UCE Pledge Drive

Pledge Drive 2026-2027

Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole

What does love in action mean to you?

At UCE, love is not just something we feel. It is something we practice.
Love in action is showing up for one another.
Love in action is a sustaining community that nurtures the human spirit, especially in uncertain and difficult times. 

❤️It’s families coming together for fun and connection.
🧡It’s sending Get Out The Vote postcards, and notes of encouragement or sympathy.
💛It’s tending to our gardens and clearing leaves to keep our neighbors safe.
💚It’s worshipping and singing together…and a vibrant, noisy Nest.
💙It’s showing up at protests, rallies, and vigils as a Beacon of Light.
💜It’s hosting an overnight shelter or offering a free meal. 

Love means choosing to invest in a beloved community that helps us live out our values.

Our annual pledge drive is one of the primary ways love becomes tangible here. It helps ensure that UCE remains a place of spiritual grounding, meaningful worship, courageous justice-seeking, lifelong faith formation, and deep belonging. Simply put, your financial support helps love move from intention into action.

As we look toward the next church year, the Board of Trustees continues to steward UCE’s resources with care and clarity. Our shared goals include sustaining strong programming, fairly compensating our staff, and supporting the long-term financial health of the congregation so that UCE can remain a steady, loving presence in our wider community. Our pledge drive goal for the 2026-2027 Fiscal year is $701,500, a modest annual increase of 5.5%.

Members and friends should receive a personalized ask letter via e-mail in January or February. If you didn’t receive that, please let the Pledge Drive Team know. Once you’ve read your letter, take a moment to complete your pledge form online today. If it is possible for you to make your pledge payments automatically through your bank account, that maximizes your contribution as there are no fees. Setting that up can be done through vanco. If you have any questions about that, please contact our Staff Accountant, Vickie Doebele at finance@ucevanston.og. 

We are attempting to make filling out your pledge form easier this year by setting it up directly through Realm. If you have any questions or challenges in doing filling it out, please contact Adam Gough at agough@ucevanston.org or 847-864-1330.

The Support Team will be available to answer your questions and help you complete the form, either online or on paper. You can reach the team by calling 847-864-1330, Ext. 111, or emailing pledgeinfo@ucevanston.org.  In addition, members of the Support Team will be available before and after the Sunday service on February 15th, 22nd, and March 1st to assist you with completing your pledge form.

We ask that you submit your pledge by March 1st, 2026. Doing so allows the Board to finalize the 2026–2027 budget in time to present it to the congregation in May.

We understand that each family has a different circumstance and everyone has to decide for themselves the right level of giving. Some are long-time supporters who pledge early each year. Some are newer and still learning how the pledge process works, and what level of contribution makes sense. Others may feel less connected or unsure about how to engage. We hope to encourage each individual and family to contribute in a meaningful and joy-filled way.

We hope you have already seen love in action at UCE this year:
…in worship that holds both grief and hope,
…in care offered quietly and faithfully,
…in justice work that serves the wider community,
…and in moments of laughter, music, and connection that remind us why this beloved community matters.

Thank you for all the ways you show up. Thank you for the love you bring. And thank you for helping ensure that UCE remains a place where love is not only spoken, but lived.

With gratitude,

Rev. Eileen Wiviott
Senior Minister and member of the UCE 2026–2027 Pledge Drive Team

Actions and Asks:

❤️Complete your pledge form online today.
💚Set up automatic payments from your bank account through vanco.
💛Contact the Pledge Drive Team with questions or concerns.