ANNOUNCEMENTS
AND REPORTS FOR APRIL/MAY 2024
SPECIAL EVENT: EARTH DAY 2024 SERVICE
NOTE: There will be NO Zoom access for this service.
Please join us in person.
On Sunday, April 21 (the day before the official Earth Day), members and friends of Manatee UU Fellowship will gather at the Coquina Beach Gulfside North Pavilion from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. to worship, picnic, and share songs and activities promoting environmental awareness.
“Our theme for this year’s gathering is, ‘Beloved Community, Beloved Earth’ and we will welcome Coquina Beach visitors to stop by our observance,” said Rev. Fred L Hammond, the fellowship’s developmental minister. He added, “We will encourage best practices when it comes to our environment endangered by climate change while sharing the basics of UU principles and beliefs.”
General Schedule :
9:00 am Informal gathering with intergenerational activities including decorating paper table coverings with Earth Day messages and artwork.
10:30 am UU Worship Service led by Rev. Fred with theme, “Beloved Community, Beloved Earth.” Readings and songs appropriate for theme.
11:15 am Picnic. Bring your own food and utensils and something to share if you wish. Two grills are available. Soft drinks and water provided.
12:30 pm Joyful Jammers — Earth Day music and singalong.
Afterwards, until 2:00 pm:
- Explore the beach
- Scavenger hunt
- Participate in other intergenerational activities
- Offer your support to Anna Maria Island residents as they resist proposed development.
- Make a protest sign! “Save Beloved Island!” “Save Beloved Beaches!”
Notes:
• Coquina Beach Gulfside North Pavilion
• ADA accessible
• Carpool
• Look for our flags
• No dogs
• Picnic tables available or bring your own chair
For more information, contact Carol Alt.
NEW: CHAIR YOGA
Chair Yoga is now held weekly on Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Emphasis will be placed on asana (exercise), pranayama (breath), and mindfulness to strengthen balance, flexibility and body. Member Patricia Hurd will be leading the class. She has been teaching yoga for 9 years and is a certified instructor through Yoga Alliance. There is no charge to participate.
SPECIAL COLLECTION FOR APRIL:
COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS
Our Special Collection for March will benefit the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW).
The coalition is a worker-based human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in fighting human trafficking and gender-based violence at work. The CIW is also recognized for pioneering the design and development of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility paradigm, a worker-led, market-enforced approach to the protection of human rights in corporate supply chains.
This Special Collection begins April 14 and runs through April 28. Please make checks payable to “Coalition of Immokalee Workers” and bring to a service or mail to: Manatee UU Fellowship, 322 15th St. West, Bradenton, FL 34205.
Thank you for your help in supporting the work of this important organization. Go online to ciw-online.org for more information about the CIW.
SOCIAL EVENTS FIRST WEDNESDAY, THIRD FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH
Our next restaurant outing is Wednesday, April 3, at 4:30 p.m., when we will meet at Pier 22, located on the Manatee River at 1200 1st Ave W, Bradenton. Plan to join us for a drink, an appetizer or an early dinner. You can check out the venue online at pier22.com. Everyone is welcome; it’s a great, casual way to get to know us. Last month 24 attended!
Our next Share a Dish potluck is Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. at our building. Bring a dish to share — like the name says! — and join us for food, fellowship and fun. Share a Dish is held on the third Friday of each month. Some months a special speaker or program is presented.
Please check back here each month for the latest updates and details. And join us for these social events and more.
FROM OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE
This month’s Social Justice Committee recap is a review of the difference we are making in the larger community. During the sermon on Feb. 18, I asked the question as to how we know we are placing love at the center of this fellowship.
Here is one clue: Five years ago I attended the NAACP Freedom Awards Dinner with other members of Manatee UU Fellowship. It was a very nice event, but we stayed at our table and didn’t really mingle much. And we did not have a full table. This year, on Feb 17, we sponsored a table which was full. Members mingled with other community members that our fellowship has worked with—League of Women Voters, NAACP, ASALH (Association of Study of African American Life and History). We were the only faith group that was listed as a sponsor of the dinner. The week prior to that we were also the only faith group that sponsored a table at RECESS Education for their Black History Month Luncheon. We are founding members of STREAM (Stronger Together Reaching Equality Across Manatee), the interfaith coalition to address injustice in Manatee County. We are developing relationships within the community. We are becoming known for our desire to support justice initiatives in the community.
