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Keep the Faith from Rev. DawnLoading...
Stewardship season is one of my favorite times in the program year. Stewardship season means we are in a place to examine what we’ve been doing in the past year, consider what we want our future to be like, and then decide to invest in something larger than ourselves that holds meaning in our lives.
The past year was spectacularly unusual and was fraught with anxiety and concern. This year, we know more about the virus and people are getting vaccinated. We can imagine being able to get together (outdoors, at the very least) during the summer, and certainly we will be able to gather in person once more in time for our Water Ceremony and Ingathering service in September. What a joyful event that will be!
Through this past year, congregational leadership has worked hard to be good stewards of the church’s finances, and through frugal spending, earnest asking, and creative grant-writing, they predict that the UUCSJS will end the fiscal year very close to in the black.
Add to that a generous gift that paid off the remaining balance on our mortgage at the end of 2020, making what this congregation has accomplished nothing short of awesome. In the year 2020, with a pandemic raging and the world turned upside down, UUCSJS came through in the black and debt-free. That is truly amazing!
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As we look to the 2021-22 fiscal year, it is time for you to again consider your annual pledge and to be as generous as possible. As your minister, I know that some can give more generously, and some are able to give just a little. I ask you to consider your capacity, and to think of how vital this congregation has been to you in the past year. Sheltering in place is hard for everyone. People need connection, and this congregation has served as a place where we can see one another each week, and connect with those who share our values.
I said a year ago that we would come through this changed. That is proving to be true. We are stronger than we knew. We are more resilient than we knew. We are more caring and capable than we had imagined. We are more creative and dedicated and committed than we knew.
So I ask you to Keep The Faith this year: keep your faith in each other, in yourself, in this congregation, and in its importance in the community where we live. This is our chance to invest in this congregation, to care for its health and plan for its longevity and growth.
I hope you will join me in supporting this congregation and the good work it does.
Keep the faith, Rev. Dawn
