and resources for our members (facilitating workshops, hosting events, reading and discussing together). Ultimately, we strive to become a community leader for issues of equity by holding ourselves accountable for examining and dismantling racism in ourselves and in our institutions.
Democracy Action Team – We are a Democracy Action Team congregation. That means we work year round to mobilize voter participation in a non-partisan way, and we build relationships with our State House and State Senate representatives.
Food Bank – The NSUC Food Bank collects and distributes over $600 worth of food per month to food pantries in Lake County. We welcome canned and dry good donations. Boxes for food donations are located at the front entrance of the church. We also need shoppers to purchase additional food with Social Justice funds and people to deliver food donations.
Green Team – A group committed to environmental justice and awareness, addressing education and activism around environmental concerns.
Rummage Sale – The goal of our annual Rummage Sale is to provide gently used and new items at reasonable prices for people who can use them and to keep functional items out of our landfills. Proceeds of the sale go to non-profits in the area.
PADS Monthly Meal – We work with PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) NSUC provides the evening meal every third Sunday that is delivered to the Presbyterian Church in Deerfield. We need volunteers to help with preparation and delivery. All ages welcome.
Lake County United (LCU) – NSUC is a member of Lake County United, a grass roots community organization that advocates for affordable housing, better access to quality health care, and education for all Lake County residents, as well as for citizenship training and services for immigrants. We need volunteers to represent NSUC at LCU meetings and/or to join subcommittees of LCU and provide communication to church members on LCU activities.
Mitzvah Day – A day-long opportunity for all NSUC members and friends to perform social justice activities, usually in the spring.
Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI) – Organization that promotes engagement with the IL Legislative process. It keeps us informed of the up-coming bills, recommends actions to take, and organizes meetings with our legislators both at home and in Springfield.
Habitat for Humanity – Multiple times each year, an NSUC team assists with building homes in Lake County. Consider joining to help bring a home to a deserving family in our community.
Annual Holiday Fair Trade Fair – Held in December, in which we invite vendors of fair trade products to sell before and after the service.
Recycling Center – We have an area of the church set aside for members to bring in items to be recycled, including styrofoam.