We are living our talk. We as a fellowship can be very proud for the ministry we are doing in Bradenton and beyond.
The Social Justice Committee meets on the first Sunday of each month after the worship service. All are welcome.
— Rev. Fred L Hammond
LATEST FROM OUR BOOK CLUB
At its April meeting, the Book Club discussed Tom Lake by Ann Padgett.
Our selection for May is The Women by Kristin Hannah. Hannah also wrote The Nightingale, which we read and enjoyed a few months ago. The Women takes place in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It tells of the difficult lives of U.S. Army nurses who served in that war. It is currently No. 1 on the New York Times Book Review.
The Book Club meets the first Monday of each month at 2:00 p.m. on Zoom. Contact Bill Hayes for more information and to get the Zoom link. All are welcome to participate. Come find out what we are all about.
Happy reading!
— Bill Hayes
KNITTING ‘N CHATTING ‘N MORE — OH, MY!
Knit ‘n Chat had an interesting February with some snowbirds returning, and our ongoing discussions about a name change. People vary on their interpretations of the word ‘knit’ in our name. Some feel it’s a symbol of our ‘work.’ Others feel we should use a word like ‘craft.’ A suggestion of “CCC” – Coffee, Craft and Chat – was presented. We also are often including coffee or tea on the cooler winter days, sometimes with a bit of birthday cake or other celebratory treats. But chatting is always the highlight of our gatherings.
We will continue to look for ways that we can give to the fellowship Auction. This year’s craft and baked goods sale, together with another quilt containing squares from several group members, brought in well over $200. And we continue to send handmade scarves to Women 4 Peace, which are sent around the world with volunteer doctors and dentists. We look forward to March and to spring so we can return to our favorite outdoor back deck meeting spot.
Knit ‘n Chat meets at the fellowship at 10 a.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. All are welcome to stop in and experience what makes us such a happy, productive group!
— Carol Alt
LATEST REPORT ON OUR WORK WITH STREAM
Mental Health needs are the primary focus of STREAM (Stronger Together Reaching Equality Across Manatee) this year. This from the Research Kickoff meeting held January 22 at Peace Presbyterian Church. It was attended by about 65 people.
We are still going to be focusing on Adult Pre-Arrest Diversion Program (APAD) because while it has started in Manatee County, it is not being utilized nearly as much as in Sarasota. Only 12 referrals to this program were made in a six-month period in Manatee County versus 365 referrals in Sarasota County. We heard firsthand testimony of how being in the wrong place at the wrong time resulted in an arrest for a young man. This arrest caused him to miss out on employment opportunities. He now owns his own business and is thriving, but the stigma of this arrest still haunts him. The APAD program could have kept his options wide open.
This program is for first time offenders of nonviolent misdemeanors like expired tags and registrations. STREAM will be following up with State Attorney Brodsky on how we might encourage Sheriff Wells and the police chiefs to better use this program that will not only save money for the county in court costs but also prevent individuals from being labeled for life with a criminal arrest record.
The gathered justice seekers broke into groups of about 6-8 people and shared their own or friends and family’s stories of mental health. In the group I was in, the focus quickly became mental health services in the school district. I heard how the district had received funds for additional mental health support and instead used the funds to hire truant officers. The social workers have caseloads that are too large to be able to provide the support needed by teachers and students in dealing with mental health issues within the student population. Will STREAM narrow the huge umbrella label of mental health to services in the school district? I do not know at this point. This was only one group’s focus of about 10 groups. A consensus will need to be developed. If you have a story regarding mental health experiences in Manatee County, please see Rev. Fred to share your story so it can be given to STREAM as we discern the direction of this new focus.
Our Nehemiah Action Assembly is April 29 at 6:30 p.m. This is the assembly where we meet with the decision-makers in Manatee County and ask them to support our recommendations to address this issue. We need as many folks to attend this event as possible as it is people power that sways the decision makers.
Let Justice Roll– Like a Mighty STREAM!
— Rev. Fred L Hammond
ABOUT THE PROGRESS PRIDE FLAG
The original pride flag was created in the 1970s by gay activist Gilbert Baker, friend of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Baker used eight colors and corresponding meanings: hot pink for sexuality, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit.
