The Campaign
& Announcements from UUCOC Treasurer Paul Fucile
A Quick Look Back: 2019-2020
Last year was busy, and this year hasn't changed pace!
- We had Father Nathan Monk talk to us about the importance of Charity! His visit included a giant picnic, raffle and Silent Auction!
- And Robertus’ Balloon Fight! SO Much Fun!!!
- Roy Zimmerman performed, bringing his "Rize Up" tour to our sanctuary!
- We had a wildly successful Winter Solstice Celebration led by Renée Brill and featuring the music of Drums not Guns, Just Us, and Darwin Prophet.
Winter Solstice Celebration - With Music and Ceremony
- Congregation President Darvin Stephens commanded the Yule Log Celebration while Barbara Fudge taught everyone the importance of the Earth Loom!
- None of which would have been possible without the grounds maintenance of Rebecca Mohr and crew clearing the path and planting beautiful foliage for everyone to see!
- We have enjoyed the music of Jasmine Smith Pankratz at the piano and on vocals.
- We’ve enjoyed Special Music from Steve Leach and Allan Kalich on vocals and guitar!
- Magical Music from Jean Kelly on the metallophone at our Christmas Eve service!
- Special Music from Larry Brumfield and pleasantly surprised to hear Renée Brill’s amazing voice.
- It’s no wonder Labyrinth Walk Coffeehouse’s Jazz Jam had such a great year! It’s like a concert hall!
Second Sunday Jazz Jam! The music keeps getting better every month!
- Speaking of Scott Grey, he procured a pretty amazing private donation that has our campus more technologically wired up than ever before.
- Then there was Donna Leach’s fantastic organization of our crazy-successful Halloween Fundraiser!
Halloween Carnival - A Wonderful time was had by all!
- The RE Committee and Sarah Ricke's Adult Religious Exploration group have been creating some fabulous learning experiences!
- In NTUUC’s last years grant cycle, the church received a $5000 grant to do a much needed update to the whole RE program.
- The Grant covers additional OWL training, and look at these pictures from the update of the nursery!
The Nursery - Before [top] & After [bottom]
Our Goals for 2020-21
- Capital improvements to Faith & Hope Buildings
- Safety improvements to Faith & Hope Buildings
- Improvements to Labyrinth surface
- Outreach to the Oak Cliff Arts District
- Growing relationship with Oak Cliff Veggie Project
- Our Social Action Ministry is increasing outreach to the housing insecure
- Outreach to LGBTQIA Community including a social/support Group
- Growing Children’s, Youth, and Adult RE programming including greater safety measures for children’s program
- Men’s Fellowship
- ______________________ What would you write here?
A few words from your Treasurer about The Campaign:
Seasonal/annual giving and commitments are often boring and loathed. I get it. Money is a sensitive issue and most people don’t want anyone up in their business. I can’t say I blame you. The root of this issue is often judgment. We don’t want anyone to know how much we give because then they know how much we earn and maybe, just maybe, it is we ourselves that think that number is not enough. Or maybe we earn more than enough, but have some habitual thoughts about scarcity so we don’t give as much. A less common paradigm is that we have enough, we think we give enough, but we are concerned that it may make others feel ashamed because they don’t give as much.
These internal dialogues represent a few of the many different paradigms we have about money and giving. Unfortunately, the root of much of this consternation about money arises from being grounded in a capitalist society. This is not a “capitalism vs. socialism” discussion. The capitalist view is that things are categorized by their commodity value- their inherent quid pro quo. Thus it is difficult not to categorize ourselves in the same way. The all too often consequence of that are feelings of not enoughness. The “comparison game” noted in the paradigms above are precisely an attempt to categorize ourselves as a commodity.
The rise of Capitalism came from the belief we could own possessions.
Before the introduction of Capitalism, hunter-gatherer communities characterized 90% of human history. Hunter-gatherer communities were typically egalitarian and while typified by Thomas Hobbes as poor and brutish, Marshall Sahlins argued in 1651 that they were well-fed, worked less and enjoyed more leisure time. Ross Sacket confirmed this in a 1996 study. More importantly, hunter-gatherer communities were based in a gift economy, where food and other necessities were freely given without expectation of return or reward.
“Let’s Talk about Money”
A brief adaptation of UUA’s The Wi$dom Path, Adults: Money, Spirit, and Life
Let’s Explore Our Money Stories…
The Three Stonecutters
The Parable of the Vineyard
From Christian scripture, Matthew 20:1-16, New Revised Standard Version.
What is your Money story?
The stories above are quant. They almost seem like children’s stories. Indeed, you may have heard them yourself as a child and even told them to your children. In both cases these stories and many others like them often served to teach us moral lessons about money. All too often they also failed at teaching us practical lessons about money. Don’t worry, I am not going to do that here.
