UUFA Announcements for February 14, 2018

Good Afternoon UUFA Members and Friends,

Thanks for Rev. Don for a motivational service this past Sunday , Mission, Music and Ministry.  We had a full house and enjoyed a delicious potluck together afterward.   Thanks also to all who contributed to our monthly special collection for the Athens Food Pantry.

Here’s What’s Happening at UUFA this week

Choir Rehearsal – Canceled due to rehearsals for Emergence this weekend at Arts West

Appreciative Inquiry facilitators will be reaching out to all members and friends to ask that you attend a small group meeting within the next month.

The 2018 UUFA stewardship (formerly pledge drive) is underway. Look for an email from Patrick Gordon for more information. The timeline this year is February 11 – April 9. For more on this see below.

Emergence: The Sacred Feminine Dances Once More –  Written, produced and directed by Megan Cameron , UUFA Choir Director. Many UUFA members are involved so please turn out to support this local event if you can. Sat. 2/17 at 7:00 pm or Sun. 2/18 at 2:00 pm at Arts West – tickets available:  https://emergence2018.brownpapertickets.com/

 

UUFA 2018 Stewardship Drive –  February 11- April 9, 2018 
Dear UUFA Community,

stewardship: (noun) the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

Yes, stewardship means the responsibility to care for something that has been placed in your trust. When you became a member of this congregation you became a steward to this community and its mission and its resources. It is a spiritual mission to give support others, to share our message, nurturing us all in our paths of discovery.

Spring is the time that our congregation does its stewardship drives and you will be invited to contribute your time, skills, and financial support to the sustenance and growth of our fellowship. You will be contacted about participating in the Appreciative Inquiry review that will help to guide the direction our Fellowship takes going forward. Other’s will be reaching out to you to seek your time as a member of our governance and committees. These are two of our most important initiatives. We are looking for a better and more sustainable direction for all of us.

This letter constitutes the third part of our stewardship campaign that of your continued financial support to the congregation.  Your yearly contributions allow us to continue to support ourselves as an independent voice for liberal spirituality. It pays the utilities, staff, and general maintenance cost. Additional funds may allow us to repair our building, grow community outreach, support social and environmental justice, and contribute in meaningful way to our greater southeastern Ohio community.  In the past our request started with the base level that was required to pay your membership dues to our regional and parental entities, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) and its Central East Regional Group (CERG). The UUA this year changed its funding model so that each congregation now has it dues based on its membership and its budget. Considering that fundamental change, this year we are asking for you to consider what you can give and how you can help us grow.

We have three budget levels – Surviving, Sustaining, and Growing.

To just survive with the minimum programs without any growth, any outreach, and not addressing deferred maintenance of the building will cost approx.. $28,600. If we all could contribute equally that would be $650 per member.

To sustain our momentum and grow the Fellowship at a slow pace will require $36,300 or $825 per member. This will allow us to add some small growth to community outreach, programming, and RE as well as address some maintenance.

Our hope is that you will see a way to help us reach a growing level. We would begin to see more growth in community outreach, social justice support, RE, and other areas that we hope to address in the coming year that will bring our congregation growth. In addition we can see some efforts at some building maintenance and improvement. That level would be $46,500 or $1050 per member.

We know that our members are in varying life circumstances. Some are on limited or fixed incomes. Some are caring for elderly relatives or have health concerns or medical bills of their own. Children and their present and future wellbeing present a serious and important financial effort themselves. Some of you are between jobs and still others are students. We ask that you do not place an undue hardship on yourself and your family. So not all of us can contribute equally in finance and time but please remember that stewardship is not always easy. Your contribution should reflect a serious commitment to the place you have chosen as your spiritual home, the place where our children will be educated about religious matters for themselves and others, and the place where you will continue your own search for your own spiritual meaning.

Please take time and consideration to determine financial stewardship, your personal commitment, and how you want to see the UUFA grow and succeed. Your continued support and consideration is greatly appreciated by myself and the rest of the UUFA Executive Committee.

In fellowship community,

Patrick Gordon

President