The new Progress Pride Flag includes new colors and a new design that are meant to represent people of color, as well as people who are transgender, intersex, or nonbinary.
The colors black and brown were added to the Progress Pride Flag to represent unrepresented black and brown people.
With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, culture at large began to shift in a much-needed way towards acknowledging the vital roles that people of color have had in our society. The pride movement background is one of many areas where people of color did not receive the recognition they deserved historically. Adding colors to represent them on the flag is one way to change that.
The word “progress” in the new flag isn’t only about adding the new colors to it. It’s also because of the shape, which differs from the original design of horizontal stripes only. The Progress Pride Flag shows the white, pink, baby blue, black, and brown stripes in a triangle shape, with the old six-color rainbow stacked next to them.
The color placement and new shape was done intentionally to convey the separation in meaning and shift focus to how important the issues represented on the left are.
The placement of the new colors in an arrow shape is meant to convey the progress still needed.
— Mariano Vera
[As a Welcoming Congregation accredited by the Unitarian Universalist Association, Manatee UU Fellowship flies the Progress Pride Flag in front of our building each Sunday morning. It also appears on our permanent building sign.]
WARMINGTON FREEDOM TINY LIBRARY IS NOW OFFICIAL!
On Sunday, Nov. 19, members and friends of Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship gathered in the front of our building to dedicate our Warmington Freedom Tiny Library as an act of resistance to the book bannings that are taking place nationally and in the state of Florida.
As Florida leads the nation in banned books, more than 1,400 so far, this is one way to provide encouragement for those who are being targeted. Rev. Fred L Hammond shared the legacy of earlier members Ruth and Carl Warmington, who in leaving an endowment for expansion of our fellowship’s library, made this possible. Our tiny library gives us an opportunity to expand into our community and let others know that justice, equity, and inclusion are values we hold in our hearts.
As we listened to the voices and percussion of the Joyful Jammers, we felt a sense of oneness and pride in the books we are providing to whomever is interested. Each book has a bookmarker and sticker beginning with “Enjoy this book …”
Thank you to Bernie Salzinger who skillfully refurbished a cabinet to serve as our tiny library and to Chris MacCormack who painted the illustrations on the sides. The books that have been selected by Rev. Fred, Becky Smith, Barb Ehren and Carol Bartz include banned books as well as books that embrace social justice themes or align with our UU Principles. More than 50 books have already been shared through the tiny library during the past month and we will continue to add more books to those two shelves.
We encourage each of you to order one book from the list being offered by Boston-based philanthropists found at BannedBooksUSA.org. This allows Florida residents to order banned and restricted books for just the price of shipping: $3.99. Please have it delivered to your home address and then give the book to Becky, Barb, Rev. Fred or Carol so that we can catalog it first.
May all be valued for who they are and may all accept differences and unique abilities of others.
— Carol Bartz
RENEWING OUR LEGACY CIRCLE
Anyone can join our Legacy Circle and make meaningful gifts to Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in their will. Regardless of the amount, your bequest is a statement of faith that our UU movement and our voices for compassionate justice, democracy, and religious freedom are heard long after we are gone. When you demonstrate that you care enough about this fellowship to support its future, others will follow your generous example.
No matter what your age, you can designate Manatee UU Fellowship as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime. It’s simple, just requiring that you contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website.
Join the Legacy Circle at our fellowship by stating your gift plan on your personal intentions form available in our office. Your name(s) will be placed on the Legacy Circle plaque in the sanctuary. Because most popular retirement plan administrators assume no obligation to notify charities of their client’s designations, the intentions form is an important document to us and will be held in a confidential file.
SOMETHING FOR OUR SANCTUARY
This beautiful banner, made by fellowship member Klara Weis, was carried by her during the banner parade at the UU General Assembly in Pittsburgh, Pa., in June 2023. It currently hangs in front of the media booth in our sanctuary.
Thank you, Klara!
A GIFT FOR US ALL
For our 2021 auction, Peg Green offered to create a flaming chalice fabric wall hanging “to hang in your home or give as a gift.” The winner would get to choose the flaming chalice design and color scheme. and then Peg would create the piece.
During the live auction held in February 2021, Bill Hayes kept raising his bid and finally outbid everyone. Over that summer he generously gifted the lovely quilt to our fellowship. It is bold and beautiful, and can be seen in our Sanctuary on Zoom as well as in-person during our Sunday services.
