First Unitarian Church has value in our lives. The church welcomes our children; it helps us grow spiritually; it offers opportunities for deep worship and meaningful fellowship; it gives us tools for living our values in the world; it is a place where we can create and appreciate art. It is one of the homes we make in the world.
And now, First Unitarian Church needs you.
We are $10,000 short of where we need to be to fund our robust programming for 2016 at the church. So we are reaching out to you to ask if you can increase your giving for 2016 to help us meet our goal.
In June and again in October we listened to the goals you, church members and friends, had for next year. To help accomplish our dreams, the budget has several increases:
- Increase the amount of Sunday collections that are given to Social Justice organizations
- Increase the amount we give to the Unitarian Universalist Association for our membership
Our dedicated staff implement and support all our programs. To keep our compensation competitive, the budget includes several items.
- Provide cost of living adjustments to the staff
- Adjust some staff salaries to come closer to denominational recommendations
If we don't quite reach our pledge goal of $280,000, we won't be able to do all we had hoped in next year's budget. Some programs will have to be deferred; our excellent staff may see flat salaries; our engagement with our larger community may be less.
Now, to be clear, this is not an emergency. The church will continue to operate and we will continue to offer the excellent welcome and programming we do now. This is an opportunity to share with you, our members and friends, where our finances stand for next year. This is your opportunity to step up, if you feel moved, to help the church achieve the things you hoped for in next year's programming.
If you have already pledged, can you consider an increase of $1,000? Of $500? Of $100? Every gift matters to the health and vitality of the church. Your increased giving will help the church meet its goals for next year. To increase your pledge simply contact Jennifer Bowes by phone or e-mail (see above).
In faith,
Rev. Sarah C. Stewart
Minister
Rick Silver
Stewardship Chairperson