As we prepare for The Campaign, my cheeky name for this year’s PledgeFest (another cheeky name- I could do this all day!), I wanted to share some information that I’ve received from UUA and NTUUC, and invite all of us to think about “how do we think about money?”
Again, these moral lessons of our past are often not pragmatic and they are rooted in a financial perspective that is no longer relevant or useful. “How do we think about money” is generally answered implicitly. In other words, few of us buy our groceries with the explicit thought of money is a tool and our wallets are a tool box, we just buy our groceries whilst thinking about how we are going to carry them all inside in one trip. In an effort to make the answer to the question: “How do we think about money?” more explicit-something we might say aloud-consider the questions listed below. The questions are not exhaustive and do not require a written answer. Instead, think of them perhaps as conversation starters. As you answer them with your loved ones, your Money Story will gradually emerge. Have fun, don’t judge yourself or beat yourselves up, keep it lite - try it as charades.
Mo- Money, Mo-???
- What are the earliest experiences with money that you remember? What messages did you take away from those experiences?
- What were you taught about money by your family, friends, and faith community when you were growing up?
- How were money decisions handled in your family of origin? Give an example of an important decision, what was at stake, who was involved, and how it turned out.
- What have been the most significant financial milestones in your life?
- What teachings have been most valuable in your financial journey?
- What three adjectives best describe your relationship with money?
- What is the primary feeling you have about money today? How has that shifted (if it has) during your life?
- How important is your relationship to money and your understanding of money to who you are?
Based upon your above answers complete the simple sentence More Money, More ____.
- Opportunity
- Problems
- Success
- Risk
- Challenges
- Other
Does your answer mean you are more likely or less likely give to the level you desire?
What are your Giving Stories?
As much as money and the idea of money are bound up in our early moral and ethical lessons, so is giving, if not more so! In the following activity the UUA Wi$dom Path provides us with an opportunity to think about our Giving Stories in the similar light that we consider our Money Stories.
Faithful Giving
One of our deepest spiritual practices is the giving of time, talent, and treasure in support of our most deeply held values.
Directions: Take about 5 minutes for each question below. These questions are a bit more reflective. So, conversation starter or charades might not be the best course of exploration. Try something like a drawing journal or modeling clay.
- What does faithful giving mean for you? Are there cultural, religious, or family values that influence what faithful giving means to you?
- Maya Angelou said, “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” In your experience, how have you been transformed by giving? Has giving liberated your soul? If so, in what way?
- Do your personal stories of giving portray a depth of generosity? If not, why not? Is there a way to reframe those stories so that they do?
- Are there ever limits to what you can or should give in a particular situation? Do your personal giving stories reflect any tension about this question?
Follow up questions:
- Do you agree with your giving stories?
- What most motivates you to give?
- Do you see giving as a transaction and expect something in return?
- How do you think the level of giving should be determined?
UUCOC Dream Board
This is not my first stint as a treasurer. I enjoy the treasurer position because I am a self-professed data junky and it is an opportunity to think of the BIG PICTURE. I want to invite you to do the same. Consider answering the following questions by drawing pictures, or by cutting out pictures from magazines, or however best you express your imagination!
Imagine!
- What do you love about Our Church?
- What does the Church look like to you over the next year?
- Where do you see yourself in Our Church over the next year?
- How does this make you feel at Our Church?
The Giving Schedule
As is customary of the giving season, the schedule of giving based on income is listed below followed by how your annual pledge spreads across a monthly basis. This is only a guideline. It is ultimately up to you and your commitment to the image of the church you have for the next year!
“Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi
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Final Directions
- Complete the UUCOC Spiritual Inventory.
Please take a few minutes to determine your Spiritual Gifts and how they might translate to your Time & Talents pledge for The Campaign. - If your pledge will include Time & Talents.
Please enter your selection(s) of Time & Talents into the T&T Pledge Form. - Fill out and submit the Pledge Form below with your pledge so we can work on budgeting for this coming year.
- If you will be making your contribution by automatic bank deductions or credit/debit card charges, please submit the required information on the online giving form below after submitting your pledge form.
UUCOC 2020 Spiritual Gifts Inventory
This spiritual gifts inventory asks questions to help determine what comes naturally to you and how that translates into treasures of Time & Talent for giving to your Church. To help you discover your spiritual gifts, check each of the items below that you feel best describes you.
Each section at the bottom of the list that reveals a 3, 4, or 5 indicates a spiritual gift you may have and has suggestions on how you can pledge your time & talent based on your spiritual gifts.
Please note that the selections you make and the results
presented in the Spiritual Gifts Inventory are not stored or reported.
Time & Talent Pledge Submission Form
Pledge Campaign Form
Online Contributions Form
