Unitarian Univeralist Church of the North Hills

Pride ALL YEAR
2025-06-29 10:30 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | West Room and Zoom
June is designated Pride month, but shouldn’t we support and celebrate Pride all year?

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Self-Care Sunday
2025-07-06 10:30 - 12:30
This Self-Care Sunday we will make time to practice mindful movement and experience silent meditation in order to bring rest and retreat to the body and soul. Please wear comfortable clothing and if you have a blanket, bolster, yoga blocks or strap, or another type of posture support, you may wish to bring this too.
By Edith Ruiz

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

The Power of Art to Lift and Inspire, to Heal and to Comfort and to Express Our Very Humanity.
2025-07-13 10:30 - 12:30
Artist and Executive Director of North Hills Art Center and Lou Bartolomucci, long-time Member will lead a Sunday Service exploring the power of Art to lift and inspire, to heal and to comfort, and to express our very humanity. Please join us for a very special Sunday Service.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

A Buddhist Shares Her Beliefs
2025-07-20 10:30 - 12:30
Dr. Qiong Wang, Chinese medical doctor, acupuncturist, and practicing Buddhist, will tell us about her experiences in Buddhism and answer some questions we’ve asked.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Land Acknowledgement: Is That Enough?
2025-07-27 10:30 - 12:30
Most Sundays, we read together an acknowledgement that the land we stand on was taken from the local indigenous people. We say the words, we take a breath, and we move on. Yet, it seems to be not enough; it seems too little and too late. Miguel Sague of the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center will speak to this concern from a Native American perspective.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Food For Thought
2025-08-03 10:30 - 12:30
Community pantry food and supplies often run low in the summer months, during the time of year when many kids are home and missing school breakfast and lunches. Join us in our retelling of the “Stone Soup” parable, and we encourage you to bring a non-perishable food or pantry item to donate with a can opener!

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

May The Forest Be With You
2025-08-10 10:30 - 12:30
Peggy Fallon
The practice of forest bathing turns out to have a substantive, scientific basis in promoting human health. Trees produce natural chemical aerosols that directly benefit our immune systems, promote relaxation, reduce inflammation, & even contain cancer fighting compounds. Trees do all this for us, in addition to the vital business of using carbon dioxide, producing oxygen & sequestering carbon. What will we, in turn, do for the trees?

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

What's in your Invisible Backpack?
2025-08-17 10:30 - 12:30
Robyn Travers
Mila is excited and worried for her first day of school. We all know that feeling, heading into the unknown. Well, Mila finds out that she has an invisible backpack with all the tools she needs. We all do too. Let’s explore together in this multigenerational service.
Please bring your actual backpacks, purses, work bags, computer cases, totes… or whatever you use on a daily basis so they can be blessed or the year ahead.
Also bring back to school supplies to donate to kids in need.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Our Fourth Principle (focus on free & responsible search)
2025-08-24 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
Through our fourth principle, we affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. In today’s world, highly polarized partisan purveyors of the news make it difficult to discern fact from fiction, misinformation from disinformation, and reasoned discourse from emotional propaganda. In the first of three services focused on our fourth principle, we will explore its meaning and its history as a bedrock commitment of Unitarian Universalists.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Our Fourth Principle (focus on Truth & Meaning)
2025-08-31 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
In the second of three services exploring our fourth principle, we will consider how it affects our Social Justice activism.
Each section of this series builds on the prior sections. So, If you were unable to attend last Sunday’s service, you may want to review it before Sunday.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

When the Waters Rise
2025-09-07 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
With news of mass deportations, soldiers in the streets, and cease fires around the world being rejected, emotions are running high. We will explore some Buddhist lessons about how to build an island of refuge that no flood of emotion can overwhelm.
As summertime comes to an end, we Unitarian Universalists gather together for water communion. You are invited to bring a little water from the nearest water source (run, stream, pond, river, your faucet) to contribute to our communal bowl. You’ll also receive a blessing from our shared water communion. If you are able, please bring a contribution to the potluck lunch that will follow. Drinks will be provided by the church.
Please note: this service may run overtime as there is no way to know how long water communion will take. So, please bring your patience along with your water! Water will be available for those who forget.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

The Jewish Family and Children's Services
2025-09-14 10:30 - 12:30
Christine Lagnese
JFCS Community Engagement Coordinator
Our Church has been working with JFCS to help local immigrants and refugees get settled in the Pittsburgh area. We will talk about that and the many other services that JFCS provides for the greater Pittsburgh area.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Autumn Equinox – Finding Equilibrium
2025-09-21 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington

The Autumn Equinox, also referred to as Mabon, marks when day and night are roughly equal in length. It is a time of reflection and preparation. Join us as Rev. Lee Anne explores some thoughts on how to periodically return to a personal place of equilibrium and peace.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

We Begin Again In Love
2025-09-28 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
About this time every year, Jews gather to celebrate the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. It is a time for self-reflection, atonement, repentance, and forgiveness. Though Unitarian Universalists have not traditionally engaged in a similar annual practice, we do have hymns and liturgy that support us in doing so. Join us as Rev. Lee Anne shares her experience as a Modern Orthodox Jewish woman celebrating Yom Kippur in Washington, DC. and invites us into a similar, but uniquely UU practice.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Cultivating Compassion by Meeting the Moment
2025-10-05 10:30 - 12:30
Kevin Hayes – Casa San Jose & Systemic Change

Join the Systemic change team and Kevin Hayes from Casa San Jose, as they share their experiences cultivating compassion by working in immigrant support spaces. They will share opportunities for the congregation to engage more deeply in this work.

Click here to view the LIVESTREAM on YouTube.
After the event has ended, you may watch this and other RECORDINGS on the UUCNH YouTube channel.

Deep Dive Sunday: Our Fourth Principle and Immigration
2025-10-12 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington

Donald Trump speaks of undocumented immigrants as rapists, murderers, gang members, and drug lords. Immigration Rights activists speak of an inhumane immigration crisis involving kidnappings, disappearances, and the separation of families. ICE agents complain of a drastic increase in assaults, doxing, and threats to their families. What are we to do?
Join us in our first Deep Dive Sunday. We will pick up on the August 24th and 31st Sunday services, which focused on our fourth principle: affirming and promoting a free and responsible search for truth. Let’s get some perspective, put things in context, and determine what a compassionate response might look like.
Please bring your smart phones, laptops, or tablets. You will be divided into groups of six to search out the answers to some prompting questions and then engage in discussion. Expect this service to last 90 minutes.
Instead of time for all ages, children should proceed directly upstairs to Children’s Chapel upon arrival.

Our First Principle and the Enemy
2025-10-19 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
As we affirm and promote our first principle – the inherent worth and dignity of every person – we can find ourselves wrestling with what to do about those we might perceive to be our enemies. It’s an age-old question. Join Rev. Lee Anne in the first of a five part study. We will begin by exploring different understandings of what it means to be wicked, evil, or an enemy and the parameters of compassion.

The complete study will explore the wisdom of various religious and philosophical traditions; some parables and fables; and guidance from such organizations as the Charter for Compassion. By the end, we will perceive some common themes and have a deeper understanding of what is ours to do.

Compassion is not Complicity: Seeing Humanity without Surrendering Justice
2025-10-26 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington

In this second of five services exploring the application of the First Principle in our relationships, Rev. Lee Anne explores how our First Principle calls us to honor every person’s dignity without surrendering truth or accountability. Drawing wisdom from Hebrew prophecy, Buddhist teaching, and Stoic philosophy, we’ll consider how compassion can be both tender and tough—love with a backbone.

Día De Los Muertos Multigenerational Service
2025-11-02 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington

This multigenerational service will be highly interactive with different creativity stations and opportunities to honor the dead. We will also have a few of our children joining the choir to sing a medley from the movie Coco.
The church will be decorated for the event and an ofrenda (a traditional altar to honor and welcome spirits of deceased loved ones) will be in the Sanctuary.
Please bring a picture of deceased family member (both furry and human) and/or an item that reminds you of them to place on the ofrenda.
Please bring your deceased loved one’s favorite food (no dog food please) to share at coffee hour.
We will be celebrating this traditional Mexican holiday in the same way and with the same intention as they do in Mexico. By doing this, we will celebrate the cycle of life and death in an appreciative and celebratory manner.

Have You Taken Your Placebo Today?
2025-11-09 10:30 - 12:30
Peggy Fallon

To be considered effective, a new medicine needs to show results in clinical trials that are better than the improvement felt by taking a placebo, which is a pill that looks like medicine but, unknown to the test subject, actually contains none. That is, taking a sugar pill and believing it to be medicine somehow triggers a strong enough internal healing that an actual chemical medicine has to work better than what we believe the pill will do? How does that work, and can we use that power? Will nurturing gratitude help? Peggy Fallon & Edith Ruiz of the Sunday Services Team will explore some ideas on how to harness the healing power we already have.