Peg’s artwork can be viewed on her website www.peacepeg.com and one of her works is on the cover of the UUA Pocket Guide for new members.
Thank you, Peg and Bill, for being so generous!
Reverend Fred L Hammond
FRED’S FLAVORINGS
If someone were to ask you what is your role at Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, what would you say?
When a new member signs the membership book, they are asked to make a commitment to participate in the life of the fellowship, to support according to their ability to the financial well-being of the fellowship, and also to offer their time to the well-being of the fellowship.
We do not define what each of these three commitments looks like behaviorally. We are aware that everyone has different abilities and different ways to fulfill these commitments. Some are privileged to offer more than others. Some are less privileged. Some realize that their bodies are no longer able to give as they once were able to and therefore need to step aside. Some are quick to jump in and organize a task. Others like to be asked to contribute in a specific way. There are many ways in which these three commitments can be fulfilled.
Consider the question again. How would you answer the question of what is your role at Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship that would assist in supporting its well-being?
The Christian Scriptures use the analogy of the parts of the body to describe the various roles of the Christian Church. The analogy points out that each organ and limb of the body is vital to the body’s well-being — all equally important. The same can be said about our roles at Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
One of the roles that is vital for well-being of this fellowship is making sure that we create and sustain a welcoming atmosphere for newcomers so these newcomers will want to join as members. Several General Assemblies ago, then-UUA President Bill Sinkford told us of a conversation he had with a group of Latter-Day Saints, aka Mormons. They told him that if Unitarian Universalists could figure out a way to retain their visitors, we would be the most dangerous progressive faith in the country.
We are at a time in our country where our Unitarian Universalist message is sorely needed to provide safety for groups of people being targeted by hate groups and hateful legislation. Our message of accepting people for who they are is a salvific message. Our fellowship has on average two to three visitors a week. Statistics alone tell us that not everyone who visits us is going to join our fellowship. But for our fellowship to thrive, we each must do our part to create that environment of welcoming home these sojourners who cross our doors.
One of the most important roles that each of us can fulfill is that of being a greeter. Greeting people at the door, passing out programs, and directing newcomers to sign our visitors book, and conversing with them before and after the service is important in the welcoming process. Ideally, we would have a group of greeters who would commit to serve this role and then rotate which Sundays they would be at the door. After the service, greeters and the rest of us in the fellowship would introduce ourselves to the newcomers. Ask them how they liked the service. If, during conversation it is discovered the visitor is originally from another state, connect them with members who are also from that state or community. Perhaps invite them to join you in attending an event at the fellowship—Share a Dish, Joyful Jammers, Knit ’n Chat, some other event.
We are blessed to have a few individuals — emphasis on few — who have adopted this as their ministry, their role in serving the well-being of this fellowship. We heard recently how important the greeter was in having a new member join us. We need more of us to integrate this into our roles here. So should you be approached to be a greeter at the door on one Sunday a month, say yes. It is not as time-consuming as other important roles, but it is truly an integral part of the life blood of our community.
Blessings,
Fred
Antisemitism is on the rise in the United States. In the UK, Jewish authors and Jewish topics are being blacklisted from publishing houses. Incidents of antisemitism in Florida have more than doubled since 2020. Florida is in the top five states for hate crimes against Jews.
Florida residents are moving out of the state because Florida schools are no longer safe places for their LGBTQ children. We lost a member recently in part because their family believed Florida schools were no longer providing the diversity education they expected their children to receive. Elsewhere in this newsletter is a piece on what STREAM is focusing on this year. The statistics reported in STREAM’s article include LGBTQ youth. Our state is causing great harm to the children of our state. It is beyond which bathroom they use or sports team they play on. It is a matter of being recognized and esteemed for who they are. It becomes a matter of life and death.
Erasure of anyone from our worldview is detrimental. So much of our justice work over the last 60 years has been in seeing the diversity around us every day. I am old enough to remember when developmentally disabled people were hidden away in warehouse institutions. When those with disabilities could not participate in public forums because the entrances were not ramped to allow them entry. And I am of the generation when being gay was considered a mental disorder and the treatment included shock treatment. Those who were gay in order to survive had to create code to communicate with one another. I am also old enough to remember when a woman could not take out a mortgage or own a credit card in her name. The idea that a woman cannot have sovereignty over her own body is inhuman, yes inhuman. I did not grow up in the segregated south but the idea that African Americans were barred from establishments and were lynched for noticing a white woman is beyond the pale.
