From EOD, February 28, 2020
Pledge Drive 2020 is off to a great start following a full weekend of music and activities. Peter Mayer delivered a wonderful evening of music last Saturday evening singing songs he has written about our beautiful earth, protecting our planet and making the world whole, a connection to our mission of “Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole”. On Sunday morning he performed in the worship service, including a piece with our choir. We had stories of six people whose lives have been deeply touched by UCE, music of our choir and activities throughout the day following the service. Thank you to Meredith Haydon and Maggie Weiss for heading up a terrific lunch team who provided a delicious meal even without a kitchen. We enjoyed balloon sculptures by the Balloon Guy Nick, jigsaw puzzles for adults and children, clay sculptures, music and a photo scavenger hunt with photos posted to Instagram. Great fun for all ages. Pledge forms were provided for congregants and for those who turned in their form they were entered into a drawing. Prizes include $50 Fair Trade Cart certificate, $50 Book H certificate, $50 Garden Walk certificate. When you submit your pledge form you will be entered into our UCE Pledge Drive Raffle Drawing. See fun photos from the day at the end of this article.
Flu season and safety precautions. You will notice containers of hand sanitizer throughout the church and in the bathrooms. During this flu season please remember to wash your hands regularly and avoid shaking hands, but rather give a friendly elbow to elbow connection with your fellow congregants at. It’s currently flu and respiratory disease season and CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine, taking everyday preventive actions to help stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed.
Capital Campaign projects continue to move forward. The kitchen, as noted in Carol Nielsen’s newsletter piece, will open on Sunday, March 29th when we host UCE’s empty bowls project. Soup, Salads, bread and desserts will be served. Proceeds will benefit Connections for the Homeless for their efforts to feed those in our community who are in need.
Lower level bathroom reconstruction for accessibility and inclusion will begin after Rummage Sale and a walkway from Greenwood to the church entrance will begin in late spring. The parking lot and sewer drain work starts Monday, July 27. Details on these projects and our future projects timeline were shared at our Capital Campaign town hall meetings in January. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
A message from our Staff Accountant Vickie Doebele. Each year we budget our shared offering for half of the donations to go to a worthy organization selected by our Social Justice Council. When you write a check and ask for the full amount to go to the organization, this requires additional time for accounting as well as a check to be issued from UCE to the offering recipient. You are free to send a check directly to the organization, but we ask that you keep in mind our commitment to our operating budget so that all programs, including social justice can be funded. Thank you for your understanding.