Good morning!

As we move into our Annual Budget Drive this year, I've been asked reflect on our decision regarding my family's pledge, a question that really means evaluating the importance of this congregation to our lives and the life of my family.

For me, I evaluate the importance of this congregation in two main ways: how do we reach inward, to support one another, and how do we reach out into the world, to do the work of social justice that we're committed to as a group and as a faith tradition?

How do we support one another? For me, the moment that highlights the critical importance of that work happened almost four years ago, when I brought my mother from Denver to enter hospice in our house, because the melanoma she had fought for some 18 months had metastasized to her brain. Not only are David and I thousands of miles from other family members, we're both only children and had two school-aged kids of our own, and the needs of a brain cancer patient are pretty intense. I assumed we could do it on our own--because, well, what choice did we have? But thanks to Betsy and Alice, who made the initial arrangements, and then Laurie Keller of the Care Committee who coordinated everything, and then the dozens of members of this congregation--we had help. For two months, people brought us meals, three or more times a week--which basically meant we never had to cook, because most of those meals would feed us more than once. I've been known to joke that one reason to be a member of a church community is for the casseroles--but that's actually one of the really wonderful ways we support one another through the tough times. Forming an intentional community such as this congregation takes effort from us all, but the support we can give one another is wonderful.

How do we reach out into the world? Well, our social justice actions take many forms, and one I think we don't always recognize is simply the fact of being here--of letting the greater Huntsville community know that there's a place where being a person of faith doesn't take a narrow form, but is broad enough to encompass almost any form of faith we might choose to follow: faith in the mysteries science can unveil, faith in a sense of the spiritual that fills us, faith in the world we inhabit, faith in one another as full human beings. To do that work, we have begun to commit ourselves to being a teaching congregation, where we would have ministers in training intern with us to learn how they might function as a minister--particularly important, because so often only large congregations can be teaching congregations, but most ministers will work in churches more our size or even smaller. Not only does that work help us as a congregation--I'm sure many of you have seen what a wonderful presence Denise Gyauch has been this past almost 18 months!--but we help spread the UU message far beyond these walls. Hosting an intern minister may feel like it's about the internal life of our congregation rather than social justice per se, but it really does reach out into the world. In our new facilities here, we've been able to do so much more, and so much more can be planned--I may not always have time to be involved, for instance, at the Christmas Party we helped host for the Alabama Hispanic Association, or to weave "plarn" to make blankets for the homeless, or to be in Big Spring Park to celebrate marriage equality, but because I support this congregation, those social justice activities are my actions by proxy.

So that brings me to the decision about how to support this congregation through pledging. Each of us has to make a decision based on our own financial situation, but we all share in the work to make this intentional community possible for each of us. Those of us with the means to do so can give a little more to help us invest in the future of our congregation, while young people and young families may not be in a position to be as generous as they may wish to be, or may be able to be later. In turn, we pick up the torch from those who can no longer give as they once did. We invest in one another--not in a building, not in a budget. But we have to have the building and the budget to sustain this community, to be that light shining out what we believe to be of ultimate importance. I hope each of us can think carefully and fully about what this community means to us in deciding at what level we can afford to give. Thank you.

If you've been attending UUCH long enough to know that this church community feels like your spiritual home, you may be ready to take the next step and become a member. We will recognize new members during a Sunday service next month as they "sign the book" and officially join our church.

If you are ready to become a member or would like to find out more about the process, please contact Pam Korb (membership chair) at bradkorb@mindspring.com.

Rights and Responsibilities of Membership
Because we are a democratic community, members are collectively vested with responsibility for the congregation. Members may vote at all congregational meetings, be elected to the governing Board, be appointed as committee chairs, and participate in all activities of the congregation. 

Because we are a covenanted congregation, members have certain responsibilities to the congregation and to each other. These responsibilities are best fulfilled by: 

• Regular attendance at worship. Weekly worship cements the bonds of community, and keeps our attention directed to our highest values, while nurturing our spirits.
• Voting at congregational meetings. Responsible participation includes imagining the needs of the entire congregation, rather than focusing only on one's own needs or desires. Consider how issues affect all members of the congregation, as well as potential members and others in the world outside the congregation.
• Making financial contributions. Not only does this provide for the support of the congregation, but it also serves as a spiritual discipline.
• Contributing time and talent. Congregations succeed because their members find ways to give of themselves, whether through singing, financial management, educating children, sharing their passion for social justice, organizing, cooking, greeting, maintaining the building and grounds--the list of tasks goes on and on. Finding ways to give back that nurture your own soul helps support your personal growth along with the growth of our congregation.
• Spiritual growth and development. Working deliberately at your own spiritual development is a gift to yourself, to the congregation and to the larger world.