We need to be vocal in our opposition to these fascist trends in our society. We need to be extravagant in celebrating the diversity of our humanity. We need to have joyous protests celebrating our women; our people of color; our transgender, non-binary, and intersex siblings; our LGBTQ people, our mentally challenged folks, our physically challenged folks, Jewish and Islamic siblings. These diverse perspectives teach us how to love in very enriching ways.
I challenge our Social Justice Committee to come up with ways that we can in the public square offer joyous celebrations of these differences as a form of positive civil action in the face of increased hate and violence. May our faith lead us toward widening our circle even more.
Blessings,
Fred
Today I am reeling from the news that the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are children and therefore the person who accidentally destroyed embryos at an Invitro Fertility Center can be charged with murder. The court justified their argument by invoking their conservative Christian faith of an angry god seeking retribution of anyone who defiles the image of *god*. [The word god is filled with lots of various meanings, I am using the word in its most generic sense and therefore not as a proper noun any particular god.]
This ruling is the result of Alabama’s personhood law, which proclaims that life begins at conception and therefore the zygote, morula, and blastocyst stages of development are also children and are protected with all the rights and privileges of being a person.
Keep in mind that a blastocyst is a collection of cells dividing that will develop into an embryo. About 50 percent of blastocysts develop into an embryo and not all embryos go on to develop a fetus. This ruling has resulted, as of my writing, of three of the eight IVF clinics in Alabama to pause services leaving hundreds of families in that state in limbo. Many had already spent upwards of $20G just to begin the process. Because of the tenuousness of the process multiple embryos are collected and frozen in case the first several attempts do not result in a pregnancy. According to this ruling, the threat that any unused embryos being destroyed would result in the family and provider being charged with murder.
There are currently about four states as of 2023 with fetal personhood laws that could follow Alabama’s lead and another nine states that have introduced legislation for fetal personhood. The purpose is solely to prosecute those who abort their pregnancies and charge them with murder. We are already seeing cases like this popping up in Texas and Mississippi. Mississippi has a fetal personhood law, Texas does not at this moment but has other laws that can be applied for the murder charge.
Different faiths have different views on when life begins. In Judaism, whose holy writings included how to induce an abortion [Numbers 5], believed that life began at first breath. The Genesis story of creation states that god breathed life into Adam. Breath was seen as god bestowing life to the infant. This is a simplistic view as Judaism has a very nuanced view on pregnancy, abortion, and when a child has been born.
Hindu beliefs are also nuanced. But several of their sacred texts state life begins at conception but the fetus only becomes a child when the incarnated soul enters around the 3rd to 5th month of pregnancy. Many Hindis have interpreted this to mean abortion before the 3-month mark is allowed.
Many Indigenous people see abortion as part of their faith’s sacred rituals in providing health care for women. For centuries they have used a wealth of herbs, tonics, and rituals to treat all aspects of reproductive health from menstruation to menopause.
Unitarian Universalist beliefs regarding when life begins is also varied among us. Our Universalist heritage taught that god is not an angry god but a loving god whose love is universally for all of creation. This god, according to Universalist theology, has given us free will, not as a means to choose heaven or hell [Unitarians and Universalists rejected the notion of an afterlife hell], but to find the most loving path forward through this life. For free will to truly exist would require that each person is given the best opportunities to thrive. Sadly, systemic racism and systemic classism interferes with free will.
These different beliefs around when life begins need to be respected. This nation chose to have separation of state and church. The Alabama ruling violates this with the insertion of the judge’s religious faith as one of the arguments in declaring embryos are children.
This is another reason why our fellowship participated in the petition drive to get an abortion rights amendment in our state constitution. We were successful in getting the numbers of petitions needed. This will be on the ballot in November. Unitarian Universalists across the state are joining the get out the vote campaign to vote YES on 4. I expect there will be opportunities for us just as there were opportunities for us with the restoration of voting rights to ex-felons. We learned the lesson from that process and wrote an amendment that cannot be subverted by the state legislature.
Blessed Be.
