NOVEMBER 2018 – “Homecoming”
Each year we spend the month of November committing with our time, talent, and money for the next year. We each make a pledge, and then use that to set our budget for 2019. It is how God and our dream of the Beloved Community is made real in this space, and it cannot be done without you. As a bonus, this October 2019 we’ll celebrate our 125th Anniversary as a congregation, which we will almost certainly use as an occasion to welcome back old friends, throw some parties, and play some games. It is — you guessed it — “Homecoming,” that great fall tradition of returning to one’s alma mater to celebrate, renew old friendships, and turn over sacred memories. Next year for us will feel a lot like that, in the best sense.
Yet while there is usually a football game, many of us went to schools without celebrated football teams, and “Homecoming” means something more than a game; it means being in community again. To be clear: we are doing more than asking you to pitch in on a birthday party. We’re asking you to help us continue being a HOME for the wider community; a hearth of hospitality to strangers; a place of Sanctuary (in every sense); a safe space to wonder and reflect; a community to grow in and help the community grow. All of the things University Church means to you.
We are asking you to help sustain our work for love and freedom; our push for increased access to health care (trauma centers!); the counseling program that began October 28th; affordable housing; partnerships in Chicago, Guatemala and Angola; our (exponentially-growing) youth ministry; our creative and dynamic worship. Your pledge, of whatever size, helps reinforce the hospitality that makes us great…no. That makes us home.
Be prayerful over your finances as you prepare to turn in your pledge card. For some, a 10% “tithe” of your income will be what you write, and less for others. What we ask is for 100% participation: full participation of our congregation, of any amount that is significant for you.
Stewardship Sunday this year is November 18 (Come! We’re planning a Bonfire) and we’ll receive pledge cards through the end of November. You can also call or email the office with your pledge, or make your pledge ONLINE.
THANK YOU for being part of this place, as we continue to call on the love of God in celebration and sacrifice, in affirmation and challenge, and in community. Welcome home.
—Pastor Julian and the Stewardship Committee
