Dear Members and Friends,

It is not news that much is changing…for us and for the world. We are living through such losses. At the same time, we are discovering resilience in ourselves and new possibilities for our path forward at First Unitarian.

Since we closed our campus, we have worked hard to sustain community. Committed congregants have called every individual and family in the church, not once, but on three separate occasions. We’ve hosted virtual social hours and “Coffee with the Ministers” and increased our online programming significantly.

Attendance has blossomed. Our live worship from the Sanctuary has become a “lifeline,” a “rock” of stability in these uncertain times, as some of you have described it. Folks in thirty states and several foreign countries now tune in and are, somehow, members of our community. Our ministry may never again be constrained by our walls. This is one sign of what I have started to call the “emerging church.”

The pandemic and the uprising on our streets call for a church that is able to meet the needs of a changing world and as those needs have deepened, so has our work for justice.

The empty reception area of the Buchan Building has become a staging area to support Outside In’s food distribution efforts. Our Sunday collections have provided more than $35,000 in support of community organizations as well as our own “Emergency Fund for Congregants.” We have put our hands, not just our wallets to work, making masks for Bienestar, a local nonprofit that builds housing for Latinx, immigrants and families in need. And as the protests have continued in a Portland that is in the forefront of support for the Movement for Black Lives, First Unitarian joined a lawsuit against the use of federal troops.

In the short term, there are pressing issues. How to serve families with younger children? How to sustain our extraordinary music ministry when choirs can’t gather and sing? How to prepare to serve as a hub for energy and organizing as openings for greater justice-making present themselves?

This fall we will begin offering a Family Worship before the 10:15 service, and we’ll be mailing materials (yes, in this digital age, getting a piece of mail means a lot for a young person) to our families. We will begin offering alternative ways to make music and create programming to prepare us to build the Beloved Community of the future.

Homecoming Sunday, Sept. 13, will be a new experience for us all. We can’t be together physically, but we will find ways to welcome one another back to our spiritual home. We will also be kicking off “Our Path Forward: 2021,” our season of giving to support our programming and staff.

Our campaign is starting earlier than in past years to give some space before the national election dominates our spirits. It will also be shorter. We will still be mailing materials, but our campaign will be virtual in many aspects.

I want to be direct with you about the church’s needs. Our “ask” this year is simple:

• If things are tight, we understand. Give if you can, what you can. Do not be ashamed. And let us know if there are ways we might help you.

• If you are doing okay, give what you gave last year. This year, holding constant is a blessing.

• If your finances have not been impacted, please help us cover the reduced gifts of those who are experiencing hardship. Consider a 25% increase. It will take a few families doing that to cover one family that cannot give this year.

There is time for reflection now. And in a few short weeks we hope you will make a gift to the church that fits your heart and your budget. As a mentor of mine once urged me, “Give until it feels good.”

Our path is toward a future which is not entirely clear…the future never is. We all look forward to returning to the Sanctuary, but First Unitarian will also continue to thrive online. We can begin to see the shape of our emerging church as it responds to serve us and to serve our world.