Fred
Email Fred:
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
I received the UU World magazine this week and the cover article was about “Shared Ministry.” That’s something we have always done exceptionally well at Manatee UU Fellowship. I think it’s the nearly 50 years as a lay-led congregation that taught us that it’s our Fellowship. That sense of ownership is wonderful, it’s like a sense of home. I see that every day here. In the church I grew up in, the minister did the ministry, he decided the programs, took care of the caring, he made every decision and the congregation supported him and did what he asked of them. That was the hierarchy. Here it’s like the flowchart is upside down. The congregation is the leadership and our minister Fred supports us with his knowledge of programs and UUA assets available to us.
When the Social Justice Committee wants to support a group or event, members vigorously offer their support. When a member wants a program, the board gets behind it and together, member, board, and minister, we make it happen. The article calls this a way of being in relationship with each other. I think the greatest examples of shared ministry at our fellowship are our new Right Relations committee and the long-established Caring committee.
It would be easy to just let the minister take care of everything, but that’s not the UU way. We don’t want that and I think I’m safe in saying that neither does Reverend Fred! Together we share the responsibility of ministry to each other, to the community, and to the world.
Becky Smith, Board President
I read a tragic story of High Plains Unitarian Universalist Church in Colorado Springs closing this year. Their story of a flood of challenges in the wake of the pandemic sounds so familiar. They cite declining membership, increased expenses, and volunteer burnout, then they claimed COVID accelerated the decline to the end. In January they had 60 members and about half of them attended services. They didn’t call the dissolution a failure but a “brave choice”. They had a 36-hole miniature golf course. “UU World” magazine did a story about it. They were on 5 acres with a 6,000 square foot building. They operated the golf course as a separate entity and members adopted each of the holes and they raised money for local charities by donating part of the entrance fee. Yet they didn’t survive COVID. They sold the property and donated the proceeds to local charities and All Souls UU Church in Colorado Springs.
That very well could have happened to MUUF if it weren’t for the determination and creativeness of our leadership. Because of the worldwide pandemic we had to close our building; we had to set up Zoom services; some of us had never heard of Zoom until we all had to use it. Also, we had to make the “brave choice” to dip into our savings to keep going. If we would not have done that, we very likely would be suffering the same fate as High Plains UU Church.
But: We are not out of the woods. We may just be kicking the can down the road unless we can rebound more quickly. We do not have infinite funds to draw down. Rev. Fred at our Stewardship cottage meetings made the point that we are making progress. Last year we had enough reserves to cover our expenses for 3.33 years. Because of increased pledges and new members, we now have reserves to last 4.84 years. Then what? That’s up to us. We must work together to ensure that Manatee UU Fellowship survives, even thrives. We need pledges, we need participation, we need leadership, and we need new ideas. I see that happening and am optimistic because of you. The fate of High Plains UU Church is a cautionary tale. I’m not going to let it depress me. It’s going to inspire me to do what we need to do and always keep LOVE at the center. It’s because of the love of all of the present and former members that we’re still here.
Becky Smith, MUUF Board President
Our stewardship campaign – With LOVE at the Center – is in full swing. Testimonials from members and cottage meetings are scheduled, pledge cards along with a letter have been mailed, and the thermometer on the wall of the sanctuary is tracking our progress toward our goal of $110,000.
We are also having our first ever Involvements Sunday on March 10 because Stewardship is not only sharing your treasures, it’s also contributing your time and talents. It takes all three to build a thriving community. Together we will realize our goal.
I increased my pledge last year and again this year, I hope you will too if you’re able. When I was asked to serve on the board I said yes, I hope when you are asked to serve on a committee or the board you also say yes. It can feel like it’s going to be difficult but because of the willingness of others to also serve it becomes a bonding and even spiritual experience because we do it all with Love at the Center.
I often think of the handful of idealistic liberals who in 1959 got together and founded our Fellowship. I like to think that if they could see us today, they would feel pride in how far we’ve come because of their vision 65 years ago. I also think about 65 years from now. Will they look back at the time we had stewardship of the Fellowship and be grateful for our part of the journey?
We are planting seeds for the future. They say you can know how many seeds are in an apple, but you can’t know how many apples are in a seed.
With LOVE at the Center
Becky Smith, Board President
Email Becky:
Becky-Smith
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
MANATEE UUF NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter!
Sign up today to receive our monthly newsletter, “UPDATE” in your email inbox.