Every year, the neighborhood of Lakewood Balmoral has a yard sale the Saturday after Labor Day (September 7). The church will provide hospitality (water and restrooms) and food stands featuring traditional cuisines from our different congregations: pupusas from El Salvador, tacos from Mexico, noodles and tea from Burma/Thailand.

This year, we will again be celebrating the talents of our family, friends, and neighbors by hosting a Crafts & Vendor Fair. Here is a list of this year's vendors:
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Karen Dreasler, handmade pottery smallwares 
Marcia Gohmann, crocheted slippers, towels and dolls 
Dr. Peggy Griffin, self-published vegan cookbook and reflections of the civil rights movement 
Valerie Jackson-Bateman, handmade copper jewelry 
Jo Gertzen, quilted table runners & wall quilts 
Jasmine Perry, handmade beaded & semi-precious stone jewelry 
Dawn Noldan, homemade preserves and handmade fabric totebags 
Dorothy Loving, handmade silver and gold beaded jewelry 
Anita Bonilla, handcrafted gift boxes

If you are a crafter or artisan and would be interested in participating, there is still time! Please review the information in the document below, fill out the included form, and send it to dlnoldan@gmail.com.

By Rev. Kathryn Ray

Grief is a communal process.  

This thought echoed louder and louder through my mind and heart as we toured the museum and memorials in Trujillo, Colombia.  A father and son who had lost family members in the government-sponsored massacre that took place in that community from 1986-1994 guided our small delegation from the Global Baptist Peace Conference. They literally led us along the path this community had taken in search of healing and justice in the face of the unimaginable.  With each step we took, each different monument we visited, I saw new visions of the transformational, defiant power of a community that comes together to grieve, to tell their story, and to refuse to stop telling it. ​

On Saturday, May 18, NSBC celebrated Kate Whitmore as our Daily Disciple at the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago Disciples' Dinner. On June 3, we gathered once more to celebrate her life and legacy, after she passed away on May 28.

For the award presentation, this is what we said about Kate:

In a church with four diverse congregations, relatively few members are able to impact the entire church in such a way that causes them to be spoken of with great fondness in four different languages.  In the span of just a few years, Kate Whitmore has become one of those people.   It is small wonder, as she is the kind of person who, in between chemotherapy treatments, once rented a moving van and drove a struggling mother and child from the church community to Missouri so they could start over in a safe environment, supported by family members.
 
As director of the handbell choir, she supported and encouraged ringers from their first time picking up bells to the hundredth time, bringing joyful new music to our services.   As church treasurer, Kate worked tirelessly to make finances more transparent. She reached out across congregational lines to insure that financial information was being effectively communicated in all our different languages.  Finally, she worked diligently to advocate for equitable compensation for all members of the pastoral team.

As a member of the pastoral relations committee, Kate improved the quality of dialogue between church leaders and pastors, helping the whole church articulate a clearer vision of good pastoral leadership.  She empowered clergy and laity alike to ask for what they needed from the church.  In all circumstances, she never failed to advocate for justice and fairness. 
 
In her faithful and tireless service, Kate always brings a kind word of wisdom, a courageous prophetic call, and a razor-sharp wit. She has made NSBC a more loving and just reflection of the kingdom of God, and the church will never be the same.

Well done, good and faithful servant.  Rest in joy.

To learn more about Kate Whitmore and the marvelous life she led, read her obituary here.

NSBC member Paw Say Ku was awarded the Jitsuo Morikawa Award for Relation Christian Faith to Contemporary Life at Saturday's Regional Meeting of the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago (ABCMC). This award "celebrates a member of the ABCMC family who breaks open new paths of the Christian life in our time."

The Region writes:
Paw Say Ku works as an activist and a caregiver, advocating for human rights especially for refugee and immigrant communities and for community mental health... She works to empower people to connect and heal together by storytelling, recently contributing some of her funnier stories of life in refugee camps to an experimental improv comedy show aimed at crossing cultural boundaries and educating people about refugee experience. As a leader at North Shore Baptist Church... She helps church members deepen their capacity to hear the stories of others and tell their own. For her work of faith supporting immigrants and refugees succeed in their new home and helping breach all the walls of division that we might become one, we confer on Paw Say Ku the Jitsuo Morikawa Award for Relating Christian Faith to Contemporary Life.

Congratulations to Paw Say Ku, and keep fighting the good fight!

We are looking for a full-time Facilities Manager to work approximately 40 hours a week and maintain 24 – hour stand-by status.  Housing for Facilities Manager and family is provided by the church.  This position is responsible for the maintenance of church properties, equipment and building security.  This position is also administrative: supervising, scheduling and evaluating custodial staff.  The ideal candidate will possess an open, friendly personality and be comfortable interacting with a wide variety of people and situations.  A candidate must have the ability to adjust to a flexible work schedule, must have a valid driver’s license and must be fluent in English.  Bi-lingual in Spanish/and or Karen preferred.  Experience in a church or non-profit organization and five years of supervision and building maintenance is also preferred. Please click links below for a complete position description and our on-line application

Facilities Manager Position Description - click here

Online Application - click here

By Rev. Kathryn Ray

"The king took the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah...and handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord....From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, Rizpah did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night." -2 Samuel 21:8-10

​Before coming to North Shore I worshipped and served at Ellis Avenue Church down in the Hyde Park/Kenwood area. At the time, this church was pastored by the Rev. Jonathan Friesen, who some of you may remember, preached at my installation service, and the Rev. Brenda Matthews, a local community leader, published poet, and prayer warrior.  Pastor Brenda would shut down corners of the city where drug deals and violence were prevalent by hosting prayer vigils. She traveled around the country to share poetry and stories, and she moved hearts and minds with the oft-repeated call from one of her poems
 
“Somebody better say something, somebody better do something, somebody better feel something, before it’s too late.”

On Sunday, June 9, we will be gathering at 11:30 am to celebrate the end of another year of of Adventures in Learning. We will honor our Sunday School teachers and graduates, and see special presentations by our Sunday School classes. All are welcome!

On Sunday, April 7, we will gather in the sanctuary at 3:00 pm to formally install Rev. Michael Ware as pastor of the English congregation. Pastor Michael joined the NSBC pastoral team in September 2018, and we are so excited to celebrate his ministry to this church. 

Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri, Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin, will offer the sermon. Heavy refreshments will follow the service.