Blessed are the Peacemakers: Our First Principle and Peace-Making
2025-11-16 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
In a world that often confuses strength with domination, our First Principle calls us toward a deeper, sturdier path: peace rooted in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This Sunday we consider what it means to be a peacemaker—not a peacekeeper, not a peace-faker—but one who builds peace through courageous compromise. With wisdom from Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the brave architects of the Northern Ireland peace process, we explore how lasting peace grows not from victory, but from the recognition of each person’s full humanity. Music from our guest choir will weave through the service as we ask: what does peacemaking look like in our time?

﻿Our First Principle Across the Ages: Multigenerational Worth & Dignity
2025-11-23 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington

This Sunday, Rev. Lee Anne and Robyn Travers explore “Our First Principle Across the Ages: Multigenerational Worth & Dignity.” We’ll reflect on why honoring the inherent worth of every person means honoring every age, and how our Friday Family Fun Nights are shaping a more connected, vibrant community.
After a short message, Rev. Lee Anne and Robyn will sit down for a conversation with the congregation about building a church where children, youth, adults, and elders learn from one another. All are warmly encouraged to join the dialogue as we imagine what multigenerational spiritual life can become.
*A bonus handout with suggestions for difficult conversations around the Thanksgiving table will be provided with the order of service.
**The Craft Group’s sale will immediately follow the service.

Deep Dive Sunday: Our First Principle & Handling Conversations Across Difference
2025-11-30 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington
This is the last Sunday of our five part series on how the First Principle applies to our dealings with people we don’t understand and often oppose. Building on last Sunday’s handout, we will take a deep dive into ways to apply our First Principle when we face difficult conversations with people whose point of view differs significantly from our own.
Using a short packet, small discussion groups will share ideas about how to handle two short scenarios. The packet includes individual reflection questions for at home use (or for those not wanting to participate in the discussion groups) and two spiritual practices for everyone to use. No research or electronic devices will be required. Expect this service to last 90 minutes.

Make a Joyful Noise - A Unitarian Perspective on Christmas
2025-12-07 10:30 - 12:30
Rev. Lee Anne Washington

Join us this Sunday for a Christmas Carol service rooted in historic Unitarian tradition. Through beloved carols and brief reflections, we’ll journey from the angels’ song we seldom understand, to an honest look at the world’s pain, and finally to the joyful work of helping manifest a more just and hopeful world. Together we’ll rediscover the Christmas story not as a supernatural spectacle, but as a call to courageous clarity, acts of compassion, and enduring hope. Let the music lift your heart—and your resolve.
We will also hear The Mitten Tree and decorate our tree with mittens, scarves, and hats. Please remember to bring your contribution to the tree, whose decorations will be donated to North Hills Community Outreach.

Church Closed due to Inclement Weather
2025-12-14 10:30 - 12:30

Winter Solstice Service
2025-12-20 17:00 - 21:00

Holiday Pageant - The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming - A Christmas Story about Hanukkah
2025-12-21 10:30 - 12:30
UUCNH Children and Youth
Sunday is the first night of Hanukkah.
Join us as we explore the inspirational story that gave rise to this holiday and light the first candle.
Our children and youth will tell the story of a potato pancake desperate to distinguish himself and his holiday from all things Christmas.
Enjoy the amazing costumes and set designed by Michelle Broge-Connor, the inspired direction of Robyn Travers, and the exquisite stage managing of one of our youth, Evelyn Erbrecht.
Please bring a dozen or two cookies to share in our annual cookie exchange to occur after the service.
We will also be trimming our tree and decorating the church for the holidays.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and Potluck
2025-12-24 17:00 - 21:00

"Choosing Hope” with CeaseFire PA
2025-12-28 10:30 - 12:30
Sunday Services Team
This Sunday, we welcome Beth Foringer, Senior Southwest PA Coordinator with CeaseFirePA, as our guest speaker. Her sermon, “Choosing Hope”, is offered on the Sunday after Christmas, a time to reflect on how we carry hope forward when the holidays end and the work of justice remains. We hope you will join us as we reflect together on choosing hope and turning it into action. (Content warning: Gun violence)

"Creative Resistance" Not Just Another Protest
2026-01-04 10:30 - 12:30
Sunday Services Team
This Sunday, we will explore some different ways of resisting situations and policies that don’t feel quite right. We’ve all participated in marches and protests which have their place but sometimes we need to shake things up a bit. We will delve into some of the creative ways that people have used to get their point across.
