Organization and Membership

NSUUS is a lay-led congregation. The management of the congregation is entrusted to an elected Board of Trustees and a mix of Committees and Teams serve to support and maintain the church and activities.

  • President: Angie Hoffpauir
    Vice President: Nina Helfert
    Treasurer: Steve Storey
    Secretary: Colin Peden
    Trustee: JoAnn Bienvenu
    Trustee: Nina DeSmith
    Trustee: Dian McIlwain

  • NSUUS Church Administrator

    ‍ Erica Merchant-Lee

    office.nsuus@gmail.com ‍

    NSUUS Director of Religious Exploration

    ‍ ‍ Jessa Barthels

    ‍ ‍ dre.nsuus@gmail.com

  • The NSUUS Board of Trustee meets on a monthly basis and the meetings are open to all to attend.

    Meetings are typically scheduled for the 3rd Sunday of the month after the Service. Dates and time may change with limited notice.

    To bring items to the Board, please contact a Board Member or the NSUUS Office Administrator to get on the agenda.

  • The Annual Business Meeting is held each year in either November or December during which time the operating budget for the coming year is voted on by NSUUS Members. Additionally, the election of Board of Trustees members and any other pertinent business is handled. A quorum of Membership is required for all votes.

    The Board of Trustees may also call Congregational meetings at other times of the year if needed.

  • Copies of NSUUS’s governance documents, including the Articles of Incorporation, the By-Laws, and the Policy Manual, are available upon request from the Office Administrator (office.nsuus@gmail.com).

    NSUUS Pledge Form

Membership

After you have attended our church for awhile and become familiar with our congregational life, you may decide you would like to become a member. Membership is a simple process, but one with deep meaning. By becoming a member you are agreeing to support the church with your time and talents, and financially with your annual pledge. As a member you will have a vote concerning all major church decisions, and will also receive the quarterly UU magazine. Prior to, or soon after joining, you are encouraged to attend one of our New To UU classes. To indicate your desire to join, simply contact our Office Administrator or any Board Member. You will be asked to sign our membership book and take part in a new member recognition ceremony where we acknowledge all new members who have recently joined.

Supporting North Shore UU Society

The various programs and operating expenses at NSUUS are supported through contributions and gifts from members and friends who share a common purpose in promoting a liberal religious presence in greater New Orleans and St Tammany Parish.

To donate by check or money order, please make payable to NSUUS. Please drop the check or money order in the collection basket during the service or mail to:

North Shore Unitarian Universalists
P. O. Box 2006
Lacombe, LA 70445-2006

To donate by direct deposit, please call the or email the office for the account information.
Office: 985 882-0096
Email: office@northshoreuu.org

We also accept donations through PayPal.

Also, Special Collections are made monthly with the “cash in the plate” being donated to local community organizations. Announcements about the organizations receiving the Special Collection are made in the UU Update. If you know of a non-profit (501C3) organization that would benefit from a collection, please submit the organization’s information to the Board for consideration.

Our Covenant of Right Relations governs our interactions with each other:

  • We covenant to relate to one another from a premise of trust, mutual respect, and good intentions.

  • We covenant to be compassionate and honest as we speak and listen to each other.

  • Recognizing that conflict is inevitable and its healthy management is an opportunity for growth, we covenant to take responsibility for our own actions and our own feelings.

  • We agree to communicate directly with one another with the intention of maintaining the dignity of others as well as ourselves.

  • We covenant to respect boundaries, our own and those of others, to ensure a healthy congregation.

  • We covenant to recognize the separate but inter-related roles of ministers, staff, leaders, and congregants and agree to interact in the spirit of this covenant of right relations.

  • We covenant to share in the leadership and decision-making of this congregation as our personal circumstances allow.

  • We covenant to honor and care for our sacred space.

  • It is our hope and prayer that together we will make this covenant an integral expression of our church’s vision in the wider world.

In 1982, a group of Northshore residents, feeling the need to connect with other like-minded individuals, began meeting in each other’s homes to socialize and to share ideas about liberal religion. At that time, there were two Unitarian churches in the New Orleans area, but none on the Northshore. This group would soon transition into meeting at the American Legion Hall in Covington, and from there to a school facility in Lacombe which would affectionately become known as “the dome”. NSUU was officially established in October of 1984, and became a legal corporation in August of 1985.

With assistance from the UUA and the support of a growing congregation, NSUU was able to call its first minister, Rev Jane Mauldin, in January of 1986, and she would go on to serve with distinction for 11 years. By 1989, there were 100 members, and the need for a larger, more permanent church home became evident. In February of 1997, the church was able to buy the land on Krentel Rd. where the present church stands. Early 1997 also saw the church awarded the O. Eugene Pickett Award. This award is given annually by the UUA to the congregation that has made an outstanding contribution to the growth of Unitarian Universalism!

In July of 1997, David Ord was called as NSUU’s new minister, and it was during his 8-year tenure that the present sanctuary and community center were built on the Krentel Rd. property. Construction took 12 months, and the dedication was held in August of 2002 with 109 members present.

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 and completely devastated the area. Many NSUU members experienced damage to their homes, with some losing everything they owned. The church and grounds also experienced significant damage. Church membership dropped by 30% when circumstances forced members to leave the area permanently. The grief experienced by the Katrina event was immense, but the recovery brought out the best in human nature and gave us all reason to hope. Volunteer groups from all all over the country came to offer assistance, sometimes sleeping in their cars or camping on the grounds because there was no available housing. Slowly we healed our wounds and began to look toward the future.

The most substantial and progressive result of Katrina was the 2007 alliance formed by the three UUA churches in the area, (Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists or GNOUU) with the goal of sharing resources and ministers, and assisting each other in the recovery. NSUU also became affiliated with the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal, hosted at First Unitarian Church of New Orleans. This group contributed to the rebirth of New Orleans through programs and services promoting racial and economic justice.

With the departure of David Ord in 2006, NSUU began relying on guest ministers to fill the pulpit, and the formation of GNOUU with its sharing of ministers contributed to a robust worship program at NSUU. In addition, Rev Jane Mauldin, our founding minister, returned as a guest minister to grace our pulpit periodically with her wisdom, enthusiasm and compassion. When asked recently what she thought were the best years of the church, she replied “the golden years may still be yet to come”.

Our History

The Dome, Our church home from 1984-2002