Season of Giving

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We are glad and grateful to be launching our Season of Giving, or the “Rooted and Ready” Campaign for 2023.  

If you missed Saturday’s letter kick-off letter, Marilyn Mays’ moving testimonial, or my Rooted and Ready Sermon, here are the links:

We are glad to start this campaign because we know that our ministries make a difference in the lives of many children, youth, and adults of all ages who participate in-person, online, or both. We are glad because we know that what we do here matters and that our values and actions ripple out, impacting the people of our city, around our country, and our Unitarian Universalist Association. 

We are grateful because you are a part of the collective ‘WE’ who makes all of this possible. It is the gifts of time, talent, and treasure that we offer one another that add up to our ministries of worship & music, learning, advocacy, caring, and community building. These ministries come into existence because of our members and friends… because you in this room and online are generous with your resources according to your ability to give. 

So, if you are brand new – welcome! Consider this a chance to learn about how pledging works here… There is no pressure to give at this point, and when you are ready, we’d love to have your support. 

To everyone else, whether you’ve been here a longtime or a short time, please fill out your pledge packet in the coming weeks. If you don’t receive a packet at home this week you will find pledge forms available in the Narthex on Sundays, or you can fill out our online pledge form at: https://tinyurl.com/firstupdx2023

What is pledging? The members and friends of our congregation share financial gifts to support the mission and ministries of our congregation throughout the year. A pledge is the amount you plan to give to First Unitarian between January 2023 and December 2023. While a pledge is a promise, we also recognize that circumstances may change. If you cannot fulfill your pledge, just please communicate with us to let us know what is going on.

We use these pledged amounts to set our budget. This impacts staffing, programming, and more. Our pledge goal for 2023 is $1.6 million dollars. Last year, we had about 800 pledges, so that would mean about $2,000 each. Of course, we are a socio-economically diverse community, so we reach our total by everyone giving generously according to their bounty. 

When I first started pledging to my church as a college freshman, I had far less capacity than I do today, but I gave with no less of a full heart. 

You will find guidance around giving levels in our pledge packet, and as always, the amount you choose to give is your decision. I would say give until it feels good and thank you for doing that!

If you participate in our congregation in-person or online, and you haven’t given before, please join the 2023 campaign. If you aren’t ready yet to commit to a pledge, you have another opportunity to give this month. You can make a one-time gift during this Season of Giving, and it will go towards the 2023 Fund. 

If you have pledged before, then we ask you to consider an increase if possible at a time when our community is needed more than ever.

In all cases, we ask you to check the sustainer box on your pledge form, to let us know that you are among the people we can count on to pledge year after year. 

When we can count on your pledge, we are able to proactively plan for the future with it in mind. Because of the generosity of our sustainers, we already know we are well over halfway towards our 1.6-million-dollar goal. Our sustainers put us over $900,000. However, we still need almost $700,000, and we don’t know which of our sustainers may be able to go up, will stay the same, or potentially have to go down. 

So, please fill out the form by November 13th – Celebration Sunday – with what feels to be a generous pledge, and we hope you do feel good about it. Your full-hearted gift will allow us to build upon the strong roots of our community and help us to be ready for what comes next. 

In faith,

Rev. Alison