Minister’s and Annual Giving Chair’s letters
Related pages:
On this page:
Minister’s Letter
Dear UU Churchers,
This place is buzzing! Can you feel it?
Last week as I left church after our Sunday service, I noticed that every single room in the building was full – two different social justice committees were meeting, our new 20s-30s group was gathering, kids were joining in games and meaningful connections, and teens were engaging comprehensive and affirming sexuality education in an OWL class, all at once!
At UUCC, we are a people of promise – committed to protecting, nourishing, and unleashing possibility in a culture that seeks to stamp it out. This promise has never felt more important, and we are prepared to fulfill it.
We are on the verge of so much growth, doing so much work for the good of our community. Our leadership is awake, invigorated, and full of clarity about how we will show up in these times. Sunday attendance is at a five year high. OWL comprehensive sexuality registration is booming across all grade levels. We have five new ministry teams gathering young adults, LGBTQ folks, writers, artists, and organizers in our community. We are poised and full of momentum to make a huge difference in Mid-Missouri during a difficult time in our country and world.
This place is full of strength and sweetness, but we need to grow our resources to meet this moment fully. Just like bees, working away together gathering pollen and making honey to sustain their hive, it’s going to take all of us to gather what we need.
In order to pay our amazing staff fairly, keep up with insurance and utility increases, and fund our new ministry teams, we need to raise our budget by 9%.
We know this is possible with gifts from our growing cohort of new members and friends and giving increases from those current givers who are able to contribute 10-15% more to keep our momentum going.
What is your part in our shared work? What can you give to help our work thrive? Thank you for your generosity, and thank you for being a part of this beautiful, buzzing community.
With gratitude, Rev. Molly
Annual Giving Chair’s Letter
Dear UUCC Members and Friends:
After recent winter weather and unsettling events, I suggest the best remedy is to reach out to each other, strengthen our relationships, and demonstrate our resilience together. One way we can do that is to renew our financial commitments to next year’s church budget and keep this community buzzing!
The good news is that attendance has been up 25% since the election. Even before then, UUCC leaders began to actively identify and meet the needs of this congregation and local community. It’s incredibly rewarding to be a part of the church so many people seek out to meet their spiritual needs.
The challenging news is that we will need to grow our budget to meet the needs of our growing church. We survived the pandemic, but not without depleting our reserves. Our wonderful staff haven’t seen a pay increase for three years and now fall below fair/competitive market salary and benefit levels. Over 70% of our budget expenses go to paying our employees. The cost to insure and maintain our facility will increase by thousands this year. We need additional funds to support newly emerging programs for our growing and diverse congregation.
In the past year, pledges, Sunday collections, and fundraising covered the bare necessities, but had we not received unanticipated income from rental and investments income, we would have faced difficult budget cuts.
Please review the financial fact sheet. We need to increase our budget by 9%, or $29,000 in order to bring our staff into fair compensation standards, cover rising insurance and utility costs, and fund our growing programs.
Annual pledges fund 85% of the operating costs to meet our goals, so we need to ask everyone who can to consider increasing their pledge by 10-15%. While this is an ambitious target, we believe what you receive from being part of this amazing congregation is well worth it: a safe haven offering a radical welcome and deep connections for you and your family, exceptional music and inspiring sermons, connections to a wide variety to social justice pursuits and community leadership, and so much more.
This is our once-a-year stewardship campaign. Over the next two weeks, we will reach out to members, friends, and visitors. The diversity of UUCC is one of its greatest assets, but it means we don’t all have the same financial resources. Everyone must decide how much they can afford to pledge based on their current life situation. The right gift feels good and provides a meaningful connection to the hopes and dreams of our community.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions about our pledge process or the budget itself. Once you’ve decided, please submit your pledge on or before the deadline of Sunday, Feb. 23 using any of the available options.
Thank you for supporting the “buzz” that will help our loving community thrive in the coming year!
With hope and thankfulness,
Christine Heath
Chair, Annual Giving