Dear Friend of University Church,

We are grateful for your continued support of University Church throughout 2024. It is only with your commitment to our church community that we have been able to continue to have dynamic worship services with beautiful music, a children’s program that ministers to our young people, and a social justice ministry that shares Christ’s love with a wider world.

In 2024, with your help we have been able to install solar panels on our roof to help fulfill our vision of being good caretakers of the environment, host a migrant family so that their disabled son was able to undergo life changing medical care, continue our resale shop ministry to offer gently used goods to our community, and host space sharing partners like the Chicago Religious Leaders Network on Latin America.

This year, Stewardship season is starting early. In past years pledges were collected in November and the budget for the next year was drafted and presented in December. This timing made the process more rushed since it falls in the holiday season and is so close to the start of the new year.

This year we are going to “start early and be prepared.” The Finance Committee is taking its inspiration from the text of Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus’ parable of the wise and the foolish bridesmaids. The wise bridesmaids prepared in advance by getting oil to have their lamps lit when the groom arrived for the wedding, but the foolish bridesmaids did not and were caught unprepared. By preparing our Pledges now, we will be like those wise bridesmaids and will be prepared for the holiday season and the new year.

We can help University Church continue to be a light for our community and the wider world. In these coming weeks we are calling on everyone to spend time in prayer to add “oil” to our lamps by making a Pledge in 2025 by Stewardship Sunday, which is October 27. When you are ready to do so, please use this link to pledge online, or fill out a Pledge card that will be available in the service every Sunday in October and in the church office.

Let’s keep our lamps burning bright in 2025!
Stephanie Weaver
University Church Co-Treasurer