If you are reading this and you have already made a gift to First Unitarian, a heartfelt Thank You! Please feel free to read on. My message is a good message for all of us to hear.

But I especially want to talk to those individuals and families who have not yet made a gift to support our staff, programs, services and ministry during this our “Season of Giving.”

Our special Celebration Sunday service that celebrates the generosity of our members and friends was very different this year. Thankfully we could welcome congregants to the Sanctuary, for only our second week. The energy was so positive and the music was great. That felt familiar. But we asked folks to bring cards with their hopes and commitments down to the front, not their pledged gifts.

It is time for this church to get centered on its mission as we begin to regather, knowing that the world and the city in which we will minister have changed.

“Meeting the New Day”, for this church, requires resources. Human resources and financial resources.

To say that every one matters in this church…and to say that every gift matters… is not only true…it is perhaps the most foundational truth that the Good News of this faith has to offer. We live out that Good News imperfectly…and we know that deeply…

But in ways both most practical and somehow also the stuff of which miracles can be made, the fundraising we are working to conclude is about providing the resources for this community to move closer to the Beloved Community of our most cherished visions and dreams.

So, let me invite you, let me urge you, to pledge a gift or a make a one-time gift to support what this church can become and to make possible that becoming.

Here is where we are: After the service yesterday, we were at 87% of our goal. We were a bit further ahead last year after Celebration Sunday. We have some work to do still.

This is about goals and percentages, but it is about more than that. The question is whether and how we will be able to fulfill the promise of this church and this faith.

And here is the ask: Give what you can and please do it today. We need each of you and all of you to help fund our work. If you join us only occasionally or enjoy our services please consider a one-time gift to help support our streamed services. If you can’t give this year, and there are ways the church can help, please let us know.

So, pledge a gift for the coming year or make a one-time gift now:

Pledge a gift for 2022 and pay it now or later: https://tinyurl.com/firstupdx2022

Make a one-time gift: https://tinyurl.com/firstupdx

We will be reaching out to congregants whom we have not heard from… that outreach will be as much about checking on how you are and how we might be able to support you…as it will be about asking for your gift.

Now is the time for you to support this church so that we can, together meet the new day.

Your gift matters. Make your gift today.

Thank you.

Rev. Bill Sinkford