Dear Members and Friends,
Living with an open heart in these times can be truly challenging. It’s tempting to simply turn away from all news. It’s tempting to close our hearts when reading the newspaper or turning on the nightly news or scrolling through the latest news stories on the web. But our faith as religious progressives requires finding ways to engage our world with compassion and conscience, we must remain informed. It’s a perennial challenge how to live with openness and compassion when so much pain and suffering comes into our awareness.
One of the many ways this Congregation invites engagement is through direct monetary support of organizations with which the Congregation chooses to “Share the Plate.” What organizations do you want to fund through your Share the Plate program this next year?
Each month, typically the second Sunday of the month, the congregation gives the entire collection plate away to an organization that lives our values. The average collection is over $1,200, and sometimes over $2,000.
So who chooses these organizations? You!
During the next three weeks, all members of UU Westport are welcome to nominate a beneficiary for the coming year. Note, all organizations need to have the 501c3 status and actively live our values in Connecticut. In May, the Social Justice Council will share the list of nominations with the Congregation along with their websites and a brief blurb about their mission. Then on June 8, all members who attend the Annual Meeting will be able to vote—each member will have 6 votes. The organizations that receive the most votes will receive a collection.
After reviewing the results, the Social Justice Council leadership and I will determine the schedule, taking into consideration the number of votes, that month’s theme, and public observances for specific groups of people, such as Trans-awareness or mental health month. The Social Justice Council may approve additional requests for emergency situations. If a pulpit speaker represents a specific organization, an additional Share the Plate invitation may be taken for that organization.
I love the Share the Plate program because generosity is a core spiritual practice. Our Share the Plate collections are often 8 times higher than the non-Share the Plate collections. The primary way members fund the congregation is through annual pledging. As your minister, I encourage you to consider the spiritual progressive tithe—moving towards giving 10% of your income away each year to organizations that live your values. Every organization that we nominate—as well as our own Congregation—are in need of financial support.
This year, we ask you to Share the Light of Hope and Love and participate generously in our annual fund drive. As of last weekend, 98 households have pledged a total of $396,000 for the coming fiscal year beginning July 1. Given the staffing costs for our congregation total over $550,000, it will relieve your leadership greatly to know what our members are willing to give to make the ministries of this congregation possible. You may do so HERE.
May what you commit to invest in this community bring you joy!
Warmly,
Alan
